10 Best Email Marketing Services for Small Business

Email marketing remains a crucial strategy for marketing and sales teams in various industries. An essential addition to a marketer’s toolkit is an email marketing platform.

The choice of the right emailing service significantly influences the success of your marketing campaign. These tools go beyond email support, often aiding in organizing and storing contact information in your CRM.

With a plethora of options available, this article reviews and compares the 10 best email marketing services for small businesses, offering a starting point for your selection process.

What is an Email Marketing Service?

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An Email Marketing Service is a specialized platform designed for businesses to streamline and optimize email campaigns. It goes beyond basic email functionality, offering tools for organization, targeting, and analysis. Email Marketing Service includes features like automation, subscription management, communication, notifications, and integration with other marketing tools—making it a vital resource for modern and competitive email marketing strategies.

Why should businesses prioritize an email marketing service?

The selection of an email marketing service provider is critical for businesses seeking to optimize their communication strategies. The right emailing service greatly affects the efficiency, reach, and overall success of your campaigns.

It plays a crucial role in fostering robust relationships with prospects and customers, guiding them through the buyer’s journey while maintaining consistent communication.

Criteria for Choosing a High-Quality Email Marketing Tool

To ensure you make an informed choice, consider the following key criteria when evaluating email marketing service for your business:

1. Deliverability Rates: Assess the service’s track record in delivering emails to inboxes rather than spam folders. Look for providers with robust authentication mechanisms to enhance deliverability rates.
2. Automation Capabilities: Evaluate the level of automation offered, including drip campaigns, auto-responders, and workflow automation. A high-quality email marketing service should streamline repetitive tasks and enhance campaign efficiency.
3. Targeting and Segmentation Tools: Examine the platform’s capabilities for precise audience targeting and segmentation. Effective targeting ensures that your messages resonate with specific demographics or behaviors.
4. Analytics and Reporting Features: Prioritize services that provide comprehensive analytics and real-time reporting. Access to meaningful data allows you to measure the success of your campaigns and refine strategies.
5. Integration with Third-Party Tools: Chances are, your marketing tasks aren’t managed manually. An excellent email marketing service provider should seamlessly integrate with various tools you use, particularly a CRM system.
6. Security Measures and Compliance: Verify the security features implemented to protect sensitive data. Ensure the service complies with email marketing regulations to maintain legal and ethical standards.
7. Scalability Options: Consider the scalability of the service to accommodate your business growth. A high-quality emailing service should seamlessly adapt to your evolving needs without compromising performance.
8. Customization and Branding Tools: Assess the level of customization available for email templates. Consistent branding reinforces your identity; therefore, choose a service that allows for personalized templates.
9. Customer Support Responsiveness: Evaluate the responsiveness and effectiveness of customer support. Prompt resolution of issues is crucial for maintaining uninterrupted communication with your audience.

With that in mind, let’s delve into an overview of some of the best email marketing services for small business. This exploration will help you make an informed decision when selecting the right service for your company.

Best Email Marketing Services for Small Business

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HubSpot Email Marketing Platform

HubSpot Email Marketing Service stands out as a prominent emailing service, leveraging the power of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) data. This platform offers a free version that combines security, user-friendliness, and an exceptional deliverability rate, equipped with a comprehensive suite of features.

When crafting emails, users have the flexibility to choose from a variety of drag-and-drop templates or create a personalized template aligning with their brand. The integration with HubSpot CRM allows for seamless customization and previewing of emails based on recipient attributes such as device type, location, or list inclusion.

HubSpot Email Marketing Service boasts enterprise-level capabilities, including send time optimization, high deliverability, A/B testing, detailed performance analytics, marketing automation, and drip campaigns. The platform maintains an impressive 99% deliverability rate across its network for all marketing email sends.

To enhance the email creation process, HubSpot provides resources like the Email Writer and Campaign Assistant, facilitating the development of effective email marketing campaigns. The user-friendly automation platform streamlines email marketing strategies, aiding in the conversion of leads into loyal customers.

The complimentary plan offered by HubSpot Email Marketing includes the CRM and access to various free tools for marketing, sales, service, and operations. With this free version, users can send up to 2,000 emails and manage an unlimited number of subscribers. The plan encompasses tools for designing custom signup forms, popup forms, constructing landing pages, and monitoring online ads—providing all essential elements to kickstart email marketing efforts.

For those seeking advanced features, exploring the upgraded Marketing Hub plans is a worthwhile consideration.

