This comparison covers five Brevo alternatives: Sendigram, ActiveCampaign, Instantly, Mailmodo, and Kit (formerly ConvertKit). Prices and plan details were checked on October 16, 2026. Check each provider’s current offer before choosing a plan.

Brevo Features and Pricing (2026)

Brevo, offers email marketing alongside SMS, WhatsApp, and other messaging tools. Its free plan allows up to 300 emails per day and up to 100,000 contacts. Paid plans include Starter, Standard, Professional, and Enterprise; Starter currently starts at $9 per month. Paid tiers have monthly sending allowances and contact limits, so compare both before choosing a plan. Prices may vary by region.

The important thing: Brevo cost is based on email volume, not the number of contacts, which is praised in user reviews as a fairer, growth-friendly model compared to many Brevo competitors.

Brevo pros and cons

Pros:

✅ Very affordable and scalable (users love the balance of Brevo’s pricing and features)

✅ Great multichannel capabilities: email, SMS, WhatsApp, push notifications

✅ AI-driven personalization through Brevo Aura

✅ Intuitive UI, easy learning curve

Cons:

⚠️ Some limitations in reporting depth for enterprise-grade needs 

⚠️ Users’ accounts often suspended, in case any non-compliance issues are detected (instead of notifying users first)

⚠️ CRM tools are solid but not yet on the same level as those offered by larger CRMs like Salesforce

⚠️ Email templates can still feel slightly rigid compared to certain Brevo alternatives

Brevo alternatives at a glance

Brevo vs Sendigram

Best suited to: small businesses that want to launch email campaigns and automations without an email marketing team.

Sendigram is an AI-assisted email marketing platform for small businesses without a dedicated email team. Its built-in chat assistant helps you create templates, campaigns, and automations without starting from scratch. The platform also includes 400+ free responsive templates, a drag-and-drop editor, contact management and segmentation, campaign scheduling, performance reports, and automated email sequences.

Paid plans start from $6/month, with pricing based on your sending volume, features, billing period, and team size.

Pros

💜 Unlimited stored contacts

💜 AI email builder and 400+ pre-designed templates

💜 Pre-send checks for campaigns and automations

Things to consider

🟣 Limited intergations

Brevo vs ActiveCampaign

Best suited to: businesses that need flexible marketing automation and may also need CRM capabilities.

ActiveCampaign is considered to be a platform whose user interface is sophisticated and intuitive at the same time. It provides users with flexible email design options that allow them to incorporate various elements, like, for example, countdown timers or eCommerce product blocks. 

In contrast, Brevo offers a more streamlined user experience, which makes it particularly attractive for those new to email marketing or those who prefer simplicity. The platform is especially user-friendly due to features like the Brand Library, which helps maintain consistency across campaigns.

ActiveCampaign is known for its powerful automation features. With ActiveCampaign, you can also test entire sequences against each other, while Brevo offers less complexity in its automation capabilities. 

When it comes to design and customization, ActiveCampaign offers a vast library of over 250 responsive email templates that can be customized to fit any brand’s style. It also allows for direct HTML code editing, giving advanced users the flexibility to tailor their designs even further.

ActiveCampaign offers Starter, Plus, Professional, and Enterprise plans. Automation features vary by plan, with lighter automation on Starter and more advanced capabilities on higher tiers. CRM features may depend on the plan or add-ons. ActiveCampaign lists more than 1,000 integrations and offers a 14-day trial.

ActiveCampaign may suit businesses whose workflows extend beyond marketing messages, such as lead nurturing or sales processes. Pricing depends on the plan, contact band, and add-ons, so check the current offer for the features you need.

Pros and cons based on user feedback and expert reviews

Pros

💜 Automation capabilities across several plan levels

💜 CRM options and a broad integration library

💜 Integrations

Things to consider

🟣 Advanced workflows can take time to configure

Brevo vs Instantly

Best suited to: teams that want sales engagement, lead management, and communication workflows in one platform.

Instantly now brings together outbound email, an AI CRM, a B2B lead database, lead verification and enrichment, deliverability tools, and AI sales features. Its CRM combines email, calls, SMS, and tasks in a shared inbox, with automated sales workflows and integrations for teams that also use an external CRM.

Instantly’s Growth Outbound plan is listed at $47 per month when billed monthly, or $37.60 per month with annual billing. Both price displays list 1,000 uploaded contacts and 5,000 emails per month. Its Outbound trial includes 250 uploaded contacts and 1,000 emails. Instantly has separate products and plan details for CRM, data, and other tools, so check the current offer for the features you need.

Brevo focuses on email marketing and customer messaging, while Instantly brings sales engagement and pipeline tools into the same platform. Compare the workflows and plan limits that matter to your team.

Pros and cons based on user feedback and expert reviews

Pros

💜 Combines sales engagement, CRM, and lead intelligence

💜 Brings email, calls, SMS, and tasks into one workspace

💜 Includes automation and deliverability tools

Things to consider

🟣 Can get buggy at times

Brevo vs Mailmodo   

Best suited to: marketers who want interactive emails and automated customer journeys.

Mailmodo supports interactive AMP emails, automated journeys, behavioral triggers, segmentation, and personalization. Its current guides describe a free plan for fewer than 500 contacts. For accounts above 500 contacts, the guides list Lite at $27 per month and Pro at $79 per month, billed annually. The standalone pricing page currently shows different figures, so confirm the live offer before publishing or purchasing.

Mailmodo may be a fit if interactive email is important to your campaigns. Check whether your recipients’ email clients support the interactive experience, and make sure the fallback email works for people who can’t view AMP content.

