Our recommendations and reviews on email marketing broadcast software options
I am often for recommendations for affordable E-mail broadcast software packages for Email marketing, E-newsletters or Ezines.
This guide highlights some of the options that are most commonly used in the UK and delegates on my E-mail marketing courses have recommended to me. It’s an informal post I originally started on a previous site in 2005 to point marketers on courses to for a shortlist of suppliers to review and I’ve added to it and removed sites over the years.
I always recommend hosted (Email Service Provider or ESP) email marketing solutions rather than software since, in general, the reporting/tracking and bounce management capabilities of the cheaper desktop e-mail packages are inferior. There are also management problems with deliverability and blacklisting which are best managed by an external email service provider in my opinion.
Although you can use an email service provider in another country, I recommend using a local provider since this is easier for support and resolving deliverability problems locally. So I have highlighted UK Email marketing companies at the start of the list, but options for US and Asia Pacific are also covered.
The E-mail broadcast / management (E-mail Service Provider, ESP) solutions which are most cost-effective (below $50 per month for low volumes) recommended to me by delegates on my courses are as follows. I have grouped them by region, since often local support is useful to deal with local deliverability issues.
Services comparing Email Marketing Software
Use these to compare criteria for email marketing systems side-by-side
- Email Vendor Selection – I recommend this site for its comprehensive A-Z list of email service providers, email vendor guide and articles on issues to consider when selecting an ESP
- Review of US-based E-mail marketing systems from Topten Reviews based on many criteria and ranking them in order
- Reviews of ESPs from users – a neat idea although there are not a representative number of reviews
Popular UK-based Email marketing systems most suited for small and medium businesses
- NewZapp (a relatively low cost, capable UK-based solution)
- dotMailer (another cost-effective UK solution)
- Pure 360 (UK-based Email marketing specialists with options for SMEs and larger companies wishing to run trigger-based personalised Email marketing campaigns).
- Newsweaver (Offices in UK and Ireland with clients ranging from large multinationals to SMEs. Have examples of SMEs Email templates on their site)
A European-based ESP
- GetResponse (an affordable ESP with clients in the EU and UK, but also popular in North America and elsewhere. It features an easy to use web based interface and email creator).
Enterprise email service providers with UK offices
These focus on providing services for large brands with complex needs of systems integration and delivery of services in different countries. Companies I have worked with in the UK at training days for their clients include:
Popular US Email broadcast services
- MailChimp (US email service often recommended for its ease of use)
- Jangomail (US email service)
- Ezinedirector (US email system popular in Europe)
- Constant Contact (again US-based but used widely in Europe)
Asia Pacific Email management systems
- Campaign Monitor (Australia-based)
- Blaynmail Email Service Provider – although many Blaynmail clients are based in Japan, also offers English language clients starting at $7.77 US per month
Of course, there are literally hundreds of E-newsletter broadcast solutions and these represent the most widely used lower-cost options.
Key criteria to consider for an Email or Enewsletter system are – can the solution:
- Track E-mail response at an individual level? Essential for follow-up?
- Create automated email sequences for event-triggered or behavioural emails?
- Integrate with actions on a websites, e.g. search or browse a product category?
- Track campaign response across time / multiple campaigns?
- Integrate response with customer database?
- Manage profiling and subscription/unsubscribe?
- Bounces, e.g. Out-of-office auto-replies?
- Deliver WYSIWYG editing for marketing staff?
- Archived e-newsletters on web site?
- Is broadcasting straightforward?
Please add your comments on other systems or suppliers you can recommend, or not!
