Email marketing is often overlooked in today’s business landscape, as many people view it as an outdated approach that is unlikely to bear fruit. But when it is done right, email marketing is an effective means of improving customer engagement and increasing customer loyalty. At the heart of your email marketing will be your email service provider.

Here’s what you need to consider when you are choosing the right email service provider for your business.

Define Your Strategy

As with any other marketing method, email marketing will only ever be as effective as you make it. Before you begin considering email service providers, you need to first establish what your strategy is going to be going forward.

The strategy you adopt will determine what features you require and which email service providers you can consider. Consult with your marketers so that you understand exactly what it is that they plan to do with regards to email marketing.

Establish Your Key Requirements and Features

Once you know what your email marketing strategy is going to be, you can then work out what features you will need from your email service provider. Make a list of the features that are essential and another of features that are not essential, but which would be very helpful. If there are any other additional features that you would like, you can use these as a tiebreaker later on.

Work Out Your Budget

As well as the features and requirements that you have identified above, the other key factor in determining which email service providers you can consider will be your budget. Work out exactly how much money you have available to you, and set yourself a strict budget that you can stick to.

Create a Shortlist

When you begin your search for email service providers, check each one that you come across for the criteria that you have established. Identify any that fit the bill, and put together a shortlist of potential candidates. You can then whittle down your list however you see fit.

Make Your Final Choice

Try to narrow down your shortlist as much as you can before you commit yourself to a final choice. Once you have your list narrowed down to a few finalists, you will find it much easier to compare them in detail.

For example, Mailgun and SendGrid are both popular email service providers, so there is an abundance of user reviews online. There are also articles like this one from PieSync that compare both options directly. PieSync’s blog has plenty of other information that marketers will find useful. Try searching their archives for more advice on how to choose the best email service provider.

The right email service provider can turbocharge your email marketing and enable you to accomplish more with less. Email marketing isn’t outdated. In fact, it has demonstrated incredible staying power. The ways that we approach email marketing have changed over time, but it has remained an effective and worthwhile marketing method.