Nowadays, email marketing is a means of communications that not many businesses could do without. After all, an email list is often the most valuable marketing channel available to businesses. It’s believed that on average, email generates $44 for every $1 spent.
Not only is it a great way of speaking directly to customers but, as the tools we use become more sophisticated, we can even tailor the messages we send based on a person’s likes, interests and online behaviours.
When it comes to email marketing software, Mailchimp is one of the most popular, with more than 175 million people using the platform to send over six billion emails every week.
Just a few of the fantastic emails that have been sent using Mailchimp
And with good reason. The software makes it easy to design and send a variety of professional-looking emails. In fact, the platform goes far beyond just emails, extending to a wide range of assets, including:
- Sign-up forms to attract leads
- Landing pages for promoting offers or competitions
- Ads for Facebook, Instagram and Google
- A variety of automated marketing messages, such as abandoned cart reminders and shipping notifications
As if that weren’t enough, you can send up to 12,000 emails a month to as many as 2,000 subscribers without paying a penny. It’s not hard to see why pretty much every marketer has come into contact with Mailchimp at one point or another.
With all that said, ubiquity doesn’t equal efficiency. If you’re looking for something that fits in better with your business (or budget), then there are a bunch of alternatives to Mailchimp ready to take your email marketing to the next level. Here are the six Mailchimp alternatives that we’ll be exploring today:
ActiveCampaign
The first option on our list is ActiveCampaign, a slick all-rounder for marketers who want a bit more bang for their buck. It’s chock-full of features for all of your messaging and marketing automation – and it even comes with a handy sales CRM to boot.
With emails separated into different types of pre-made template, Active Campaign makes it easy to send everything from broadcast emails and trigger messages, to auto-responses and scheduled messages for events such as birthdays. Each message can be customised in the software’s drag-and-drop editor, and all content can be segmented to make sure you only send what your contacts want to see.
The platform’s marketing automation features are similarly easy to use, allowing users to lay out in a handy flowchart style what will happen if a customers acts a certain way. There are also additional tools for messaging via SMS, Facebook, and directly on your website.
ActiveCampaign’s marketing automation flowchart feature
But where the software really comes into its own is its CRM software, which allows users to register and annotate leads based on their requirements and where they are in the purchase process. The CRM then calculates a win probability from any given lead, using a traffic light scoring system to let you know who to contact and when – with a handy iOS version meaning you can close deals on the go.
Highlights: Clean interface, variety of templates, traffic light CRM system.
Best for: Larger sales teams to follow up on leads.
Cost: Lite membership at $29/month, Plus membership (including CRM software and deep data integration) $49/month.
To try ActiveCampaign for free, sign up for a 14-day trial here.
Aweber
Next we have Aweber, a fairly straightforward piece of software that bills itself as perfect for ‘time-strapped content creators, small business owners and entrepreneurs’.
We’re inclined to agree. The interface is clean and easy to use, with over 700 mobile-friendly templates that ensure there’s something for everyone. Each message can also be customised with a characteristically simple drag-and-drop editor.
Likewise, its marketing automation is easy to negotiate and works brilliantly, allowing users to easily set up email sequences and automated follow-ups. You can even use it to design simple lead generation pages such as sign-up forms and pop-ups.
Most helpful for the less technically-gifted among us is the catalogue of educational resources available on Aweber. Users can benefit from live support, weekly webinars, courses and successful templates to help them get the most out of the platform.
Highlights: Simple, easy-to-use interface, drag and drop campaigns.
Best for: Small businesses and entrepreneurs who need a quick and easy solution.
Cost: from $19/month for up to 500 subscribers, $69/month for up to 10,000.
Get a 30-day free trial of Aweber here.
Campaign Monitor
Ever wondered which platform your favourite brands use to build their email newsletters? The answer may well be Campaign Monitor.
Just a few of Campaign Monitor’s big-name clients
Designed to take your newsletter marketing to the next level, Campaign Monitor boasts a range of interesting features to increase engagement and boost open rates. Not only are its email marketing templates completely customisable and mobile optimised, but they also boast integrated social sharing to help you widen your reach and expand your audience.
Then there is drag-and-drop automation, which allows you to create personalised customer journeys and send different emails based on your audiences. ‘Send-time optimisation’ works to deliver your emails at exactly the right time all across the world, and you can even design and send sign-up forms to grow your contact list.
Finally, when it comes to analysing your campaigns, the platform’s deep reporting gives you a granular analysis of how your emails have performed with each individual contact, helping you to do more of what works (and less of what doesn’t).
