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Email marketing automation tools are essential for businesses looking to streamline their email campaigns and reach their target audience effectively. These tools allow you to send targeted email campaigns to your subscriber list without spending hours personalizing and tracking each email. In this article, we will explore the best email marketing automation tools available and discuss their key features and pricing.
What is Email Marketing Automation?
Email marketing automation works by sending emails based on triggers or pre-defined steps that your prospects take in their customer journey. Unlike regular marketing emails that are sent on a fixed schedule or at intervals, automated emails are sent when customer behavior matches the conditions defined in an automated workflow. This allows you to send personalized and timely emails to your subscribers, increasing engagement and conversion rates.
What to Look for in Email Marketing Automation Software
When selecting an email marketing automation tool, there are several factors to consider. Here are some key features to look for:
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Contact management with list and tag sorting: A good email automation platform should provide robust contact management features, allowing you to organize your subscribers into lists and tags for better segmentation and targeting.
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CMS & website integrations with visitor tracking: Integration with your content management system (CMS) and website is crucial for tracking visitor behavior and triggering automated workflows based on specific actions.
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Cross-promotional messaging tools: Look for an email automation tool that offers additional messaging channels like SMS and live chat. This allows you to reach your subscribers through multiple channels and improve engagement.
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Ready-made and customizable email templates: Having access to a library of professionally designed email templates can save you time and effort in creating visually appealing emails. Look for a tool that offers both ready-made templates and the ability to customize them to match your brand.
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Direct email messaging and autoresponders: The ability to send direct emails and set up autoresponders is essential for effective email marketing. Look for a tool that offers these features to automate your communication with subscribers.
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Custom landing pages with opt-in forms: Landing pages are crucial for capturing leads and growing your subscriber list. Look for a tool that allows you to create custom landing pages with opt-in forms to attract and convert visitors.
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Automated workflow builder with templates: An intuitive and easy-to-use workflow builder is essential for setting up automated email campaigns. Look for a tool that offers pre-built workflow templates and a drag-and-drop editor for creating custom workflows.
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Ability to edit email HTML directly: For more advanced users, the ability to edit email HTML directly can be useful. Look for a tool that provides this option for greater customization and control over your email designs.
The 10 Best Email Automation Tools
There are many email marketing automation tools available, each with its own strengths and pricing schemes. Here are the top 10 email automation tools that stand out for their quality customer support, ease of use, and transparent pricing models:
- Brevo: Best Overall
- HubSpot: Best for Agencies
- Constant Contact: Best for Event Marketing
- MailerLite: Best for Bloggers
- ActiveCampaign: Best for SaaS (Integrations)
- GetResponse: Best for Influencers (Webinars, Live Collaboration)
- Drip: Best for Online Storefronts
- Omnisend: Best for Ecommerce
- Mailchimp: Best for Creatives
- EmailOctopus: Best for Web Developers
Now let’s take a closer look at each of these email automation tools, their key features, and pricing.
1. Brevo
Brevo is an email marketing automation platform suitable for businesses of all sizes. It offers ready-made workflows and email templates, making it easy for beginners to launch their first campaign quickly. Experienced marketers can take advantage of features like landing page creation, cross-promotions with Facebook ads, push notifications, WhatsApp, and SMS all in one dashboard.
Key Features:
– High rate of email deliverability
– Audience segmentation and signup forms
– Sales platform and page tracking
– Marketing automation workflows
– Extensible API for custom plugins
Pricing:
– Free plan: Includes audience segmentation, signup forms, sales platform, page tracking, and marketing automation workflows for up to 2,000 contacts with a sending limit of 300 emails per day.
– Paid plans: Start at $25/month for unlimited automation and full features.
2. HubSpot
HubSpot is a widely used email automation tool among marketing agencies. It offers contact management, email tracking, and lead scoring features. While HubSpot is primarily known as a CRM tool, its Marketing Hub toolset provides a full-featured email marketing solution.
Key Features:
– Contact management, email tracking, and lead scoring
– Dynamic list building and segmentation
– Integration with CMS and website tracking
– Collaboration tools for sales and marketing teams
Pricing:
– Free plan: Basic contact management with up to one million free contacts.
– Basic plan: Starts at $50/month. Professional plan: Starts at $890/month with a mandatory $3000 onboarding fee.
