Your newsletters don’t have to be a chore. Writing about what you do should be an enjoyable experience, and when it is, it will reflect in the content, which then leads to better reading for your users!
One thing that can be frustrating is posting that content.
For some businesses, newsletters are all they do, and these types of businesses have become staples in almost every online marketing strategy.
Many email services like Gmail even have separate tabs now dedicated to promotional emails so users can keep them all organized in one place.
In the past, some companies have tried to send their newsletters from their own email. With the advent of spam, new rules were introduced that make taking that approach dangerous for your business.
If your email is seen sending out massive waves of emails, you run the risk of all emails from your domain being marked as spam and never seen by your followers or customers.
Today we are going to look at which companies you can use to create engaging email newsletters and then easily send them to a fan base. These companies won’t label your email as spam and their tools make creating your newsletter so much more fun.
1. MailChimp
MailChimp is a huge favorite for many businesses and agencies. It has an evolving interface that has been updated over the years based on user feedback. You can upload your email lists as a CSV/Excel file and the system will automatically check which columns are username, email, etc. (This feature is also available on most newsletter platforms.)
They have a huge selection of templates to choose from that can then be modified to fit your brand. Keep in mind that a professional marketing agency can help you create a custom look that matches your brand, rather than choosing a template that many other businesses will use.
You can review the open rate, users can easily unsubscribe, and then you can review your next newsletter based on the metrics visible in your MailChimp account.
It also offers split testing so you can test different versions of your same newsletter to see which one resonates best with your users.
The price varies depending on how many users you can send. Their forever free plan may work for some businesses with fewer than 2,000 subscribers. If you have more than 2,000, you have options to pay as you go or sign up for a monthly plan.
2. Get response
The big difference with GetResponse is that it is suitable for users who want to complete their newsletter with a landing page or who offer webinars. If your reason for sending newsletters is that your company hosts webinars and is engaging your users every month, then this company is ideal.
Within the interface that manages your newsletters with this service, you also have a bunch of extras specifically for webinars. They have really targeted that market and have features like autoresponders, email reminders, and one-click logins that make the experience easier for you and your users.
Your landing page templates can also appeal to businesses that do monthly sales/offers and need a unique content page to send to the user.
MailChimp is a great service, but if you’re looking for something that offers more services geared toward webinars and allows you to create a custom landing page and then send users from your newsletter, then this is a better option.
3. Constant contact
Constant Contact has always been a great rival to MailChimp for being the brand name in email marketing. It’s a great company and is a great option if Facebook is an important part of your online marketing strategy.
Constant Contact has an email option designed to make it easy for users to share your newsletter on Facebook. Other providers have features similar to this, but aren’t as focused on that feature as Constant Contact.
The great advantage of this company is the support. If you’re having trouble, you can easily get help, and if you’re having trouble learning the interface, there are plenty of resources available to help you find the answers you need.
This option can be considered the most friendly with social networks and has all the main features of the others mentioned. If your online marketing involves Hootsuite (you can integrate it into Hootsuite) and you focus your efforts on gaining social media traction, then this is a great newsletter tool for you.
4.Webber
AWeber is an extremely popular option and recommended by many professional marketing companies. It gives you five plans to choose from and a long list of features like unlimited email marketing campaigns, follow-ups, lists, and autoresponders.
Many people believe that their autoresponder platform is superior to other companies, allowing businesses to automate the process of delivering personalized emails to customers on a schedule.
GetResponse and AWeber offer similar basic features. With AWeber, you pay a monthly fee starting at $19 USD based on the size of your list, allowing you to send as many campaigns as you like.
There are also many more options to choose from. Email newsletters are a massive business tool and a huge part of the online marketing industry. It’s hard to say which one is better as most offer the same list of core features and then differentiate themselves into more niche market opportunities.