There are many ways to monetize your online presence, including ads on your website, paid posts on social media, or via email. While social media may be newer to the monetization scene than websites, emails, or blogs, it has quickly become one of the most common and profitable ways to monetize your online presence.

In 2023, for example, the global influencer marketing market was worth an incredible $21.1 Billion dollars. This was triple the number in 2019, so it’s clear that brands are spending more money than ever on social media influencers.

And there has even been a noticeable shift towards smaller influencers (aka micro-influencers) who have a strong connection to their followers. But this doesn’t have to end with your social media following. Building and nurturing an email list along with your social channel is a great way to maintain and strengthen these relationships that brands are paying to get in front of.

Having an email list of subscribers can also help you take monetization to another level by utilizing your strategy across multiple platforms. You’re not solely relying on one or two apps anymore, which is vital in this evolving landscape because, as we’ve seen, things can change very quickly, and social media channels can disappear at the drop of a hat.

An email list also gives you significant control over your audience. You decide when and how to interact with your subscribers without the influence of algorithms.

But how can you transition your monetization strategy from social media and apply it to email? It’s very similar! Here are three ways — plus a bonus! — on how to get started:

1. Sponsored Posts
   
   Sponsored posts on social media usually take the form of a video or a photo/collection of photos posted with a compelling caption. With email, you would use your email service provider (ESP) to send versions of these same posts. These can be an entire email or one section dedicated to promoting a product, good, or service.
   
   Unlike character or time limits, email offers unlimited space to feature sponsored products or information, which gives you more room to negotiate higher earnings for your work.
   
   
2. Selling Space in Your Emails
   
   With email marketing, because you have total control over the content that is sent, you have the opportunity to sell dedicated space in your emails. And, because it isn’t the focus of the email, this method offers the bonus of “posting” it more than once or twice without annoying your audience.
   
   Just as you would create content for an Instagram post or a TikTok, you can then repurpose that content or content like a graphic or reel provided by a brand as filler for dedicated space in your email.
   
   Similar to the sponsored content perk mentioned above, this increase in frequency offers more room to negotiate when working with brands and businesses.
   
   
3. Referral (aka Affiliate) Programs
   
   Referral programs, sometimes also referred to as affiliate marketing programs, on social media tend to show up in the form of mentioning a product or service in your post or content, then sending followers to your “link in…bio/description/comments” section for more information. Revenue earned here is often on a per-click or sign-up percentage basis.
   
   As long as it’s following your program agreements — and your ESP’s terms of service — you can repeat these same actions in your emails. And! Similarly, you can easily earn extra money by working with your ESP’s referral program, promoting the ESP to your audience, who may also benefit from its services or by using affiliate links seamlessly in your content.
   
   As mentioned above, this can have some restrictions, depending on the ESP you’re working with. We highly recommend you check before you send to ensure you’re in full compliance with both the affiliate program and your ESP’s terms of service.
   
   And it’s important to know that not all ESPs are created the same, so double-check if your provider offers referral incentives. FeedBlitz has an excellent referral program available to all clients with no limits on how much you can earn. As long as the referring account is active, you can earn additional revenue every month. You can learn all about the program in detail here.

EMAIL ONLY BONUS: Using an Automated Ad Program in Your Emails

Using an automated ad program offered by your ESP can be one of the easiest ways to monetize your online presence with email. This isn’t available to you through social media, but it is a great tool to earn extra income and an easy-to-use resource if your ESP provides it.

There are a handful of ESPs on the market who offer this service, and there are ad programs available that will automatically insert ads into your emails, similar to how ads are added to a website or blog. This creates a passive revenue stream from the emails you would already send.

FeedBlitz offers a one-click advertising program, available to all clients, to automatically insert ads into your emails.

While you won’t have total control over the ads that appear in your emails, you will have full control over where and how many ads are shown. If you have any other questions about FeedBlitz’s ad program, check out this post.

Nurture your list like you nurture your audience for optimal results.

Encouraging your social media audiences to sign up for your email list can be as simple as posting it to your stories, status updates, or linking a signup form in your bios. The first step is always letting your followers know there is an option to access additional content — and that you can always be found in your emails if an app/channel/platform ever suddenly disappears.

As your email list starts growing, just as you would want to nurture and engage with your social media followers, it’s equally as important to nurture your list by continuing to put out high-quality, genuine content that will have your audiences engaging regularly.

With email, this means your open and click-through rates, which often increase with content tailored to your audience. These metrics aren’t magic. They’re nurtured and cultivated with each email you send and each new subscriber who joins your list.

