TOP-7 services for email newsletter

[CarderPlanet]

An effective email marketing strategy converts potential customers into buyers and then helps the brand stay connected with its audience.

At the same time, of all the methods of promoting email campaigns, it is the leader in terms of payback. For every pound invested in an email campaign, £ 42 is returned, according to the UK's Direct Marketing Association.

Email marketing helps a business achieve three main goals:

• Increase in conversion;
• Increasing brand awareness;
• Gaining customer loyalty.

Preparing for email marketing​

In order to launch an email marketing campaign, it is enough to complete three important preparatory steps:

• Collect a subscriber base

This can be done in any available way: by distributing free guides / books / manuals, offers to send informational digests or product updates. Important: each of the subscribers must give their consent to receive incoming messages, otherwise there is a high risk of getting emails into spam, as well as refusal to cooperate on the part of the mailing list provider. Our blog has a detailed guide on how to build your mailing list base .

• Determine the performer

This should be a person who will be responsible for monitoring the collection of the contact base, setting up advertising campaigns from the personal account of the selected service, creating text and visual content, as well as final analytics. Alternatively, this functionality can be ordered from an email provider.

• Choose the best online service for cooperation

Here you need to be guided by such criteria as ease of use, availability of the necessary functionality, tariff plans, speed of the support service and others.

The choice of a service is perhaps the most difficult, because the list of email services is very large, and their conditions are very different, and there is no exact understanding of which one will be the most productive for a particular business.

Below is a detailed overview of the most popular email marketing tools in the Russian-speaking online space.

SendPulse​

The SendPulse service positions itself as a multifunctional platform and offers its users a number of marketing solutions. Service list:

• Email newsletters;
• SMS messages;
• Push notifications;
• Chat bots;
• Mailings via messengers.

On the market: since 2015.

Site language: Ukrainian, Russian, English, Portuguese, Turkish, Spanish, French.

Number of users: more than 1,300,000.

The cost of email newsletters: free plan - up to 15,000 letters for 500 recipients per month, paid plan - from $ 4 per month for 500+ subscribers.

Functions and capabilities:

• Ready-made letter templates: editable, 130 pcs.
• Editor for letters: block + HTML editor.
• The amount of memory for storing data: in the free plan - 20 mb, in the paid plan - 200 mb.
• Adaptation for mobile gadgets.
• API.
• Segmentation: by subscribers' actions, by the number of clicks and openings, by the number of clicks.
• Tools for collecting a database of contacts: a special form of subscribing to the site.
• Personalization: subject lines or any other part of the message, smart field substitutions.
• Triggered mailings: automation of letter chains in accordance with the actions of subscribers, sending letters to a specific event / event.
• Integration support: with AmoCRM, Bitrix | Bitrix24, WordPress, Tilda, RealCRM, Zapier, LeadGenic, CreateForm, FormDesigner.
• Advanced analytics tools: allows you to track unique clicks on each individual link, the number of errors in the sending process, opening by country, the number of unsubscriptions, views in different types of browsers and devices, analytics via Yandex.Metrica and Google Analytics (only in the paid version).
• A / B testing.
• 24/7 customer support.
• Ease of use, intuitive interface.
• Other useful functions: adaptation of letters for any kind of screen extensions, white label, email distribution to the unread database, scheduler, address book validator.

Advantages: the ability to integrate an SMTP server into a CMS, CRM or other systems, which is a guarantee of a high degree of security, speed of sending and deliverability of letters.

Disadvantages: Small amount of storage space for both free and paid plans (compared to, for example, GetResponse).

GetResponse​

The service has been in the market for many years and offers businesses not only opportunities for email campaigns, but also for complex automation of marketing tasks.

Service list:

• Mailing list;
• Landing page builder;
• Automatic generator of sales funnels;
• Survey constructor;
• Advertising on social networks.

On the market: since 1997.

Site language: English, Russian, Ukrainian, and 23 more languages.

Number of users: 350,000 clients from 183 countries.

The cost of email newsletters: free rate - 30 days for a contact base of up to 1000 addresses; paid plan - from $ 12.75 per month for a base from 1000 to 2500 subscribers.

Functions and capabilities:

• Ready-made letter templates: editable, 500+.
• Editor for letters: block + HTML editor.
• Memory capacity for data storage: 2 GB.
• Adaptation for mobile gadgets. API.
• Segmentation: By time zone, activity and subscriber engagement, plus the ability to assign tags and points, check for email consent, and determine the types of content customers want to receive.
• Personalization: the ability to substitute a name for a picture in a message, as well as add information about the recipient and his current reactions to messages in the text.
• Integration support: 123ContactForm, AMZPromoter, WordPress, SalesForce and Adwords, Amazon Payments Integration, ClickMeeting, Desk.com, Eventbrite, Etsy and many more.
• Advanced analytics tools: the ability to analyze openings / clicks and the degree of effectiveness on mobile devices and computers; compare advertising campaigns in one window; receive information about the geographic location of recipients, their preferences for the types of subscriptions, the types of postal operators they use; monitor registrations and purchases after clicking on the link in the message.
• A / B testing: with the ability to compare up to five versions of the same form field, email content, subject line, and submission time.
• 24/7 customer support.
• Lead Collecting Tools: Using the Sign Up Forms Wizard.
• Ease of use, intuitive interface.
• Other useful features: preview of letters (up to 20 of one version of the message), autoresponder.

