Starting an email marketing campaign is a great way to broadcast your brand, engage with your followers, or inform subscribers of your products. These platforms give marketers a way to design engaging content, deliver it directly to inboxes, and increase their conversion rates.
Email continues to be one of the best marketing channels available to companies. When choosing a platform to use for your campaigns, it’s important to know what features to look for.
Email users amounted to 3.9 billion users in 2019, and that number will grow to 4.48 billion by 2024.
Source: Statista
What are email marketing platforms?
These platforms help marketers to organize campaigns using software as a service (SaaS). It gives you a way to design engaging content, curate your lists, and track key analytics from your campaigns. The best platforms provide a user-friendly interface that doesn’t require you to have any coding background. They’re similar to website builders, except they focus on delivering content via an inbox.
Modern email marketing platforms help you streamline your subscriber’s experience and increase your ROI. There are many options available, so you’ll need to know what to look for before choosing your platform.
Things to consider before choosing an email marketing platform
You’ll want to consider what you’re getting for the money you spend on a platform. To do this, you’ll need to check what features they provide and how they suit your marketing strategy.
The top features to look for in email marketing platforms are:
- The templates that are available in their basic plan.
- What the cost of new templates will be in the future.
- What automation comes with the platform.
- Do they have mobile and responsive templates?
- The tracking tools they provide and how you can visualize the data.
- Can they segment lists and help you to improve your subscriber’s journey?
You’ll also want to keep an eye on costs and flexibility. It’s worth signing up for a free plan to test the platform before committing to a yearly subscription.
Why email marketing platforms are the best channel available
Improvements in mobile technology mean emails reach more users than ever before. Subscribers now regularly check their inboxes, whether they’re at work or home. Even if the email reached the recipient during a busy time of the day, they can check it later at home on their phones.
Source: Campaign Monitor
Emails also provide an active way for you to engage with your subscribers. Instead of depending on ad spend for your website or organic searches, subscribers want to hear from you. That can help improve your ROI and conversion rates when you decide to use email as your main marketing channel.
How to measure the success of your email marketing platform
Email marketing platforms may appear similar until you look under the hood. The best way to see if your platform stacks up against the competition is by using reputable reviews. You’ll also want to see what customization they have and what value-added services they provide before choosing a supplier.
Does it really matter?
Your choice of email marketing platform will determine how you can engage with subscribers. You may want to compare your options against other platforms before making a decision. Campaign Monitor ranks high on reviews from multiple sources and takes a proactive approach to the developments in the industry.
What now?
Comparing the different platforms available should start with understanding the needs and wants of your subscribers. Having a graphical interface is essential for marketers today, as it doesn’t need a coding background to design engaging content. Comparing the available features, costs, and customizations can help you make the right decision.
To see the latest features available in Campaign Monitor, check out this blog post on the latest mobile additions to our platform.