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Brevo (Formerly Known as Sendinblue)

Brevo, formerly known as Sendinblue, stands out as a comprehensive SMS and email marketing service for small businesses. The platform offers a user-friendly experience, blending both SMS and email marketing functionalities seamlessly.

Ideal for beginners, this email marketing platform features a simple drag-and-drop email editor, making it accessible for users with little to no experience in email marketing.

The marketing automation tools within Brevo empower users to dispatch transactional emails, establish automated follow-up email workflows, and segment users effectively. Moreover, the platform utilizes AI algorithms to determine the optimal time for sending bulk emails, thereby optimizing email deliverability.

Brevo’s free email marketing plan is noteworthy, offering unlimited contacts. While the free plan allows for sending up to 300 emails per day, it includes branding in all emails. For users seeking additional features and capabilities, paid plans start at $25 per month for Lite. Furthermore, users can customize their plans by adding features such as SMS, with pricing tailored to specific sending requirements.

Recent enhancements to Brevo’s premium plan have added advanced features, including a landing page builder, live chat, sales CRM, and Facebook ads integration.

In addition to its email marketing service, Brevo also offers a distinct SMTP bulk email marketing service. This feature allows users to power automated or transactional emails directly from their WordPress site, providing an additional layer of flexibility and convenience for users managing various aspects of their online presence.

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Sender Email Marketing Service Provider

Sender goes beyond the conventional scope of a standard email marketing service, evolving into a comprehensive marketing automation platform.

At the core of Sender’s capabilities is the automation builder module, equipped with robust conditional flows. This module allows users to construct a sequence of email and SMS steps triggered by easily defined conditions, such as cart abandonment, product purchases, link clicks, email opens, and more.

The Segmentation feature empowers users to categorize subscribers based on key criteria, including basic information, engagement levels, and custom fields.

In addition to its email services, the platform seamlessly integrates SMS capabilities. Users can synchronize emails and SMS messages for immediate one-off broadcasts or conveniently schedule them together for a later date and time with just a few clicks, providing a unified approach to multi-channel communication.

This email marketing service for small business offers a variety of robust and highly responsive popups or embeddable forms that users can easily customize with their brand and offerings. Deployment on landing pages and websites is swift and straightforward, enhancing user engagement.

Notably, Sender’s Free Forever plan includes all premium features, such as automation and segmentation. This plan allows users to manage up to 2,500 contacts and send a maximum of 15,000 emails each month. For those opting for paid plans, the starting price is just $12.50 per month, offering the capacity to send up to 60,000 emails to a maximum of 5,000 contacts. Additionally, SMS credits begin at a low rate of $0.015 per unit, making it a cost-effective solution for businesses of varying sizes.

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Convertkit Email Marketing Service

ConvertKit stands out as a robust and user-friendly email marketing platform, offering a powerful suite of features that cater to both beginners and seasoned professionals.

The platform’s strength lies in its seamless ability to deliver content upgrades and incentives through email signup forms. It boasts an intuitive auto-responder management system, facilitating the creation and scheduling of drip emails using their reliable email service.

ConvertKit excels in helping users categorize subscribers based on interests and purchase history, enabling the implementation of targeted email marketing strategies. This personalized touch enhances conversions through automated emails, contributing to a more tailored and effective communication approach.

Noteworthy features of ConvertKit include A/B testing, visually appealing email templates, a versatile landing page builder, intelligent workflows, and additional capabilities that contribute to a comprehensive email marketing experience.

Tailored to creators and professional bloggers, the platform goes beyond traditional email marketing. It introduces features like paid newsletters, reflecting its commitment to meeting the specific needs of content creators. Moreover, the platform allows users to sell digital products and subscriptions directly from the same interface.

For those considering ConvertKit, a 14-day free trial is available, providing ample time to explore the platform’s functionalities. Pricing starts at $29 per month, and it sweetens the deal with a 30-day refund policy for added peace of mind.

The Creator Pro plan, at a higher tier, offers advanced features like a newsletter referral system, subscriber scoring, advanced reporting, and integration with Facebook custom audiences, catering to users with more sophisticated requirements.

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Aweber Email Marketing Platform

AWeber, with a long-standing reputation, stands out as one of the best email marketing services tailored for small businesses. Its versatility is evident through seamless integration with various platforms, notably including WordPress.

The platform offers a comprehensive set of tools, providing users with ready-to-use HTML email templates, autoresponders, efficient list management, A/B testing capabilities, and detailed email tracking with in-depth insights.

