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Hey, Do you ever thing you could be doing more with your newsletter? You probably have that nagging feeling for a reason but email marketing can be frustrating. People like me say annoying things like “your email list is your No. 1 marketing asset.” Annoying, and true. But newsletters are often a source of anguish. Another bill to pay. Something which should be generating more revenue than it does – according to annoying people on the internet, anyway. Choosing a service can be tricky too. All of them come with different features and prices and claims. But which of these doodads and wotsits are actually useful? Are you paying for things you shouldn’t be? Or could you be getting more out of your email marketing service by exploring all the fancy features? The fundamental question is this: which features set you up for success? We’re looking at exactly that today. Because once you know which features are most important for you then the decision on which service to use becomes much clearer. And then you have a path forward to setting up your email marketing operation in a way that works for you. which service?The email marketing landscape might be uncertain right now but the waters are even choppier in the wider world; a strong and healthy list is our best insurance policy against whatever the future brings. The question of which email marketing service to use was a largely settled one a few years ago – a broad consensus had emerged that MailerLite was the best intersection of price, features, reliability, and performance – unless people had specific needs. It’s a bit more of an open question these days, and the best provider for you in 2026 will largely depend on your circumstances – especially since MailerLite’s price increases have brought it closer to the cost of premium services like Kit, and also because the new cap on the free plan is just 250 subscribers. More restrictions to other aspects of the free plan are coming in August, which is around when the latest price change will kick in for those on paid plans too. At least that’s the case for those on MailerLite New platform. The situation with Classic users is unclear at the time of writing. No doubt competitors will see this as an opportunity, much as MailerLite did when Mailchimp dropped the ball a decade ago; I expect this to be an ongoing conversation and reassessment over the coming months, and I plan to cover all those developments while also giving you resources to get the most out of whichever platform you choose. Last week, I compared and contrasted the four very different email marketing services. The one I use for non-fiction (Kit), the one I still use for fiction (MailerLite), and the two I get asked about the most right now (Substack and EmailOctopus). If you missed that email, I recommend reading it here, because I also compared those services from the perspective of a newer author, a midlister, and a bestseller – and made different recommendations, depending. It’s really not one-size-fits-all anymore. Here are the key features to look for in any email marketing service. the big 5 featuresCompanies love throwing buzzwords around, and our magpie eyes are always attracted by the new shiny. But what features truly are key to success when it comes to email marketing services? Authors are not full-time marketers, nor are they working for large operations. So, what should they focus on? These are the must-have features for any email marketing service. (a) a welcome sequenceSuccessful authors usually dangle a freebie to entice sign-ups. To deliver this smoothly, and avoid reader complaints and quick unsubscribes, you must make this experience as seamless as possible. Readers should get what you promise them instantly and should be able to download your freebie in a straightforward manner. Which means your email marketing service must allow you to have at least one automation with multiple emails in it, so that you can disburse your freebie and onboard readers properly. One welcome email just won’t cut it, in my opinion, so if you are comparing various free plans, make sure they aren’t that restrictive. I also think it’s very important that your service integrates with BookFunnel – not all of them do – as this is the best way to dole out your freebie. (b) subscriber managementYou need to know who is opening your emails and clicking on things, and who isn’t. And you need some way to separate the star performers from those who are disengaged. Different platforms use different terms (and sometimes the same term in different ways!), but whether it is tags or segments or groups or lists or something else altogether, you need some way to manage your subscribers, see how they are performing, and separate them based on various traits or metrics. This allows you to optimize your list, re-engage readers when needed, and then remove the terminally disengaged when absolutely necessary. It’s also helpful if you can see where readers came from (i.e. did this subscriber come from the back of your books or from a giveaway or from a Facebook ad?). This helps you know how each type of subscriber performs, which in turn allows you to focus on the areas of growth which work for you. Otherwise, you are flying blind and might be wasting time and resources. (c) newsletter creationIf creating your newsletters is cumbersome, you might end up avoiding the task and then letting it slide altogether – which can be death to engagement. Battling with an interface just to get a book cover to display properly or to make a button clickable is no fun. Thankfully, most providers these days either have a nice drag-and-drop interface, or some handy reusable templates. You can even get by here with a simple facility to duplicate your previous newsletter – as long as it’s easy then to edit after you do so. Things like branded header images can make you look way more professional and set the tone right from the off. If you want a free tutorial on how to create branded newsletter headers from your book covers, you really should check out the last episode of the Image Workshop – where I share my screen and create an entire brand identity from stock photos. I make the book cover from a stock photo, then social teasers, then ads, website images, and newsletter headers – all branded to match that book cover. I even put on a clean shirt.
Also, that deal I mention in the video – 100 DepositPhoto credits for $49 – is still live over at AppSumo, and should be until July 3. After that the price goes back up to $300. That’s an affiliate link but this doesn't affect the price you pay. In fact if you use my code DECODERS you will get 10% off (first time users only). Also, it is a stonking deal, one I have availed of regularly myself for eight years now. (I also show you how to find the stock photos you need on DepositPhotos in the above tutorial BTW.) (d) performance metricsIt’s also important to know how you are performing: opens, clicks, unsubscribes, and spam reports are the key things to monitor. Fancier platforms might let you do things like automatically split test subject lines (or even newsletter content), and then let the system determine a winner and serve everyone the goodest stuff automagically. But that’s probably overkill for most. Besides, you can test these things manually yourself by splitting your list and comparing open/click rates between the two sends. Over time, you’ll develop a strong instinct for what works best for your particular audience. These metrics won’t just show you how your audiences are responding to your subject lines and your newsletter content though, they are also the canary in the coalmine for deliverability issues. If parts of your list start going dark because of one technical reason or another, falling open rates can also be a sign of deliverability issues. (e) supportDoes your platform offer email support on the free plan or fob you off with a shonky AI and/or patchy help pages? Live chat is usually restricted to paid plans on most providers (and some are even pushing it across to their more expensive premium plans), but I think some way of contacting an actual human being in customer service is essential. Of course, saying you have customer support doesn’t mean much if the company takes forever to respond or isn’t very helpful when they do. The best platforms provide a wealth of resources for you to explore at your leisure so you can make the most of their service – which can help you resolve issues without involving support, so a win-win. The very best will also provide lots of help on deliverability – a huge topic all on its own, covering all the best practices for maximizing your open rate, avoiding technical issues, and keeping your emails out of Spam (and Promotions, where possible…). wrap upThose are the big five features of any email marketing service, as far as I see it, and I recommend assessing any you are considering along these lines. It’s easy to get distracted by fancy features and big claims, but these are the core functions which will be your bread and butter. You may have specific additional needs, such as advanced automations, selling direct, integrations with various platforms, and so on. But if the foundation isn’t solid, you will have difficulty growing to the point where more advanced features are useful to you. Hope that helps you assess whatever service you are considering. Dave P.S. Writing music this week is The Do with Lick My Wounds. |
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