With the recent growth of email marketing, the number of tools and software used to help marketers have also grown exponentially. Choosing the right email marketing tools will optimize your workflow and increase your overall ROI. Here are 4 must-have marketing tools to step up your email marketing game.
4 Must-have email marketing tools
- Mailchimp
Without any doubt, Mailchimp is one of the most well-rounded email marketing tools that a marketer can have in their arsenal. Mailchimp offers a versatile template editor with an easy drag-and-drop feature. It also allows you to set up delivery times based on the user’s time zone using their geolocation feature. Automated email campaigns can be triggered based on the user’s web activity and sign-up dates. Mailchimp also has a content manager that stores all the images and files for easy access. If you are feeling uninspired to create unique email templates, you can browse their template library and use their free responsive email marketing templates.
Mailchimp also offers a couple of other tools like the Beaker and Tinyletter. The Beaker makes it easier for the developers to convert their HTML emails to plain text with a single click. And, the Tinyletter helps email marketers send updates and digest directly from their email client. The tool also provides a straightforward and clean writing experience to copywriters. But, the thing which makes Mailchimp so appealing to the users is that it’s free to use. It provides basic email marketing features like email scheduling and creation without any fee. As you start using the more advanced features, you will have to pay accordingly.
- Litmus
Litmus is a multi-purpose testing tool that solves various problems for marketers. For one, the email designers can view their templates in the browser and mobile display mode simultaneously while designing them. The developers also have the option to see real-time changes to their templates while entering new HTML lines. Therefore, they can optimize their workflows. The Litmus library offers free responsive email marketing templates to make the process even smoother. After the template development is complete, the marketers can send it for testing with a single click. This is where Litmus earns its reputation for being one of the best checkers.
Litmus runs comprehensive test checks for all the necessary email authentication protocols, IP addresses, and sender reputation. Then, it provides feedback and scores for all the corporate filters. After you launch the email campaign, Litmus offers a detailed engagement summary report. The report covers everything from open rates to conversion rates. You can also know which subscribers deleted your emails and which ones forwarded them. Geolocation tracking also shows where the user opened their emails. Moreover, Litmus can work alongside existing email tools and software like ActiveCampaign, Campaign Monitor, and Mailchimp. The basic plan costs around $99/month but covers all the important features for a single user. There are also other packages for different business sizes.
- Email on Acid
Email on Acid is a wonderful testing tool for email templates and landing pages. Email on Acid helps the marketers check the compatibility of their templates with the various email clients. In addition to that, the marketers can preview their emails before launching the campaign. Email on Acid accurately displays how your emails look in different browsers and email clients. If you are dissatisfied with the rendering, you can use their campaign precheck feature to locate and fix the HTML errors in your code. Even marketers without significant coding experience can fix these errors. Spam testing makes sure that your emails actually land in your subscriber’s inboxes and not in their spam folders.
While Email on Acid works best as a testing tool, its features are not restricted to that only. It also hosts different features like email campaign management, email template builders, email tracking, geolocation, image library, and much more. Email on Acid also provides comprehensive solutions for image blocking. Most marketers who have used this tool have said that it is super simple to use and makes them more confident to handle the campaigns. The basic features are available at $73/month. You also get a free trial period of 7 days to test all the features before committing to the subscription model.
- ActiveCampaign
When it comes to email automation, ActiveCampaign reigns on the top. ActiveCampaign’s intuitive setup guide and powerful functionality make it an attractive email marketing tool for marketers. It uses a segmentation algorithm to divide the customers into different segments based on their behavior and demographics. This allows the marketers to create complex email sequence automation to target the customer at every step of their purchasing journey. Like the other marketing tools on the list, ActiveCampaign also has features to A/B test its automation. The ability to create on-site messages for users redirected from the emails is another interesting feature of this email marketing tool.
ActiveCampaign offers one-on-one training to help novice email marketers get up to date with its new and advanced features. The easy migration of email lists from other email marketing software is an additional benefit for the brands looking to abandon their outdated tools. Priced at just $9/month, ActiveCampaign is cost-efficient while offering tons of features. It also offers CRM, deal flow, and sales automation. Small to mid-sized businesses can only use this single software to grow their business.
Conclusion
Only getting the best marketing tool will not help you scale your campaigns. You also need to learn how to use them effectively. You can also use any combination of the softwares mentioned above as most of them are compatible with each other.
Author: Kevin George is the head of marketing at Email Uplers, that specializes in crafting Professional Email Templates, PSD to Email conversion, and Mailchimp Templates. Kevin loves gadgets, bikes & jazz, and he breathes email marketing. He enjoys sharing his insights and thoughts on email marketing best practices on email marketing blog.