Pros and cons based on user feedback and expert reviews

Pros

💜 Interactive AMP email features

💜 Journey automation and segmentation

💜 Free plan listed for fewer than 500 contacts

Things to consider

🟣 AMP interactivity may not be available in every recipient’s email client

Brevo vs. Kit (formerly ConvertKit) 

Best suited to: creators and newsletter publishers building an audience.

ConvertKit was founded in 2013 by a blogger and designer Nathan Barry, specifically targeting creators such as bloggers, authors, and artists. ConvertKit offers an array of features tailored to content creators looking to grow their audience and manage their email marketing campaigns effectively. 

ConvertKit has rebranded as Kit. Kit’s free plan supports up to 10,000 subscribers and includes broadcasts, forms, landing pages, audience tagging, and segmentation. Kit’s current Help Center lists visual automations and email sequences as paid features. Creator adds unlimited visual automations and email sequences; pricing depends on subscriber count.

Kit presents a clean and straightforward interface that is well-organized, making it easy for first-time users to navigate. The platform’s visual workflow builder enhances this usability, offering a user-friendly environment to manage complex automation workflows. Kit may suit creators who prioritize newsletters and audience growth. Brevo may be a better fit if you need a broader mix of communication channels or business messaging tools.

Pros and cons based on user feedback and expert reviews

Pros

💜 Free plan for up to 10,000 subscribers

💜 Creator-focused newsletter, form, and landing-page tools

💜 Free-plan audience tagging and segmentation

Things to consider

🟣 Visual automations and sequences aren’t listed as Free-plan features

How to choose a Brevo alternative

Start with the way you use email. If you want to store a large list without list-size charges, compare Sendigram’s unlimited stored contacts and sending-volume plans with the contact cap and sending allowance on the Brevo plan you’re considering. If you need CRM and marketing automation, look at ActiveCampaign. If you need sales engagement, lead intelligence, and pipeline workflows, consider Instantly.

For a smaller list, compare free-plan contact limits and monthly email allowances. If interactive email is a priority, review Mailmodo’s current pricing and AMP support. For creator newsletters, check Kit’s subscriber limit and which automation features require a paid plan.

Before switching, compare the features your team uses today, including integrations, automation triggers, list rules, and reporting. Recheck pricing and plan limits before publication because providers can change them.

The post Top 5 Brevo Alternatives in 2026: Features and Pricing appeared first on Email Marketing Blog | Sendigram.

Your business does not need a Halloween product to send a timely campaign. It simply needs an idea that feels playful, relevant, and easy for subscribers to join.

The best approach is to connect a familiar Halloween theme — ghosts, potions, mysteries, or scary problems — to something your audience already cares about.

In this article, we will show you Halloween email ideas and Halloween email templates. It is the start of the holiday season, and most email marketers are well aware of its relevance. Start things out right, build engagement with your audience, and show them that there is nothing to be scared of (apart from missing the new deal in your Halloween email). Finally, send your Halloween emails with a spooky email sign-off. To know how to do all that—read our article.

Free Halloween Email Templates

While creativity is a big part of marketing, it doesn’t mean you always need to start from scratch. The truth is, building campaigns from the ground up every single time can drain both energy and resources. That’s where customizable HTML templates come in handy—they let you stay creative while cutting out the unnecessary hassle.

With Sendigram’s free Halloween email templates collection, you get ready-made designs that can be fully adjusted and customized to match your brand. These templates make it easy to cover multiple occasions and industries—be it real estate or culinary adventures.

Can you send a Halloween email without selling Halloween products?

Yes. A Halloween email can use the occasion as a creative theme rather than promoting a seasonal product.

For example, you could:

• Turn existing products into themed bundles
• Create a short quiz or challenge
• Invite customers to join an in-store game
• Help subscribers identify a “scary” business problem
• Bring an abandoned task or workflow “back from the dead”

The campaign still needs to connect naturally to your business. The Halloween element simply makes the message more interesting.

1. E-commerce: Create a “Pick Your Potion” quiz

Instead of discounting your entire store, help customers discover a bundle based on what they need.

Send a short, three-question quiz beginning with something like:

What kind of night are you planning?

Each answer can lead to a different “potion”—a bundle assembled from products already in your regular catalog.

A skincare business might offer:

• The Rest and Recover Potion
• The Get Ready to Go Out Potion
• The Next-Morning Rescue Potion

A food brand could create movie-night, party-night, and quiet-night bundles. A stationery store could suggest products for planning, creativity, or relaxation.

Reveal the recommended bundle after the subscriber completes the quiz. This adds curiosity and makes product discovery feel like a game.

Possible subject lines:

• Pick your Halloween potion
• Which potion belongs in your basket?
• Take the quiz. Reveal your potion.
• Three questions. One mysterious recommendation.

2. Coaches: Ask, “Have you been ghosted by your own goals?”

Halloween gives coaches and consultants an excellent excuse to revive something their audience has neglected.

Create a three-day restart challenge with one small action each day. Keep the tasks realistic enough to complete in a few minutes.

For example:

Day 1: Choose one goal you want to restart.
Day 2: Complete the smallest possible step.
Day 3: Decide what you will do next week.

The idea works because it combines a relatable problem with a light seasonal pun. It also gives you a natural reason to send a short email sequence rather than a single promotion.

Possible subject lines:

• Ghosted by your own goals?
• Let’s bring that abandoned goal back
• Your three-day goal revival starts here
• One small action. Three days. No haunting guilt.

3. Local businesses: Let a ghost escape into your shop

If you have a physical location, use email to create a small in-store treasure hunt.

