An email marketing campaign is only as good as the software behind it. And while a good platform has many characteristics, its overall quality is largely based on one single aspect - the feature set. Take note of some of the features you absolutely must have in your email marketing software.

Campaign Management

Creating an email marketing campaign is far more complex than it may seem on the surface. Not only do you have to design your campaign so your message comes off as professional, you also have to compose your actual message. The process of creating and deploying a campaign can make for a lot of work, but that work is considerably easier when you have access to a rich set of campaign management features. Specifically, you want a solution that provides a way to design your message in HTML or plaintext format, in addition to things like free email templates and easy to use text editors. Having these tools in an email marketing software solution will make creating and managing your campaigns a breeze.

List Management

Email marketing is much more than sending your subscribers a message whenever you have something to say or a new product to promote. There is a significant amount of maintenance that needs to be handled and most of it has to do with your precious list. Managing your list can get pretty hectic, but it doesn’t have to be such a tedious undertaking when you have access to the right tools. A good set of list management tools will automate a variety of critical tasks on your behalf, including adding an unsubscribe link to your messages, addressing bounces, and removing unsubscribes. These tools are all about making sure your list remains in good health, which as an email marketer, should be among your top priorities. 

Comprehensive Reporting

Last but not least, you need email marketing software that provides a way to track your performance. Every campaign is capable of producing measurable results, but it takes a comprehensive system in order to present those results in a language you can understand. An ideal reporting system will provide feedback on all the key areas of your campaign. This includes telling you how many people opened your message, how many messages are bouncing, and how many subscribers are opting out. You can’t improve if you don’t know how you’re doing, and having access to this type of data can tell you everything you need to know. 

There is certainly no shortage of features when it comes to email marketing software, but the ones discussed here are options you can’t do without. Of course there are others you may need, so the smartest course of action is jotting down everything you require, and going out to find a service provider that has the feature set you need to be successful. This is the most reliable way to assure you get the most from your investment.