Free email marketing seems too good to be true, but it’s something that every small business should consider.
Email marketing can help keep your customers engaged with new and innovative improvements to your products and services.
With the impressive number of paid email marketing tools, it’s surprising there are plenty of high-quality free options as well.
What Do Email Marketing Tools Offer?
Before you start choosing the right email marketing app or tool to use, it’s essential to know what they offer.
You’ll want to ensure you’re choosing a platform with all the features you could dream of for effective email marketing campaigns.
Some of the most important things to look for when choosing a free email tool include:
Templates
By far, one of the most important features your email tool should have is an assortment of templates.
Templates give your marketing campaigns a specific look and feel, similar to website themes.
The design you choose will have a specific layout, color palette, and even specific font types to capture the reader’s attention.
Not only will you want to ensure the templates are free, but that they’re attractive and professionally designed.
You’ll want to send stylish and appealing marketing materials to impress your audience and generate more traffic.
Automated Features
Another considerable advantage to consider is the integration of automated features with your marketing emails.
For example, will you be able to set up a schedule to automatically push emails on a specific day of the month?
Using these features, you won’t have to worry about manually sending emails to a contact list of over 200 participants each time.
Contact Grouping
This benefit depends on how you have your blog, membership site, or online shop organized.
You might want to be able to arrange your contacts into specific groups or tiers depending on what they’ve signed up for.
In a nutshell, this applies to customers who want all marketing materials compared to those interested only in promotions.
Using contact grouping allows you to send specific emails to particular groups of registrants.
It is one of the most important features to help you deliver suitable materials to the correct contacts.
Campaign Caps
There’s no doubt that there will be plenty of marketing emails you’ll want to push to your audiences over the years.
With that said, you’re going to need a free account that allows you to make a reasonable number of emails.
Most platforms likely have campaign caps, allowing you to make a specific number of campaigns per cycle.
However, you’ll have to make sure the maximum number of emails you can send is comfortable with your marketing strategy.
Otherwise, it might just make sense to sign up for a paid account through these platforms.
Data Reporting
One of the most valuable things that you’ll receive from your email campaigns is data.
The data you receive can tell you the effectiveness of your emails, including how many people click the integrated links.
It can also give you a good idea of how many emails are sent to inboxes and how many end up in spam folders.
Using these metrics, you can develop the most effective marketing campaigns to attract the highest number of customers.
Much like designing a website, you’ll want to see which features of your emails are the most effective.
For example, are there specific, actionable items that your audience uses or avoids?
Free Email Marketing: Our Favorite Tools
Let’s take a look at some of the highest-rated email marketing tools that you can use entirely for free.
Mailchimp
Undoubtedly, Mailchimp is one of the most popular platforms that large and small businesses use.
Their extensive number of features sets them apart from the competition, as does their experience with marketing campaigns.
This platform was the first service to offer an email marketing plan, making it one of the most established options.
With a free Mailchimp account, you’ll get up to 2,000 subscribers with 10,000 emails that you can push monthly.
Then, there’s also the option of upgrading your account (for a cost of $10/month) to have unlimited emails.
There are several considerable advantages to using this platform, including:
App Integration
When you create free email campaigns with Mailchimp, you’ll have many options for tool integration.
Some of the most popular platforms you can connect to your emails include Salesforce, Shopify, and Eventbrite.
Automated Features
Fortunately, Mailchimp also offers many automation tools, making it easier for customers to capitalize on your emails.
You’ll find options for product recommendations, welcoming campaigns, as well as abandoned cart automation.
Landing Page Builder
One of the most important aspects of any campaign is to ensure you provide a landing page, even without a website.
With this platform, you can create a landing page to bring customers to your latest promotional offers.
Drag-and-Drop Editor
If you’ve never had the chance to create marketing emails, you’ll find this platform suitable for beginners.
Using the drag-and-drop editor, you can effortlessly make appealing emails that are sure to entice your customers.
There is also an assortment of editable templates that allow you to genuinely make any campaign your own.
Benchmark
Spending hours creating unique email marketing campaigns can be challenging for small business owners.
If you’re someone strapped for time, Benchmark is a valuable resource to have in your arsenal.
Their straightforward editor allows you to choose pre-designed templates and make minor adjustments to personalize campaigns.