Tell subscribers that a friendly ghost has escaped into your shop. Include a clue and ask customers to find it when they visit.

You could hide:

• A paper ghost near a featured product
• A symbol somewhere on the menu
• A secret word on a shelf
• A tiny character in the window display

Customers who find it can give a secret code at checkout to receive a small reward or enter a prize draw.

Afterward, send a follow-up revealing the hiding place and announcing the winner. This gives the campaign a clear beginning and ending while encouraging both store visits and email engagement.

Possible subject lines:

• A ghost has escaped into our shop
• Can you find our hidden visitor?
• Follow the clue—there may be a treat
• Something spooky is hiding in-store

4. B2B services: Diagnose your customer’s business nightmare

B2B Halloween emails do not need forced jokes or pictures of pumpkins in suits.

Instead, turn the problems you solve into a quick “business nightmare” checklist.

A marketing consultant might include:

• Unclear messaging
• Leads that disappear after the first conversation
• Campaigns that never get measured
• Processes held together by spreadsheets

An accountant could focus on missing documents, late invoices, or disorganized records. An IT company could cover weak passwords, missing backups, and outdated software.

Ask readers to reply with the one problem they would most like to banish. Their answers can begin useful conversations while showing you which challenges matter most to your audience.

Possible subject lines:

• What is your biggest business nightmare?
• A frighteningly quick business checkup
• Which problem would you banish first?
• Your business nightmare, diagnosed

5. SaaS: Bring an abandoned workflow back from the dead

Most businesses have at least one task that should have been automated long ago.

Use your Halloween campaign to show how your software can revive a neglected process—or finally end a repetitive task that people still do manually.

You could demonstrate how your product helps customers:

• Restart an abandoned follow-up sequence
• Automate a repetitive weekly process
• Re-engage inactive contacts
• Replace a manual spreadsheet workflow
• Complete an unfinished setup

Focus on one specific before-and-after example. The email will be easier to understand than a long list of product features.

Possible subject lines:

• Bring this workflow back from the dead
• Still doing this task by hand?
• Revive the process everyone abandoned
• This automation deserves another life

How to make a Halloween email work

A clever theme may earn attention, but the email still needs to be useful.

Keep the idea simple

Subscribers should understand the activity or offer immediately. If the Halloween concept takes a paragraph to explain, simplify it.

Make participation easy

Use one clear action: click, reply, take a quiz, visit the shop, or complete a small challenge.

Connect the theme to a real need

The joke gets attention. The useful result gives people a reason to engage.

Make the email easy to scan

Use a short introduction, a prominent call to action, and a mobile-friendly design. Avoid filling every available space with Halloween decorations.

Plan the follow-up

If you launch a quiz, challenge, competition, or checklist, decide what happens afterward. Send the result, reveal the answer, continue the challenge, or respond to subscribers who participated.

When should you send a Halloween marketing email?

For a multi-email challenge, quiz, or in-store activity, begin one to two weeks before Halloween. This gives subscribers enough time to participate.

A simple reminder, flash promotion, or last-minute idea can be sent closer to October 31.

If your campaign includes several messages, avoid sending every email to everyone. Follow up based on participation where possible—for example, whether someone clicked the quiz, joined the challenge, or visited the offer page.

What is the best Halloween email idea for a small business?

The best Halloween email idea is one that uses what your business already has.

You do not need a seasonal product range or an elaborate campaign. Choose one familiar customer problem, add a playful Halloween angle, and give the reader one simple action to take.

Your products do not need pumpkins.

Your email just needs a little mischief.

Fun & Memorable Halloween Email Sign-Offs

A good ending is just as important as a good beginning. That’s why adding a clever spooky email sign-off can make your Halloween email stick with your readers. Here are some sign off examples, that can do the job:

• “Stay spooky, The [Brand] Team 👻”
• “No tricks, just treats 🎃”
• “See you on the dark side 🌑”
• “Creep it real, [Brand]”
• “Fangs for being with us 🧛”
• “Until the next full moon 🌕”
• “Bone appétit 💀”
• “Happy haunting from all of us”
• “Wishing you thrills & chills ✨”
• “Ghosting you after this email 👀”

👉 Tip: The right sign-off should feel aligned with your business. A fun lifestyle brand can go with emojis and humor, while a professional service might just sound a bit lighter than usual. The main idea when adapting your email designs and message to the spirit of Halloween is to stay true to your brand voice while spicing it up with the spirit of the holiday—not the other way round.

Frequently asked questions

Do Halloween emails need to include a discount?

No. Quizzes, challenges, checklists, competitions, product bundles, and in-store activities can create engagement without reducing your prices.

Can B2B companies send Halloween emails?

Yes. B2B companies can use Halloween themes to discuss common problems, abandoned workflows, business risks, or tasks customers would like to eliminate.

What should a Halloween email include?

A Halloween email should include a clear concept, a benefit for the reader, one main call to action, and a design that works on both desktop and mobile.

Is it too late to send a Halloween email?

Not necessarily. A simple campaign can be created and sent within a few days. Choose an idea that does not require a complicated landing page, extensive design work, or a long sequence.

How many Halloween emails should a business send?

A straightforward promotion may need only one main email and one reminder. A challenge, quiz, or competition may work better as a short sequence with an introduction, follow-up, and final result.

Ready to create your Halloween campaign? With Sendigram, you can turn an idea into an email, customize the design, choose your audience, and check the campaign before launch.

The post Halloween Email Templates, Ideas, and Spooky Sign-Offs for Marketers 2026 appeared first on Email Marketing Blog | Sendigram.

A lead magnet does not need 50 pages, six chapters, and a cover that looks ready for an airport bookshop.