Because, like social media, the higher the engagement, the higher the return.

Are you ready to start earning revenue with your emails? Learn more about our free trial and reach out to us on our Support Page to contact us via email, chat, or even over the phone. Live support is available Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM Eastern.

        

Maximize your email efforts by tracking these metrics and making adjustments as needed.

Here is where your email metrics come into play. Metrics show how your emails are performing and if your efforts are paying off in real time. In this post, we’re giving you a quick guide on seven key email metrics that offer valuable insight and can help guide your email marketing strategy.

All seven have been grouped into three categories: deliverability, engagement, and list health metrics. Let’s get started!

Deliverability Metrics

Deliverability is the processes and protections that allow your emails to reach your subscribers. Monitoring deliverability metrics helps ensure your emails are getting to the inbox and you’re maintaining a healthy email list.

Your email service provider (ESP) has a lot to do with the success of your emails. While they’ll handle the bulk of your deliverability needs, there are two specific metrics you can monitor that will be important in gauging the success of your email campaigns.

1. Bounce Rate (Soft and Hard)

Bounce rates are the percentage of emails that couldn’t be delivered to the recipient’s inbox. There are two types of bounces: soft bounces (temporary issues) and hard bounces (permanent issues). With some ESPs, FeedBlitz included, high bounce rates can result in a temporary list suspension.

What can you do to reduce your bounce rates? Try these tips:

– Regularly clean your email list to remove invalid or outdated email addresses.
– Use double opt-in methods to confirm subscriber email addresses.
– Segment your list and send targeted content to improve relevance.

If you noticed an unusually high bounce rate for one of your email campaigns, it’s worth reaching out to your provider’s support team to investigate further.

2. Complaint Rate

The complaint rate of your campaigns is the number of subscribers who marked your email as spam. As you may have guessed, high complaint rates can damage your sender reputation, lead to poor deliverability, get your list suspended, or worse, get you booted by your ESP.

To lower your complaint rate:

– Make sure you have clear and easy unsubscribe options in your emails.
– Send relevant and valuable content at all times.
– Regularly clean your list to remove unengaged, inactive subscribers.

It’s common to have the occasional complaint roll in, but a steady (or immediate) influx of complaints is cause for concern. Your next step would be to evaluate the content you’ve been sending recently, compare it to previous campaigns, and then reach out to your ESP for further guidance.

Engagement Metrics

Engagement metrics focus on how subscribers are interacting — aka engaging — with your email content. Keeping an eye on these metrics shows how interested your subscribers are in your email campaigns. And luckily, they can be pretty simple to monitor and adjust your strategies to tweak.

Let’s break down the two most popular engagement metrics:

3. Open Rate

Open Rate measures how many subscribers opened your email. These rates are a fundamental engagement metric that many different aspects of your email strategy can impact, including list health, subject lines, mailing frequency, etc.

Average open rates vary by industry and niche, but a good baseline is 20-30%. If you’re interested in boosting your open rates, give these three tips a try:

– Craft compelling subject lines.
– Use a recognizable sender name.
– Send emails at optimal times based on when your subscribers are opening.

Increasing open rates can be a slow process as you begin testing different subject lines, preview text, mailing frequency, content styles, and more. Be patient, and if you have questions, reach out to your ESP for a strategy call.

4. Click-Through Rate (CTR)

CTR is the percentage of subscribers who clicked a link in your email. They point to how interesting, clear, and engaging your email content is and how effective your call-to-action (CTA) is.

Improve your CTR by:

– Keeping your CTAs clear, concise, and compelling.
– Use a visually appealing email template.
– Segment your list for more targeted content.

Heat maps and real-time data are extremely valuable in keeping tabs on your CTRs and should be available for every campaign you send. Not sure what either of these items are? We’ve got you covered with a brief rundown on both.

List Health Metrics

A healthy list is filled with active, interested, engaged subscribers, which is precisely what List Health Metrics tracks. In email marketing, more isn’t always better when it comes to your subscribers. A smaller list of active, engaged subscribers can easily yield greater results (whatever your goal may be) than a huge list of semi-interested readers.

Track your list health by keeping an eye on these three details:

5. List Growth Rate

The List Growth Rate shows how your email list is growing and expanding. Is it a slow increase? A rapid uptick? Has it been quiet for quite some time? These are changes worth noting as they speak directly to the heart of your email marketing strategy.

