| As I consult with small business owners building an | | | | putting them through a double opt-in process. |
| email list online I'm often asked who are the top email | | | | 3. Templates: A good email service provider will also |
| marketing companies and how to choose between | | | | provide you with a large number of high quality |
| them. | | | | templates to use in your emails. This saves you time |
| There are many companies online and who's the top | | | | and money in having them created yourself. |
| would depend on how you define 'top' I suppose. | | | | 4. Tracking: Knowing what works and what doesn't is |
| Is it the company with the most customers? | | | | the lifeblood of any business and it's no different when |
| The company with the highest deliverability rate? | | | | doing business online. A good email marketing |
| The company with the most total subscribers? | | | | company and service provider will offer you a number |
| The company who's made the most money? | | | | of good tracking options. For example, I use Aweber |
| Is it the program with the most features? | | | | for my email marketing and they provide tracking that |
| As you can see we'll need to define this down a little | | | | allows me to see the number of subscribers to every |
| further before making a decision on which company to | | | | opt-in form I create as well as the conversion rate. |
| build your email list with. | | | | They also do reporting on the number of sign-ups, |
| Here is my opinion of what the most important | | | | clicks in emails, percentage of emails opened and |
| features and email marketing company or email | | | | more. |
| service provider should offer: | | | | 5. Autoresponders: One of the greatest advantages to |
| 1. High Deliverability: This may very well be one of the | | | | email marketing is the ability to set up emails to be |
| most important features for a top company. You want | | | | delivered automatically. This allows you to create a lot |
| your emails to get delivered every single time. | | | | of leverage in your business and make money even |
| Unfortunately all too often emails just don't get through | | | | when you are not working. |
| the very strict spam filters of today's email programs | | | | 6. Customer Support: No matter how great a |
| and internet service providers. An email marketing | | | | company or product is if the support is terrible then it's |
| company that has built a solid relationship with email | | | | all downhill from there. Test out your potential email |
| and internet service providers can be 'whitelisted' so | | | | companies support by using it. Call them, ask questions |
| that their emails are sent through while others are | | | | and make sure they will be there to support you when |
| blocked. Be sure the company you choose has a high | | | | and if any issues arise. |
| deliverability rate, as close to 100% as possible. | | | | Armed with these criteria you will now be able to |
| 2. Double Opt-in: In order to comply with the Can-Spam | | | | easily identify who are the top email marketing |
| laws you want to make sure your subscribers actually | | | | companies. |
| signed up to receive your emails. This is best done by | | | | |