Choose Your Email Marketing Technology Carefully
By: Jackie Schwabe, Mba
Tags: Small Business, Entrepreneurship, Email Marketing, Entrepreneur, Email Marketing Tips

Practical Business

Choose Your Email Marketing Technology Carefully

Once you know who your audience is, fully understand your reason for being, and know-how the products and services you recommend benefit your ideal customer, then you can work on choosing the right email marketing technology that will work for you today and into the future as your business grows.

This is a topic near and dear to my heart since … well I am in the middle of using a few. Don’t be me — seriously. I started with Mailchimp as it easily integrated with ClickFunnels and WordPress. Signed up for some program that required ActiveCampaign. Then ClickFunnels had Actionetics. Then Kajabi had an email service too. Ugh. So, I ended up with a hot a$$ mess. Again, do be me. So what did I learn from all this?

To choose the right technology, ask yourself the following questions:

Does the Solution Fit My Budget?

It’s hard to budget until you explore the various offerings regarding email autoresponder and email marketing technology. However, when you set your budget, understand that this is an investment in your business and an important one.

As they say, “the money is in the list,” and with a 38 to 42 dollar return for every dollar you spend, this is not a joke. Set a reasonable budget but realize that this is going to be one of your biggest income earners too. Mailchimp has a nice free version — but if you want to use the automated sequences, you need to pay. Don’t just see free and think there isn’t a long-term cost.

What Reputation Does the Software Have with Users and Others?

Always check the standing of the software company before using it. Just because it exists doesn’t make it useful. It’s also best to choose a well-loved software that’s been around for a while to avoid having to deal with bugs and issues. If many people in your industry and niche use it, it’s probably a good choice.

For example, I have heard that Infusionsoft is really hard to use and it more from when you have a really established company as well as someone to help you technically. I also have used Actionetics by ClickFunnels and it isn’t exactly nailing it. So, do a little homework.

What Is the Deliverability Rate Advertised?

The email marketing provider you choose is vital because it’s a trusted system by your customer’s email providers. If they cannot get your emails or they all go to spam folders, you won’t get very far.

Consider how nearly all of your *gmail goes into spam. That is what we are talking about here. I personally like that I can see right from ActiveCampaign my deliverability rate. I can also see who opened it and who clicked through. I cannot see that in many of the others.

Can I Integrate the Software with My Current Technology?

If you already have a website and other technology that is important for your business, can this technology be used with what you already have? It’s important to understand what it works with so that you can get the most from the solution.

I even talked about this in the introduction. I love that Mailchimp easily connects to everything. ActiveCampaign can be a bit jerkish with ClickFunnels. If you are not a really technical person, it matters a ton what you decide to use.

Does the Software Allow for Audience Segmentation?

This criterion is something you cannot get by without. You need to be able to automatically segment your audience based on when they sign up, what they sign up for, or where they sign up for your list.

This is also called different things and done in different ways within the various technologies. If you want to send some things to new subscribers and others to those that didn’t purchase or did purchase — this will matter to you.

Can I Set Up Automation Based on Subscriber Behavior?

In addition to segmentation based on what the customer downloaded or consumed; you should also segment your subscribers based on their behaviors. For example, did you send a survey to your email list? The people who answered should be segmented from those who didn’t.

Are the Terms of Service Compatible with My Business Model?

I realize the terms of service are probably long, but you need to know if it’s within the rules to use this software the way you intend to use it. For example, if you recommend any products you did not create via a unique coded affiliate link, some providers don’t allow it. It would suck to do all that work, build a responsive list, and then get kicked off the platform.

Will This Choice Grow with My Business?

You may not need all the features of the technology when you first get started but trust me, you’ll need many of the features later as your business grows. You want to choose the best system you can base on the ultimate goal of your business growth, not where you are now, because switching systems isn’t as easy as you may think, and you’ll lose list members in the process.

Can I Figure Out How to Use It?

The final issue is, can you figure out how to use it enough to use it now? You can hire an expert in the product to run it for you, but it’s always a good idea to understand it a little bit. The trials can help you determine if you can figure it out enough to get started.

Don’t be afraid to try a few low-cost or free trails but keep in mind that they can be limited until you get the full version. Using free versions for business is not recommended, no matter how long they let you do it. Invest in your business, and others will be willing to invest in you.