If growing your email list is a priority, try one of the below tips to boost your list growth rate:

– Implement sign-up forms on your website and social media.
– Encourage subscribers to refer friends and family.
– Run contests or giveaways to attract new subscribers.

And no matter what, avoid the worst way to grow your email list! It’ll get you kicked out of many ESPs, FeedBlitz included.

6. Unsubscribe Rate

The Unsubscribe Rate measures the number of subscribers who opt out of your email list after receiving an email. While having a few unsubscribes on each campaign, you send is common, a high unsubscribe rate may indicate problems with your content or email frequency. And depending on your ESP, it may get your list suspended.

Tips to reduce your unsubscribe rate:

– Send relevant content to your subscribers.
– Allow subscribers to manage email preferences.
– Monitor frequency and send emails at a cadence that aligns with subscriber expectations.

It’s very common to see a high Unsubscribe Rate if you haven’t emailed your list in a while or if you suddenly change the content or frequency of your mailings. Before making significant changes to your email strategy, set new expectations with your subscribers to avoid potential confusion or frustration.

7. Inactive or Unengaged Subscribers

Inactive or unengaged subscribers are those who haven’t interacted with your emails for an extended period. Your emails are reaching them, so they’re being delivered, but they go unopened or, worse, deleted by this group of subscribers. This can be extremely frustrating as it directly impacts the above engagement metrics.

How to address inactive or unengaged email subscribers:

– Send a re-engagement campaign.
– Offer incentives or exclusive content to your email list.
– Regularly remove inactive subscribers to maintain a healthy list.

Removing inactive and unengaged email subscribers can also impact your monthly or annual fees, depending on your ESP’s pricing structure. If they aren’t opening or engaging with your emails, are they worth keeping on your list? Remember, more isn’t always better in the world of email marketing.

Guide your email marketing journey one metric and data point at a time.

Email marketing is an ever-evolving process. You have the golden opportunity to monitor your efforts, easily gauge the effectiveness, and adjust as you go. Talk about the ultimate optimization strategy! And focusing on these seven key email marketing metrics — deliverability, engagement, and list health metrics — can help make it happen.

All of these metrics and more can easily be tracked in FeedBlitz. Ready to give it a try? Head to this page to start your free trial. Feel free to reach out with any questions through our Support Page. Live support is available Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM Eastern, and you can always find helpful information 24-7 at the resources linked here.

        

Email was invented in 1971, and since then, it has completely changed how we communicate with people we know and those we may not know in person. With the introduction of social media in 1997 and the rapid rise and evolution of these channels, it was thought email would quickly become extinct.

However, as we know now, this couldn’t be further from the truth!

For those who may still believe email marketing is old and outdated and social media is the only way to go when it comes to connecting with people online, let’s highlight a significant stat provided by our friends at Litmus:

In 2022, an average of 1.5 billion email opens occurred each month.

1.5 BILLION. And that is a message from you or your company being viewed in prime online real estate – a subscriber’s inbox. All over the internet, you can find posts and reminders about the impact email marketing can have on the connection with your audience — and your bottom line — but all the benefits stem from one thing: your email service provider.

Email service providers (ESPs), also known as bulk email service providers, newsletter providers, email marketing software, campaign generators, and so on, set the foundation for all of your email marketing efforts to come to fruition.

Choosing an ESP, however, can feel like an overwhelming task, as there are many to choose from – some long-established, and seemingly a new entrant every month! In this blog post, we’ll walk you through the key considerations to remember when choosing your first (or second, third, fourth, etc.) ESP to work with.

The goal of this guide is to help you create a set of guidelines for you to review and evaluate quickly and ESP to determine whether or not you want to start a trial and begin testing. We’ll do our best to keep our opinions out of things, but we are a little biased here at FeedBlitz HQ, so you may see some of that slip in below. (Not too much, though, promise!)

Without further delay, let’s get this ball rolling…

Four things to consider when choosing an ESP.

The first step in choosing an ESP? Recognizing you need to choose a new ESP. (WILL LINK TO BP)

The second step? Identifying the most essential pieces of the email marketing puzzle. Start by considering these four areas of focus:

1. The Strategy: Your email marketing needs and goals.
2. The Means: Your budget.
3. The Who: The reputation of an ESP — both online and sending.
4. The What: The available features, services, and support that the email provider offers.

Simple enough? Right. Let’s break down each consideration below with questions to ask yourself along the way.

1. The Strategy: Your email marketing needs and goals.

Ask yourself a series of questions focused on your goals, needs, and objectives with email marketing.

Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

• Who are you, and who is your audience?
• How does email marketing fit into your bigger communication or marketing strategy?
• How much time can you dedicate to your email marketing efforts on an ongoing basis?
• How will your email marketing grow?
• What are your top 3 goals with your email marketing strategy? (grow your list, boost revenue, connect with people, etc.)

A clear picture of what your email marketing strategy will look like and what you hope to accomplish with your efforts is the foundation of your search. If you‘re interested in sharing your hobby or life updates, your email needs will be very different than if you’re running a small business or corporate enterprise.

Answering this round of questions first helps you focus on the features and capabilities to support your needs and goals best.

2. The Means: Your budget.

Establishing a budget before you begin looking for an ESP is essential, as there are vital details to pricing and costs to watch for when making your selection.

• What determines your fee? Among the heavy hitters in email marketing, costs are determined by subscriber count, number of emails sent, or a set flat rate.
  
  FeedBlitz, for example, charges solely by the number of active, unique email subscribers in your account, with zero limits on how many emails you can send each month. Other providers may charge by subscribers and still cap the number of emails you send, leaving you with surprise overages and bills at the end of the pay period.
  
• How often do you want to be billed? Many ESPs offer both monthly and annual billing options. This allows for greater flexibility to meet your needs and budgeting preferences.
  
  Pro-tip: If you’re considering annual fees, double-check if you’ll get dinged with an overage charge if your list grows higher than the current pricing tier at the time of signup. FeedBlitz doesn’t charge you for going over your tier mid-annual plan, so you’re free to grow your list to your heart’s content and not worry about an increase in pricing until your renewal comes around.
  
• Are there any overages or hidden costs? This is the kicker. We touched on this in the two questions above, but always check if the ESP caps any of your capabilities on the pricing plan you’re considering. If you go over a certain number of emails per month, will you get charged an overage? Are you charged for more than one email list or a set number of funnel campaigns?
  
  This is different from choosing a pricing plan based on available features. No matter your plan, these overages can be incurred, so it’s best to read the fine print when you see caps on the number of subscribers, emails per month, campaigns, etc., when evaluating providers.

Having a budget in mind will significantly help in your search. By taking the time to think about the above three questions, you’ll be well-prepared when comparing different providers and know what to look for when reviewing pricing and plan pages on their sites.

And here’s our plug:
FeedBlitz doesn’t believe in capping or restricting your growth whatsoever! That’s why you’re only charged for active, unique email subscribers. Each plan offers unlimited emails, lists, forms, tags, and more.

No caps, no overages, no surprises.

Learn more about our available pricing tiers, plans, and your free 30-day trial here.

3. The Who: The reputation of an ESP — both online and sending.

Not all ESPs are created the same (trust us, we’ve been in the business for nearly 20 years now), and that’s why the reputation of an ESP can hold its weight in gold. And not just word-of-mouth reputation and referrals. While those have a lot of weight regarding user-friendliness and first-person experiences, we’re talking about the reputation of an ESP in terms of deliverability.

Deliverability is the process of getting the emails you send to a subscriber’s inbox.

Receiving internet service providers (ISPs) such as Gmail, Yahoo, or Apple Mail review, judge, and estimate the safety of emails being sent by a particular email address. Based on an ISP’s top-secret set of rules and guidelines, this process ultimately determines whether your email will be allowed or denied.

They assign reputations to ESPs based on the quality of the emails they allow to be sent through their service. The higher the reputation, the higher the deliverability rate you’ll see ESPs talk about having.

FeedBlitz’s deliverability is a consistently maintained 99.8%, by the way.

Each ESP has its own set of in-house protocols and processes to safeguard and boost its deliverability and reputation. Keep a watchful eye for this information when conducting your search, and it’ll give you a good idea of how diligently the ESP will work to ensure your emails reach their intended destinations.

Pro Tip: If you’re having deliverability issues with your current ESP, consider starting a free trial with a different provider. Then, upload a sample of your email list and begin sending email. This will help you compare the deliverability metrics of each provider and shed light on what’s happening with your campaigns.

Because it doesn’t matter how great your emails are if they aren’t getting to your subscribers!

Deliverability can feel complicated and technical, but our team put together an in-depth guide breaking everything down, even highlighting some of the things we do for clients. Check out the guide and reach out if you have questions: Pulling Back the Curtain on Email Deliverability.

4. The What: The available features and services a newsletter service provider offers.

This is often the first item up for consideration when choosing an ESP. Still, if you walk through the first three listed above, you’ll be in an excellent place to evaluate the myriad of features, capabilities, and services each ESP offers!

