When it comes to marketing your product or service, delivering targeted content directly to a user's inbox is the most cost-effective and conversion-rich approach. It allows you to open a channel of trust and communication with your target audience.

 

Email marketing technology is used by 82% of B2B and B2C companies!

Utilizing a great email marketing service allows you to manage your contacts, segment them into groups and track performance. Your emails will spend more time getting clicks and less time in the spam folder!

 

But how do you know which email marketing service is right for your marketplace platform?

 

If you aren’t careful, then you might end up paying a lot more money for fewer features and terrible deliverability (which causes you to lose even more money).

 

Here are the big 4 email marketing services to ignite your marketplace platform and provide the best bang for your buck! They're perfect for lean startups AND businesses looking to scale.

 

1. MailChimp

 

MailChimp is a very popular email marketing service provider, which you may have experience with. It provides an easy-to-use interface with slick tools, convenient integrations and tons of knowledge base articles to help you master the art of email.

 

Notable features include:

 

• Merge tags
• A/B testing
• Easy email creator
• Segments and groups
• Tracking and analytics
• Forms to capture emails
• Email and live chat support

 

MailChimp's forever free plan lets you have up to 2,000 subscribers and send 12,000 monthly emails, which is perfect for marketplaces that are just starting out. You'll be able to launch your email marketing strategy and keep your audience up to date with newsletters or targeted content delivery.

 

 

If you want the all-star features, you'll need to upgrade to a paid account. In my opinion, these are the features that will put your marketplace platform on the map! Things like advanced segmentation, timezone-based delivery, and automated workflows become available at $10 per month that increase per every 500 users.

 

Benefits: Forever free version, easy-to-use, templates and flexibility, member rating system, social media integration

 

Draw backs: Often slow personal customer support, only one sign up form available per list, affiliate marketing is prohibited

 

2. Constant Contact

 

Constant Contact has been helping people market their products and services since 1995. It's easy to use and beginner-friendly, making it a decent option for marketplace owners new to email marketing.

 

With Constant Contact, you can easily manage contacts, email lists, templates, and much more. It offers customer support through email, live chat, a community forum, and lots of resources.

 

Notable features include:

 

• 1 GB storage
• Image library
• Online training
• Easy tracking and reporting
• Built-in social media sharing

 

They also offer live in-person seminars to help small business learn the basics of email marketing. Constant Contact has a 60 day free trial (no credit-card required), with pricing as low as $20 per month.

 

Benefits: Longest free trial, easy-to-use, quickest delivery, simple share tool

 

Draw backs: Less comprehensive features for more money (no wow factor here)

 

3. GetResponse

 

GetResponse is an easy-to-use platform that simplifies email marketing for small businesses. It utilizes powerful tools to help you create effective campaigns to drive conversions and ROI.

 

Notable features include:

 

• Segmentation
• Landing pages
• Auto responders
• Responsive forms
• Marketing automation
• Drag-and-drop builder
• Smart automated campaigns
• Group-specific content delivery

 

GetResponse integrates with third party lead generation software like OptinMonster, SalesForce, Google Docs, and ZenDesk to help you manage tasks across platforms.

Support is provided by phone, live chat, and email. GetResponse's help section offers users free learning material like videos, webinars, how-to's, and guides. There's a 30 day free trial and pricing starts at just $15 per month.

 

Benefits: Ease of use, mobile previews, design and stock images, split testing

 

Draw backs: Good, NOT GREAT, third party integrations

 

4. Aweber

 

AWeber is a big player in email marketing, but you wouldn't know it by their branding. It offers a wide-range of tools for small and medium sized businesses to manage contacts and emails.

 

Notable features include:

 

• Seamless integrations
• Email templates
• List management
• Auto responders
• Email tracking and insights

 

AWeber provides support through live chat, phone, email, live webinars, and knowledge base articles. It offers users a 30 day free trial and pricing begins at $19 per month. It's pricing is very competitive and allows for big chunks of growth within the pricing tiers.

 

Benefits: Campaigns, mobile apps, amazing customer support

 

Draw backs: Not the easiest to use for beginners, just a tad more expensive than Get Response (but offers better features).

 

Conclusion

 

So which provides the best value? Well, it depends on your marketplace platform. While there is now CLEAR winner amongst these four options, there is definitely one that's not up to par with the rest.

 

For beginners:

 

GetResponse is very easy to use and has the right features at the right price. If your marketplace platform is in the beginning stages, I'd suggest taking a 30 day free trial of GetResponse for a spin!

 

For established marketplace platforms:

 

AWeber offers payment tiers that allow for larger amounts of growth. There's also amazing data-driven insights to help you segment, test, and perfect your email marketing strategy. Their interface is a little difficult for beginners to navigate, but any semi-experienced marketer will find it beautiful and effective!

 

Do you still have questions about which email marketing service provider is right for your marketplace platform? Leave me a comment below!

 

I'd also love to hear what providers you're using and any experiences (good or bad) that you've had!