It needs to be useful.

Small business owners often make lead magnets more complicated than necessary. They start writing an “ultimate guide,” discover that it has quietly become a second job, and postpone launching the signup form for another month.

Meanwhile, their potential customer probably wanted one clear answer they could use before lunch.

This guide explains what makes a lead magnet effective, gives four practical formats for small businesses, and shows how to turn the initial download into a useful email relationship.

What is a lead magnet?

A lead magnet is a useful resource that a business offers in exchange for a visitor’s contact information, usually an email address.

Common lead magnets include:

• Checklists
• Templates
• Quizzes and assessments
• Calculators
• Benchmark reports
• Guides and e-books
• Worksheets
• Free tools
• Webinars or short courses

The goal is not merely to collect an email address. A good lead magnet gives the subscriber a small but meaningful result and introduces the kind of help your business provides.

For example, an accountant might offer a quarterly tax checklist. A business coach might offer a two-minute capacity assessment. A web agency might offer a website conversion scorecard.

Each resource solves a problem connected to the service the business eventually wants to sell.

What makes a good lead magnet for a small business?

Strong lead magnets usually follow three rules.

1. They solve one specific problem

“Everything you need to know about marketing” is too broad.

“Seven things to check before sending a marketing email” is clear. The reader immediately knows what the resource will help them do.

The narrower the problem, the easier it is to create a useful resource—and the easier it is for the right person to recognize that they need it.

2. They deliver a quick, friction-free win

A subscriber should not need a free weekend, a printer, and a fresh set of highlighters to get value from your lead magnet.

Give them something they can use immediately:

• A decision
• A score
• A calculation
• A short action list
• A comparison
• A completed first step

The result does not need to solve the customer’s entire problem. It should help them make visible progress.

3. They take less than five minutes to use

People download resources with good intentions and crowded calendars.

A lead magnet that takes a few minutes to understand and use has a better chance of becoming part of someone’s day rather than part of their downloads folder.

Long-form guides can still work when the topic genuinely needs depth. But length is not a benefit by itself. Start with the smallest resource that can deliver the promised outcome.

Four practical lead magnet ideas for small businesses

1. Create a one-page cheat sheet

A cheat sheet turns a process, decision, or quality check into one useful page.

It works especially well when customers repeatedly ask the same question or tend to miss the same steps.

Examples include:

• Seven things to check before sending a marketing email
• The five photos every property listing needs
• A pre-launch checklist for online stores
• Ten questions to ask before hiring a contractor
• A monthly bookkeeping checklist for freelancers

The best cheat sheets are highly specific. “Marketing checklist” is vague. “The seven-point email check to complete before pressing Send” describes a clear moment and result.

How to create it

1. Choose one task your customer wants to complete correctly.
2. List the essential steps or checks.
3. Remove explanations that are not needed to take action.
4. Fit the result onto one page if possible.
5. Include a clear next step for anyone who needs more help.

Use this format when the customer knows what they need to do but wants confidence that they have not forgotten anything.

2. Build a short self-assessment

A self-assessment helps a potential customer diagnose a problem before speaking with you.

Instead of offering a generic “free consultation,” give people a short scorecard or quiz that shows where they stand.

Examples include:

• Is your website costing you leads?
• How healthy is your email list?
• Is your business ready to hire its first employee?
• How efficient is your appointment-booking process?
• Is your online store ready for the holiday season?

A useful self-assessment usually contains five to ten focused questions. The result should explain what the score means and recommend one or two next steps.

How to create it

1. Identify the signs of a healthy or unhealthy situation.
2. Turn those signs into simple questions.
3. Use a clear scoring system.
4. Divide the results into a few understandable ranges.
5. Give each range an appropriate recommendation.

Keep the questions neutral. If every answer appears designed to prove that the reader urgently needs your service, the assessment will feel like a sales form wearing a small moustache.

Use this format when customers need help recognizing the problem or understanding its seriousness.

3. Offer a simple calculator

A calculator answers one question the customer already cares about, usually involving time, money, capacity, or potential results.

For example, a missed-call revenue calculator could ask for:

• Missed calls per week
• Average sale value
• Number of working weeks or months

It can then estimate how much potential revenue may be connected to those missed opportunities.

Other calculator ideas include:

• Delivery-cost calculator
• Project-pricing calculator
• Event-budget calculator
• Employee turnover cost estimator
• Return-on-investment calculator
• Email campaign revenue estimator

How to create it

1. Choose one calculation people currently do manually or avoid doing altogether.
2. Ask only for the inputs necessary to produce the answer.
3. Explain the assumptions behind the result.
4. Keep the output easy to understand.
5. Suggest a useful next action based on the result.

Avoid pretending that a rough estimate is a guaranteed outcome. A trustworthy calculator shows its assumptions and explains that the result is indicative.

Use this format when the value or cost of a problem becomes more persuasive once it is expressed as a number.

4. Share a benchmark snapshot

A benchmark snapshot shows customers where they stand compared with a relevant group.

It can answer questions such as:

• Is this result normal for my industry?
• Are we ahead or behind similar businesses?
• Which metric needs attention first?
• What does “good” look like?

Examples include:

• Email marketing benchmarks for local service businesses
• Average response times for small support teams
• Typical booking conversion rates by business type
• Website speed benchmarks for local retailers
• Social media posting benchmarks for independent restaurants

You do not need a 30-page industry report. A one-page snapshot with a few well-sourced comparisons may be more useful.

How to create it

1. Choose a small group of metrics customers regularly ask about.
2. Use current, credible data and link to the original sources.
3. Explain how each metric is calculated.
4. Show the comparison visually.
5. Add a short explanation of what to investigate next.

