Email marketing is one of the most effective and affordable ways to reach your customers, prospects, and subscribers. It can help you build relationships, boost brand awareness, promote your content, generate leads, market your products, nurture leads, and more.
But email marketing is not a one-size-fits-all solution. You need to have the right resources to plan, execute, and optimize your email campaigns. That’s why we’ve compiled this list of the best email marketing resources for 2023. Whether you’re looking for the best email marketing software, guides, tips, tools, or courses, we’ve got you covered.
Email Marketing Software
Email marketing software is a platform that allows you to create, send, manage, and analyze your email campaigns. It can help you automate your email workflows, personalize your messages, segment your audience, track your performance, and more.
There are many email marketing software options available in the market, but not all of them are suitable for your needs and budget. Here are some of the best email marketing software that we recommend for 2023:
Mailchimp: Best for all-in-one marketing
Mailchimp is one of the most popular and widely used email marketing software in the world. It offers a range of features and integrations that can help you with not only email marketing, but also landing pages, social media, web design, CRM, analytics, and more.
Mailchimp has a free plan that lets you send up to 10,000 emails per month to up to 2,000 contacts. The paid plans start from $9.99 per month and offer more advanced features such as A/B testing, automation, segmentation, retargeting ads, and more.
Learn more about Mailchimp here.
Zoho Campaigns: Best for fully integrated business suite
Zoho Campaigns is part of the Zoho suite of products that includes CRM, accounting, project management, collaboration, and more. If you’re already using Zoho for your business operations, Zoho Campaigns can be a great choice for your email marketing needs.
Zoho Campaigns lets you create responsive emails with drag-and-drop templates or HTML editor, segment your audience based on various criteria, automate your email workflows with triggers and actions, track your campaign performance with reports and analytics, and more.
Zoho Campaigns has a free plan that lets you send up to 12,000 emails per month to up to 2,000 contacts. The paid plans start from $5 per month and offer more features such as dynamic content, landing pages, webhooks, API access, and more.
Learn more about Zoho Campaigns here.
Drip: Best for e-commerce
Drip is an email marketing software that is specifically designed for e-commerce businesses. It helps you connect with your online shoppers, increase your sales, and grow your brand.
Drip lets you create personalized emails based on your customers’ behavior, preferences, and purchase history, segment your audience based on various attributes and events, automate your email campaigns with pre-built or custom workflows, integrate with your e-commerce platform and other tools, and more.
Drip has a free plan that lets you send unlimited emails to up to 100 contacts. The paid plans start from $19 per month and offer more features such as SMS marketing, Facebook and Instagram ads, revenue attribution, and more.
MailerLite: Best for selling paid subscriptions
MailerLite is an email marketing software that is ideal for creators, bloggers, and publishers who want to sell paid subscriptions to their content. It helps you build your audience, monetize your content, and manage your subscriptions.
MailerLite lets you create beautiful emails with drag-and-drop templates or HTML editor, segment your audience based on various criteria, automate your email campaigns with triggers and actions, integrate with your website and other tools, and more.
MailerLite has a free plan that lets you send up to 12,000 emails per month to up to 1,000 contacts. The paid plans start from $10 per month and offer more features such as landing pages, pop-ups, surveys, A/B testing, and more.
Learn more about MailerLite here.
Campaigner: Best for experienced marketers
Campaigner is an email marketing software that is suitable for experienced marketers who want to take their email campaigns to the next level. It offers a range of advanced features and capabilities that can help you optimize your email performance and ROI.
Campaigner lets you create personalized emails with dynamic content and AI-powered recommendations, segment your audience based on various criteria and conditions, automate your email campaigns with complex workflows and triggers, test your emails with multivariate testing and heatmaps, and more.
Campaigner has a free trial that lets you try the software for 30 days. The paid plans start from $49.95 per month and offer more features such as geolocation, purchase behavior, abandoned cart recovery, and more.
Learn more about Campaigner here.
GetResponse: Best for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
GetResponse is an email marketing software that is designed for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who want to grow their business with email marketing. It helps you generate leads, nurture relationships, and drive sales.
GetResponse lets you create professional emails with drag-and-drop templates or HTML editor, segment your audience based on various criteria, automate your email campaigns with pre-built or custom workflows, integrate with your website and other tools, and more.
GetResponse has a free trial that lets you try the software for 30 days. The paid plans start from $15 per month and offer more features such as landing pages, webinars, sales funnels, and more.