AWeber further distinguishes itself with additional robust email marketing features, such as AMP emails for enhanced interactivity, automatic RSS-to-email functionality catering to bloggers, and subscriber segmentation based on tags.

In terms of support, this emailing service offers a range of options, including live chat, phone support, email support, live webinars, and an extensive library of how-tos and tutorials. This comprehensive support system ensures that users have access to assistance whenever needed, contributing to a positive user experience.

For those exploring AWeber, there is a limited free plan available, accommodating up to 500 subscribers. Beyond this, the pricing starts at $19 per month, and users can opt for quarterly or annual plans, providing additional cost savings.

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Engagebay Email Marketing Platform

EngageBay emerges as an excellent choice for account-based email marketing and social media marketing, offering a comprehensive, all-in-one software solution tailored specifically for small businesses.

This integrated platform seamlessly combines marketing, sales, and customer support functionalities to streamline various aspects of business operations.

One of EngageBay’s standout features is its ability to initiate personalized email campaigns, create visually appealing landing pages, capture leads through customizable forms, and efficiently close deals.

The visual multistep automation builder sets this platform apart, allowing users to automate intricate tasks effortlessly without the need for coding. The platform offers a diverse range of triggers to initiate workflows, empowering users to create custom workflows for scenarios like welcome emails, drip campaigns, birthday wishes, and cart abandonment alerts.

EngageBay extends its capabilities to social media management, enabling users to interact with their social audience seamlessly within a single tool. The platform supports Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts, providing streams to monitor retweets, mentions, posts, and events. Social listening features keep users informed about trending topics and audience discussions, while intelligent post scheduling optimizes engagement for the best conversion rates.

To cater to varying business needs, this email marketing service provider offers four plans. The Free plan provides essential features to help businesses get started. The Pro plan, starting at $99 for unlimited contacts, includes advanced tools such as account-based marketing, advanced automation, and traffic analytics, facilitating effective business scaling.

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Getresponse Email Marketing Platform

GetResponse stands out as a versatile marketing automation service accessible in over 20 languages, offering a comprehensive suite of tools beyond email marketing and automation. The platform includes a CRM, landing pages, and an extensive webinar solution, making it a one-stop-shop for various marketing needs.

One of GetResponse’s notable features is its library of over 500 templates, enabling users to quickly kickstart their email marketing campaigns. The integration with Shutterstock further enhances creative possibilities by providing access to a diverse range of visuals.

This email marketing service provider caters to businesses of varying sizes with four plans, priced from $15 to $99 per month. Additionally, there’s a customizable enterprise-level option for which users can request a quote, ensuring flexibility to meet specific requirements.

The pricing is dependent on the size of your contact list, and you have the option to pay on a monthly or annual basis. All plans come with a free trial, allowing users to test the service before committing to any investment.

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Moosend Email Marketing Platform

Moosend’s email marketing service stands out with its comprehensive suite of robust marketing automation features and tools, making it a versatile solution for businesses looking to enhance their marketing efforts.

A distinctive feature of Moosend is its inclusion of marketing automation features across all plans. The platform’s automation workflow designer empowers users to create personalized subscriber journeys, ensuring tailored and engaging experiences for newsletter subscribers.

Moosend places a strong emphasis on analytics, providing users with comprehensive email metrics, including opens, clicks, bounces, product views, purchases, custom event tracking, and even predicted demographics data.

All plans offered by Moosend incorporate robust conversion optimization features. These include A/B testing, email heatmap analytics, countdown timers, conditional content, an AI engine for product recommendations, popup forms, floating bars, newsletter signup subscription forms, and more.

For those considering Moosend, a 30-day free trial is available, allowing users to explore the platform with an unlimited number of emails without the need for a credit card. After the trial period, pricing starts at $9 per month for the Pro plan, which includes a landing page builder, transactional emails for eCommerce websites, team management, and additional features.

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Omnisend Email Marketing Platform

Omnisend emerges as a robust SMS and email marketing service with a specific focus on serving eCommerce businesses. Notably, it offers one of the most generous free email marketing plans, packed with powerful features tailored to optimize marketing efforts.

The platform’s free plan includes pre-built automation workflows, subscriber segmentation, performance reports, A/B testing, and even SMS and web push notifications. Omnisend’s seamless integration with popular website builders and eCommerce platforms, such as Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce, ensures a smooth and efficient workflow for businesses.

