The email marketing market has been a one (ok maybe two or three) horse race since the dawn of email marketing software. The top banana, MailChimp, has dominated this niche for many years and they’ve done a great job at that! Now there are pretenders to the throne, alternatives to MailChimp, how do they measure up?
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Marketing is an ever-changing medium, and to keep up with your competitors you need to be on top of your game. Use the technology you have available to you, to create and shout about your awesome products and services, to the world!
So what is email marketing software all about?
- Email marketing software allows you to create beautiful email newsletters with pre-designed or customizable email templates. The service you choose should partly depend on which of these you prefer. If you are design-minded and have the creativity to make your own templates from scratch you should choose a customizable service. For those us of with less of a flair for design, the pre-made templates are perfect.
- Most email marketing services provide a simple way to put an opt-in form on your website and blog. It’s as easy as designing your form and copying the code that is generated to add to your chosen site.
- Email marketing apps are the best (only?) ways to send emails to hundreds or thousands of customers, without being penalized for spamming. Of course it is always advisable to create an email list of willing victims rather than “cold emailing.”
- Email marketing software usually has amazing analytics, allowing you to measure your open rates, click-through rates (CTR), unsubscribe rate, etc to monitor how your campaigns are performing. It’s so important to understand what is working for you and what isn’t, don’t go round in circles making the same mistakes over and over.
- Pairing an email marketing tool with Google Analytics URL Builder is recommended so you know if banners, links, calls to action or whatever converts to clicks better. Then you can track it all within Google Analytics Campaign Tracking, following from clicks to ecommerce convergence rate IF that is important to your KPIs.
- It allows you to keep the continuity of your brand across all of your marketing outlets.
- Pricing varies but most email marketing software services have at least a free trial, if not a completely free option, which you can use for limited contacts. There are options for businesses/lists of all sizes.
What makes MailChimp stand out from the crowd?
MailChimp have been the email marketing market leaders for many years, but what has kept them there?
- MailChimp is the cheapest email marketing software on the market for it’s delivery rate and number of contacts
- Their free version allows you to send 1200 emails to up to 2000 contacts per month
- You can also upgrade for just $10 and send unlimited emails to up to 500 subscribers every month
- Going up in $5 increments you can send unlimited emails to increasing numbers of subscribers
- There is also a pay-as-you-go service to fit your needs.
- Mailchimp has fabulous deliverability, Google respects Mailchimp for their high delivery rates, how do the alternatives to MailChimp compare with this?
What are the alternatives to MailChimp? (And just who is that monkey?)
ActiveCampaign
Email Marketing + Marketing Automation + CRM/Sales Automation
ActiveCampaignActiveCampaign is all about email marketing and marketing automation. They are suitable for businesses of all sizes and support many languages ranging from English to Chinese to Spanish.
Key Features include:
- Email and marketing automation
- CRM and sales automation
- Free training
- Dynamic email content
Why is ActiveCampaign a good alternative to MailChimp?
- You can take advantage of their free plan for up to 2,500 contacts
- After that they offer a small business package for unlimited emails to up to 500 contacts for $9 per month
- Right up to 100,000 contacts for $2,075 per month.
- Maximum inbox delivery is their passion
- It is a full marketing and automation package.
Compare ActiveCampaign vs MailChimp
SendinBlue Email
Easy To Use Email Marketing Service
SendinBlue EmailSendinBlue is a pure email marketing software. The service works perfectly for business of all sizes and it supports English, French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.
Key Features include:
- Email creation tools
- Scheduling and auto-responders
- Real-time reports
- Google Analytics
Why is SendinBlue Email a good alternative to MailChimp?
- The free plan allows you to send up to 9,000 emails per month to unlimited contacts.
- After that you can send 40,000 emails to unlimited contacts for $7.37 per month,
- Right up to 15,000,000 (WOW) emails per month to unlimited contacts for $1,946 per month
- They also have a pay-as-you-go option.
- They promise deliverability and if you want more control you can use their dedicated IP’s
Compare SendinBlue Email vs MailChimp
Zoho Campaigns
Reach and Engage Your Customers
Zoho CampaignsZoho Campaigns is another email-only marketing software. Designed for small to mid-sized businesses, they support 14 languages including English, Chinese and the European languages.
Key Features include:
- Ready-made templates
- Customizable layouts
- Facebook landing pages
- Integration with Zoho CRM and Google Apps
Why is Zoho Campaigns a good alternative to MailChimp?
- The free plan allows you to send 12,000 emails to up to 2000 email subscribers every month
- The first paid option is unlimited emails to up to 500 subscribers for $5 per month
- Right up to unlimited emails to up to 100,000 subscribers for $350 per month
- They also have a pay-as-you-go option
Compare Zoho Campaigns with MailChimp
Pardot
Salesforce B2B marketing automation
PardotPardot is a full B2B marketing automation suite. Pardot is suitable for all sized businesses and has the functionality to work well for large enterprises. At the moment the only supported language is English.
Key Features include:
- 36 customizable templates
- Own branded templates
- Email authentication
- Automated CAN-SPAM to ensure delivery
Why is Pardot a good alternative to MailChimp?
- There is a free demo but no freemium option for this all-in-one marketing automation service
- After that you can send unlimited emails to 10,000 contacts for $1000 per month, this includes the full marketing automation service.
Pinpointe
Business Class Email Marketing Software
PinpointePinpointe is a cloud-based email marketing software system. Specifically for B2B marketing, it is suitable for businesses of all sizes but specifically small to mid-sized businesses and only has English as a supported language.
Key Features include:
- Flexible payment structure
- Free surveys
- Cloud-based infrastructure
- List segmentation
Why is Pinpointe a good alternative to MailChimp?
- The pricing offers a free option of up to six emails per contact, per month
- For 40,000 emails to up to 5000 contacts it is $49 per month
- Right up to 600,000 emails to 100,000 contacts for $480 per month (contact them for bigger packages)
- There is a pay-as-you-go option.
- They promise 96-99% inbox delivery rates
Compare Pinpointe with MailChimp
ExactTarget
Salesforce digital marketing app
ExactTargetExactTarget is a full marketing automation service with built-in email marketing software. Fully capable of supporting businesses of all sizes, it also supports 21 languages including European and Asian languages.
Key Features include:
- Advanced content management
- Salesforce integration
- Built by marketers for marketers
- Worldwide support
Why is ExactTarget a good alternative to MailChimp?
- Pricing is based on individual needs.
- Packages range from basic to performance and include the full marketing package
- It is a full marketing and automation package.
- Contact them for more details.
Compare ExactTarget vs MailChimp
Infusionsoft
SMB sales & marketing automation
InfusionsoftInfusionsoft is marketing automation software including eCommerce and email marketing. Intended for use by freelancers and small businesses it is supported in English only.
Key Features include:
- 99 percent deliverability
- Trackable results
- Professional looking emails
- Social sharing
Why is Infusionsoft a good alternative to MailChimp?
- There is no free option but there are various price subscriptions to suit all businesses
- Contact them for more information on pricing.
- They have a 99% deliverability rate.
- It is a full marketing and automation package.
Compare Infusionsoft vs MailChimp
There is something for everyone on this list, finding the one that works best for you is the challenge, are you up for it? If you are still not sure which one to choose, have a look at some email marketing software user reviews to see what other business people think of them.
What email marketing software do you use? Do you use a free or paid service? Comment below, telling us what you think of the above and what other services you would add to the list. There are lots more choices in our marketplace for email marketing software, check it out!