Benefits: Built-in image editor has a library of over 5,000 high-resolution images from Shutterstock, the ability to embed video and payment processing options directly into emails, and enable drag-and-drop automation workflows.

Disadvantages: temporary limitation of the free plan.

eSputnik​

The eSputnik service helps businesses not only set up their email campaigns, but also automate routine marketing tasks.

• Service list:
• Email newsletters;
• SMS-mailing;
• Viber mailings;
• Push notifications.

On the market: since 2012.

Site language: Russian, Ukrainian, German, English.

Number of users: about 60,000 companies monthly.

The cost of email newsletters: free tariff - the first 2500 messages, paid tariff - from $ 6.3 per month with up to 1000 subscribers in the contact database.

Functions and capabilities:

• Ready-made letter templates: over 300.
• Editor for letters: with a generator of product cards and a convenient html-format.
• Memory capacity for data storage: no information.
• Adaptation for mobile gadgets: yes, in the form of an adaptive function.
• API.
• Segmentation: according to the existing information about the recipient, his current activities.
• Personalization: address by name, as well as by criteria such as gender, age, profession, place of residence.
• Support for integrations: with client site, Google tools and using Zapier.
• Advanced analytics tools: analysis of openings and clicks on links placed in messages, cohort and RFM analysis.
• A / B testing.
• 24/7 customer support.
• Lead Collecting Tools: Customized Sign Up Forms.
• Ease of use, intuitive interface: yes.
• Other useful functions: the function of validating the list of contacts, transferring the subscriber base through the API / from downloaded files / from other sites and services, heatmap, autoresponder, control of emails for spam, product recommendations within the letter.

Advantages: there is an economical tariff that allows you to pay for each message sent (for those who have a small subscriber base and a large sending interval), a convenient visual editor is provided for trigger letters.

Disadvantages: the subscription form can be created / modified only after a written request to the company.

UniSender​

UniSender is a popular email service in the Russian-speaking online space.

Service list:

• Mailing lists;
• SMS-mailing;
• Viber mailings;
• Pop-ups;
• Auto-posting on social networks.

On the market: since 2014.

Site language: Russian, Ukrainian, English.

Number of users: over 700,000 companies.

Cost: free tariff - up to 100 contacts, up to 1500 letters, paid tariff - from $ 10 per month for a database of 500 contacts.

Functions and capabilities:

• Ready-made email templates: over 100.
• Letter editor: letter constructs or HTML editor.
• Memory capacity for data storage: not specified.
• Adaptation for mobile gadgets.
• API.
• Segmentation: based on geography, behavior, activity, gender, life cycle and other custom-created criteria.
• A / B testing.
• Personalization: with the substitution of the name, city of residence or details of the recipient's order.
• Integration support: more than 48 (Facebook LeadAds, Tilda, Bitrix24, Zapier, WordPress, amoCRM and others).
• Advanced analytics tools: by basic indicators (deliverability, openings, referrals, unsubscriptions, complaints), in Google Analytics and Yandex.Metrica, by geographic coverage, by clickability of links and buttons, summary statistics, 24/7 customer support.
• Tools for collecting leads: a subscription form with the ability to change the text, font, color and size of items.
• Ease of use, intuitive interface.
• Other useful features: checking the subject line for spam words, importing contacts from different sources, the ability to form auto-funnels, trigger, transactional and automatic emails.

Advantages: unique integration with Facebook LeadAds, control of the "weight" of the letter before sending it.

Disadvantages: the responsiveness of the letter design to mobile gadgets is not good enough.

MailChimp​

MailChimp is a one-stop marketing platform for promoting your business. It aims to become the foundation of its users' relationship with their customers by offering user-friendly AI-powered tools.

In 2020, the TrustRadius ranking, the authoritative American business technology review site, declared MailChimp a leader in two categories at once: Best Email Marketing Software and Best All-in-One Marketing Software.

Service list:

• Email newsletters;
• SMS messages;
• Push notifications.

On the market: since 2001.

Site language: English.

Number of users: at the end of 2019 - more than 12,000,000 active users.

Cost: free tariff - monthly up to 2000 contacts and up to 12,000 messages within one selected category, paid tariff - monthly from $ 9.99 for 50,000 contacts from three selected audiences.

