SMS and text messages are great ways to keep in touch with your prospects. However, email is arguably the best marketing channel, thanks to its impressive 3,800% return on investment. What’s even better is that every industry can benefit from email marketing. 

Whether you’re in real estate, communications, venture capitalism, or accounting, you can see a ton of return from a well-thought-out email marketing strategy. But you can’t do it alone and having an AI-powered tool can make all the difference.

If you want to grow your network, manage your relationships better, and see some real return, you have to adhere to a set of email marketing best practices and use reliable email marketing tools. Let’s take a look at the best five email marketing software solutions out there, some of their key features, and why they are tools, you should consider using.

1. Benchmark Email

Benchmark Email is a powerful email marketing platform that comes with an easy-to-use editor and customizable templates to help you design eye-popping yet highly engaging emails. You also get features such as the inbox checker and list verification to boost email deliverability and the overall success of your campaigns. 

Its marketing automation suite has features such as drip campaigns, segmentation, and pre-built customer journeys. With Benchmark Email, you can do more with less, saving you time to focus on other aspects of your campaigns (and your business). The good thing is that Benchmark Email has a free plan that lets you take advantage of some of these must-have features, as well as send up to 250 emails per month. 

Key Features

• Drag-and-drop email editor
• Over 130 customizable email templates for every occasion and industry
• Lead generation and list-building tools, like sign-up forms and landing pages
• Triggers and email automation for easy follow-up 
• A/B testing 
• Tons of integrations 
• Heatmap and live engagement reports 

Pricing: Free, Pro ($10.50 per month), Enterprise (quote-based pricing)

2. SendinBlue

SendinBlue is an intuitive, all-in-one communication platform that gives you the tools you need to engage your audience via SMS, email, and social media. It has over 60 customizable templates and a drag-and-drop editor that lets you create beautiful yet highly engaging emails. 

In addition, you get a suite of marketing automation tools to create automatic follow-up email workflows, send transactional emails and segment your email lists. Most importantly, it has a smart algorithm that utilizes artificial intelligence to select the opportune sending time for the best email deliverability. 

Key Features

• Shared inbox
• Support email, SMS, chat, and Facebook communication
• Built-in CRM
• Customizable email templates
• Supports contact segmentation
• Easy to create signup forms, landing pages, and Facebook ads
• A/B testing 

Pricing: Free, Lite ($25/month), Premium ($65/month), and Enterprise (quote-based pricing)

3. Constant Contact

Constant Contact is an easy-to-use email marketing platform that provides the tools you need to grow your network via email. To begin with, you get more than 300 email templates. On top of that, there’s a great editor to customize these templates to create highly engaging emails. 

Even better, Constant Contact has a set of beginner-friendly marketing automation tools and customer list growth tools, such as Facebook ads and sign-up forms. It also lets you monitor list growth, clicks, views, and other vital email metrics in real-time.  

Key Features

• Over 300 email templates
• Website sign-up forms and Facebook ads
• Easy-to-use email editor
• Website and landing page builder
• Marketing automation tools

Pricing: Core ($9.99 per month), Plus ($45 per month)

4. ActiveCampaign 

ActiveCampaign is an affordable email marketing platform for the real estate, communications, and VC industries. It comes packed with a CRM system to help you manage client relationships. Not to mention it has an impressive suite of email automation (email funnels, triggered email, and autoresponders), scheduling, and segmentation tools. 

Its standout tools are the A/B testing and geo-tracking. With A/B testing, ActiveCampaign lets you determine the best-performing email campaign, so you know where to focus your resources. With geo-tracking, you can determine your subscriber’s location to tweak the sending time for better deliverability. 

Key Features

• More than 125 email templates
• Over 50 landing page templates
• Sales and marketing automation
• Dynamic content and segmentation
• A/B testing and split testing

Pricing: Lite ($9 per month), Plus ($49 per month), Professional ($149 per month), Enterprise (quote-based pricing)

5. Moosend

Moosend is a great email marketing tool for small businesses that are getting started with network building. It has more than 40 responsive templates and an easy-to-use editor that make creating beautiful and engaging emails simple. There are also highly reliable conversion optimization features, such as email heatmaps analytics, A/B testing, and an AI engine for product recommendation. 

The standout feature is the generous 30-day free trial. You get all the tools to create and send unlimited emails with the plan. In addition, Moosend lets you tinker with a variety of automation workflows during the free trial, so you can make an informed buying decision. 

Key Features

• Drag-and-drop email editor
• Over 40 customizable email templates
• Easy-to-implement workflow automation
• Hyper-personalization tools
• Tracking and analytics

Pricing: 30-day free plan, Pro ($9 per month), Enterprise (quote-based pricing)

Don’t spend all day researching and vetting possible email marketing solutions. Any of the five tools mentioned above will make your life easier, allowing you to stay in touch and grow your network. Figure out which features (and price) best align with your needs and hit the ground running.