Be careful with averages. Industry, audience, price, location, and methodology can all change what a “good” result looks like. Present benchmarks as context, not universal targets.

Use this format when customers already have results but do not know how to interpret them.

How do you choose the right lead magnet?

Start with the customer’s situation, not the file format you feel like making.

Ask:

• What question comes up repeatedly in sales conversations?
• What small mistake causes customers the most trouble?
• What decision stops people from moving forward?
• What calculation would make the cost of the problem clearer?
• What result do customers struggle to interpret?

Then match the problem to the format:

The best idea is usually close to the product or service you offer but still useful to someone who is not ready to buy.

How should you promote a lead magnet?

A useful resource still needs a clear invitation.

Place it where the related problem naturally appears:

• On a relevant blog article
• On a dedicated landing page
• In the website navigation or footer
• Inside a useful LinkedIn post
• In an exit-intent or timed form, used carefully
• On service or product pages
• In a webinar follow-up
• In an email signature

Describe the result, not merely the format.

“Download our free PDF” tells the visitor almost nothing.

“Check your campaign in five minutes before pressing Send” explains what they will gain.

Your signup form should ask only for information you genuinely need. In many cases, an email address and first name are enough.

What should happen after someone downloads it?

The lead magnet earns attention. Email marketing keeps it.

At minimum, send:

1. A delivery email: Provide the resource immediately and remind the subscriber why it is useful.
2. A practical follow-up: Help them use it or avoid a common mistake.
3. A relevant next step: Share another resource, invite a reply, or introduce the service connected to the problem.

Do not jump from “Here is your checklist” to “Would you like to book a sales call?” before the attachment has finished downloading.

Continue the same promise that attracted the subscriber. If they downloaded a website scorecard, send useful website advice — not a sudden series about unrelated services.

With an email automation, the resource and follow-up messages can be delivered at the right time without requiring someone to send each message manually.

A small resource can begin a valuable relationship

A lead magnet does not need to demonstrate everything you know. It needs to help the right person solve one real problem.

Start small:

• One problem
• One useful result
• One simple format
• One clear next step

The cheat sheet, assessment, calculator, or benchmark is only the beginning. What matters next is whether your emails continue to be useful after the subscriber has given you their attention.

Ready to follow up without doing everything manually? Try Sendigram for free to create emails, schedule campaigns, and automate subscriber follow-ups in one place.

Frequently asked questions about lead magnets

What is the best lead magnet for a small business?

The best format depends on the customer’s immediate need. Use a cheat sheet for a process, a self-assessment for diagnosis, a calculator for cost or value, and a benchmark snapshot for comparison.

Does a lead magnet need to be an e-book?

No. A short checklist, template, quiz, calculator, or one-page report can be more practical. Choose the shortest format that delivers the promised result.

Should a lead magnet be free?

Most lead magnets are offered without payment in exchange for contact information and consent to receive relevant communication. The value should still be high enough to create a useful first experience with your business.

How long should a lead magnet be?

There is no required length. It should be long enough to solve the promised problem and no longer. Many effective resources can be used in five minutes or less.

What information should a lead magnet form collect?

Ask only for information you will actually use. An email address may be enough; a first name can support personalization. Additional fields can create unnecessary friction unless they improve segmentation or the resource itself.

What emails should follow a lead magnet download?

Send the resource immediately, follow with practical guidance related to it, and then offer a relevant next step. Keep the follow-up aligned with the reason the person subscribed.

The post What Are the Best Lead Magnets for Small Businesses? appeared first on Email Marketing Blog | Sendigram.

In this guide, we compare five Klaviyo alternatives: ActiveCampaign, Brevo, Omnisend, Constant Contact, and Drip. We’ll look at what each platform is best suited for, how its plans work, and what to check before switching.

What Is Klaviyo?

Klaviyo is a marketing platform focused on email, SMS, and ecommerce customer data. Businesses can use it to send campaigns, create automated flows, segment customers, and measure campaign performance.

Its free plan currently includes up to 250 profiles and 500 email sends per month. Paid pricing is based on active profiles, and plan limits and features vary. Check the current pricing page for the cost at your list size before comparing it with another platform.

Best Klaviyo Alternatives in 2026

The right alternative depends on what you need most. These summaries are starting points; compare each plan against your own contact count, sending volume, and required features.

Klaviyo vs. Sendigram

Best suited to: small businesses that want guided email marketing tools and pricing based on emails sent rather than contacts stored.

Sendigram is an AI-assisted email marketing platform designed for small business owners who don’t have a dedicated email marketing team. Instead of starting from a blank canvas, you can use the built-in AI assistant to create templates, campaigns and automations through a chat-style interface. You also get 400+ free responsive templates, a drag-and-drop builder, contact management and segmentation, campaign scheduling, performance reporting, and automated email sequences.

Pricing: Sendigram offers up first 10,000 emails for free, with no credit card required. Paid plans are based on sending volume, features, billing period, and number of users. The pricing page currently displays SendiStart at $9 per month for 20,000 emails.

Pros

• Unlimited stored contacts at no extra cost
• Free plan with up to 10,000 emails per month
• AI email creation, templates, automations, and pre-send checks

Cons

• Plan costs depend on sending volume, features, and user seats
• WooCommerce is listed as coming soon
• Businesses with specific channel or integration needs should verify those requirements before switching

Klaviyo vs. ActiveCampaign

Best suited to: businesses that want flexible marketing automation and may also need CRM capabilities.

