Within the next year, industry experts estimate that the number of email users around the globe will pass the 4 billion mark. And the average user’s inbox sees more than 120 emails coming and going every day.
That’s a lot of potential customers for your small business, but that’s also a lot of competition for your growing audience’s attention. If you want your marketing emails to stand out in the crowd, you need email marketing software that drives engagement through savvy, responsive design, while also making list management simple and easy.
But the best email marketing platform for small businesses and entrepreneurs isn’t always a crystal-clear choice.
How to Choose the Best Email Marketing Platform For Your Business
While every entrepreneur or small business owner has niche-specific requirements, several general best practices and strategies can help you navigate your choices. And there are many, many choices, from top picks like Flodesk to industry heavy weights like MailChimp, ConvertKit and ActiveCampaign.
To find out more about the Pro’s & Con’s of other small business email providers, visit our blog article on 5 Email Marketing Providers Made For Small Business.
Below, we cover the essentials you need, in order to stand out from the crowd that is flooding the inbox of your audience:
1. Design-Savvy Email Templates
Email design is about more than just making your marketing campaigns look “pretty.” Email design is a strategic process that uses design elements to increase your open rates and click-through rates (and thus, your potential sales and revenue).For example, a clean layout that aligns with your overarching brand makes your email content easier to consume. Specific button shapes can help drive clicks and engagement. Unique typefaces can create a certain emotional response to what the user is reading. And certain colours can help trigger specific actions.
Litmus surveyed a sampling of everyday email users, plus Adobe, Oracle and five other industry giants, to identify some of the biggest trends in email design this year. Some of the top email design trends included:
- More minimalist design concepts to better engage mobile users (27%)
- Integration of animations, such as GIFs (22.8%)
- Aligning email design with the brand’s overall marketing strategy (22.4%)
The right email marketing software does it all, offering ready-to-use templates that have design best practices built-in for you. And the best platforms, such as Flodesk, take it a step further and provide drag-and-drop email builders so you can quickly launch your email marketing without needing to use Photoshop, Illustrator or any other technical design tool.
2. Responsive Handling For All Mobile Devices and Screen Sizes
The best email marketing software will ensure every single email you send to your customers offers responsive reading and viewing options.
This guarantees that your email design and marketing copy looks its best no matter if someone opens it on their laptop or on their smart phone.
According to Hubspot, 60% of emails are opened on mobile devices, and using a mobile-responsive email design can increase your marketing engagement by an incredible 15%.
With hundreds of different browsers and screen sizes to consider, it doesn’t make business sense (or business cents) to attempt to do this manually. If your email marketing software isn’t able to automatically handle mobile responsiveness, you’re literally leaving money on the table as a small business owner or entrepreneur.
3. Smart Integrations
Whether you’re a mom-and-pop shop just starting to dip your toes into e-commerce, or you’re a seasoned marketing pro running a growing entrepreneurial empire, integrations ensure you’re set up for the future.
From integrating your emails to your customer list, or tracking sales across e-commerce platforms, the right email marketing platform has plug-and-play compatibility with common CRMs and business platforms.
Even if you don’t need it yet, having this functionality in your back pocket is fundamental for your business’ future goals.
Why Flodesk Might Be the Better Option For Your Small Business
Flodesk satisfies all of the previously mentioned criteria, while avoiding many design drawbacks presented by competitors. This may be why more and more entrepreneurs and small businesses are switching to Flodesk for more beautifully designed email templates, and leaving the industry old-timers.
NOTE: Before we get any further, we wanted to let you know that we have a special limited-time offer.
If you sign up for Flodesk through our special affiliate link, you’ll save 50% on your Flodesk membership — for the life of your membership! But this special offer ends very, very soon (as soon as they close off their beta!).