The list below is incomplete, but it highlights critical elements you may be looking for when choosing a new provider. For specific capabilities of a feature, it’s best to reach out to a provider’s support team to inquire before starting a free trial or plan.

• Email Campaigns – This seems basic, but what are the types of email campaigns offered? Single newsletters and broadcasts? RSS to email campaigns? How about funnel/drip/autoresponder campaigns? Not only do varied email campaign offerings meet various needs, but they also allow you to diversify your email efforts.
• Subscription Forms – The first step in growing a list is gathering email addresses. Check to see what forms the ESP offers and how they will fit into your list growth strategy.
• Email Automation – Watch for automation capabilities that allow you to send targeted, timely emails based on a subscriber’s actions and triggers. Key words to look for are funnels, workflows, journeys, drip campaigns, and autoresponders.
• Email Templates and Design Tools – Does your ESP offer easily customizable email templates to help you in the design process? Is their email editor user-friendly? What about stock graphics and images? These are all things to consider when choosing an ESP, as these details can impact the time it takes for you to craft and send an email campaign.
• List and Subscriber Management – How easy is it to view, move, manage, and work with your subscribers in an email list? Do you have access to tagging and custom fields? Are you able to move subscribers from one list to another, or duplicate lists? This flexibility allows you greater control over your audience and the email campaigns sent to them.
• Audience Segmentation – A vital step in sending targeted email campaigns, how does the ESP offer the ability to shape and target your email list for specific campaigns? Can this process be automated and easily replicated in any way?
• Analytics and Reporting – Robust, real-time analytics and reporting tools help you track the performance of your campaigns and make better education decisions. It can be as simple as seeing the open rate for your last email campaign or knowing the most popular email you sent in a given month.
• Integrations and API – Before signing up with an ESP, confirm the service will integrate with any other tools and platforms you’re using, such as a CRM, third-party subscription forms, shopping carts, etc. Another helpful item to search for is API access and the availability of dev materials if needed.
• Support and Training Materials – Learning a new app is hard, and you shouldn’t be left alone on an island to navigate it. How easy is it to find the answer if you have a question? Support goes beyond live person interactions to include knowledge base posts, tutorials, and even help text in the app itself. Ensure that the ESP you’re considering offers adequate support options (be aware that live support may be limited in some ESPs by the plan you sign up for), and remember to inquire about available training resources.
• Scalability – Is the ESP designed to grow with your business? As your email strategy, needs, and goals expand, you’ll want a provider that can handle increasing volumes and complexity.

The above feature and capability list doesn’t cover every need you may have, but it’s a good starting point for your initial round of searches.

Also, when it comes to features, it’s important to be mindful when reviewing the features of different providers, as pricing plans may limit them.

FeedBlitz offers all of the above features and more, starting with a free 30-day trial.
Check out all of the available features or read through a complete feature comparison by plan.

Email marketing is here to stay.

Choosing the right ESP is a critical first step toward sending successful, engaging email campaigns. Having your strategy, means, providers, and features prioritized leaves you well-positioned to make a decision that aligns with your goals.

While social media channels and other forms of communication may come and go, email is here for the long haul. Be sure you’re hitting send confidently by choosing an email service provider you can rely on.

Are you interested in giving FeedBlitz a try for your email marketing? Head to this page to start your free trial. Feel free to reach out with any questions through our Support Page. Live support is available Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM Eastern, and you can always find helpful information 24-7 at the resources linked here.

        

Imagine sending emails to your list that offer value, increase engagement, and strengthen brand awareness at regular intervals without creating new content for each email — for an unlimited amount of time. Oh! And it’s all done automatically.

Sounds pretty amazing, right? Right.

Lucky for you, it’s not a fairytale or some sort of email wizardry. It’s called a “forever funnel” and is sure to become a valuable tool in your email marketing toolkit.

What is a forever funnel?

A forever funnel is an email marketing concept that refers to a long-term, multi-entry, automated sales or marketing funnel designed to continuously engage, inform, and convert subscribers over an extended period.

The term forever means the funnel is intended to operate indefinitely, and depending on your email service provider (ESP), the number of entries of these funnels is only limited by your time and creativity.

Top 4 benefits of a forever funnel.

There are multiple benefits to having a forever funnel in place. While many are tailored to your individual goals and email strategy, the top 4 benefits of a forever funnel are often the same for all email marketers.