ActiveCampaign offers email marketing and automation across four main plans: Starter, Plus, Professional, and Enterprise. Features vary by plan. For example, its help documentation lists lighter automation on Starter, with more advanced automation and reporting on higher tiers. CRM features are available through plans or add-ons, so check what’s included in the specific offer you’re considering. ActiveCampaign lists more than 1,000 integrations and offers a 14-day trial.

Compared with an ecommerce-focused platform, ActiveCampaign may be a better fit when you need workflows that extend beyond store activity, such as lead nurturing or sales processes. Consider how much setup and ongoing management your team is comfortable handling.

Pricing: The price depends on your contact band, plan, and any add-ons. Check the current quote for the features you need; don’t rely on older starting-price examples.

Pros

• A range of automation capabilities across its plans
• CRM options and integrations with other business tools
• A 14-day trial to explore the platform

Cons

• Feature access varies by plan and add-on
• More advanced automation may take time to set up
• There is no permanent free plan

Klaviyo vs. Brevo 

Best suited to: businesses looking for email marketing alongside other communication tools.

Brevo offers email marketing and additional channels, including SMS, WhatsApp, and push messaging. Its free plan has a daily email limit. Paid plans use monthly sending tiers, and those tiers can also set how many contacts you can store. The Starter plan currently starts at $9 per month; check the plan details for the contact limit and sending allowance attached to your tier.

Brevo may suit a business that wants email and other messaging tools in one account. If you send infrequently to a large list, compare its contact limits as well as the email volume: the paid plan structure is not simply unlimited contacts with a send-based price.

Pros

• Supports several communication channels
• A free plan is available
• Paid tiers let you compare sending volume and contact limits

Cons

• The plan’s contact limit may matter alongside its sending limit
• Costs and features change by tier and add-on
• Compare the ecommerce integrations and store data you need before switching

Klaviyo vs. Omnisend

Best suited to: ecommerce businesses looking for email campaigns and store-related automations.

Omnisend offers email marketing, automations, segmentation, and web push features. Its free plan allows up to 500 emails per month to a maximum of 250 unique contacts. The Standard plan starts at $16 per month, and Pro starts at $59 per month. Standard’s email allowance is based on contact count; Pro supports unlimited email sends under a fair-use policy.

Check the SMS terms carefully if you plan to use that channel. For new paid subscribers, SMS is a separate subscription on Pro rather than credits bundled into the plan. The current rules differ for some existing subscribers on legacy terms.

Pros

• Ecommerce-oriented campaign and automation features
• Free plan available for trying core features
• Plan options for different sending volumes

Cons

• The free plan has a low monthly send allowance
• SMS availability and cost depend on plan and subscription date
• Compare the reporting and integrations you rely on before migrating

​Klaviyo vs. Constant Contact

Best suited to: small businesses that want email marketing alongside social media and event-related tools.

Constant Contact currently offers Lite, Standard, and Premium plans. In the US, listed starting prices are $12, $35, and $80 per month, respectively. The actual price depends on contact count. Each plan also has a monthly email allowance tied to list size: 10 times the contact count on Lite, 12 times on Standard, and 24 times on Premium. Additional sends may incur overage fees.

The plans differ in automation, segmentation, and reporting. For example, the current pricing page lists one automation template on Lite, three on Standard, and unlimited custom automations on Premium. Constant Contact has a free trial, but it is a paid platform rather than a permanently free plan. Plan names, features, and prices can vary by country, so check the pricing page for your region.

Pros

• Combines email and social media tools
• Offers different levels of automation and reporting
• Includes phone and chat support in its listed plans

Cons

• No permanent free plan
• Contact count and monthly send allowance both affect cost
• More advanced automation and segmentation are tied to higher plans

Klaviyo vs. Drip

Best suited to: online stores that want to use customer and shopping activity in their email marketing.

Drip focuses on ecommerce marketing. Its feature list includes customer activity tracking, dynamic segmentation, revenue attribution, and visual automation workflows. It offers a 14-day trial; unlimited email sending is not available during the trial.

Drip’s pricing depends on the number of active people in your account and the volume of email you send during the month. That means you should compare both your list size and sending habits when estimating the cost.

Pros

• Ecommerce-specific customer data and workflows
• Dynamic segments and revenue reporting
• Visual automation tools, including workflow split testing

Cons

• Designed primarily for ecommerce businesses
• No permanent free plan
• The trial has limits, and paid costs depend on both audience size and email volume

How to Choose a Klaviyo Alternative

Before switching, compare platforms using the same contact count and approximate monthly email volume. Then check whether the plan includes the features you actually use.

Ask:

• Can it connect to your ecommerce platform and other essential tools?
• Can you recreate your welcome, abandoned-cart, post-purchase, and win-back automations?
• Can you use your existing customer data to build the segments you need?
• What will you pay at your current list size and sending volume?
• Are SMS or other channels included, sold separately, or limited by plan?
• What happens to your contacts, templates, consent records, and active automations during migration?

If your business depends on advanced ecommerce data and flows, shortlist platforms built for online stores. If your needs are broader or simpler, compare platforms by ease of use, channel coverage, and total cost.

To Sum Up

There isn’t one best Klaviyo alternative for every business. ActiveCampaign may suit teams that need flexible marketing automation; Brevo offers email alongside other messaging channels; Omnisend and Drip focus more closely on ecommerce use cases; and Constant Contact combines email with social and event marketing tools.

Compare the plans using your own contact count, sending volume, channels, and must-have automations. Pricing and plan details can change, so verify the provider’s current terms before making a decision. This article’s plan information was checked on October 16, 2026.

The post Best Klaviyo Alternatives in 2026 appeared first on Email Marketing Blog | Sendigram.

