To run successful email campaigns and get good results from your email marketing efforts, you need both a solid strategy and tools for good execution.
Even the best strategy will fail if the execution is poor – which is why using the right tools and software for your email marketing is crucial.
There are many email marketing tools out there and since we know it can be very hard to choose the right one, we have decided to share with you our favourites, to help you set up and execute top-notch campaigns.
We have been using and testing many tools over the years and have listed here only those that we are still using and can warmly recommend.
Mailing platform
When choosing the mailing platform, you must make a good decision and sign up for a platform that meets all your needs.
Of course, you can always switch the platform, but that can often lead to damaging your lists and losing some contacts in the process of migrating from one platform to another.
Your mailing platform is something you will need to pay a monthly or yearly fee for, so you want to make sure that you are making a good investment from the start.
Here are three platforms that we can highly recommend:
Mailchimp
If you are just starting out with email marketing, you have no lists and contacts or your budget is tight, Mailchimp is a great platform to start with.
It offers a free plan, which can include up to 2,000 contacts, and this gives you the freedom to get familiar with the platform and test out different approaches and strategies for building lists.
Mailchimp gives you room to grow and become more confident at no cost.
It offers an all-in-one solution, which means you can create landing pages, sign up forms, social posts, even a website (though that feature is still in beta phase) all in one place.
There are a lot of templates you can choose from and easily customize with your logo, brand colours, content, images, etc.
The downside of Mailchimp is that setting workflows and creating segments can be very confusing, making it more likely that you will make a mistake in the workflow, and the same is with segmentation, as it is fully dependable on the tags that you assign to each contact.
There are also more limitations on what can be automated, so take into account that you would need to spend some time on it to keep it all under control and working properly.
The free version also has some limitations, but it is still a great option for many.
Convertkit
This is a great option if you have already built decent lists, and you have a dedicated budget for email marketing. ConvertKit can be pricey, depending on a number of contacts you have on a list, but it is one of the best options out there.
There are different plans available, and for each of them, the price goes up as you grow your list. You do have free trials for each plan to decide which one should work for you. These are much more limited than Mailchimp’s free tier, however.
Similarly to Mailchimp, Convertkit also offers everything you need for email marketing in one place. The main reason marketers love it so much is its excellent automation, simplicity and the very detailed analytics it provides.
Flodesk
Even though it is a relatively new platform, it didn’t take it long for it to become our favourite.
Flodesk is created to ease all the processes and automate as much as possible – so you don’t have to spend much time on it and worry if everything is working properly.
We love everything about it – the workflows are extremely easy to create and modify whenever needed, tags are assigned automatically to contacts, segmentation is as simple as it can be, and there is a growing gallery of beautifully designed templates – from landing pages, opt-in forms to emails and newsletters that you can easily tweak to fit your brand.
You can create stunning emails in just a few minutes.
You can explore and try Flodesk for an entire month for free. If you like it, you have a fixed monthly fee that you pay no matter how many subscribers you have.
The regular fee is 38$, but because we love them so much we have partnered up with them to offer you 50% off your monthly fee as long as you are using it – just click here to sign up!
Flodesk is a newer and younger option than the more established services, but we love it so far.
Design
Nothing can replace the work of a good graphic designer.
However, we know it’s not always possible to have professionally designed material, especially if you have to be very careful with your budget.
That’s why we recommend checking out Canva, an online designing tool that you can use to create graphics.
Canva can be very useful for email marketing and social media purposes as a quick design fix as it has thousands of templates available that you can easily modify.
You can use Canva completely for free, and even though there is a pro version that you can pay and upgrade to, a free account is more than enough to cover you for all those small designing tasks that you need to DIY.
We can even help you to create templates, that you can then easily use in Canva, just drop us a message!
Landing Pages
All of the mailing platforms above have the option to create landing pages, pop-ups, sign up forms. If you want to take them to the next level, however, Leadpages can really help.
With a simple drag-and-drop system to quickly build responsive landing pages that work on all devices, and offer detailed analytics, insights, integrations, and many other features.
Leadpages can help you build a list faster and lift conversion rates noticeably.
There are three different plans available, depending on your needs, but you have a 14-day free trial to try and see which plan would be suitable for you.
In case you just need some inspiration for your next landing page design, we recommend checking out Lapa Ninja, and its big gallery of landing page designs from various industries.
We are sure it will spark some ideas.
Imagery
Good imagery is a must for every aspect of your business and we highly recommend investing in a professional photo shooting and having a collection of original photos.
If hiring a photographer is not possible for you, there are many stock photos websites where you can find amazing images that you can use for your email marketing campaigns and even on social media channels.
If you ask for our recommendation, we say Unsplash. Most of the photos you will find there are taken by young and aspiring photographers and even though all photos are completely free to download and use, you can thank them and give support back by giving them credit.
Being free, these images are commonly used across the internet, however, so using a premium site may be more appealing to you.
Content Calendar
Last but not least, you need a calendar to stay organised with your email campaigns and that’s where we have got you covered.
We have created a content calendar especially for travel businesses that will help you with the planning, organisation and, finally, execution of your email marketing campaigns.
It’s easy to use, it covers the entire year and, if you need, you can easily customise it to fit your needs better.
Download FREE Content Calendar now
We hope this will help you with choosing the right tools and setting up your email marketing for success.
If you have some questions leave it as a comment or book a free consultation call and let’s talk about how we can help you more!
Other related articles from our blog:
Five Email Ideas Every Travel Business Should Be Sending Out
How to Create Effective Lead Magnets
Email Marketing is (not) dead?
How to create a Customer Persona for your Travel Business
Stay safe and healthy,
Until next time,
