Top 10 Email Marketing Platforms

Email marketing continues to be one of the most effective tactics in digital marketing. There are a number of platforms to select from (and new ones popping up every day), making it difficult to figure out which platform is best for you.  While all platforms have pre-made templates so you won’t need to hire a developer to create a custom HTML template, but beyond that, their features can widely differ. Some of these options include free accounts, drip campaigns, integration with CRMs, drag and drop, etc. We’ve curated the top ten email marketing platforms for you to help you find the best fit for your needs and strategy.

1. http://mailchimp.com. For years, MailChimp has been my favorite due to ease of use and number of features. It’s free to use if your subscriber list is less than 2000. Features include: subscriber profiles, built-in segmentation, in-depth reporting, advanced analytics, send time optimization, mobile optimized, integrates with hundreds of apps and services, RSS-to-Email, A/B testing, geolocation.
2. https://madmimi.com/. Mad Mimi is a serious contender for the top of my list. They are working hard to become the best platform and have made great progress. Features include: good list management tools, attractive reporting & tracking tools, webforms including newsletter signup form for your Facebook page, drip campaigns, social links, RSS-to-Email, Google analytics, free under 2500 subscribers.
3. http://myemma.com.  As a company, they have several community and social initiatives which makes them super cool in my book. Features include: mobile optimized, subject line split testing, analytics, segmentation, easy interface, social media integration.
4. http://www.getresponse.com. Features include: landing page capabilities, A/B testing, list segments.
5. http://www.verticalresponse.com. Features include: social media integration, mobile optimized, free under 1000 subscribers.
6. http://www.aweber.com. Features include: scheduled drip campaigns, helpful 3000+ image library, tracking.
7. http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp. Definitely the biggest name out there but not the easiest to use. They’ll also charge you for image storage if you have more than 5 images uploaded. Tons of features but nothing that other platforms don’t offer for less cost and friendlier interface.
8. http://www.icontact.com/. Features include: Basic tracking, sign-up forms (including Facebook), autoresponders, split testing.
9. http://content.zoho.com Free if your mail list is under 2000 subscribers. ZOHO email marketing can be used as part of the ZOHO product line which has business, CRM, and productivity apps. If you’re looking for a more comprehensive toolset, ZOHO seems to cover the spectrum of small business needs or you can choose to only use their email marketing tool.
10. http://www.exacttarget.com/ (now called Salesforce Marketing Cloud). Salesforce is one of the big boys when it comes to CRM and business platforms. If you’re already using Salesforce, it makes sense to use their email marketing. It may not be the most user-friendly, but the ability to fine tune your target and analyze the results is pretty cool.