With a heavyweight client list which includes Adidas, RipCurl and Unicef – not to mention a 99% customer satisfaction rating – it’s clear to see why Campaign Monitor has become a go-to for high-level newsletter marketing.
Highlights: Beautiful newsletters, integrated social sharing, in-depth analysis.
Best for: For those wanting to take their newsletter game to the next level.
Cost: Basic features (includes 2,500 emails and marketing automation) from £9/month to 500 subscribers. Unlimited use from £29/month. Also a pay-per-campaign option for those who don’t want to commit.
Get started on Campaign Monitor for free here.
GetResponse
Boasting over 350,000 users and counting, GetResponse is a high-quality all-rounder ready to enhance your marketing.
The email features are solid, with a clean-looking editor where you can create fully-responsive messages from over 500 templates and thousands of stock images. Again, there’s integrated social sharing and a ‘perfect timing’ setting to communicate with your subscribers when they’re most active. There’s even a series of e-commerce templates to improve your customers’ shopping experience whilst on site.
The marketing automation features are similarly impressive. There are handy templates to help you create practical workflows; auto-responders for regularly engaging with your contact list; advanced segmentation to group subscribers; and even a scoring system to help you measure the value of your contact list.
GetResponse also comes with a bunch of helpful options for those more interested in generating leads. Choose from a selection of mobile-optimised templates in the platform’s landing page builder, or use the list builder app to turn visitors into leads with sign-up boxes and intuitive surveys. There’s even an integrated webinar solution to give you another outlet for engaging with potential and established customers.
Landing page templates from GetResponse
Putting the icing on the cake is an integrated CRM designed to help you keep track of all the leads you’re bound to make – what more could you need?
Highlights: All-round platform, full webinar solution and useful CRM.
Best for: For businesses focused on lead gen.
Cost: From £10/month (£98.40/year) for lists of up to 1,000 recipients. Pro membership at £32/month.
Start your free trial on Get Response here.
Mailerlite
Mailerlite‘s tagline is advanced email marketing made simple and when you look at its neat interface and user-friendly features, it’s not hard to see why.
After crafting your beautiful designs with its oh-so-simple editor, Mailerlite’s email automation tool allows you to deliver the right messages to the right people based on time, condition or behaviour.
A series of easy-to-build landing pages and sign-up forms are available to help you grow your subscriber list, while you can track your progress on the platform’s no-frills dashboard.
Boasting 24/7 support and a client list that includes high-profile brands such as GoPro, if simplicity and ease-of-use are high on your list of priorities then Mailerlite could be for you.
Highlights: Straightforward email software, easy automation and stylish landing pages.
Best for: Technophobes and people who like to keep things simple.
Cost: Prices range from $0 for under 1,000 subscribers, to a maximum of $50/month for a contact list of up to 15,000.
Sign up to Mailerlite for free here.
SendinBlue
Last but not least on our list of Mailchimp alternatives is SendinBlue, an email marketing software which promises to serve small and medium-sized businesses efficiently and on budget.
SendinBlue splits its tools into three categories: marketing campaigns, transactional messaging and marketing automation.
Its marketing campaigns tools enable users to create great-looking emails and effective SMS messages, which can be optimised with insightful reporting to grow your audience and drive engagement.
Compatible with a wide variety of existing apps, SendinBlue’s transactional messaging offers a reliable way to send welcome messages, order confirmations, shipping notifications and alerts. Once sent, real-time analytics provide up-to-date information and ensure your messages are trackable at all times.
But it’s on the marketing automation side of things that SendinBlue really shines. Create multi-step, multi-channel campaigns through the platform’s easy-to-use workflow designer, helping you to deliver the right message to reach your audience on the right device and at the right time.
Delivering more than 30 million emails a day from over 50,000 customers – including high-profile names such as Michelin and BMW – busy marketers could do a lot worse than take SendinBlue for a spin.
Highlights: A good runner, practical marketing automation and easy on the wallet!
Best for: small and medium-sized businesses on a budget.
Cost: Up to 300 emails/day for free. Premium memberships start at £39/month for 120,000 emails.
Try out SendinBlue for free here.
Summary
When it comes to email marketing software, Mailchimp’s dominance is well-established and largely deserved. That said, the market for alternatives has grown exponentially over recent years, with plenty of contenders now vying for the crown. So, whether you’re looking to send polished newsletters or build slick landing pages, it could be well worth exploring the wide range of tools that are out there waiting to revolutionise your email marketing.
If you’ve tried any of the alternatives to Mailchimp above, or if there’s another tool that you would recommend, we’d love to hear from you in the comments below!