Best Email Software for Small Businesses and Startups
Before I had a good email software in place, I was scrambling to publish weekly updates, struggling to respond to leads, and barely able to keep track of my projects. Sound familiar?
Then, I found an email marketing tool that I use - and love. All of those problems? Evaporated.
Email remains the most affordable and effective way of talking to your leads and customers, but it’s nearly impossible without a software tool.
In this blog, you’ll learn the best email marketing software for small businesses and startups.
You’ll learn the pros and cons of 7 popular email tools, and our recommendations to help you choose.
File under: the right tool for the job.
Inboxes are overcrowded, but consumers do still want to communicate with brands via email.
More than 50 percent of U.S. respondents check their personal email account more than 10 times a day, and it is by far their preferred way to receive updates from brands, according to HubSpot.
First, you’ll need an email solution for your company.
Without hesitation, we recommend Google’s G Suite for Business. Not only is the email functionality great, the add-ons like Google Drive are exceptional.
Before purchasing an account with Google for Business, check to see if your website provider offers a special. (For example, Squarespace used to offer a year of Google for Business for free with every website purchased.)
Beyond your business email account, you’ll want an email marketing software. Learn more about your options next.
Here’s why: email marketing softwares make it easy to send bigger email blasts, analyze the results of your email efforts, and more.
With email marketing software, you can send email campaigns to your leads, prospects, and customers. This helps you build a relationship, and ultimately, can help drive sales.
Before getting into the software options, it’s worth noting that the cost of email marketing software varies widely. If you have a few thousand email addresses in your database or less, you will have plenty of affordable options. However, if you have a lot of contacts and intend to send a lot of emails, the costs for email marketing can really add up.
We’re going to outline a few pros and cons of the following email marketing tools for small businesses: HubSpot, MailChimp, ActiveCampaign, Drip, Omnisend, SendinBlue, and Squarespace.
We’ll dive into all of these options in the next section, but if you want a simple summary of recommendations, scroll on down.
HubSpot
If you’re using HubSpot for your CRM, you have access to some built-in email functionality. Admittedly, it’s fairly limited at the free level, but the higher paid versions of the software are robust.
It also has a system for automated kick-off emails when someone submits a form.
Right now, HubSpot is running a great special - $50/mo for their entire starter hub, which includes email. I switched TLC’s email from Mailchimp + Squarespace over to HubSpot, and honestly, haven’t looked back. (I definitely wasn’t paid for this endorsement; it’s just a great deal.)
Mailchimp
For most small businesses, we recommend Mailchimp. They’re a customer-friendly company, and their email tool has a lot of functionality. It’s easy to build campaigns and deliver pretty emails with their tool. You can even create automated campaigns - though that does take a little know-how. This is one of the only high-quality email tools that does offer marketing automation in the more basic subscriptions.
ActiveCampaign
If you’re looking for extensive email automation and integrated tools like forms and chats, check out ActiveCampaign. It’s built for small businesses, which means it has tons of functionality without being burdensome. Plus, they’re one of the only tools with advanced workflow and automation included at a reasonable rate. (Full disclosure: if I weren’t using HubSpot, I’d be using ActiveCampaign.)
Omnisend & Drip
If you’re using Shopify for your eCommerce site, definitely consider Omnisend. It has an integration that is seamless and easy-to-use. Drip also specializes in eCommerce marketing; this is a good option for non-Shopify online stores. It can be pricey, but it’s so focused on driving sales that it seems worth it.
SendinBlue
The only software that has competitive rates for high-volume emails (in terms of recipients and number of emails sent) is SendinBlue. If you anticipate sending thousands of emails each month, this is your best option by far.
Squarespace
Finally, your website service may include email marketing. Squarespace does!
Squarespace’s email marketing add-on is decent. It’s easy to create a blog update, sale announcements, and other simple blasts. It’s really affordable and the templates are nice, but the contact manager is clunky and so are the analytics.
In summary, here are our recommendations for the best email software for small businesses and startups:
Recommendation for Your Company Email Addresses: Google for Business
Cost: $0-15
Recommendation for Most Email Marketing: MailChimp
Cost: $0-15/mo
Recommendation for eCommerce Marketing: Drip
Cost: $49/mo for up to 2,000 contacts; continues increasing from there.
Note: If you’re using Shopify for your store, you might want to consider Omnisend as an alternative to Drip.
Recommendation for High-Volume Emailers: SendinBlue
Cost: $0-50/mo for up to 120K emails per month
Recommendation for Affordable, Advanced Emails: ActiveCampaign
Cost: $9-229/mo
Recommendation for an All-in-One Marketing Tool: HubSpot
Cost (fairly short time window): $50/mo for the Starter Suite
There you have it! Those are our recommendations for the best email marketing software for small businesses and startups. Want to know more? Comment or send us a note and we’ll be happy to answer your questions.
Finally, these recommendations - and many more - are included in our complete guide to the best softwares for small businesses and startups.
If you’re tired of researching the right tools for your growing business, this free resources can help. Get the guide here!