Omnisend’s strength lies in its pre-built eCommerce marketing automation workflows designed to enhance revenue by optimizing the customer journey. These workflows encompass various email series, including welcome emails, cart abandonment reminders, cross-sell emails, and more, providing a comprehensive solution for eCommerce marketing needs.

The user-friendly email builder offered by this email marketing platform stands out for its versatility, providing a wide array of customizable templates. This feature allows users to effortlessly create visually appealing, on-brand campaigns that resonate with their audience.

A standout feature appreciated by many users is Omnisend’s integrated SMS functionality, eliminating the need for a separate software. This integrated SMS feature not only simplifies the marketing process but also enables message delivery in 209 regions worldwide, enhancing global reach.

Omnisend’s free email marketing plan allows engagement with up to 250 subscribers, providing businesses with a valuable entry point. For those seeking expanded features, paid plans start at $16 per month, ensuring scalability to meet growing business needs.

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Mailmodo Email Marketing Platform

Mailmodo’s email marketing platform is designed to empower marketers and businesses by providing tools to construct and expand their email automation engine. The platform stands out with its user-friendly features and innovative functionalities.

One of Mailmodo’s key features is its intuitive visual builder, equipped with drag-and-drop workflows. This facilitates the creation of time-based drip series, allowing marketers to design and implement automated campaigns seamlessly.

To ensure optimal responsiveness across various devices, this emailing service incorporates an in-built open rate suggestions feature. This feature aids in identifying and rectifying errors in emails before they are sent, enhancing the overall quality of email campaigns.

Mailmodo’s AMP technology is a standout feature that enables the incorporation of calendars, forms, surveys, live ratings, reviews, polls, and widgets directly into emails. This feature allows for the inclusion of gamification elements like spin the wheel and quizzes within the email itself, minimizing redirections and boosting overall engagement.

In terms of pricing, Mailmodo offers three plans to cater to different needs. The Lite plan, starting at $39, permits sending emails to 5,000 contacts with a monthly limit of 40,000 sends. The Pro plan, priced at $99, allows sending emails to 5,000 contacts with a monthly limit of 50,000 sends. The Max plan, priced at $249, enables sending emails to 5,000 contacts with a monthly limit of 75,000 sends.

Additionally, for those who prefer to explore this email marketing service provider before committing, the platform offers a free 21-day trial period within their pricing plans.

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Tips for Improving Your Email Deliverability

Achieving high email deliverability is paramount for the success of your email marketing campaigns. Here are essential tips to enhance your email deliverability:

• Build a Quality Email List: Focus on obtaining explicit consent from recipients before adding them to your email list. Regularly clean your list by removing inactive or bounced email addresses to maintain list quality.
• Use Double Opt-In Confirmation: Implementing a double opt-in process is a strategic move to confirm subscribers’ intent to receive your emails. This not only ensures a more engaged audience but also significantly helps in reducing the chances of spam complaints.
• Craft Compelling and Relevant Content: Creating engaging and relevant content is pivotal for successful email campaigns. Ensure your content resonates with your audience, avoiding the use of spam-trigger words and phrases. Personalize your messages for a more tailored and impactful approach.
• Opt for a Business Email Address: Optimal email deliverability for businesses involves using a professional email address, such as yourname@yourcompany.com. Avoid generic addresses like Gmail or Hotmail, as this practice enhances the likelihood of surpassing the industry-average deliverability rate.
• Optimize Email Sending Schedule: Strategic timing is key to effective email campaigns. Consider the time zones of your audience when scheduling your email campaigns. Test different send times to determine when your audience is most responsive for improved engagement.
• Authenticate Your Emails: Implementing email authentication protocols, such as Sender Policy Framework (SPF), DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), and Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC), is crucial to verifying the legitimacy of your emails. Authentication not only enhances security but also builds trust with Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
• Monitor and Manage Engagement Metrics: Regularly monitoring key metrics, including open rates, click-through rates, and bounce rates, is essential. Segment your audience based on engagement levels, allowing you to tailor your email strategies accordingly for more personalized interactions.
• Provide Clear Unsubscribe Options: Offering clear and accessible unsubscribe options is fundamental. Make it easy for subscribers to opt-out if they choose to do so. A transparent unsubscribe option not only respects user preferences but also reduces the likelihood of recipients marking your emails as spam.
• Maintain a Consistent Sending Frequency: Establishing a consistent sending frequency sets expectations with your audience. Sudden spikes in email volume may trigger spam filters, negatively affecting deliverability. Maintain a steady and predictable sending frequency for optimal results.
• Stay Informed About Industry Regulations: Staying abreast of email marketing regulations and industry best practices is crucial. Compliance with regulations not only ensures legal and ethical standards but also helps maintain a positive sender reputation, ultimately enhancing deliverability.

