When you consider the prevalence of social media and the speed with which it can spread information, it’s easy to think email marketing is becoming obsolete. On the contrary, statistics show it’s alive and well. If you’re not implementing it, you could be missing out on conversions.
Fortunately, getting started with email marketing isn’t hard. Much of it can be automated, especially if you choose the right platform for your brand. There are many to decide between, but carefully weighing the pros and cons can help you pinpoint which is ideal.
In this post, we’ve rounded up six stellar email marketing platforms that integrate with WordPress. Hopefully, this will help narrow down your selection. Let’s get to it!
MailChimp is a marketing platform geared towards small businesses. However, its tools are utilized by several large-scale companies as well:
MailChimp’s features encompass social media, landing pages, and much more. However, in this post, we’ll focus on its email-related services, which include:
- An easy-to-use, drag-and-drop email builder
- Automated email messages
- Built-in, real-time analytics monitoring
Integrating this platform with WordPress couldn’t be easier. All you have to do is install and activate the MailChimp for WordPress plugin:
MailChimp is also highly affordable, especially if you’re just starting out. You can manage up to 2,000 contacts for free. Paid plans start at $9.99 per month and include additional support, more detailed analytics, and other upgrades.
Offering very similar features to that of MailChimp, Constant Contact is another viable option:
This platform also has a lot to offer in the way of social marketing, landing pages, and even ad creation. As far as email is concerned, you can look forward to:
- Customizing pre-built email templates
- Automated welcome, abandoned cart, and other messages
- Tracking open and click-through rates
There is an official Constant Contact WordPress plugin, but it only has a three-star rating. Some users have complained of it breaking their sites. Instead, you may want to try the Constant Contact Forms plugin by MailMunch:
Many form-builder plugins also offer Constant Contact integration.
Pricing-wise, expect to pay at least $20 per month for Constant Contact, even if you only have one subscriber. There’s no free option available, but you can access a trial before you commit.
Another alternative is SendinBlue:
This platform has a heavy emphasis on email marketing, but also offers SMS and chat services for more personalized interactions with users. Plus, you can also use SendinBlue to:
- Automatically send your emails at the optimal time for your recipients
- Utilize A/B testing and segmentation
- Create automated marketing workflows
Integrating SendinBlue with your WordPress is as simple and setting up the official SendinBlue plugin:
SendinBlue’s free plan enables you to deliver up to 300 emails per day. The lowest tier paid plan has support for up to 40,000 emails per month and starts at $25 per month. This is more expensive than MailChimp’s 500,000 monthly sends for $9.99, but SendinBlue offers unlimited contacts for all its plans.
Geared towards e-commerce sites, Drip includes many features suited to online retailers:
As a multi-channel marketing platform, Drip has a lot to offer. Where email is concerned, its features include:
- In-depth customer behavior tracking
- Automated emails, including welcome and abandoned cart messages
- Revenue tracking that shows how your efforts are paying off
The best way to combine Drip with WordPress is through its official WooCommerce integration. The required extension is priced at $79 per year.
Drip itself starts at $49 per month. Pricing increases based on the number of contacts you have. You can try the demo or a 14-day free trial before signing up for a paid plan.
Campaign Monitor is dedicated exclusively to email marketing. Whether that’s a point in its favor or not depends on your strategy, but it certainly sets it apart from the other options on this list:
With this platform, you’ll be able to:
- Apply custom branding to a variety of email templates
- Create signup forms to collect contacts
- Personalize content through segmentation
There are a few different plugins available for integrating Campaign Monitor and WordPress. We recommend combining it with Contact Form 7 and the Contact Form 7 Campaign Monitor Extension:
At $9 per month for up to 2,500 emails, Campaign Monitor is one of the more affordable options available. You can also pay per campaign if you only need to reach out to users occasionally.
The last suggestion on our list is MailPoet, which offers the easiest WordPress integration of all.
Mailpoet is a WordPress newsletter plugin. Instead of trying to integrate with a third-party, you can send emails right from your website.
Keep in mind that in some cases, using your website’s server for email can overload it. Some hosts also have restrictions in place to prevent you from doing so. Be sure to do your research before choosing this option.
You can start sending emails with the free version of MailPoet right away. However, if you want to track analytics such as open and click-through rates, you’ll need MailPoet Premium. It’s free for up to 1,000 subscribers. Plans then start at $8.38 per month, billed annually.
Conclusion
Email marketing is not only still relevant, but key to successfully promoting your website. Selecting the best platform for you will enable you to automate the process so you can spread brand awareness in your sleep.
This post has shared six of the best email marketing platforms that you can integrate with WordPress, including:
- MailChimp: Probably the best all-around email marketing platform for WordPress.
- Constant Contact: A viable MailChimp alternative for those who rely heavily on social media ads.
- SendinBlue: Ideal for those with large audiences, as all plans offer unlimited contacts.
- Drip: Suited to e-commerce sites that need detailed analytics.
- Campaign Monitor: A smart solution for small brands with email-centric marketing plans.
- MailPoet: The easiest option for a smooth WordPress integration.
With more than one million active installations, MailChimp is currently the most popular email solution for WordPress users. It’s very flexible and covers all your basic digital marketing needs, making it a strong fit for most sites.
For a simpler solution that works directly from within your WordPress site, we then recommend MailPoet. Apart from being backed by a great team, we use MaiLPoet for our weekly newsletters on WP Mayor and have done so successfully for many years, so it’s an easy recommendation from us.
Do you have questions about choosing an email marketing platform? Leave them in the comments section below!
Featured Image Credit: Davide Baraldi.
About Will Morris
Will Morris is a staff writer at WordCandy. When he’s not writing about WordPress, he likes to gig his stand-up comedy routine on the local circuit.
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Keep reading the article at WP Mayor. The article was originally written by Will Morris on 2020-01-13 06:00:00.
The article was hand-picked and curated for you by the Editorial Team of WP Archives.