Which email marketing services are the best?

One of the questions I often get asked when I start working with a new client is which email marketing/newsletter service is the best to use.

Are you procrastinating on sending out newsletters or even building a list because you want to make sure you’re using the best platform?

Today I am going to breakdown my favorite email marketing services and share the pros and cons of each.

Just like with diets, one size does not fit all when it comes to email marketing services. There are pros and cons to each service and the one you choose depends upon your unique business.

My favorite email marketing services are Aweber, MailChimp, and iContact.

1.    Aweber 

What I like about Aweber:

• It integrates it with PayPal, so you can set it up so that when people purchase X program via PayPal, they automatically get added to X list in Aweber. (No more manually adding registrants to a list.)
• You can have multiple web forms for one list, which is very important for looking at the analytics on your site and seeing what is working for list building purposes.
• You can include AND exclude lists when sending out an email. For example, if you have a list of people who purchased X program, you can exclude them from promotional emails for X program. Once they purchase, they don’t need to receive three more emails promoting the program.
• For each list you have in the system, you can determine if you want a single opt-in process or a double opt-in process. (A double opt-in process is where you require subscribers to click on a link in an email to confirm their subscription.)

What I don’t like about Aweber:

• If you want to move an existing list to Aweber, you can’t simply upload the list and have everyone automatically added. If you upload a list to Aweber, it automatically sends them an email asking them to click a link to confirm their subscription.
• Similarly, if you give a live talk/workshops, and you upload the list of participants to Aweber, it will automatically send them an email asking them to click a link to confirm their subscription.

HOT TIP: If you plan to mostly market online (vs. in person), this may be the best service for you.

2.    MailChimp

What I like about MailChimp:

• Like Aweber, it integrates with PayPal. (No more manually adding registrants to a list.)
• If you want to move an existing list to MailChimp, you CAN simply upload the list and have everyone automatically added. (You have to select the correct settings for a single opt-in process – meaning they are not sent an email asking to confirm their subscription.)
• Similarly, if you give a lot of live talks/workshops, you can upload the list of participants to MailChimp and have them automatically added to your list.

What I don’t like about MailChimp:

• When someone opts-in via a form on your site, subscribers are automatically sent an email asking them to click a link to confirm their subscription.  You can’t change this setting.
• You can’t send one email to multiple lists at the same time. For example, if you want to send your newsletter to multiple lists, you have to recreate the email and send to each list individually.
• When you integrate MailChimp with PayPal, it sends a confirmation email to registrants. They must click on a link to confirm their subscription. If they don’t  click on the link, they will not be added to the list.

HOT TIP: If you plan to give a lot of live talks and you use PayPal for payment, this may be the best tool for you.

3.    iContact

What I like about iContact:

• Overall, iContact does not require a double opt-in process – meaning subscribers don’t have to click a link to confirm their subscription.
• iContact makes it very easy to upload a list of new subscribers. If you want to move from your current service to iContact, you won’t lose subscribers in the process, because they are not sent an email asking to confirm their subscription.
• Like with MailChimp, if you give a lot of live talks/workshops, you can upload the list of participants to iContact and have them automatically added to your list.
• iContact is similar in functionality to Constant Contact, but unlike Constant Contact, iContact it allows for unlimited web forms and autoresponder series.

What I don’t like about iContact:

• The main drawback with iContact is that it doesn’t integrate with PayPal. This means that if you want everyone who registers for X program to be added to X list, you will need to manually add them.

HOT TIP:  You can use Wishlist Member, a membership plugin, to get PayPal to integrate with iContact. By using Wishlist Member, you will be able to avoid having to manually add registrants to a list, and you will also be able to secure the content registrants get access to during the program.

Interested in switching email marketing services but not sure the best way to do it? Click the link above and watch as I map out this process in detail.

Your Action Step: Take action right away and share which service you are planning to use below. Have questions about the different services? Post your questions for me below.

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