An email marketing platform may offer a range of features, but there are some core tools you should always look for.
“Look for features that allow segmentation, personalization, and automation,” said Martin Purmensky, founder of theVideoCards. “The software should also provide compliance tools to adhere to regulations.”
Here’s a closer look at some of the key features we looked for in the email marketing software we reviewed.
Email Creation Tool
Most services provide a library of customizable templates or an intuitive drag-and-drop tool that allows you to customize your emails. Some providers have templates that show you how your email will look on multiple devices (such as laptops, tablets and mobile phones) to help you design a flexible and responsive email.
The best email creation tools are easy to use but flexible enough to help you design eye-catching, unique content. Mailchimp’s email creation tool, pictured above, also offers a creative assistant that can automatically generate recommendations of how to build your content. Source: Mailchimp
Analytics
Many email marketing services offer analytics on your email open rates, click-through rates, bounce rates, audience geolocation, conversion tracking, customer behavior trends and more. Some integrate with Google Analytics, while some provide their own analytics that present the information in easy-to-read charts and graphs.
Marketing Automation
Marketing automation is the ability to send specific, targeted emails to customers when they complete a certain action. For example, if a visitor to your website signs up to receive emails from you, your marketing automation tool triggers a welcome email to go to that customer’s inbox.
Marketing automation can save you time, and many email marketing services offer ways to
make automated emails more personal, which increases engagement and your return on investment.
Segmentation
Segmentation is another helpful way to deliver more relevant messages to your prospects and customers by grouping them according to age, location, gender, industry, interests or other factors. Segmentation allows you to send different emails to different groups, rather than sending one mass email that may not be relevant to your entire customer base.
Contact Management
A contact management tool helps you acquire, sort and manage email contacts. It also provides features such as automatic deletion of dead or duplicate contacts; importing; exporting; grouping; and integration with other management tools, like a CRM or CMS.
Social Media Integration
Most email marketing services integrate with social media platforms, allowing you to grow your contact list, schedule posts, and track your followers’ engagement to determine what’s popular. Integrating your social media with email marketing helps you make the most of multichannel marketing by providing more information about your customers as well as more opportunities for them to see messages from you.
Hubspot Marketing Hub includes all the tools marketers need for effective email marketing campaigns and ongoing social media management. It is one of the best platforms when it comes to an all-in-one tool that provides seamless integrations between marketing software. Source: HubSpot