EMAIL MARKETING
Bulk Email Senders: What Are They and Tools We Recommend
When it comes to email marketing, the name of the game is efficiency. It would be impossible to assume that you would be able to send each of your email subscribers an individual email. The time it would take to put together hundreds of emails just doesn’t exist. You’re busy, with a lot of other things to do.
That’s where bulk email senders come in. This may not be a term you’ve heard very often, so let’s dive into what bulk email senders are, why they’re a godsend for email marketers, and some tips to follow when using them.
What Are Bulk Email Senders?
A bulk email sender is software that enables users to send the same message to many recipients at once. They’re often used for newsletters, promotions, or other mass informational messages that don’t need to be adjusted to different recipients.
The main difference between bulk email software and an email service provider (like Benchmark Email) is the level of functionality. Most bulk email software only enables users to send mass mailings, while email marketing service providers are more robust and include the ability to create multiple mailing lists and automate email campaigns, along with sending bulk emails.
Why Are Bulk Email Senders Beneficial?
Bulk email senders not only save you a massive amount of time and money by sparing you the headache of manually sending the same message to hundreds (or even thousands!) of recipients, but they also provide significant reach and can improve brand awareness. Bulk email senders typically also enable you to track which of those recipients open your message and click on the links within.
When it comes to email service providers, however, you can achieve all of the above and can expect some contact management tools to be brought into the fold. Sometimes they’re built into the software, or the software comes with integrations allowing you to tap into your favorite contact management tools. Email service providers also allow you to segment your mailing list and target particular demographics that you think will be more likely to engage with certain content.
Between tracking your email metrics and refining your list(s), a good service is instrumental in improving your engagement rates — which will be directly related to increased conversions. In one study, 44% of email recipients said a mass promotional email had spurred them to make one or more purchases.
Top Tips for Using a Bulk Email Sender
Know Your Needs
No bulk email sender is created equal. If you just need a simple tool that allows you to send mass emails, no personalization or automation necessary, then make sure the tool you land on doesn’t come with more features. Otherwise, you’ll just be paying for things you don’t need.
On the other hand, if you want to personalize your emails, send automated messages, and segment your list based on certain factors, then look for an email service provider that offers you more than just simple mass emails.
Do you want email templates, verification tools, and a/b testing capabilities? Again, these are all things you need to be asking yourself before landing on a bulk email sender.
Keep an Eye on Your Unsubscribe Rate
Bulk sends are great for reaching a lot of people at once, but they do run the risk of being a nuisance — which can have the opposite effect of what’s intended. Make sure your emails are adding value to your recipients’ lives, and watch that unsubscribe rate. If it goes much past the average of .48%, you may want to re-examine your content.
Watch Out for the Spam Folder
Perhaps worse than a high unsubscribe rate is the dreaded spam folder. When your email goes to spam, not only does that mean that your recipient won’t read it, but your email deliverability could be at risk.
To keep your messages landing in recipients’ inboxes, make sure your mass messages avoid spam triggers and don’t schedule your emails too often. Some services include a spam-check feature, like spell-check but for spam triggers, which can be a great failsafe.
Monitor Your Engagement Rates and Adjust as Needed
Another thing that can hurt your deliverability is low engagement. Ideally, your open rate should be at or above the all-industry average of around 21%, and your click-through rate should meet or exceed the average of just under 8%.
The better your engagement, the more likely your emails will be delivered straight to recipients’ inboxes, so if your rates are lagging, it’s worth taking some time to figure out why and hopefully nurse them back to health.
Keep in mind that Apple’s iOS 15 update will affect your email open rates. At Benchmark Email, we’ve created a feature that allows users to track their email engagement in Google Analytics, giving them a better indication of email success.
Some Bulk Email Sending Tools We Recommend
Elastic Email
If you’re looking for a plan you can customize, Elastic Email is a great option. They let you select exactly the features you need and leave behind the ones you don’t, and their pricing system is broken out according to each feature so you can build the right plan for your needs and budget.
Benchmark Email
Of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t recommend our own email service. We’re biased, but we think it’s one of the best tools available, with tons of features, like a drag-and-drop email builder, tons of email templates, lead generation tools, reporting, and marketing automation, all at a super affordable price. If you’re only sending 250 or fewer emails a month, you can try us out for free, and for just $13 a month, you can upgrade and send an unlimited number of emails each month!
MailerLite
MailerLite is especially good for tight budgets and small email lists — it’s free for under 1,000 subscribers, and the next tier up is $15 a month for up to 2,500 contacts. Their features are more limited than some of the more powerful tools on the market, but they’re easy to use, and they’ll get you where you need to go.
We hope this simple guide helped to shed some light on bulk email senders so you can better determine which may fit your needs more appropriately. Good luck and happy sending!
Seen at: Benchmarkemail.com
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