In a previous post on email marketing I covered the basics of how it works. To sum up – in order to manage email marketing campaigns successfully you need 3 tools:
- Mailing List management
- An editor that lets you create branded HTML emails
- Reports on how many people have opened the email
Lots of services offer all 3 of these – there are literally hundreds of different providers that you can choose from. We recommend 2:
MailChimp
MailChimp is good looking, easy to use and very cost effective. It lets you manage subscriber lists effectively and simply, and it gives proper reports.
It has a great editor that lets you build HTML emails based on templates. You can’t add your own, custom written templates, which is definitely a problem when you want your email designed specifically, but it does allow you to re-colour and re-brand existing templates.
The great bonus of MailChimp mail is that it’s free if your database has less than 2000 subscribers. There are some extra bits you don’t get, but, if you are happy to use a template, and don’t need any special extras, MailChimp can be simple and, well, free.
Best Feature: For small lists, it’s free!
Worst: Ultimately the templates are limiting – if you want your email to look just so, this isn’t the way to go.
Campaign Monitor
For professional, effective email marketing, Campaign Monitor is by far the best service we have found. Their tools for managing lists are great, their reports are in-depth, and their support is phenomenal.
They also have a truly amazing HTML editor that lets you edit a custom built email template. Generally this is where Black Square comes into the process – we can design and code an HTML email template that you can then edit using Campaign Monitor’s tools.
Campaign Monitor isn’t free, but they do have various pricing plans, and their prices are competitive.
Best feature: The editor is remarkably easy to use – you can quickly and easily create a branded email marketing campaign and not get frustrated along the way.
Campaign Monitor also has an excellent blog which will give you all the info you want to become more informed about how email marketing works.
Worst: None really. Campaign Monitor is all in all a great product.
Costs
Both MailChimp and Campaign Monitor will charge you to send bulk HTML email. All services will charge you – well, some won’t but you’ll pay in psychotherapy bills because of the frustration at using them. The joy of both of these systems is that their pricing structures are easy to understand, and it is not a huge cost – you should expect to pay at most few cents for each email sent, which, in terms of marketing budget for direct mail, is pretty cost effective.
What to avoid
If you’re in South Africa, avoid GraphicMail and PMailer unless it is vital that you integrate an email and an SMS campaign. Though they do have some great features, they need work: both of these systems will drive you mad trying to figure out which button to press when.
Use a web-based system – don’t download a piece of software and add it to OutLook or use it from your desktop. The web-based systems are far more up-to-date, and it means you can manage your marketing campaigns from your laptop at the office, at home, or wherever you are.