With a free plan, you’ll have access to a few additional benefits compared to other platforms.
Your account will allow you to send up to 250 emails per month with unlimited subscribers, best for small businesses.
There’s also the option to upgrade your plan to have 600 subscribers with unlimited email sends monthly for $13.99/month.
Let’s take a look at some of the most impressive features Benchmark has to offer:
Drag-and-Drop Editor
Like Mailchimp, Benchmark also has an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor.
All you have to do is select a template that interests you, and then you can customize it as needed.
Alternatively, you can build your marketing campaign from scratch using your own stock images and ideas.
Custom Coding
If you want to take email design a step further, there is the opportunity to custom code your emails with this platform.
Although this isn’t useful for beginners, it can be a fantastic option for businesses looking to create a unique marketing approach.
Email Automation Features
Fortunately, there are a few automated features that you’ll receive with a free account on this platform.
You can automate follow-up emails as well as welcome emails for new subscribers.
As an added benefit, there are abandoned cart automated features that you can select as well.
Included Surveys and Polls
Getting an idea of your customer’s satisfaction is one of the best ways to improve your business over the years.
Instead of having guests take surveys directly on your site, why not offer a chance for reviews after purchase?
With the included surveys and polls with Benchmark’s free accounts, you can give your customers a space to voice their opinions.
App Integration
There’s no doubt that Benchmark is one of the most impressive platforms for app integration.
There are hundreds of apps that you can add to your marketing campaigns to help with metrics and A/B testing.
Omnisend
Omnisend is one of the best platforms to consider if you own an online shop.
Their free email tools help bring products from your store to the inboxes of your customers.
They also have a collection of fun and unique email templates to help you improve your contact list.
With a free Omnisend account, you’ll receive an ample number of email pushes and subscribers monthly.
Every account can send 2,000 emails daily or 15,000 emails every month regardless of your subscriber amounts.
If you wish to send more marketing content, you can sign up for a paid plan depending on the number of subscribers.
Some of the most impressive features of Omnisend include:
Creative Signup Forms
If you want to give your contact list something new and fresh, Omnisend is the platform to choose because of their signup forms.
There are a variety of options you can take advantage of, including landing pages, pop-ups, and even innovative email games.
eCommerce Integration
Boosting traffic to your product pages is of the utmost importance for online sellers.
With Omnisend’s ample eCommerce integrations, you can directly refer customers to specific items on your site.
This feature is essential if you want to sell directly through emails instead of sending customers back to your site.
Mobile-Friendly Templates
One feature many email marketing platforms lack is a collection of mobile-friendly emails.
As more users are transitioning to handheld devices for shopping, this feature is ideal.
You’ll be able to choose from an assortment of highly responsive templates designed specifically for mobile devices.
MailerLite
If you think you’ve tried all of the free marketing services online, MailerLite is a new platform to consider.
The company was recently established, so you can guarantee they meet modern demands.
The two most considerable benefits you’ll experience with their email marketing tools is the ability to improve and expand your business.
When you sign up for a free MailerLite account, you’ll receive 1,000 free emails that you can send with paid packages available.
The paid accounts depend on the number of subscribers you want to have.
For example, you can upgrade your account to $15/month to send emails to 2,500 subscribers/month.
There are several fantastic features your free account will come with, including:
Attractive and Optimized Templates
The collection of email templates from MailerLite are pretty impressive, especially if you prefer modern designs.
Each of the templates comes with various features, such as surveys, newsletters, and pop-ups.
You’ll also find that most templates are mobile-optimized, making them perfect for smartphones and tablets.
Time Zone Delivery
Your email campaigns must make it to your subscribers’ inboxes at a reasonable time to make them more actionable.
With time zone delivery, you’ll be able to ensure all of your content is pushed at the best time for each contact.
Custom HTML Editing
Having a more hands-on approach to the design of your marketing campaigns is ideal, especially if you have a design team.
With custom HTML editing, free MailerLite accounts can fine-tune pre-existing templates to make them more authentic.
Final Thoughts
There are plenty of online tools you can find when it comes to free email marketing, each with an assortment of features.
You’ll want to choose a platform with the most attractive templates and adjustable features to customize your campaigns.
Choosing the perfect platform has never been easier, as most sites adapt to your modern marketing needs.
