Although email marketing is more cost-effective than other channels, such as performance marketing, it can still be expensive for those just starting on a limited budget. The good news is that email marketing can be done with a very small budget, and in this article, you’ll learn how.
Importance of email marketing
Before getting into how you can start email marketing on a budget, let’s quickly explore the benefits of email marketing and how it can help your business grow.
Cost-effective: Email marketing is known for being a cost-effective marketing channel with one of the highest returns on investment. With tools like EmailOctopus, you can begin email marketing for free to a list of up to 2,500 emails.
Personalisation: Email marketing offers the ability to personalise campaigns down to every detail. By connecting your email marketing tool to your website, CMS, or e-commerce store, you can add you can add tags and custom fields values to all contacts. This allows you to send personalised campaigns that achieve much better conversion rates than generic messages.
Measurable: Email marketing allows you to track and measure the success of your campaigns with accurate metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates. This data helps in refining future campaigns for improved effectiveness.
Strong integration: Email marketing tools often integrate smoothly with other platforms such as CRM systems, analytics tools, and e-commerce platforms. This ensures a consistent marketing strategy across different channels and maximises data accuracy and efficiency.
Builds long-term relationships: By consistently delivering valuable and relevant content, email marketing helps nurture long-term relationships with your audience. It keeps your brand top of mind, increases customer loyalty, and ultimately drives repeat business.
Tips to do email marketing on a budget
Now that we’re clear about the importance of email marketing — let’s directly jump into the necessary tips that you need to follow in order to do email marketing on a budget.
Look for ESP with a generous free plan
The most significant expense in email marketing is the cost of the email marketing tool itself. This means it’s important to find tools with a free plan that’s generous.
This is a great way of saving money when you are just starting out.
Popular email marketing tools like MailChimp and SendGrid do come with a free plan, which is good to get things started but can be restrictive as you begin adding your customers to the email list. Alternatives like EmailOctopus will be a better option, as the free plan allows you to send marketing emails to a list size of up to 2,500.
Here’s a list of email marketing tools and their free tier limits.
| Providers | Free Tier (max subscribers) | Free Tier (max emails) |
|---|---|---|
| EmailOctopus | 2,500 | 10,000/mo. |
| MailChimp | 500 | 1,000/mo. |
| Constant Contact | Not available | Not available |
| Klaviyo | 250 | 500/mo. |
| MailerLite | 1,000 | 12,000/mo. |
Consider future costs
When selecting an email marketing platform, it’s especially important to consider the cost of upgrading the tool in the future. You won’t always remain on the free plan; once your list size exceeds the limitations of the free plan, you’ll need to upgrade. Choosing an expensive tool can put a strain on your budget.
Here’s a pricing comparison for various list sizes.
| Providers | Pricing/mo. (500 subscribers) | Pricing/mo. (10K subscribers) |
|---|---|---|
| EmailOctopus | $9 | $40 |
| MailChimp | Starts at $13 | Starts at $110 |
| Constant Contact | Starts at $12 | Starts at $120 |
| Klaviyo | Starts at $20 | Starts at $150 |
| MailerLite | Starts at $10 | Starts at $73 |
As shown above, EmailOctopus costs ~20-40% less when compared to the alternatives. So do keep these numbers in mind.
Note: “Starts at” means that the email marketing tool has multiple pricing plans where you’ll have to upgrade to access all the features.
Set up double opt-in
Make sure your email list is clean, accurate, and free of invalid emails and spam traps, as you’ll be paying for each contact on your list.
A clean email list helps you maintain a good sender reputation and improves the chances of your emails reaching the right inboxes. Using double opt-in is a great way to ensure each subscriber is genuine. This process protects you from spam complaints and makes your email marketing campaigns more successful.
Regularly clean your list
Another way of keeping your list size in check is by regularly cleaning it. You can either do it manually or set an automation.
Here’s a quick flow example of how to clean your list automatically.
Schedule and automate
Remember, your time is as important as money. To make your email marketing more efficient and cost-effective, schedule and automate as many tasks as you can.
Plan your content calendar: Create a comprehensive content calendar that outlines when each email will be sent. This helps maintain consistency in your communication and ensures that your audience receives regular updates without gaps.
Automate your emails: Use automation flows to set up emails that automatically trigger based on specific actions or events, such as a welcome email series for new subscribers or a re-engagement workflow for inactive users.
Leverage automations: Automations can be used to send emails at set times or update your contact list. Use them to handle tasks like cleaning your email list and sending welcome emails automatically. Automations can also be used for things like abandoned cart or post-sale emails, but those might come with a complex setup.
Conclusion
Regardless of your marketing budget, there’s no reason to overlook email marketing — especially with tools like EmailOctopus that allow you to start your email marketing journey at no cost. Moreover, email marketing has one of the highest returns on investment among all marketing channels, making it even more essential.
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