Attention-grabbing headlines aside, email is not dead yet. It’s true that text messaging, instant messaging and social networking provide an alternative means of communication to email for many.
Attention-grabbing headlines aside, email is not dead yet. It’s true that text messaging, instant messaging and social networking provide an alternative means of communication to email for many. Web-based email usage is actually declining, in fact, according to some recent data from comScore. However, most of that is due to the increase in mobile email usage. Smartphones have made email-on-the-go not only accessible but even convenient and practical.
Still, email is a top-performing marketing channel. A survey by Foresee Results examining the top 40 retailers over the 2010 holiday season found that 19 percent of respondents* visited a retailer’s website because of a promotional email. Compare that with just 8 percent who said the same about a search result. According to the study, “Only about 5 percent of online holiday shoppers report being primarily influenced to visit top retailer sites by social media channels…” But while email still drives traffic, conversions and brand loyalty, it is no doubt an evolving industry that demands attention from Web professionals.
Mobile email presents challenges, in the form of smaller screens and even smaller attention spans from busy users. Advertising within emails has become common, opening new channels for promotion. Email targeting capabilities are more advanced than ever. Even multimedia is making its way to email. In other words, email is no longer simply a message. Increasingly email is becoming a full interactive environment in itself, which is trackable, optimizable and directly attributable to a company’s bottom line.
All of this means that it is more important than ever to realize the full value in an email service provider (ESP). Today’s Web professionals need morethanaplatform, theyneedapartner. Website Magazine’s Top 50 Email Service Providers is here to help your business find that partner. You might think that all ESPs are the same. They are not. When evaluating potential providers be sure to ask plenty of questions – including how deliverability is optimized, targeting options and analytics capabilities. And one element in particular that should never be overlooked (but often is) is ease of use.
1. ConstantContact.com
2. icontact.com
3. getresponse.com
4. VerticalResponse.com
5. exacttarget.com
6. streamsend.com
7. ratepoint.com
8. campaigner.com
9. bronto.com
10. Benchmarkemail.com
11. lyris.com
12. topica.com
13. netatlantic.com
14. mailchimp.com
15. silverpop.com
16. mailermailer.com
17. myemma.com
18. interspire.com
19. mynewsletterbuilder.com
20. graphicmail.com
21. listrak.com
22. jangomail.com
23. resultsmail.com
24. aweber.com
25. bighip.com
26. icontactplus.com
27. cooleremail.com
28. lsoft.com
29. ipost.com
30. sendfree.com
31. massmailsoftware.com
32. eliteemail.com
33. yesmail.com
34. reachmail.net
35. knotice.com
36. boomerang.com
37. strongmail.com
38. arialsoftware.com
39. blueskyfactory.com
40. delivra.com
41. emfluence.com
42. responsys.com
43. easycontact.com
44. savicom.net
45. loopfuse.com
46. emercury.net
47. goldlasso.com
48. touchpointec.com
49. activetrail.com
50. mailworkz.com
Source of Information : Website Magazine for April 2011
Thursday, 14 July 2011
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