What Is Free Email Marketing Software?

Should you be considering free email marketing software for your business? Understanding the real definition of "free" as it is used to define this type of software is important. There are two classifications of computer software that make use of this terminology. The first is software that has no month-to-month costs associated with the product and the second is a service that has no associated costs for a trial period, generally thirty days.



For many marketers who are just starting out online, the desire to save money can often be the primary motivation behind their systems decisions. Often times, this is the motivation that leads people to enroll in free email marketing software that has no continuing monthly fees. While this may at first sound appealing, there are some points that need to be understood about with this particular arrangement. For starters, most companies offering a free service place advertising on the outgoing emails sent by their users. The placement of paid third party advertisements on all outgoing emails is used to generate revenues that would normally be created through monthly subscriber fees. These services also have limitations on the functionality of the free account. For example, a company may restrict a free account to having less than 500 email recipients. Anything above that number incurs an ongoing monthly fee or requires the migration to a paid service. An additional limitation often found with these types of services is the quantity of online email marketing pieces that may be sent every month. Along with these disadvantages there are other performance limitations in areas of design, tracking and split testing.



The other common arrangement for free email marketing software is a trial offer of the software. In this particular arrangement the full functionality of the software is unlocked for the end user, so they can effectively evaluate the performance and functions of the program. Typically the only limitations are on the number of allowed marketing list subscribers and on the total number of emails that can be sent during the trial period. Unlike the arrangement mentioned previously, trial period software contains no third party advertising. All features of the product are available for testing and the overall performance of the software can be effectively measured.



While it might at first seem like a good idea to save money, it is imperative that anyone serious about building their business through online email marketing take a long term perspective. With the traffic generation tools that are available to a marketer today, the power to grow a mailing list of over 500 people in a short time is well within reach. Having to go back and move that mailing list to another service at a later time is not only a bother, but it creates an opportunity to lose a large number of subscribers, simply because they do not subscribe to the new email marketing service. In the long run, the headaches caused by using this type of free email marketing software may become more costly than any financial savings that may be realized.



It is a considerably more practical strategy to use free email marketing software as a test drive for a paid service. The paid service will provide much greater functionality to their clients and will also have greater flexibility for tailoring email campaigns to the needs of the business that is being promoted. The most beneficial use of this trial period is to learn the functions of the system, so that it is being fully maximized once the account moves from a free trial to paid subscription status.



Free email marketing software is a great tool for gaining familiarity with a paid marketing platform; however, it is not recommended that it be used as the primary tool for an email marketing strategy.



Being equipped with the best email marketing tools begins with choosing a great email marketing provider. Mailigen offers free email marketing software for businesses both large and small to effectively evaluate their services.