Selecting an Email Service Provider

ARE YOU READY TO INTRODUCE EMAIL MARKETING INTO YOUR ONLINE BUSINESS?

If you are, then it is time to select an Email Service Provider (ESP.)  ESPs are a must have in today’s online business space to help online marketers build their email list to grow their online businesses. Most successful online marketers agree that their email list is their biggest asset, and that email marketing offers a huge return on their investment. Unlike the following you may have on social media, when you build your email list, you own it and are able to communicate with your email subscribers at anytime.

What is an Email Service Provider?
An ESP is a software-based service that provides a database for you to store your email subscribers and send emails in bulk.  Your individual email account, such as Gmail, is not set up for sending bulk email. 

Why are Email Service Providers important?
ESPs help you build your email list, manage it, and nurture your email subscribers and earn the right to make offers to your email list when you want to sell your online programs and services.  

More than 59% of marketers say email is their biggest source of ROI. ~Emma 

Choosing an Email Service Provider
Selecting an Email Service Provider can be a little overwhelming at first, because there are so many of them to choose from. Mostly, ESPs offer a basic set of features and functions.

Click here to view the Email Service Provider listings on the Online Marketing Directory.

Common Features found in most Email Service Providers  

Built in CAN-SPAM Compliance Tools
The (CAN-SPAM) Act of 2003 sets the standard for sending commercial emails and gives the U.S. Federal Trade Commission the right to enforce these standards.  Most ESPs include features to ensure that you are complying with the CAN-SPAM Act as you implement your email marketing strategies.

Email Templates
Most ESPs allow you to send your emails via plan test, or as HTML. Most ESPS also offer mobile friendly email delivery. 

Email List Management
ESPs provide you with the tools to manage your email subscribers. Your ESP will automatically add email subscribers that have opted in to your email list and automatically unsubscribe email subscribers that no longer want to receive your emails. Your ESP will automatically remove any invalid emails that result in hard bounces from your email list.  After multiple attempts to send an email, your ESP will also remove soft bounces.  

Email Marketing Automation
Most ESPs will provide a feature to send automated emails that are generated based on the actions of your email subscribers.  This is important as it helps you send relevant messages to your email subscribers which generates higher opens, click-through, and conversion rates.  

Do you know of any other Email Service Providers that should be on the directory?
Email us at [email protected] so we can add them to the directory.

Email Marketing Segmentation
Another common feature amongst ESP is the ability for you to manage and segment your list so you can send targeted campaigns to your email subscribers. Segmentation is managed with the application of tags that help divide your email subscribers into smaller segments based on a specific set of criteria such as purchase history, interests, etc. 

Email Deliverability
Online marketers pay attention to the email deliverability of an ESP to gauge the likelihood of their email campaigns ending up in their email subscriber's in-box.  Email deliverability is affected by the ISPs, throttling, email bounces, spam issues, and bulking.  Most ESPs are very protective of the deliverability of their platform to ensure that they deliver their customers emails.  ESPs will implement basic email deliverability requirements, and best practices to protect the sending of emails from their email servers.

Integration with Back-End Systems
Most ESPs offer integration with back-end systems, such as a CRM, shopping cart, or other online marketing tools.  This allows your ESP to talk to other services you offer so you can send relevant, customized emails to your email subscribers. 

Email Marketing Analytics
ESPs offer detailed metrics reports of your email marketing results that you can use to optimize your email marketing. The most common email marketing metrics that ESPs will track for you are open rates, click-through rates, CTR, conversion rates, etc.

We hope that this marketing article will help you select the right Email Service Provider for your business.