Functions and capabilities:

• Ready-made letter templates: not specified.
• Letter editor: in drag-n-drop format.
• Memory capacity for data storage: not specified.
• Adaptation for mobile gadgets.
• API.
• Segmentation: but only by basic parameters (location, age, gender, language of communication).
• Personalization: With merge tags, defining time zones, creating a personalized shopping experience, and using dynamic content.
• Integration support: 250+.
• Advanced analytics tools: yes, by the number of openings, clicks and responses, Google Analytics.
• A / B Testing: MailChimp allows adding 3 variants of email for comparison, substituting different send times, content, topics, images, etc. 24/7 customer support: only for paid plan (only in email or chat in English).
• Lead collection tools: custom forms with the ability to add a company logo and a link to social networks.
• Ease of use, intuitive interface.
• Other useful features: spam filter diagnostics, geolocation, email client testing, MailChimp coupon scanner, mobile registration forms, campaign archive, multi-user accounts.
• Advantages: a set of ready-made gif-images in the letter editor; a unique Member rating function with automatic rating of contacts on a 5-point system in accordance with their activity in mailing letters; Conversion Tracking function for tracking subscriptions, registrations and purchases made after clicking on the link in the newsletter; the highest quality letter templates; auto replies, remarketing ads on Google.

Disadvantages: rather high price of services in paid tariffs (especially, as the audience grows), the inability to make deep audience segmentation and automate it.

SendSay​

SendSay is a multichannel platform for automating and organizing online advertising campaigns. Service list:

• Mass mailing of letters;
• SMS messages;
• Push notifications;
• Viber mailings;
• Social media posts.

On the market: since 2014.

Site language: Russian.

Number of users: not specified.

Cost: free plan - up to 200 letters per month, paid plan - from $ 7.3 (commercial offer for users with an unlimited number of letters for 200-1000 subscribers per month).

Functions and capabilities:

• Ready-made letter templates: 2 pcs.
• Letter editor: blocky drag-n-drop.
• Memory capacity for data storage: unlimited.
• Adaptation for mobile gadgets.
• API.
• Segmentation: by geographic indicator, social status, age, gender, type of preferred vacation, activity in mailings / on the site, as well as by other customizable parameters.
• Personalization: by name, number of points, the date of the last purchase of a product / service, the amount of purchases made.
• Integration support: LeadHit, Flocktory, Manzana, Google Analytics, Bitrix24, Ya.Metrika, amoCRM, MoySklad, SAP, Siebel, etc.
• Advanced analytics tools: heatmap, segment analysis, as well as analysis of conversions for purchases, transactions, calls, orders, profit for a given period.
• A / B testing: by titles, content, time of sending.
• 24/7 customer support: by phone, email or live chat.
• Lead collection tools: subscription forms for posting on the user's site.
• Ease of use, intuitive interface.
• Other useful features: scheduler, contact base validator, behavioral targeting.

Advantages: enhanced biometric authentication based on the AGSES card (for the list of especially valuable contacts in B2B), dynamic content of letters for different categories of recipients, launching from the unread list in 1 click, a system for importing data on a schedule.

Disadvantages: very few ready-made templates.

MailerLite​

MailerLite is an online platform for completing email marketing tasks. In 2019, SaaS Magazine ranked MailerLite as the 5th fastest growing SaaS project in the world. Service list:

• Email newsletters;
• Landing pages;
• Pop-ups.

On the market: since 2010.

Site language: English.

Number of users: more than 1,000,000 companies and individuals.

Cost: free tariff - monthly up to 12,000 letters, up to 1,000 recipients; paid tariff - from $ 10 to send an unlimited number of messages to a subscriber base of up to 1000 addresses. You can test the premium package for 14 days without payment.

Functions and capabilities:

• Ready-made letter templates: 53 pcs.
• Editor for letters: drag and drop editor, custom HTML editor, rich text editor.
• Memory capacity for data storage: not specified.
• Adaptation for mobile gadgets.
• API: configured for HTTP and supports RestFul.
• Segmentation: by location, time zone, age, registration form, interests, behavior, as well as combined segmentation and segmentation according to individually specified parameters.
• Personalization: blocks of dynamic content, adding the name / name of the company or city, in the headline, in the sender's address or in the subject of the message.
• Integration support: WordPress, Zapier, Shopify, PayPal, WooCommerce and others.
• Advanced analytics tools: reports on openings, clicks, types of message viewing devices by recipients, popularity and location.
• A / B testing.
• 24/7 customer support.
• Lead collection tools: subscription form.
• Ease of use, intuitive interface.
• Other useful features: Dedicated IP, Inline Photo Editing, File Manager, Mobile Email Newsletters, Auto Retry Send.

Advantages: there is a mobile application, breakdown of the audience by interest groups (tagging), group statistics.

Disadvantages: A small number of ready-made templates and integration partners.

Each of the services has its own strengths and weaknesses. In the process of deciding on cooperation, we advise you to pay attention to two points. The first is how often and for what purposes you want to use the service: just send one-time emails, or launch full-fledged campaigns, send regular information and promotional letters, build email funnels. The second point - evaluate the current base of addresses and its potential growth in order to immediately understand the approximate costs of mailing.

An email service should not only perform its stated functions correctly, but also become a reliable business assistant in the process of creating effective emails that increase conversion, increase sales and make subscribers happy. Have you already chosen a suitable service? Then read our in-depth guide on how to design an email newsletter and measure it against key performance indicators.