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In order to build a successful blogging business, you need more than outstanding content. In order to convert readers into subscribers and subscribers into customers, you must use email marketing. Email marketing is one of the best methods to capture leads and grow your audience.
- What is email marketing?
- What to consider when choosing an email marketing service
- 5 best email marketing services for bloggers
What is email marketing?
You can use email marketing to communicate with your readers, provide value, and promote your products or services. By sending emails to your readers, you can build a relationship with them, share new blog posts, and promote your blog.
A pop-up form, slide-in form, landing page, or other method of collecting emails is usually necessary to get started. You can do this by offering something of value to your readers in exchange for their email, such as a checklist, cheatsheet, training, or other free resource.
A list of subscribers can let you communicate in several ways. One way is to send one-off email communications, called broadcasts. This could be announcing a new blog post or sharing an announcement.
If you set up automated sequences, you can send out a series of pre-written emails over several days when a new subscriber signs up. This approach will allow you to "set it and forget," making sales or earning affiliate commissions.
Communication with your list regularly will help your readers develop a closer relationship with you.
What to consider when choosing an email marketing service
The following factors will help you pick the best email marketing service for your blog after knowing what email marketing is and how it can benefit your career as a blogger.
Price
For beginners, it's important to choose the most affordable email marketing tool out there, rather than compromising quality. Fear not, there are also free email marketing services, but they usually come with some limitations.
Ease of use
Digital marketing services should be easy to use, so that you don't have to spend hours learning how to use them.
Features
You should consider features such as templates for forms and landing pages, broadcasts, email sequences, and automation when choosing an email marketing platform.
Deliverability
Deliverability is crucial when choosing an email marketing software.
When readers share their email address to download a freebie from your website, you don't want them to wait hours for it to arrive. You also don't want your emails to go to spam.
Make sure your email marketing software delivers your messages to your intended recipients quickly!
5 best email marketing services for your blog
Check out the pros and cons, pricing, and key features of the best email marketing tools available today.
- ConvertKit
- MailerLite
- Moosend
- EmailOctopus
- Omnisend
1. ConvertKit
The best email marketing service for bloggers is ConvertKit. It was built by bloggers for bloggers, and it is 100% dedicated to helping bloggers succeed.
The company not only provides live trainings each week to help you grow your business, but it is incredibly easy to use.
Additionally, ConvertKit provides you with a supportive community of like-minded creators to help you along the way. (You'll even get a free T-shirt after you register.)
Your readers will be able to subscribe with eye-catching pop-ups, slide-in forms, and landing pages created with ConvertKit.
The free ConvertKit plugin for WordPress allows you to add these forms to your blog. It allows you to collect up to 1,000 emails and send broadcast emails for free.
When you upgrade to a paid plan, you can also create sequences of emails that are automated. For example, you can automatically send a series of emails after someone subscribes.
These automations can help you make sales without doing any extra work on your end aside from setting up the initial setup if you're marketing an affiliate product or selling one of your own.
Check out my full ConvertKit review for a deeper dive.
Pros of ConvertKit
- Creating email sequences and automations is possible
- E-mail creation tools that are powerful
- WordPress is easy to integrate with
- Provide your readers with free automatic downloads in exchange for their emails (for example, checklists, cheatsheets, workbooks, roadmaps, etc.)
- Up to 1,000 subscribers can take advantage of the generous free plan
- It is possible to "tag" subscribers into different categories so you can organize them into different lists. For example, you can create a list of potential customers and a list of customers who have already purchased.
- The interface is intuitive, even for those who have never used email marketing before
- Boost conversions of readers into subscribers with attractive forms (pop-ups, slide-ins, in-lines, etc.) and landing pages
Cons of ConvertKit
- If you have over 1,000 subscribers already, you will have to pay $29 per month (or more on the pro plan), which is higher than you’ll find on some other plans
ConvertKit pricing
Here's how much ConvertKit will cost you per month.
As a blogger, ConvertKit is my #1 recommendation for the best email marketing service because it's easy to use and has a lot of useful features.
2. MailerLite
Bloggers and business owners will enjoy MailerLite's user-friendly email marketing service, which is a little more affordable than ConvertKit and offers more templates for designing emails.
Although it lacks a number of advanced automation tools, it does offer a number of options for categorizing your subscribers.
I reviewed MailerLite in-depth in order to provide you with more information.
Pros of MailerLite
- Provides an affordable pricing plan that allows up to 1,000 subscribers for free
- You can snazzy up your emails with well-designed templates
- You can place forms anywhere on your site, as well as choose from a variety of form templates.
- Automates email messages
Cons of MailerLite
- Chat support isn't available on the free plan
- Provides fewer features for subscriber tagging or email automation than some other services
- This site requires approval before sending more than 500 emails, which is longer than some other sites
In spite of MailerLite's lack of powerful features, it is more affordable than ConvertKit, which means it is a good option for bloggers who are just starting out.
3. Moosend
In addition to email marketing, landing pages, automation, and plenty of integrations, Moosend is an all-in-one marketing platform.
With its easy-to-use drag-and-drop design tools and affordable pricing structure, Moosend makes an excellent choice for bloggers and small businesses.
In addition to creating custom newsletters, building your email list, and automating emails, you can also create your own email automation, or use one of Moosend's prebuilt automation templates.
When someone subscribes to a form, or abandons a cart, you can send "abandoned cart" messages to remind them to complete their purchase. You decide the trigger, the steps, and the actions.
For a more in-depth look at Moosend, read my review here, or keep reading for a closer look at its advantages and disadvantages.
