Affordable email marketing is more than simply cutting costs.
It’s about sending the right campaigns to the right people at the right time. You want to make your emails so effective that they always bring exceptional results.
Trying to cut costs by only sending transactional emails will make your customers lose interest. The less engaged they are, the more money you’ll lose.
This is the perfect place to start if you want to avoid this and send emails on a budget. So, let’s explore the factors that affect email marketing budgets and the tools and techniques to make things affordable!
The Importance of Email Marketing for Small Businesses
Email marketing isn’t something you can skip in hopes of cutting costs, especially if you’re a small business owner. You need to be there for the customer no matter where they are in their journey. While established businesses also do this, small businesses must focus more on building their brand and making their mark.
Famous brands already have a fan following. People know about them and are more likely to engage with their content.
You need email marketing to bypass this and compete with the big shots. It’s the best channel for guiding customers through their journeys, so you’ll always be at the top of their minds.
Even the most affordable and free platforms let you send various emails based on the customer’s history. For example, you can send educational content when they’ve started interacting with your content.
From there, you can gradually shift to promotional emails as the customer shows more interest in your offerings. As a result, you can nurture your customers to gain their trust and make them feel like you care about them.
Of course, other marketing channels also assist with this. However, email’s personalization, automation, and cost-effectiveness make it a clear winner.
5 Factors That Affect Your Email Marketing Budget
Cutting costs isn’t possible without learning what’s causing them to surge. The same goes for email marketing. You need to know the factors affecting your email marketing budget so you can plan accordingly. So, here are five things to consider.
- Email marketing software__text in bold__: Unless you opt for free plans, you’ll have to pay a price to use email marketing services. Each company has its own pricing. Some might offer the same things but at a huge price difference.
- Features: Business owners often buy the cheapest software only to realize they need to buy more features. Each tool has multiple pricing tiers, with fewer features in the most affordable tier and advanced features in the most expensive. This is another factor you must consider.
- Landing page builders: Emails and websites usually go hand in hand. This might prompt you to invest in landing page builders. These pages help you gain subscribers but can also significantly dent your budget.
- Email list: Having more people in your lists means you’ll have to send more emails per campaign. This is another factor that affects your budget. Moreover, the list’s quality will also have an impact. Emailing active and interested people will give you the results you need. On the other hand, inactive people won’t even see your emails, let alone take action on them.
- Email setup: Tools might handle automation, but you must still write the emails and create the designs. Doing these things yourself will save money, but hiring people for these tasks might become expensive.
7 Affordable Email Marketing Techniques for Businesses on a Budget
There’s no shame in having a low budget for your marketing emails. In fact, it’s wise to stretch your resources and squeeze the most out of them. The money you save can help fund other areas of your business. You can spend on product development, customer experience, and expanding your team.
However, this won’t be possible without playing smart and employing affordable email marketing techniques. If you’re unsure where to start, let the following six sections help you.
1. Use Free or Affordable Email Marketing Software
The most obvious way to cut costs is to use free or affordable email marketing software. Free options are enough when you have a small business email list. Some options even give you free templates that you can use to design your emails.
As your business grows, you’ll need more advanced features. In this case, relying on these free versions won’t be smart.
There are various affordable options with advanced features to suit your needs. So, register for their free trials if one is available and check if the tool is a good fit. Another thing you must remember is only to buy the features you need and will use. Otherwise, even an affordable tool will become expensive quickly.
2. Go for Affordable Ways To Build an Email List
Building an email list is also a contributor to your email marketing budget. Therefore, this is the next area where you should cut costs. Here’s how.
Firstly, avoid buying or renting email lists. This approach is not only expensive, but it might not be ethical either. Authorities require you to gain explicit consent before sending emails to your customers.
How do you know the email list seller has fulfilled this condition? They might have collected emails from random websites and assembled the list.
Instead, use your website and social media to your advantage. Provide free resources and incentives when customers sign up through these channels. Moreover, gather emails when people place an order on your website. These methods will help you build an engaged customer list without overspending.
3. Pay Attention to List Segmentation
As mentioned earlier, affordable emails also mean making them as effective as possible. That’s where list segmentation and personalization come in.
You can send targeted campaigns by dividing your target audience into meaningful groups. You can base the content on customer history, preferences, location, and behavior. As a result, the content will resonate with the audience. For example, you can offer exclusive discounts to customers who haven’t purchased in a while.
You can also send personalized recommendations to your customers, making them more likely to purchase. Consistent, valuable content will also keep them engaged. These things will combine to bring you exceptional email marketing results. The more profit you make from email marketing, the more affordable it becomes.
4. Repurpose Content for Your Email Campaigns
Business owners who want to make their marketing effective never use a single channel. Along with email, they invest in social media, paid ads, and search engine optimization (SEO).
If you’ve already started marketing your business, chances are high that you also have content on these channels. Repurposing that content for your email campaigns can be a game-changer for a tight budget. It’s basically free content.
don’t even have to do anything from scratch. Simply tweak the content to align with email marketing, and you’re good to go.
5. Feature User-Generated Content in Your Emails
Apart from repurposing from other channels, you can also feature user-generated content in your emails. This means sharing customer reviews, photos, or testimonials to showcase real experiences.
Since real people will have said those words about you, potential customers will start trusting you more. Seeing other people use your services and products will make onlookers want to try them as well.
