A good email marketing software helps you collect subscriber information from your website or landing page, sends them autoresponders, and has a good delivery rate.

This article will compare some of the top email marketing software suitable for authors. We’ve compared them based on features required for authors, ease of use, price, and delivery rates. We understand that most authors run email marketing campaigns themselves instead of hiring a marketing agency to do it for them. So, ease of use is more important than automation features authors never use but end up paying for.

1. Sendy

Sendy is a self-hosted email marketing software. You have to download the software and host it on your own server. However, for a one-time fee of $69, and $1 for 10,000 emails, it’s an excellent option for people who are tech-savvy, good at DIY activities and have time on their hands.

Features

• Autoresponders
• Web Templates
• White Label Option
• Third-Party Integrations
• Custom Fields
• Inbuilt Reporting Features

Delivery Rate

Since it is hosted on your own server, the delivery rate will heavily depend on your server service.

Daily Quota

Up to 50,000 emails a day.

Pricing

One-time fee of $69, and $1 per 10,000 emails.

Verdict

Sendy is a great option for authors who are tech-savvy, on a tight budget, and who don’t mind a bit of independence.

2. SendFox

SendFox is an inexpensive option that costs a one-time fee of $49 for up to 5,000 subscribers and $245 for 25,000 subscribers. It’s good for authors looking for a no-frills option.

Features

• Autoresponders
• CMR Functionality
• GDPR Option
• Third-PartyIntegration With WishList, Member, Evidence, and AppSumo Deals

Additional Features

• Auto Importing Subscribers From Other Software
• Personalization Option Available
• Unlimited Emails
• Unlimited Landing Pages and Forms
• Easy to Use

Pricing

Below are SendFox’s lifetime options:

• Tier 1 (up to 5000 subscribers): $ 49
• Tier 2 (up to 10,000 subscribers): $98
• Tier 3 (up to 15,000 subscribers): $147
• Tier 4 (up to 20,000 subscribers): $196
• Tier 5 (up to 25,000 subscribers): $245

Verdict

SendFox is light on features, but it is a cost-effective solution for authors who don’t want the additional features of more expensive software.

3. Mailchimp

Mailchimp has one of the largest client bases in the world. More than 600 million emails are sent every two days through Mailchimp. They have more features than the first two list software.

Features

• API
• Activity Dashboard
• Activity Tracking
• Alerts/Notifications
• Campaign Analytics
• Campaign and Content Management
• Customizable Templates
• Data Import/Export and Drag & Drop
• Engagement Tracking
• Multi-Channel Marketing
• Social Media Integration
• Template Management
• Real-Time Analytics
• Reporting & Statistics
• Reporting/Analytics

Delivery Rate

Mailchimp has a high deliverability of 90.6%.

Pricing

Mailchimp pricing starts at $10 a month for up to 500 subscribers, but the pricing goes up to $199 if you have more than 2,600 subscribers.

Verdict

Most DIY authors probably won’t use many Mailchimp features. We suggest you invest in Mailchimp only if you have a high marketing budget and plan on using the several features listed above. If you plan on only collecting contact information and using autoresponders, a no-frills email marketing software will be a better choice.

4. Zoho

Zoho is another email marketing software that offers flexible payment options. They have both subscription-based and email-based plans. With subscription-based plans, you pay based on the number of subscribers, whereas with the email-based plan, you pay based on the number of emails you send.

This option might be suitable for authors who don’t send emails regularly. My personal experience with Zoho has been average. For some reason, several of our subscribers did not receive our emails. The email deliverability rate was quite average.

Features

• API
• Activity Dashboard
• Activity Tracking
• Alerts/Notifications
• Campaign Analytics
• Campaign, Contact, and Content Management
• Customizable Templates
• Data Import/Export and Drag & Drop
• Engagement Tracking
• Template Management
• Real-Time Analytics
• Reporting & Statistics
• Reporting/Analytics

Pricing

Zoho offers plans starting from $5.00/month. Free trial available for up to 2,000 contacts (no credit card required).

Paid plans are as follows:

• Email-Based Plan: 1,000 emails per month for $0.90.
• Contact-Based Plan: 1,000 contacts per month for $9.00.
• Pay Email Credit: 1,000 credits for $7.50.

Verdict

Zoho is a good option if you send emails extremely infrequently, like a few times a year. You’ll pay only when you send an email rather than pay for a subscription.

5. Aweber

Aweber is one of the proven, successful, and reliable software in the market.

Features

• API
• Activity Dashboard
• Activity Tracking
• Alerts/Notifications
• Campaign Analytics
• Campaign and Content Management
• Customizable Templates
• Data Import/Export and Drag & Drop
• Engagement Tracking
• Multi-Channel Marketing
• Social Media Integration
• Template Management
• Real-Time Analytics
• Reporting & Statistics
• Reporting/Analytics
• Complete Web Support [All Analytical Support (Reporting, sale, and web-based) Included]
• Spam Blocker
• Tagging

Delivery Rate

The delivery rate exceeds a monthly basis exceeding a remarkable 99%.

Daily Quota

No limit on any basis. There are no limits on emails and the tags you create.

Pricing

Aweber has plans from $ 19.99/month. Free trial available for up to 500 contacts. Pricing will differ according to the subscription you choose and the number of subscribers.

Verdict

Aweber is the best web-based email marketing software that works with Mac, Windows, and Linux-based operating systems. It’s a bit more costly than other EMSs but worth it.

6. ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign is a category-based Consumer Experience Automation Platform (CXA), and one of the best EMS presents in the market.

ActiveCampaign is best suited for those companies or individuals who have a bit of experience in this industry. The interface is not that simple, but it’s beneficial and time-saving once you get the hang of it.

Hence, we recommend it for B2B and B2C types of business or authors and content creators who need to be in touch with their audience.

Features

• API
• Activity Dashboard
• Activity Tracking
• Alerts/Notifications
• Campaign Analytics
• Campaign, Contact, and Content Management
• Customizable Branding & Templates
• Data Import/Export and Drag & Drop
• Engagement Tracking
• Multi-Channel Marketing
• Real-Time Analytics
• Reporting & Statistics
• Reporting/Analytics
• Social Media Integration
• Template Management
• Third-Party Integrations

Delivery Rate

The delivery rate exceeds 97%. The magnificent scale puts it on level with the competing EMSs.

Daily Quota

The limit varies according to the plan you choose.

Pricing

Free trial available. The free trial will help you to choose the plan suitable for you.

Active Campaign offers the following plans:

• Lite: $9/Month
• Plus: $49/Month
• Professional: $129/Month
• Enterprise: $229/Month

Most authors need a website and email marketing software to build their mailing list. Some software services also provide a landing page. So if you don’t have a website, you can choose a marketing software that provides a landing page. Another option is a self-hosted solution like clickfunnels where you can set up a website and landing page, collect subscriber information, schedule newsletters, and create a membership model where you can charge subscribers to access content. To learn more, check out our article: Using clickfunnels to create a lead generation website.