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Email marketing has become somewhat synonymous with Mailchimp, the top banana in the cloud-app space for emailing marketing. What makes it so good? To begin with, it’s got a really nice and easy-to-use interface, tons of mailing template options, and lots of configurability. On top of that, the free version is quite robust and lets you send up-to 1,200 emails to a maximum of 2,000 contacts per month. From there, $10 per month will give you unlimited emails to 500 contacts, while subsequent $5 incremental payments will give you access to more subscribers. Mailchimp’s flexible payment plans will give you access to send more emails to more subscribers with better personalization.
Mailchimp, however, is not the only option for email marketing. While it may be the veteran in the industry, plenty of other email marketing options have popped up in recent years that might be better for your business. Choosing the right solution means keeping a few things in mind:
- Depending on your needs, your technical skills, and your level of creativity, check to see if it offers both pre-designed and customizable templates.
- Look at the analytics it offers; knowing your open rates, click-through rates (CTRs), and unsubscribe rates can help you determine what works and what doesn’t.
- Check to see if you can pair your email marketing tool with a Google Analytics URL Builder to see if banners, links, or calls to action perform better. You can then track it with Google Analytics and check how it affects your KPIs.
- Consider the price and how many emails you’ll need to be sending out, to how many people, and how often.
With this in mind, take a look at how some of the leading email marketing competitors compare to see if there are better alternatives to Mailchimp for your business.
Mailigen
Mailigen is a fully integrated email marketing app that works for email, SMS, and social marketing. Its standout features include an open API that works with apps like Wordpress and Facebook, free email list management and a free autoresponder, mobile marketing options, and integration with more than 100 CRMs.
Pricing
After a free 30-day trial, pricing starts at just $10 per month for an unlimited number of emails to 500 subscribers, with the ability to handle over 100,000 subscribers a month with tailored pricing.
Compare Mailigen with MailChimp side by side
SendinBlue
SendinBlue is a strictly email marketing-only software. Aside from dynamic and responsive template tools, it also allows for scheduling and auto-responders, real-time reports, and integration with Google Analytics. It also offers IP reputation monitoring to make sure your messages aren’t flagged as spam, and a plug-in that works with Wordpress, PrestaShop, and Magento.
Pricing
The free plan allows you to send up to 9,000 emails per month to an unlimited number of contacts, although you can only send 300 emails per day. If you upgrade to the $5.49 monthly plan, you can send 40,000 emails to unlimited contacts for $7.37 per month, and at the highest end of the spectrum, you can send a whopping 15 million emails for $1,946 a month.
Compare SendinBlue and MailChimp side by side
Zoho Campaigns
Zoho Campaigns is another email-only marketing software. Designed for small to mid-sized businesses, it includes ready-made templates and customizable layouts, social media and Google App integration, analytics for CTR and open rate, and integration with Zoho CRM to help you qualify sales leads.
Pricing
The free plan lets you send 12,000 emails to up to 2000 subscribers every month. The minimum paid subscription lets you send an unlimited number of emails for up to 500 subscribers for $5/month, up to an unlimited number of emails to 100,000 subscribers for $350 per month.
Compare Zoho Campaigns and MailChimp side by side
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign serves the dual purpose of email marketing and marketing automation. It lets you send newsletters, manage contacts, and automate your marketing campaigns. Aside from multiple language support, you can create dynamic email content that’s visually stunning, track your subscribers’ demographics, and get live user support.
Pricing
Its free plan offers access to email up to 2,500 contacts, followed by a $9/month package for unlimited emails for up to 500 contacts, going all the way up to 100,000 contacts for $2,075 a month.
Compare ActiveCampaign and MailChimp side by side
Infusionsoft
If you’re looking for something more robust, try Infusionsoft. It’s a marketing automation software that includes eCommerce and email marketing, intended mostly for freelancers and small businesses. Some of its key features including a 99% deliverability rate, trackable results, automated campaigns, and social sharing.
Pricing
There’s no free option, but there are various price subscriptions depending on your business, starting at a hefty $199/month. It may not be the best solution if you’re only in the market for email marketing, but it could be a good option if you want an affordable full marketing and automation package.
Compare Infusionsoft and MailChimp side by side
Pinpointe
Pinpointe is a cloud-based email marketing software. Specifically for B2B marketing, Pinpointe’s biggest draw is its mobile-first approach. It has over 1000 pre-tested, mobile-friendly templates. On top of that, there is a specific list segmentation which tracks user behaviour and demographics.
Pricing
Starting with 5,000 contacts and 40,000 emails for $49 a month, you can go up to more than 600,000 emails and 200,000 contacts for agreed-upon pricing.
Compare Pinpointe and MailChimp side by side
Whether your focus is on mobile, analytics, creativity, or integration, the number of subscribers you have and the amount of money you’re willing to spend will play a big role in choosing the right email marketing software for your business. Remember: Mailchimp is not the only option when it comes to email marketing solutions, and if you’re looking for something more than just email, there are options like Pardot and Salesforce Marketing Cloud that, along with email marketing, offer more robust marketing tools.
Original article published on September 10, 2014.
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