This week’s blog post features guest blogger David Dye, who will share his thoughts about selecting an email marketing platform. Thanks so much, David!

Sound familiar?

You visit a web page that asks you for your email address…

Then you regularly receive email, blog posts, or a newsletter…

And you say to yourself, “I want to do that!”

(And if you did say that, give yourself a pat on the back for being so smart – email is still the most effective way to reach your audience!)

 

What Now?

The act of collecting email addresses and regularly sending them quality content is known as email marketing.

Whether you use email marketing simply to spread your message or as part of your marketing and sales funnel, you will need an email marketing service provider.

An email marketing platform allows you to collect email addresses and to regularly send them your content. Once you have it set up, it runs on autopilot and you rarely have to think about it!

There are hundreds of platforms to choose from, so let’s narrow your focus.

Which one would be best for you? Well, that depends on what you want to do.

 

Start at the End

Before choosing an email marketing service, take some time to write down your goals for your blog, newsletter, or emails.

 Once you have defined your goals, you’re ready to begin looking at an email marketing service that makes sense for you.

Let’s look at a few examples:

 Constant Contact – This is a good choice if you want to collect email addresses and send them an email newsletter. It has a fairly straightforward interface and is used by many organizations to send their newsletter.

However, if you write a blog and want those posts automatically sent to your readers’ email, then you’ll need a different tool. Two of the main contenders are called MailChimp and Aweber.

MailChimp’s advantage is that it is free to use if you don’t have very many subscribers, while Aweber gives you a $1.00 month trial and is then $19.00 monthly.

Both MailChimp and Aweber offer similar functionality:

• Blog syndication (publish your blog post like normal and it will automatically be sent to all your subscribers).
• Segment your subscribers so you only send certain people specific content.
• Autoresponders – this is where you create a series of emails that are ‘dripped’ over time to your subscribers.
• Much more!

Personally, I prefer Aweber. The interface is cleaner and I find it more intuitive (though this is a matter of personal taste).

 

Only One Bad Choice

Ultimately, there is only one poor choice you can make when it comes to choosing an email marketing service:

Not choosing at all!

Whichever choice you make, the sooner you get started building your list and serving your fans, the more you will learn and the more people you will help!

 

Your Turn

What are your email marketing goals?

What email marketing service will you start with?

Best wishes as you serve the world!

 

David

David M. Dye works with leaders and managers who want to get more done, build teams that care, and meet their goals. He’s known as a leadership expert and regularly blogs and speaks about effective leadership. Connect with David and signup for his blog at http://trailblazeinc.com/blog