Learn more about GetResponse here.
Moosend: Best for legacy companies
Moosend is an email marketing software that is ideal for legacy companies who want to modernize their email marketing strategy. It helps you deliver relevant and engaging emails to your customers, prospects, and subscribers.
Moosend lets you create responsive emails with drag-and-drop templates or HTML editor, segment your audience based on various criteria and events, automate your email campaigns with pre-built or custom workflows, integrate with your CRM and other tools, and more.
Moosend has a free plan that lets you send unlimited emails to up to 1,000 contacts. The paid plans start from $8 per month and offer more features such as landing pages, transactional emails, and more.
Learn more about Moosend here.
Email Marketing Guides and Tips
Email marketing software is only one part of the equation. You also need to have a solid email marketing strategy that can help you achieve your goals. Here are some of the best email marketing guides and tips that we recommend for 2023:
How to create a successful email marketing strategy?
A successful email marketing strategy is a plan that outlines how you will use email to communicate with your audience and customers. It should include the following steps:
Define your goals and audience
Before you start sending any emails, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to accomplish with email marketing and who you want to reach. Some common email marketing goals are:
- Increase brand awareness
- Generate leads
- Nurture leads
- Market products or services
- Retain customers
- Increase loyalty
- Get referrals
- Drive traffic
To define your audience, you need to create buyer personas that represent your ideal customers. Buyer personas are fictional profiles that include demographic, psychographic, and behavioral information about your target audience. Some common buyer persona attributes are:
- Age
- Gender
- Location
- Education
- Income
- Occupation
- Interests
- Challenges
- Goals
- Pain points
You can use surveys, interviews, analytics, and other sources to collect data and create your buyer personas. You can also use tools like HubSpot’s Make My Persona to generate your buyer personas easily.
Build your email list and segment it
Once you have defined your goals and audience, you need to build your email list and segment it. Your email list is the collection of email addresses that you have permission to send emails to.
Your email list can come from various sources, such as:
- Your website visitors who sign up for your newsletter or download your lead magnet
- Your social media followers who click on your email opt-in link or join your Facebook group
- Your customers who buy your products or services or register for your free trial
- Your referrals who are recommended by your existing subscribers or customers
- Your offline contacts who attend your events or visit your store
To build your email list, you need to offer something valuable and relevant to your audience in exchange for their email address. This can be a piece of content, a discount code, a free trial, a webinar, a consultation, or anything else that can entice them to join your list.
You also need to make sure that you have a clear and compelling call to action (CTA) that tells them what they will get and what they need to do to get it. You also need to have a simple and easy-to-use opt-in form that collects only the necessary information and complies with the privacy laws and regulations.
To segment your email list, you need to divide it into smaller groups based on various criteria and conditions. This can help you send more targeted and personalized emails to your subscribers based on their characteristics, preferences, behavior, and stage in the buyer’s journey. Some common email segmentation criteria are:
- Demographics: age, gender, location, education, income, etc.
- Psychographics: interests, hobbies, values, attitudes, etc.
- Behavior: website activity, email engagement, purchase history, etc.
- Stage: awareness, consideration, decision, retention, etc.
You can use your email marketing software or tools like Mailchimp’s Audience Dashboard to segment your email list easily.
Choose the right type and frequency of emails
After you have built and segmented your email list, you need to choose the right type and frequency of emails that you will send to your subscribers. The type of emails refers to the purpose and content of your emails. The frequency of emails refers to how often you will send them.
There are many types of emails that you can send to your subscribers, but some of the most common ones are:
-
Welcome emails:
These are the first emails that you send to your new subscribers after they join your list. They are meant to introduce yourself and your brand, thank them for signing up, confirm their subscription, and set their expectations for future emails.
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Newsletter emails:
These are regular emails that you send to your subscribers to keep them updated on your latest news, content, offers, and tips. They are meant to provide value, build trust, and maintain engagement.
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Promotional emails:
These are occasional emails that you send to your subscribers to promote your products or services, announce a sale, offer a discount, or launch a new feature. They are meant to generate leads, drive sales, and increase revenue.
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Transactional emails:
These are automated emails that you send to your subscribers after they perform a specific action on your website or app, such as placing an order, making a payment, registering for an event, or requesting support. They are meant to confirm their action, provide them with relevant information, and enhance their experience.