As a result, you’ll have free content and a way to create a sense of community and authenticity.
6. Leverage Automation To Make Things Faster and More Affordable
Automated emails mean you won’t have to hire someone to respond to customer emails quickly. It also means you’ll be able to keep the customer engaged with timely, targeted, and relevant emails.
They’ll have basic automation capabilities even if you choose the most affordable email marketing tools. So, set up triggers for welcome emails, follow-ups, and re-engagement campaigns to make things faster and more effective.
You’ll always be on the customers’ minds when you send timely automated emails. Hence, you’ll get a greater return on your efforts. This, in return, will make your email marketing more affordable
Earlier, you learned about affordable email marketing platforms as a way to save money. But how do you know if the email tool is actually cheap? Simply looking at the base price is not a reliable indicator.
You may only discover the hidden costs if you try the free plan or trial. You must also check reviews and recommendations to make the best decision. However, all this won’t be possible without an initial list. So, here are five of the best affordable platforms with features and benefits.
When it comes to affordable email marketing services, MailerLite always wins. With $9 per month for up to 500 subscribers, there’s plenty of room for growth while staying within budget. It even has a free plan
While every business needs a website, it’s especially important for creative and media businesses. MailerLite understands this and offers a website and landing page builder with an easy-to-use interface.
Apart from that, you’ll receive unlimited emails every month with three different users. You will also get access to unlimited eye-catching templates to design your emails. Dynamic emails, A/B testing, automation, and an unsubscribe webpage builder are also a part of this affordable plan.
2. Benchmark Email: Easily Create Beautiful Emails That Work
While your written content brings in the conversions, nobody will read it if you don’t design the email well. However, this will require too much of your time. On the other hand, your email marketing won’t remain affordable if you hire a designer. That’s where Benchmark Email comes in.
With its intuitive email editor, you can create beautiful emails quickly. It even has a drag-and-drop website builder. Its email automation features stand out the most with effective drip campaigns. Personalization and detailed analytics follow close behind.
While a bit more expensive than MailerLite, with $13 per 500 subscribers, it’s still quite impressive.
Constant Contact never fails to make an appearance in any discussion about email marketing, and this one is no different. Whether you own a small business or an established enterprise, it has something for everyone.
Even though it doesn’t have a free plan or unlimited contacts, its Lite plan is quite affordable. For just $12 per month, you can send 10,000 emails to a 1,000-contact subscriber list.
Moreover, it offers a variety of triggers to help you set up multiple automated marketing campaigns. You can even import email lists from outside sources to start sending emails. With an easy drag-and-drop email builder and AI content recommendations, you can create effective emails quickly.
However, its most unique feature is its email deliverability. This tool boasts 97% deliverability, so emails will almost always reach your recipient’s inbox.
4. GetResponse: Test Your Campaigns To Remove Guesswork
Business owners lose a lot of money when they don’t test their email campaigns and rely on guesswork. They fail to see the desired results even after spending plenty of resources on email daily.
Understanding this, GetResponse offers extensive A/B testing capabilities. You can base your decisions on solid facts instead of guesswork by testing multiple versions.
Moreover, its web push notifications, timely popups, and live chats. These features help you expand your email list and nurture customer relationships for better results.
For just $15.6, you can send unlimited monthly emails to a 1,000-contact subscriber list. It even offers integrations and an API to help you customize the tool to fit your needs.
5. HubSpot Marketing Hub: Comes With a Free CRM
People often think of HubSpot as an expensive tool. After all, it’s one of the industry leaders in email marketing. However, it also understands the importance of tailored packages, so it offers something for everyone.
You can send emails to 1000 contacts for $15 per month. However, the best part is yet to come. Along with making your email marketing affordable, HubSpot even has a built-in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. With this tool, you can learn plenty about your customers and use this information to make your emails more effective.
It has security features, automation, website hosting, and content management systems.
Frequently Asked Questions About Budget Email Marketing
After learning how to make your email marketing affordable, let’s finish this discussion by answering frequently asked questions.
Why is email marketing affordable?
Email marketing is affordable because it requires minimal upfront costs, especially with budget-friendly tools and platforms. You can reach a large audience without spending on printing or expensive ads.
Personalization, A/B testing, and optimization also make email campaigns effective. The more sales an email marketing strategy brings, the more affordable it is.
How much should I budget for email marketing?
You should budget between $50 and $1,000 for email marketing. However, this is just a rough average. Your specific budget will depend on your email list size, the tools you use, and your campaign goals.
Since you need affordable email campaigns, keep these resources to a minimum.
Can I use Canva for my email campaigns?
Yes, you can use Canva for your email campaigns. It is one of the best tools for email marketing on a budget. With its free version, you can tweak your images and add a visual appeal to your emails.
You can also create branded templates that save time and maintain consistency.
Take a Smart Approach To Send Emails Within Budget
Even though email marketing is cost-effective, the expenses can compound quickly. This fact pushes many people to search for affordable email marketing tools. If you want the same for your business, you must play smart. So, you must invest in affordable tools and ensure every campaign brings the desired results.
Want help investing in affordable email marketing? Beambox’s WiFi marketing platform can help you build a list and run campaigns seamlessly. Why use Beambox?
- Integrates with any internet system.
- Requires no additional hardware.
- Has no hidden fees.
- Flexible subscription plan.
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