Email DNS setup is not the most exciting part of email marketing. Nobody has ever said, “That TXT record really completes the campaign.”

But the records behind your emails help mailbox providers answer three important questions:

1. Is this platform allowed to send for this domain?
2. Has the message been altered since it was signed?
3. Does the authenticated domain match the address the recipient can see?

If those answers are unclear, even wanted email can look suspicious.

This checklist walks through the setup in a practical order. Your email service provider will supply the exact values you need, so do not copy the example records in this article into your DNS.

What email DNS records do you need?

The three core email-authentication methods are:

• SPF: Identifies which systems are authorized to send using a domain in the message’s return path.
• DKIM: Adds a cryptographic signature that receiving servers can verify using a public key in DNS.
• DMARC: Checks whether SPF or DKIM passes with a domain aligned to the visible From address, then tells receivers how to handle failures and where to send reports.

You may also need DNS records for a custom tracking domain and a bounce or return-path domain. These are usually created as CNAME records supplied by your email platform.

Email DNS setup checklist

1. List every tool that sends email for your domain

Start with an inventory before changing any DNS record.

Write down every platform that sends mail using your domain, including:

• Your email marketing platform
• Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or another business inbox provider
• CRM and sales tools
• Customer-support platforms
• E-commerce platforms
• Website and form plugins
• Billing and invoicing systems
• Booking tools
• Transactional email services
• Older tools that may still be connected

This step matters because SPF, DKIM, and DMARC must account for all legitimate senders. If you publish a strict policy while a forgotten system is still sending unauthenticated mail, that system’s messages may fail authentication.

Do not assume a tool sends from its own domain simply because you log in to its website. Check the From address, return path, and authentication results of actual messages.

2. Choose a dedicated sending domain or subdomain

For marketing email, a subdomain is often a sensible choice. Examples include:

• news.yourdomain.com
• mail.yourdomain.com
• updates.yourdomain.com

Your visible From address could then be something like newsletter@news.yourdomain.com.

A subdomain helps organize email streams and gives mailbox providers clearer signals about what kind of mail is being sent. It can also reduce the direct impact that a problem with one stream has on another.

However, a subdomain is not a magic wall. Mailbox providers can still connect the reputation of a subdomain with its organizational domain. Good consent, engagement, list hygiene, and sending practices still matter.

Use clear subdomains for different purposes when the volume justifies it. For example, one for marketing and another for transactional messages. Avoid creating a maze of subdomains that nobody remembers how to manage.

3. Publish one complete SPF record

SPF tells receiving systems which servers are authorized to send using your envelope sender or return-path domain.

Your email provider will normally give you a TXT value similar to this:

v=spf1 include:example-email-platform.com include:_spf.google.com ~all

The exact value will depend on your senders.

Follow these rules:

• Publish only one SPF record for each domain or subdomain.
• Add every legitimate sender to that one record.
• Remove services you no longer use.
• Do not copy SPF values from another company or an old tutorial.
• Do not automatically use -all unless you understand the effect and have confirmed every authorized sender.

SPF evaluation is also limited to ten DNS-querying mechanisms. Long chains of include, a, mx, redirect, or exists mechanisms can exceed that limit and return a permanent error.

SPF passing does not guarantee inbox placement. It proves authorization for one part of the message; reputation and other authentication checks still apply.

4. Enable DKIM for every sending platform

DKIM attaches a cryptographic signature to the message. The receiving server retrieves the public key from DNS and checks whether the signature is valid.

Your provider will usually supply one or more records containing:

• A selector, which identifies the key
• A DNS hostname, such as selector1._domainkey.yourdomain.com
• A TXT or CNAME value

You may see a TXT value beginning with:

v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=...

Some services use CNAME records instead, allowing them to manage and rotate the keys.

Publish the exact records provided by each sending platform, then activate or verify DKIM inside that platform. Adding a record to DNS does not always switch signing on automatically.

It is normal to have multiple DKIM selectors. Different tools can use different selectors without conflicting with one another.

5. Add DMARC and begin with monitoring

DMARC connects authentication to the domain recipients see in the From address.

It checks whether at least one of these conditions is met:

• SPF passes and the SPF-authenticated domain aligns with the visible From domain.
• DKIM passes and the DKIM signing domain aligns with the visible From domain.

A cautious starting record may look like this:

v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com

With p=none, receivers can send aggregate reports without being asked to quarantine or reject failing messages. This lets you discover legitimate senders, configuration mistakes, and possible domain impersonation.

Make sure the address in the rua tag can receive and process reports. DMARC aggregate reports are machine-readable XML files, so many organizations use a reporting service rather than reviewing them manually.

After confirming that legitimate mail authenticates and aligns correctly, you can move gradually to:

• p=quarantine, which asks participating receivers to treat failing messages as suspicious
• p=reject, which asks them to reject messages that fail DMARC

Do not jump directly to p=reject until you know all legitimate sending sources are covered.

6. Confirm SPF or DKIM alignment

Authentication and alignment are related, but they are not the same thing.

An email can pass SPF or DKIM using a platform’s domain while failing DMARC because that domain does not align with the one shown in the visible From address.

For example:

From: newsletter@yourdomain.com
DKIM signing domain: yourdomain.com
Result: aligned

But this may fail alignment:

From: newsletter@yourdomain.com
DKIM signing domain: random-email-tool.com
Result: not aligned

DMARC needs only one aligned authentication method to pass: aligned SPF or aligned DKIM. Bulk senders to personal Gmail accounts are expected to use both SPF and DKIM, but only one needs to align for DMARC.