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Educational emails:
These are informative emails that you send to your subscribers to teach them something new, provide them with useful resources, or answer their questions. They are meant to educate them, solve their problems, and position yourself as an authority.
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Nurturing emails:
These are personalized emails that you send to your subscribers based on their behavior, interests, and stage in the buyer’s journey. They are meant to guide them through the sales funnel, address their objections, and persuade them to take action.
The frequency of emails depends on various factors, such as:
- Your goals and objectives
- Your audience’s preferences and expectations
- Your industry and niche
- Your type and quality of content
- Your email performance and feedback
There is no one-size-fits-all answer for how often you should send emails, but a general rule of thumb is to send emails as often as you can provide value and relevance to your subscribers, without annoying or overwhelming them. You can also use tools like CoSchedule’s Email Marketing Calendar to plan and schedule your email campaigns.
Craft engaging subject lines and content
The next step in creating a successful email marketing strategy is to craft engaging subject lines and content for your emails. Your subject line is the first thing that your subscribers see when they receive your email, and it determines whether they will open it or not. Your content is what they see when they open your email, and it determines whether they will read it, click on it, or take action.
To craft engaging subject lines and content, you need to follow some best practices, such as:
- Use clear and concise language that conveys the benefit and urgency of your email
- Use personalization and segmentation to tailor your message to your audience
- Use power words and emotional triggers to capture attention and spark curiosity
- Use questions, numbers, emojis, or brackets to stand out and add variety
- Use A/B testing and analytics to optimize your subject lines and content for performance
You can also use tools like Touchstone Subject Line Analyzer to test your subject lines and get feedback and suggestions.
Optimize your emails for deliverability and conversions
The final step in creating a successful email marketing strategy is to optimize your emails for deliverability and conversions. Deliverability refers to the ability of your emails to reach your subscribers’ inboxes without being blocked or filtered by spam filters or ISPs. Conversions refer to the ability of your emails to persuade your subscribers to take the desired action, such as opening, clicking, buying, or subscribing.
To optimize your emails for deliverability and conversions, you need to follow some best practices, such as:
- Use a reputable email service provider (ESP) that has a good reputation and deliverability rate
- Use a verified sender domain and email address that matches your brand name
- Use a clear and recognizable sender name that builds trust and recognition
- Use a responsive email design that adapts to different devices and screen sizes
- Use a clear and compelling call to action (CTA) that tells your subscribers what to do next
- Use relevant and high-quality images, videos, or GIFs that enhance your message and appeal
- Use white space, headings, bullet points, or numbered lists to make your content easy to read and scan
- Use social proof, testimonials, reviews, or ratings to increase credibility and trust
- Use landing pages that match your email content and CTA
- Avoid spammy words, phrases, or practices that can trigger spam filters or complaints
You can also use tools like Mail Tester to check your email deliverability and spam score.
Email Marketing Tools and Resources
Besides email marketing software and guides, there are also many other tools and resources that can help you improve your email marketing. Here are some of the best email marketing tools and resources that we recommend for 2023:
HTML Email Gallery: Best for finding email design inspiration
HTML Email Gallery is a website that showcases examples of design-heavy, HTML emails from various brands and industries. It’s a great site to bookmark if you’re looking for email design inspiration or ideas.
You can browse the gallery by category, tag, color, or layout. You can also submit your own email designs or suggest new ones.
Visit HTML Email Gallery here.
Touchstone Subject Line Analyzer: Best for testing your subject lines
Touchstone Subject Line Analyzer is a tool that shows you projected open rates, click rates, and other helpful stats based on Touchstone’s database of over 21 billion emails. It’s like taking your subject line for a test drive before making the decision to use it.
The tool also lets you upload your own email data, so you can see how your actual subscribers are responding to your subject lines. While using Touchstone’s full database for analyzing subject lines is great for identifying trends, using your own data can give you insight into what’s working (and what’s not working) with your specific audience.
Visit Touchstone Subject Line Analyzer here.
IsValid: Best for validating your email experiments
IsValid is a web tool that helps you validate your email experiments by showing you the degree of statistical significance. Statistical significance is a measure of how confident you can be that the results of your experiment are not due to chance.
With IsValid, you don’t need to be a statistician in order to validate your email experiments. Just enter the sample size and conversions/metrics from your original data set, then do the same for your experimental data set, and voilà: IsValid will automatically analyze the results and show you the degree of statistical significance.
[Visit IsValid here](https://www.isvalid.email/).