3. Constant Contact
Constant Contact is a legacy email marketing tool with a long history. It offers features like list management, workflow automations, embeddable website forms, and simplified reporting. It also has niche event marketing tools for managing registrations for various events.
Key Features:
– Event marketing tools
– Social media management and ads
– List management and workflow automations
Pricing:
– Pricing starts at $9.99/month for the Core Plan with a 500 subscriber limit. Costs scale according to the number of subscribers.
4. MailerLite
MailerLite is a beginner-friendly email automation tool designed for simplicity. It offers features like email list management, landing pages, ecommerce integrations, and customizable pop-up forms. However, it lacks some advanced marketing workflow features.
Key Features:
– User-friendly design
– Email list management and landing pages
– Ecommerce integrations
Pricing:
– Starts at $10/month for the base plan. Multiple triggers in a single workflow automation start at $21/month.
5. ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is an email automation platform that allows fine-tuning of email marketing campaigns. It offers contact sorting into lists and tags, making it easy to design a targeted marketing strategy. It also has a built-in CRM and the ability to transition from list-based campaigns to one-to-one conversations.
Key Features:
– Contact sorting into lists and tags
– Built-in CRM
– Direct emails, canned responses, and personalized email signatures
Pricing:
– Lite Plan: Starts at $15/month for 500 contacts. Plus Plan: Starts at $70/month for most cross-channel marketing features.
6. GetResponse
GetResponse is a full-featured marketing automation suite with additional tools like a webinar hosting tool, live chat, and an AI-powered website generator. It offers advanced contact management and a flexible workflow automation builder.
Key Features:
– Advanced contact management
– Flexible workflow automation builder
– Webinar hosting and live chat
Pricing:
– Free plan: Allows newsletter campaigns with a 500 contact limit. Paid plans start at $19/month for the Email Marketing plan and $59/month for the Marketing Automation plan.
7. Drip
Drip is a streamlined email marketing automation tool designed exclusively for online storefronts. It offers native ecommerce integrations with platforms like Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce. It also provides workflow templates for various automated emails.
Key Features:
– Native ecommerce integrations
– Workflow templates for automated emails
– Smart analytics and personalized product recommendations
Pricing:
– $39/month for all features with a 2,500 contact limit and unlimited email sends. Sending limits imposed at 30,000 contacts.
8. Omnisend
Omnisend is an email automation tool targeting larger, multi-store ecommerce businesses. It offers a dynamic customer lifecycle feature that automatically assigns tags to customers based on their customer journey. It also combines shopping history and social media interactions with ad retargeting for actionable customer data.
Key Features:
– Dynamic customer lifecycle feature
– Integration with shopping history and social media interactions
– Ad retargeting on Google and Facebook
Pricing:
– Free plan: Access to all features for fewer than 250 contacts and less than 500 emails per month. Pro plan: Starts at $59/month for up to 2,500 contacts.
9. Mailchimp
Mailchimp was once a simple newsletter tool but has evolved into a comprehensive email marketing automation platform. It offers features like signup forms, surveys, a website builder, and separate pricing for transactional emails. Its newest features are geared toward designers and creative agencies.
Key Features:
– Content studio for non-traditional email design layouts
– Email subject line helper and content optimizer
– Creative assistant AI for auto-generating email designs
Pricing:
– Free plan: Includes marketing CRM, website builder, forms, and landing pages with a monthly limit of 1,000 email sends and 500 contacts. Premium plan: Starts at $350/month for advanced features.
10. EmailOctopus
EmailOctopus is a barebones email automation software that allows email routing through Amazon Simple Email Service (SES). It is aimed at developers who want a simple email marketing service to collect new subscribers and automate transactional and promotional emails.
Key Features:
– Email routing through Amazon SES
– Basic email marketing features
Pricing:
– Free plan: Includes unlimited emails sent through Amazon SES for up to 2,500 subscribers.
– Pro plan: Starts at $7/month for 500 subscribers with the removal of the EmailOctopus logo.
Conclusion
Choosing the right email marketing automation tool is essential for the success of your email campaigns. Consider the features and pricing of each tool and assess which one best fits your business needs. Whether you’re a small business, marketing agency, or ecommerce store, there is a tool out there that can help you automate your email marketing efforts and drive better results.
