Setting up your email delivery mechanism

In part 1 of this series we covered the email marketing basics and in part 2 of this series we covered the tips to build the subscription list. In this part, we will talk about setting up the delivery mechanism – choosing the template, writing the content in the right way and selecting a good service provider.

Email marketing service providers

While you could use Gmail or Yahoo for sending small quantity of emails (less than 500 per day) for bulk email marketing campaigns you must choose a premium service provider that provide dedicated email marketing service.

Top reasons from you to choose a good email service provider (ESP)

• You can send any number of emails you want and will be charged per email. With gmail, Google could block your account if you send more than 500 emails a day. However, with these providers you can send any number you want.
• Don’t get caught in ISP’s blacklists. Top ESPs are usually whitelisted by the ISP’s and thus you won’t get caught in the spam filters at the first level. On the other hand if you use your own server to send emails your mails might end up in the spam folder more often.
• You get access to statistics to fine tune your program. ESPs like Mailchimp offer top quality dashboard that lets you see how many opened a specific mail and how many clicked the links in your mail. You can use this to understand what is popular and what is not and fine tune your strategy.
• You can easily export and import contacts, and maintain different lists of subscribers.

Top email marketing service providers

1. MailChimp
2. JangoMail
3. Constant Contact
4. iContact
5. Benchmark Email
6. Pinpointe
7. Mailgen
8. Vertical response
9. Campaigner
10. Graphic Mail

Deciding on the right template

Once you choose the delivery provider the next thing to do regarding delivery is choosing the right template. You must choose a template that reflects your brand and is pleasing to the eyes. Similar to your website template, an email template provides an organization to your email content and provides a consistent way to delivery content.

You can either hire a designer to create a branded template or buy it. Many email service providers like Mailchimp allow you to create a design from existing templates. Here are some other free newsletter templates and some more for you to choose from.