What's an Email Marketing Platform?Now that you're convinced email marketing is worth it, you're probably wondering what an email marketing platform actually is and why using one matters. An email marketing platform is a software that lets you create and manage your . Simple enough, right?Email marketing platforms are typically SaaS (Software as a Service) tools that are cloud-based. A high-quality email marketing platform makes it easy for you to send out any email communication, from to promotional emails to abandoned cart recovery emails.What Should Email Marketing Platforms Do?Your email marketing platform should ultimately make your life easier, helping you automate your emails and marketing campaigns and making it easy to create beautiful and engaging emails to send to your customers and subscribers. We recommend looking for the following features when choosing the best email marketing platform for your brand:User interfaceEmail marketing platforms are supposed to make the life of an email marketer easier. Look for an email marketing platform that has an easy-to-use interface with a low learning curve to ensure that you're able to utilize all the features you need quickly and easily.A drag-and-drop email editor is a wonderful feature to have. And, if you have email designers, you'll want to choose a platform that allows for . If you don't have people to design your emails, make sure that the email marketing platform you choose has a collection of templates you can customize to create emails that showcase your brand.SegmentationEmail segmentation is one of and dramatically increases the ROI of your email campaigns. You can create targeted marketing campaigns and promotional emails for the specific audiences that will be most interested in them based on demographics, location, behavior, and more. Some email marketing platforms even operate on AI and machine learning so the software can evaluate user behavior in real-time and fine-tune your email campaigns on the fly.PersonalizationSegmentation is important if you want to personalize your email marketing campaigns. And you definitely want to . Find an email marketing platform that includes merge tags to make it easy to personalize your email subject lines as well as the email copy. There are even some email marketing platforms that use dynamic content so you can create and send a single email that automatically includes certain content depending on the segment the email is being sent to.AutomationEmail marketing has a lot of moving parts, many of which are manual, repetitive tasks. Fortunately, many of the best email marketing platforms include automation features that can help you save tons of time. includes things like email scheduling, delivery receipts, engagement tracking, text analytics, role-based account access for your marketing team, and even intelligent segmentation/re-segmentation based on response to your email marketing campaigns.TestingOne of the most important steps to take to ensure that your email marketing campaigns are getting the best ROI is testing. Many of the top email marketing platforms include A/B and split testing functionality that lets you test different elements of your marketing emails against one another to ensure that you have the best possible combination of , copy, calls to action, email design, and format.Reports and analyticsThere are several you'll want to track to ensure that your email marketing is meeting your goals. However, tracking this information manually can be a full-time job. Choose an email marketing platform that includes reporting and analytics so you can track open rates, click-through rates, bounce rates, and more.Extra features available todayBasic functionality aside, there’s a new wave of features that are becoming increasingly available. When added to email marketing software, these features transform platforms from email marketing platforms and into enhanced marketing communications solutions. There’s also a good chance that you’ve seen them promoted before. These features are:SMS marketingSMS services woven into email marketing allow brands to engage buyers at different points in the buyer’s journey. As a permission-based promotional tool, is also highly effective. SMS open rates can be as high as 98%, are shorter and easier to reply to, and 75% of consumers are comfortable with the idea of receiving text messages.When SMS is paired with a strong email marketing campaign, brands can create a well-orchestrated and layered communications strategy.Website and landing page buildersWebsite and landing pages are a quintessential component of online marketing. They’re necessary for promoting products, services, and building email lists. And while there are third-party tools that can integrate with email marketing platforms via plugins and scripts, using one tool that does email and can build and host landing pages is better. Today, most email marketing platforms offer landing page builders that are easy to use and altogether cheaper than spending money on a third-party tool.Built-in CRMCRMs have always been more of a sales tool but that’s changing. As the lines between sales and marketing blur, brands have started paying attention to all the data CRMs can collect. Using enriched profiles, marketers can deliver personalized emails and content, something consumers want more of.Website personalizationWebsite personalization allows marketers to deliver unique buyer experiences. And this is critical today. As much as have seen improvements in customer experience from personalization, while 72% of consumers will only engage with personalized messaging.Website personalization allows brands to deliver buyer-specific content in the moment. From the right blog post to help buyers along their journey, to a discount coupon for those ready to make a purchase, you can present buyers with targeted marketing engagements that increase conversions.Digital advertisingPaid ad creation tools streamline marketing tasks. Like built-in CRM landing page and website builders, paid ad creation tools make it easier to track and measure conversions in one platform. Today, email marketing platforms allow you to create ads for social media and search engine platforms.Chat and chatbot functionalityChat isn’t a new technology but it’s transforming the way brands engage buyers. As the idea of conversational marketing grows, integrating chat into an email marketing platform doesn’t seem farfetched. With chat, brands open a door to interested buyers, and with smart email automation, those buyers can be guided along a path to a sale much quicker.Which Platform Should You Choose?There’s much to consider when picking a platform. To help, we’ve identified a list of 14 categories. They cover small, medium and enterprise recommendations. We also dive into which platforms are best suited for eCommerce brands, which are easiest to use, deliverability numbers, and more.1. Recommended Email Marketing Platforms for Creators and Small BusinessSmall businesses often have to balance affordability and functionality more than most. But that doesn’t mean you have to lose out on functionality. To strike a balance between both, here are three platforms we’ve found to be the best for small businesses and soloprenuers.Each platform allows you to send personalized emails, build landing pages, is easy to use, comes at a great price, and allows you to scale as your brand grows:, A capable email marketing service is integral to send your customers ads, newsletters, special offers, or surveys. We help you choose the best one for your business based on our thorough reviews , 14 Best Email Marketing Platforms Overview. I’ve seen email marketing software used in lots of different ways. But most people are looking for an email marketing platform to do the important things in a simple way. Create attractive HTML emails without code. Automate your campaigns. Segmentation and targeting messages at the right people..