Pros of Moosend
- The intuitive drag-and-drop builder makes it easy to create beautiful newsletters, forms, and landing pages
- Create custom landing pages to increase sign-ups and conversions with landing page builders
- Templates and automation tools let you send prewritten emails to subscribers after they take certain actions
- Forms for increasing signups and growing your email list that you can customize
- Choose segmentation options based on certain characteristics (e.g., subscribers who subscribed, abandoned carts, etc.) to tag and categorize your subscribers.
- Analytics tools for your email marketing program that give you a complete picture of what's working and what's not
- A large knowledge base, live chat, email, webinars, and phone support are all included with each paid plan. Custom enterprise plans have an account manager assigned to them as well.
- There is also a free plan for up to 1,000 subscribers, which beats many of its competitors
- Numerous integrations with other apps and platforms
Cons of Moosend
- On the free plan, there is no phone support
- The free plan does not include landing pages
- There have been some complaints from Moosend reviewers that the dashboard can load slowly
Moosend pricing
One of the most affordable email marketing platforms is Moosend. Although the free plan is only available for lists of fewer than 1,000 subscribers, paid plans start at just $8/month.
In addition to the standard plan, you can request a custom enterprise plan with a dedicated account manager for your business for $44 per month for up to 10,000 subscribers or $100 per month for 10,000 to 25,000 subscribers.
4. EmailOctopus
If you're thinking about value vs. cost, EmailOctopus is one of the best email marketing platforms. Its free starter plan lets you have up to 2,500 subscribers per month. For up to 5,000 subscribers, its paid plans start at just $20 per month. Additionally, EmailOctopus offers charities and nonprofits a 20% discount.
Besides being easy on the wallet, EmailOctopus also provides an excellent user experience. With EmailOctopus, you can easily design beautiful forms and landing pages, grow your list, send out customized newsletters, and craft high-converting landing pages.
Additionally, you can create simple sign-up forms and connect them to your WordPress website. You can choose from over 30 email templates, or import your own HTML designs.
To make your marketing campaigns successful, you can also set up automations that send pre-written sequences of emails.
Additionally, EmailOctopus offers a secondary service called EmailOctopus Connect in addition to its main email marketing platform. The service is intended for advanced users who are familiar with Amazon SES and want to integrate their email marketing with Amazon Web Services.
Read my detailed EmailOctopus review for more information.
Pros of EmailOctopus
- This is one of the most affordable email marketing platforms available (plus it's free).
- Features easy-to-design email newsletters, sign-up forms, and landing pages for a great price
- Create drip campaigns for your target subscribers with automated drip campaigns
- Compatible with a variety of other apps and platforms
- With detailed analytics and reports, you can analyze your campaigns
- Donations to charities and nonprofits are discounted by 20%
- It offers live chat and email support, as well as an extensive knowledge base and video tutorials.
- Provides an even more affordable secondary service for users familiar with Amazon SES
Cons of EmailOctopus
In its marketing materials, EmailOctopus promotes itself as "easy, powerful tools to grow your business. Easy to use, quick to master, and all at an affordable price."
The tool is great for those seeking a simple, straightforward solution, but it is lacking some of the features you'd find with a more advanced email platform, such as A/B testing or customer relationship management.
Using EmailOctopus, you can create forms and landing pages, send out newsletters, and automate email sequences to grow your list. Nevertheless, if you're an advanced email marketer who needs more advanced solutions, you might want to consider another service.
EmailOctopus pricing
For up to 2,500 subscribers (and to remove EmailOctopus branding from your emails), EmailOctopus offers a free plan. For 5,000 subscribers (and to remove EmailOctopus branding), you can upgrade to a paid plan for $20 per month. In most email marketing platforms, the cost increases as your list grows.
5. Omnisend
With its social media integrations and email funnel tools, Omnisend helps businesses convert subscribers into customers. With advanced automation and SMS features, Omnisend is a leading email marketing software. Its abandoned cart reminders and transactional emails make it especially useful for e-commerce businesses.
Here is a complete Omnisend review that you can read.
Pros of Omnisend
- Automation features of the highest quality
- Track multiple marketing channels with a centralized dashboard
- Integrations across multiple platforms
- Your emails will automatically be populated with product details when you use the product picker
- Workflows and email templates pre-built
- Messages sent via SMS
- Messages sent to abandoned carts and transactional emails
- Free plan with affordable pricing
Cons of Omnisend
- Compared to some competitors, there are fewer email templates available
- You might not want to choose this option if you're not an ecommerce company
Omnisend pricing
Depending on how many contacts and emails you want to send per month, Omnisend's free plan lets you reach up to 250 people. If you want to reach more people and send more emails, you can upgrade to a premium plan.
Among its premium plans are the Standard plan, which starts at $16/month, and the Pro plan, which starts at $59/month.
Find the best email marketing service to build a relationship with your readers
The majority of blog readers (75%) won't return, but if you use email marketing, you can keep them engaged.
Providing valuable freebies (like checklists, e-courses, trainings, or other resources) will earn your readers' email addresses. Then, you can send them useful emails and other resources in the future.
The reader will gain a deeper understanding of you and your blog as you build this relationship, increasing the likelihood that they will buy a product you recommend.
A sales funnel is simply this process of nurturing leads. That's why email marketing is so popular among bloggers.
From Day 1, I recommend collecting subscribers even if you're a new blogger.
Let's build your list of raving fans and future customers by using the best email marketing service for you and your blog!
Check out my guide to making money blogging for more insight into how to monetize your blog.
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