1. Consistent communication.
   
   A forever funnel automatically delivers regularly scheduled email content to your subscribers. This creates and cultivates closer relationships with your subscribers and ensures they’ll still hear from you, even during content breaks, vacations, or writing blocks.
   
   That means once your forever funnel is up and running, you consistently deliver value, build community, and drive conversions to boost revenue!
   
2. Lead nurturing.
   
   For business owners, entrepreneurs, and content marketers, lead nurturing is a central focus of a forever funnel.
   
   You’re building relationships with your audience and increasing trust while providing value-driven content. Especially if a subscriber has previously purchased from you (as in they’re already a customer or client), continued nurturing through a forever funnel increases their value by further encouraging engagement and interest.
   
3. Traffic driving.
   
   When you’re consistently sending content to your audience, you’re creating opportunities to drive traffic to your website, podcast, social channels, referral partners, and more. The consistent stream of traffic brings the opportunity to boost visibility, revenue, engagement, and authority levels.
   
4. Targeting Insights.
   
   A forever funnel provides a goldmine of targeting insights and subscriber data! If you’re putting in the effort to build a forever funnel, take the time to add tag automation and create segments. This gives you everything you’ll need to send targeted, personalized email campaigns in the future.

Depending on your goals for creating a forever funnel, additional benefits can include boosting revenue, gathering subscriber feedback, and increasing brand awareness and authority.

Content ideas for your forever funnel.

While it initially takes effort to create and build the structure of a forever funnel, the bulk of your email content probably already exists on your site, email archives, or vault. Forever funnels are prime for evergreen content and are excellent spaces to add content from other avenues.

Here are some content ideas to start adding to your forever funnel:

• Blog Posts: Gather your favorite blog posts from years past and add them as individual entries to your forever funnel. This is not only an excellent way to recycle old content on your site, but also a great way to introduce this content to new subscribers.
• Old Lead Magnets: You work hard on creating lead magnets and opt-in incentives, and there’s no reason you can’t add these to your forever funnel. Again, the theme is recycling and repurposing old content to build your funnel and provide valuable content. Think back to any ebooks, checklists, templates, or whitepapers you created in the past and add each to an individual entry in your funnel.
• Webinars and Workshops: Have you hosted or appeared as a guest on any webinars or workshops? If the topics are relevant to your audience, these recordings are great resources to add to your forever funnel. Webinars and workshops help diversify the content you send while showcasing your expertise to build trust.
• Podcasts, Videos, and Live Streams: And speaking of diversifying content, this goes the same for any podcasts, videos, and live streams you’ve been on or created in the past. Educational and entertaining, this type of content boosts engagement and reminds your subscribers of content they can easily share on social channels.
• Subscriber-generated Content: Use your forever funnel as an opportunity to automatically encourage your customers, clients, and subscribers to share their experiences and testimonials. Ask for open reviews or testimonials or provide a form with questions to compile their responses. Another way to incorporate user-generated content is by sending reviews, testimonials, and use cases to boost your authenticity and credibility.
• Surveys and Polls: Engage your subscribers and gather valuable feedback by sending surveys or polls in your forever funnel. You can then use this data to improve your offerings and tailor future content, collaborations, or affiliate partnerships.
• Resource Libraries: Develop resource libraries or content hubs where users can access a collection of your evergreen content organized by category or topic.
• Product Recommendations: Forever funnels are designed to nurture, including sales nurturing. When consistently contacting your audience and providing valuable and engaging content, these sales emails integrate seamlessly into the mix. Use this opportunity to recommend products, highlight services, or remind subscribers of affiliate partnerships and referral codes.

The beauty of forever funnels (and really all funnels) is once you have everything in place, they run like a well-oiled machine in the background.

The majority of your work takes place in the beginning with creating the structure of your funnel, gathering the content, and creating the first round of emails, but then things shift into maintenance mode. You can add new entries as you’d like, edit individual emails, and more. All the while, your subscribers are being delivered value, community, and engagement straight to their inbox.

And that is what we’d call a win-win in the world of email marketing.

Ready to set up your forever funnel with FeedBlitz? Head to this page to start your free trial. Questions? Feel free to reach out with any questions through our Support Page. While live support is available Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM Eastern, you can always find helpful information 24-7 at the resources linked here.

        

How to tell if you’ve outgrown your current provider.

Your emails are only as good as the service provider sending them.
*OK, this isn’t really a time-tested age-old saying, but it should be.

