If you have a website, one of your biggest goals should be turning visitors into contacts you can stay in touch with. That is where email marketing comes in.
Email marketing lets you build relationships with your audience, share helpful content, and promote your services to prospects and customers. When someone joins your email list, you have a direct way to communicate with them whenever you choose.
To do this well, you need more than just a basic contact form and an Excel spreadsheet. You need an email marketing system that helps you manage your list and send emails in a professional and organized way.
What is an Email Marketing System?
An email marketing system is a tool that helps you collect email addresses and send emails to your subscribers.
It lets you send newsletters, one-time announcements (broadcasts), and automated follow-up emails (autoresponders). You can also organize your subscribers into groups or use tags to send more targeted emails.
Most systems include ready-to-use templates, sign-up forms, landing pages, and simple reports to show how many people opened or clicked your emails. These tools make it easier to stay organized and communicate with your audience.
An Email Tool We Love
SendCheckit.com is an online tool that lets you analyze your email subject line, view a quick rating, and see suggestions for clarity and readability.
Test it out here: https://sendcheckit.com/email-
Top Email Marketing Systems
These services focus on “email marketing,” providing tools for you to communicate with your community/target market via email.
AWeber
AWeber is known for being simple, reliable, and beginner-friendly. It allows you to send newsletters, automatic follow-ups, blog updates, and basic automation campaigns. The dashboard is clean and not overwhelming, which makes it a good choice if you are new to email marketing.
It also has strong deliverability, meaning your emails are more likely to land in inboxes instead of spam folders. Customer support is responsive and helpful, which is great for beginners.
I’ve used AWeber for years and have been very happy with the product and customer service!
Find out more at https://christinasresources.com/aweber
MailChimp
Mailchimp has been around for many years and is one of the most recognized email marketing platforms. It lets you send newsletters, automated emails, and blog updates. It also includes templates and basic audience organization tools.
The interface is modern, but some users find it less intuitive than it used to be. It works well for beginners, though pricing can increase quickly as your list grows.
Find out more at https://christinasresources.com/mailchimp
Constant Contact
Constant Contact is designed specifically for small businesses. It focuses on simplicity and ease of use. You can send newsletters, automated emails, and use ready-made templates that look professional.
It is known for its strong customer support and step-by-step guidance, making it very approachable for beginners.
Find out more at https://christinasresources.com/constantcontact
iContact
iContact offers straightforward email marketing tools, including broadcasts, autoresponders, and basic automation. It is not overloaded with advanced features, which makes it easier to learn.
It works well for businesses that want simple email marketing without complicated funnels or tagging systems.
Find out more at https://christinasresources.com/icontact
ONTRAPORT
ONTRAPORT is a powerful, advanced marketing automation system. It uses tags instead of lists, allowing you to segment your audience and create highly customized campaigns. It also includes CRM features, sales tools, and deeper automation.
Because of its advanced features, it has a steeper learning curve and is better suited for established businesses.
Find out more at https://christinasresources.com/ontraport
GetResponse
GetResponse is an all-in-one marketing platform. In addition to email marketing, it includes automation, landing pages, webinars, and sales funnels. It is flexible enough for both beginners and advanced users.
The interface is modern and fairly intuitive, though the many features may feel overwhelming at first.
Find out more at https://www.christinasresources.com/getresponse
MailPoet
MailPoet is built specifically for WordPress users. It allows you to create and send emails directly from your WordPress dashboard, which keeps everything in one place.
If you already use WordPress and prefer not to log in to another platform, this can be very convenient! However, it is more limited than some full-scale email marketing platforms.
Find out more at https://www.mailpoet.com/
ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign is known for powerful automation and detailed segmentation. You can send highly targeted emails based on subscriber behavior, tags, and actions.
It is excellent for businesses that want advanced automation, but it may feel complex for brand-new users.
Find out more at https://christinasresources.com/activecampaign
ConvertKit
ConvertKit is especially popular with creators, bloggers, coaches, and course creators. It focuses on simplicity, tagging, and automation without feeling overly technical.
The layout is clean and easy to navigate. It makes creating email sequences and automations straightforward.
MailerLite
MailerLite is simple, clean, and affordable. It offers newsletters, automation, landing pages, and forms without overwhelming features.
It is often recommended for small businesses and solopreneurs who want flexibility without high costs.
Final Thoughts….
Should you sign up for an email marketing system? Yes! Using an email marketing system makes it easier to communicate with your audience and grow your business.
Which system is right for you depends on your needs. You should think about how often you want to email your list, whether you want automated follow-ups, and how simple or advanced your setup needs to be.
My recommendation is to start with a free trial of one that looks like a good fit and see if it works for you! If not, move on to another one.
Do you have any favorite email marketing systems that are not listed here? Please share in the comment section below!
[Originally published Feb. 2017; Updated Feb. 2026]
I am surprised that you didn’t cover GetResponse. I use it because it is fairly user friendly.
Mary,
you are right!
We will add in GetResponse as well
You have not mentioned Cloudnet 360. Wondering what your opinion of it would be.
I have not heard of Cloudnet 360. It’s not one of the popular services. I listed the biggies that I have heard of over the years in the industry
Hi, I’m really confused as you have not included Digital Access Pass. They have been around for a long time and have amazing integration.
Alan,
I think of Digital Access Pass as a membership plugin for WordPress. Although it does have built in autoresponders, it’s not one of the big email marketing system, so I did not included it. But I am happy to hear that you love their program. Yes, they have a good reputation 🙂
Could you clarify “List include/exclude not available” and “Easy list include/exclude” please?
List include/exclude means that when you are sending a broadcast, you can include or exclude other email lists.
That’s what I thought it meant, but then I was confused because Mailchimp definitely allows you to select the list you want to send to (and also segments within that list.
I’ve been using BirdSend for around 4 years. It’s not the best known but I love it. It uses tags instead of lists. The support (via asymmetric chat) is superb. The interface is very easy to use. The ease of writing an email beats MailerLite by far. It’s also inexpensive.
Thanks for sharing that you like BirdSend. I couldn’t include every service, but I got the popular ones. I’ll consider adding BirdSend