How many times each day do you check your email? Five? 10? More than that?
If you’re tuned in to your inbox all the time, you know how powerful email is — even after all these years — for connecting people around the globe. And if you’re not reaching out to your readers via email, you’re missing out on a valuable opportunity to connect with and build your audience.
If you don’t already have an email newsletter, it’s time to start thinking about it as a part of your marketing efforts to build an author platform. It will go a long way toward helping you land writing gigs and sell books.
Which newsletter platform is right for you?
So whether you’re just starting to build your brand as a writer or already have a loyal group of fans who keep asking what you’ve written lately, it’s time to consider growing an email list.
Here’s a peek into some of the most popular email newsletter tools, plus pros and cons for each.
1. ConvertKit
For beginners? Yes
Initial cost: Free
This service specializes in email services for bloggers and authors. Key features include easy organization of sequenced courses, customizable automated messages and integration with the ecommerce platforms bloggers favor. Most users say it’s easier to use than the other platforms on this list, so it’s a good starting place for beginners.
ConvertKit recently rolled out a free plan, though free accounts don’t have access to all features. If you want to send emails to your list, you’ll either have to invite other new users to sign up or pay their starting rate of $29/month.
One other cool feature of this platform is you can easily create landing pages. That means you don’t even need to have a website to get people to sign up for your list.
ConvertKit has been growing steadily since its 2013 launch. We moved to this platform in late 2019 and have since enjoyed an increase in subscribers to our email list.
2. MailChimp
For beginners? Yes
Initial cost: Free
MailChimp is one of the most popular email services for new businesses. Some users think MailChimp is cute, but it can be clunky during the editing process. The big perk is that it’s free for up to 2,000 subscribers and 10,000 sends per month, which makes easy to commit.
Even for users who are just starting an email list, a full-service program like MailChimp offers lots of options with room to grow.
If you want to send automated messages to your readers — known as autoresponders — you’ll have to pay up. Add-ons start at $10 per month, with the “recommended” package priced at $14.99 per month.
3. TinyLetter
For beginners? Yes
Initial cost: Free
TinyLetter is a MailChimp product, and its focus on text makes it a popular choice for writers. And unlike MailChimp, TinyLetter is completely free to use. The only catch: You’re capped at 5,000 subscribers.
“TinyLetter is to MailChimp what Tumblr is to WordPress: It’s newsletters for dummies,” Rebecca Greenfield explained at Fast Company. “Unlike MailChimp, which caters to businesses and offers all sorts of testing and analytics features, TinyLetter provides just the basics. Writing a message is just like writing an email in Gmail, meaning the process takes only as long as crafting the body text.”
Noted early adopters of TinyLetter include freelancer Ann Friedman. Since she writes for several publications, her weekly newsletter guarantees that fans never miss an article. (Ed. note: Friedman has moved up to TinyLetter parent MailChimp. You can read more about her experience here.)
4. Campaign Monitor
For beginners? Maybe
Initial cost: $9 per month
Only planning to send occasional emails to your readers? Maybe writing is your side hustle, or you only want to send emails when you have a new book coming out.
Pricing plans for more frequent senders start at $9 for 2,500 emails — not subscribers — per month. If you want to send unlimited emails or automated messages to your list, pricing starts at $29 per month. Campaign Monitor gets mixed reviews for usability, similar to concerns about MailChimp.
5. AWeber
For beginners? Maybe
Initial cost: $19 per month
Many big-name bloggers swear by AWeber. It was once the DIY choice, as it didn’t have pre-designed templates like many of the other platforms. But AWeber has gotten more user friendly since we first shared this list. In fall 2019, the company launched Smart Designer, which analyzes your website to quickly create an email template that matches your brand.
Pricing starts at $19 per month for unlimited emails to up to 500 subscribers. From there, you’ll pay $29 per month for up to 2,500 subscribers.
6. Constant Contact
For beginners? Yes
Initial cost: $20 per month
Constant Contact is geared toward businesses, so if you’re growing your brand, this option might be a good fit. After a 60-day trial, your fees start at $20 per month for a list of up to 500. All plans feature unlimited emails.
And if you’re not tech-savvy — and maybe don’t have time to even want to learn — Constant Contact offers additional services ranging from account setup to designing blasts for the copy you provide.
7. GetResponse
For beginners? Yes
Initial cost: $25 per month
GetResponse offers a free 30-day trial. After that, $15 per month will cover you for up to 1,000 subscribers. Like many of the platforms we describe here, the company offers customizable email templates and landing pages.
If you just want to send emails to your community, GetResponse may not be your first place to start. But if you want to build a marketing funnel and sell products, this is a an all-in-one option for you.
8. Substack
For beginners? Yes
Initial cost: Free
This one’s a little different from the rest. Instead of paying a fee to send emails through Substack, your readers pay to receive your messages. Every time you publish, you decide if it’s for all subscribers or just for those who pay a subscription fee you set. If you have paying subscribers, Substack keeps 10% plus about 3% for payment processing fees.
If you want to share primarily promotional updates, Substack’s probably not right for you. But if you want to monetize your writing beyond traditional or self-publishing and you already have a solid following, it may be worth considering.
Regardless of the tool you choose, remember that readers won’t open your emails unless you’re writing interesting content that provides value. So before you sign up for one of these services, think strategically about how you’ll communicate with your network.
Which email service do you use? Which feature is your favorite?
This is an updated version of a story that was previously published. We update our posts as often as possible to ensure they’re useful for our readers.
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