Listen, it’s no surprise that email is a cornerstone of any strong marketing and communication strategy. That’s because your emails are a direct line of communication with your audience, AND you have total control over them.

However, you may not be getting the most out of your email marketing efforts, and it all has to do with your email service provider (ESP).

While things have probably been running smoothly for quite some time (or smooth-ish), you may start noticing unanticipated limitations or once-minor frustrations pile up — all things akin to growing pains after you’ve been sending emails for a while.

When your email efforts and strategy expand, so do your needs as an email marketer, and your current provider may no longer be meeting the mark.

But how do you know if it’s time to switch? That’s where this post comes in. To help with your decision-making, we’ve compiled a list of nine signs you’ve outgrown your current provider, and it’s time to explore other options for your email marketing.

But first…

What’s holding you back from switching ESPs?

Before we dive into the signs, it’s time to switch. It’s important to address the elephant in the room and call out what’s most likely holding you back from starting this conversation in the first place.

So, what’s the biggest hesitation when it comes to switching ESPs? The answer may surprise you… it’s TIME.

• The time you’ve already invested with your current provider.
• The time it takes to research different options.
• The time it takes to learn a new app.
• AND the time required to migrate, replicate, and set everything up in a new provider.

We get it – time is money. It’s one of the most important investments you make every single day. So, if your current provider is working (or working-ish), is it even worth the time to switch?

But, could you actually save time by switching ESPs? Most likely, especially if you’ve grown accustomed to making do with the minor frustrations and inconveniences or manual tasks you complete regularly.

Regardless, time is a big factor in deciding whether or not to change ESPs, and we would be remiss not to acknowledge that. So, with that said, take your time and read through all nine signs below. Keep track of how many apply to your current situation, because if it’s more than 3, you’re well past time for an upgrade.

Nine signs it’s time to switch ESPs:

1. Poor Deliverability Rates and Reputation

It doesn’t matter how pretty your emails are or how spectacular the content is if they aren’t getting to your subscribers. This is why deliverability is one of the most critical elements in the success of your email marketing efforts.

Refresher: Deliverability is the processes and protocols that ensure your emails reach subscribers’ inboxes.
You can read all about deliverability here.

If you notice that your emails are consistently ending up in spam folders — or aren’t even reaching the inbox at all — it’s a clear sign that your current ESP may have deliverability issues. And because this can have a detrimental impact on all of your email-related goals, it’s time to consider other options.

2. Low Open and Click-Through Rates

Low engagement may be due to your provider not helping you engage your audience effectively. Engagement rates help gauge your audience’s interest in your email campaigns, and features such as targeting, support, and campaign metrics all work to help boost these rates.

Low engagement rates, such as open and click-through rates, are also a cousin to poor deliverability rates or improper authentication — all things to check with your current provider when rooting out the cause of your issue.

Regardless, if you’re noticing drops in engagement, it’s worth exploring the features available from different providers.

3. Lack of Reporting and Analytics

Successful email marketing relies on real-time data. For example, do you know which email you sent last month had the highest engagement? Or how about which of your subscription forms is performing the best?

Real-time reporting is essential when it comes to tracking the performance of your campaigns, measuring key performance indicators (KPIs), and making informed decisions. If your current ESP doesn’t offer robust reporting and analytics, you’re likely missing out on the opportunity to optimize your email marketing strategy. Data-driven decision making, FTW.

FeedBlitz offers a wide selection of real-time data available
on every email list, email campaign, and subscriber.

4. Limited Features and Functionality

As you grow, your email marketing needs evolve, including the features and functionality needed to accomplish your goals. What helped you get started with your email marketing may not help you fully reach your potential in the long term.

If your current provider lacks essential features like automation, advanced segmentation, or A/B testing, it might be time to switch to a more comprehensive platform. The absence of these features, or other desired features and functionality, can limit your ability to create targeted, personalized, and effective email campaigns. And those limitations also limit your growth and revenue potential, as well.

5. Insufficient Customer Support

Good customer support is invaluable when you encounter an issue or need help with your email campaigns. If your current provider’s support team is unresponsive, lacks helpful resources, or is only available for select pricing tiers, it can double the frustration you experience when trouble or questions arise.

A good support team is not only experts in their products but also in the field of email marketing. They can answer your questions and regularly create and update available resources to help you along the way.

Stellar customer support goes above and beyond to help and empower you to take the reins and own your email marketing. If your frustrations are piling up regarding support, consider switching to a provider with a reputation for excellent customer support.

