Have you already designed your email marketing campaign and are you ready to move forward with your digital marketing strategy? Great, but now you need to send all those emails. Are you going to buy software for your computer or subscribe to an online service ?
Each has advantages and disadvantages depending on your marketing requirements.
Cost of Email Marketing Tools
Any email marketing software has a high initial cost (which can reach tens of thousands of euros for the most complex programs). Although it may seem like a one-off cost, with no monthly fees, keep in mind that all operational costs (servers, bandwidth, maintenance, backups) come out of your own pocket. And technical support and major software updates are often charged separately.
With an online email marketing service, you c level contact list pay a fixed monthly fee or buy a message package. Prices start at very low levels (around R$50 per month if your database has around 2,500 contacts) and there are no operational costs. Since everything is done via the Web, there is no need to install anything, configure servers or make backups. The service takes care of all this automatically.
Installation
In email marketing software , the big problem is not i hope you like this new format just installing the application. You need to create several dedicated sending IPs, optimize the performance of the machines, check the PHP and MySQL versions, tune and certify the SMTP servers, configure the handling of bounces, cronjobs, permissions, etc. All of this has to be done manually by your technical managers (not just once, but every time you make changes to your infrastructure).
An online service does not need to be installed and is ready to use at any time with a simple browser. Since the service already has its own machines, IP servers, certifications and hosting (all properly tuned), it does not require configuration. The only configuration is that of your email marketing action (creating the lists, preparing the campaign and sending it).
Integration with existing infrastructure
Since the software is installed directly into your business sale lead company’s framework, it works seamlessly and seamlessly with your database and CRM. However, if you need to upgrade it to a new computer, CRM or server cluster, the process can be complicated. And since the application is closed, you will have to follow the internal documentation or ask for support, which is usually paid for.
With an online service, you need to import your database (usually in Excel or CSV format) into the system before you can manage your campaign. Many services make this task easier with plugins for the most popular CRMs (Sugar, Primavera, PHC, Salesforce, etc.) and an API for other applications. And since it’s a web-based system, you can do email marketing from any computer anywhere in the world (even an iPhone or iPad).
Shipping and delivery efficiency
No matter how advanced an email marketing software is. It will only be able to send and deliver messages properly if the server and IP address configuration is perfect. Not only do you need to monitor them constantly. But you also need powerful machines and a large bandwidth to process the sending, bounces and reports.
An online service already has a properly configured server cluster. As well as a network of machines and IP ranges optimized for sending. Constantly monitored in cooperation with the major ISPs (Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.). In fact, after clicking “send”, you can turn off your computer and the service will take care of the rest. For small shipments, the servers are usually shared by several customers. For larger shipments, dedicated servers are provided.
Technical support
Almost all software has detailed installation and usage guides. But personalized technical support is usually charged separately (especially during the installation phase). And rarely covers servers (as these are configured by you). Upgrades are released sporadically and may also be paid for.
Online services often have detailed documentation and provide free email support (some even have free online training). They also tend to have active user communities. Whose ideas help to quickly implement new features. And because they are used by thousands of people at the same time. Any issues tend to be resolved very quickly.
Conclusion
Based on this analysis, the balance is heavily tipped towards online email marketing services. But it all depends on your specific needs and knowledge. For example, if you already have your IP and SMTP server infrastructure. In place and know exactly how to configure it. You might consider installing software. In other cases, it would be preferable to opt for an online service. Given the low cost and convenience they offer.