Incorporating these strategies into your email marketing approach can significantly improve your email deliverability, ensuring that your messages successfully reach your intended audience’s inboxes.

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Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Email Marketing Services

What’s the best free email marketing service?

When it comes to selecting the best free email marketing service, several platforms offer free plans tailored to the needs of small businesses, startups, and individuals.

The best free email marketing service is Brevo, formerly known as Sendinblue, it stands out for not imposing restrictions on the number of subscribers. This is particularly advantageous for businesses looking to grow their email list without worrying about exceeding subscriber limits.

HubSpot and Omnisend, also offer free email marketing service plans. It’s essential to review the specific limitations and features associated with each to determine which aligns best with your business requirements.

Is it possible for email marketing to contribute to SEO efforts?

Email marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) are often viewed as distinct marketing strategies, each with its set of goals and tactics. However, when executed strategically, email marketing can indeed contribute positively to SEO efforts.

Effective email marketing campaigns can drive significant traffic to your website. The increased traffic, if sustained, can positively impact your website’s authority and relevance in the eyes of search engines.

What’s the best email marketing app for Shopify?

Several of the previously mentioned email marketing services provide a user-friendly Shopify app that boasts intuitive functionality.

For an optimal choice, we suggest considering Omnisend due to its exceptional eCommerce marketing automation capabilities. This email marketing service provider seamlessly integrates with both Shopify and WooCommerce, offering a comprehensive solution for businesses looking to enhance their online retail strategies.

What’s the best email marketing platform for WordPress?

Given that WordPress is the dominant website builder, utilized by over 43% of all websites globally, most email marketing platforms offer robust integrations with this platform. Notably, two top choices for the best email marketing platforms for WordPress are HubSpot and Brevo.

Are there additional email marketing platforms that haven’t been included in this list?

Indeed, the realm of email marketing is vast, with a myriad of services available. While we haven’t exhaustively listed every option, our intention is to offer a curated selection rather than overwhelm non-techy readers with an extensive list that may lead to decision paralysis.

There are numerous prominent email marketing services such as: Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, Mailjet, Benchmark, Campaign Monitor, Klaviyo, Marketo, Pardot by Salesforce, Sendloop, iContact, Emma, TotalSend, Eloqua, SharpSpring, MailPoet, Email Octopus, Sendy, Ontraport, and more.

The email marketing services featured in our list have been carefully chosen for their ability to provide top-tier features at the most competitive prices. We believe in simplifying the decision-making process for our readers by highlighting services that stand out in terms of functionality, affordability, and overall value.

What are the best email marketing services in your opinion?

In our assessment, we’ve identified top-performing email marketing services tailored to diverse business needs:

• Sender: Recognized as the best email marketing service for small businesses, Sender stands out for its user-friendly interface and essential features catering to the unique requirements of smaller enterprises.
• Brevo (formerly Sendinblue): Our choice for the best email and SMS marketing platform, Brevo, formerly known as Sendinblue, offers a comprehensive solution that seamlessly integrates email and SMS marketing, providing a versatile tool for businesses looking to diversify their communication channels.
• HubSpot: Positioned as an all-in-one email marketing and CRM solution for growing businesses, HubSpot’s platform combines email marketing tools with customer relationship management functionalities, streamlining marketing and sales processes for scalable growth.
• Omnisend: Recognized as the best email marketing platform for eCommerce, Omnisend specializes in providing eCommerce businesses with robust marketing automation tools. Its features are designed to enhance online retail strategies, making it a top choice for businesses in the eCommerce space.

These recommendations are based on the specific strengths and features each platform brings to the table, ensuring that businesses can find the right fit based on their unique requirements and goals.

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Conclusion

While many tools provide the fundamental features necessary for crafting basic newsletters, the options become more limited when seeking a comprehensive suite of advanced functionalities.

Complete customization, readily available support, and robust data analysis are integral components for businesses aiming to elevate their email marketing strategies.

For those in pursuit of an all-encompassing email marketing solution, our recommendation is HubSpot. Renowned for offering a powerful suite of marketing tools, HubSpot goes beyond email marketing, encompassing CRM, sales tools, live chat, website building capabilities, and more.

We trust that this article has provided you with a comprehensive overview of the top-tier email marketing services, assisting you in making an informed decision tailored to the unique needs of your business.