6. High, Hidden, Surprising, or Burdensome Costs

Email marketing costs can add up quickly, especially as your subscriber list grows or you increase your mailing frequency. Not to mention that the hidden fees and overages many ESPs tack on can also seriously strain your marketing budget.

With FeedBlitz, you’re only charged for active, unique email
subscribers, and no overages, no surprises, and no surcharges!

If you’ve noticed a significant cost increase without a corresponding increase in value or functionality, it’s worth reviewing your current provider’s pricing structure and exploring more cost-effective options.

7. Limited Integration Options

You’re probably using more than one tool, application, or platform in your marketing strategy and, therefore, having to connect or transfer data from one to the other manually. Not only is this time-consuming, but it increases the likelihood of data gaps and inefficiencies — neither of which you need.

Integrations allow you to easily share and transfer data from one app to another, automating and maximizing your efforts. Your ESP should offer direct and indirect integrations (Zapier) to help you streamline your efforts, freeing up your time so you can focus on list and revenue-growing actions.

8. Scaling Challenges

Scalability is vital to meet and exceed your needs as an email marketer and support your growth. Are you sending greater volumes of emails regularly? Are these greater volumes hurting your deliverability or performance? And how about your campaigns – have they become more complex regarding templates, layouts, or media included?

These growth indicators can easily cause scalability challenges for your email marketing platform. Your email marketing platform should be able to handle increased volumes and complex campaigns without compromising performance. If your current provider struggles with scalability, it may be time to explore other options.

9. Frequent Downtime or Technical Issues

Frequent service outages, downtime, or technical glitches are frustrating and can completely disrupt your email marketing schedule and damage your brand’s reputation.

Your provider should be a reliable, robust, and stable platform to ensure uninterrupted communication with your audience. While minor outages and unexpected downtimes happen occasionally with all online systems, clear communication and frequent status updates are vital when these situations arise. (This circles back to the stellar customer support item above!)

If you find technical issues recurring and communication with support or your provider about them is lacking, it’s an excellent time to consider switching to a more reliable provider.

Steps to take when you’re ready to switch.

If, after reading through the list above, you know you’ve outgrown your current ESP and it’s time to switch providers, take the steps below to help make the migrations and transition as smooth as possible.

Step 1 – Take stock of everything you currently have going on. Be sure to note any of the following:

• email campaigns
• email lists
• funnels
• subscription forms
• tags and custom fields
• etc.

This gives you a better idea of the scope of your email marketing and creates a full picture of anything that will need to be replicated in the new provider. This list also offers an opportunity for you to decide what you want to continue with or stop doing.

We recommend keeping this list as accurate as possible for the remaining steps.

Important note: When you switch ESPs, the images, links, and archives of previously sent campaigns will oftentimes only be available for a limited time after you cancel your account. This is known as asset retention. Different ESPs have different timeframes. They retain assets of canceled accounts. At FeedBlitz, for example, we retain all client’s assets for 90 days. It’s always a good idea to double-check this when making a switch!

Step 2 – Evaluate email service providers. There are plenty of ESPs and email newsletter services on the market. Organize your search and evaluation by focusing first on these four areas:

1. Your email marketing needs and goals.
2. Your budget.
3. The reputation of an ESP — both online and sending.
4. The available features, services, and support that the email provider offers.

Step 3 – Reach out to a few ESP’s support teams. Many support teams are often happy to answer any specific questions you have, talk shop about email strategy, and evaluate your use cases compared to their available features. Also, inquire about migration services they may have. Have your list from Step 1 on hand to give a comprehensive scope of your current strategy and efforts.

Step 4 – Start a free trial while your current operation is underway. Trust us on this one. Use a test sample of your list and run campaigns simultaneously to get a complete comparison picture. This way, you’ll see deliverability, engagement, features, and data reports for both providers to compare easily. Free trials also allow you to interact with their support teams and resources, gaining insight into how technical questions are handled.

Know when it’s time to make a change.

Recognizing the signs you’ve outgrown your current ESP and that it’s time to make a change is crucial for ensuring the continued success of your email marketing campaigns.

Up to this point, what’s worked for your email marketing has served you well, but it may not do you justice in taking your goals to the next level. Whether you’re dealing with deliverability challenges, rising costs, or limited features, switching providers can bring new life into your email efforts.

Are you ready to switch ESPs and think FeedBlitz could fit you well? Head to this page to start your free trial. Questions? Feel free to reach out with any questions through our Support Page. While live support is available Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM Eastern, you can always find helpful information 24-7 at the resources linked here.