Inside your email platform, look for settings such as:

• Authenticate domain
• Custom sending domain
• Branded sending domain
• Return-path domain
• Bounce domain

These settings help replace platform-owned domains with domains related to your brand.

7. Set up a custom tracking domain

Email platforms rewrite links so they can measure clicks. Without a custom tracking domain, recipients may see a shared platform domain in the destination URL.

A custom tracking domain might look like:

click.yourdomain.com

Your provider will normally ask you to publish a CNAME record pointing that subdomain to its tracking infrastructure.

A branded tracking domain can make links more consistent with the sender and reduces dependence on a shared tracking hostname used by unrelated senders. It can support trust and reputation management, but it is not a substitute for SPF, DKIM, DMARC, good consent, or relevant content.

After configuration, click a link in a real test email and confirm that tracking works and the destination loads securely over HTTPS.

8. Configure a custom bounce or return-path domain

The return path receives bounce information when a message cannot be delivered. It is also the domain SPF evaluates.

Your platform may ask you to create a subdomain such as:

bounce.yourdomain.com

This often uses a CNAME record pointing to the provider’s infrastructure.

A custom return path can help SPF use a domain associated with your organization and may provide SPF alignment for DMARC. The provider still processes the bounces; the DNS record connects your branded subdomain to that service.

Use the exact hostname and value supplied by your platform. Do not invent a bounce record or point it at a normal inbox.

9. Verify the records inside your email platform

After publishing the records, return to the email platform and select its verification option. It may be labeled:

• Verify
• Authenticate
• Check DNS
• Validate domain

DNS changes can appear quickly, but some take several hours to propagate because of resolver caching and TTL settings.

If verification fails:

1. Wait and try again later.
2. Confirm that the record was added to the correct domain or subdomain.
3. Check whether your DNS provider automatically appended the domain name.
4. Look for an extra quotation mark, missing period, or copied space.
5. Confirm that a CNAME is not conflicting with another record at the same hostname.
6. Make sure you did not create a second SPF record.

Repeatedly deleting and recreating a correct record can restart the waiting period. Verify the values carefully before changing them again.

10. Send a test email and inspect the results

Platform verification is helpful, but the final test is a real message.

Send an email to an inbox you can inspect, such as Gmail. Open the message headers or use Show original and look for:

• SPF: PASS
• DKIM: PASS
• DMARC: PASS

Check which domains passed—not only the word PASS. Confirm that SPF or DKIM aligns with the visible From domain.

You can also use an email-authentication testing service to review the message headers. Avoid entering private credentials into unfamiliar tools; a legitimate test normally gives you a temporary email address to which you send a message.

If SPF fails, check for missing senders, multiple SPF records, or too many DNS lookups. If DKIM fails, check the selector, record value, and whether signing was enabled. If DMARC fails while SPF and DKIM pass, alignment is the likely problem.

Common email DNS mistakes

The most common problems are not advanced. They are small setup errors:

• Publishing two separate SPF records
• Forgetting a website, CRM, support, or billing sender
• Adding the record to the root domain when the provider requested a subdomain
• Copying the hostname incorrectly because the DNS provider appends the domain automatically
• Publishing DKIM but forgetting to activate signing
• Assuming any SPF or DKIM pass automatically means DMARC will pass
• Moving DMARC to p=reject before reviewing reports
• Using a shared tracking domain when a branded option is available
• Testing immediately and treating normal DNS propagation as failure
• Checking only the platform’s green verification icon instead of a real message

Email DNS setup is the foundation, not the full strategy

Correct authentication gives mailbox providers stronger evidence that a message is genuinely connected to your domain. It also makes spoofing more difficult and gives you visibility into unauthorized use.

It does not guarantee the inbox.

Mailbox providers still consider sender reputation, complaints, list quality, engagement, sending consistency, content, and recipient behavior. Think of DNS authentication as the passport that proves who you are—not a ticket that guarantees entry.

Once every record verifies, you have removed a major source of avoidable deliverability problems. Then you can focus on the part subscribers actually see: sending email they asked for and want to read.

Need a simpler way to create and check campaigns? Try Sendigram for free and manage your email creation, campaigns, automations, and pre-send checks in one place.

Frequently asked questions about email DNS

Can a domain have more than one SPF record?

No. Each domain or subdomain should have one SPF record. If several services send for the same domain, include them in a single valid SPF record.

Do I need both SPF and DKIM?

Using both is strongly recommended. Gmail requires bulk senders to authenticate with both SPF and DKIM. For DMARC to pass, at least one of those methods must pass with an aligned domain.

Does DMARC require both SPF and DKIM to pass?

No. DMARC passes when either SPF or DKIM passes and the authenticated domain aligns with the visible From domain. Having both configured provides more resilience.

Should I start DMARC with p=reject?

Usually not. Start with p=none, collect reports, identify all legitimate senders, and correct failures before moving gradually to quarantine or reject.

How long do email DNS changes take?

Some changes appear within minutes, while others may take several hours because of DNS caching and TTL values. Follow your provider’s guidance and wait before assuming the record is incorrect.

Does using a sending subdomain protect my main domain?

It can help separate email streams and their reputations, but the separation is not absolute. Mailbox providers may still associate the subdomain with the organizational domain.

Does a custom tracking domain improve deliverability?

It can improve brand consistency and avoid dependence on a shared tracking hostname, but it does not guarantee inbox placement. Authentication, reputation, consent, relevance, and list quality remain essential.

Technical references:

• Google: Email sender guidelines
• Google: Email sender guidelines FAQ
• Google: Set up DMARC
• RFC 7208: Sender Policy Framework
• RFC 6376: DomainKeys Identified Mail
• RFC 9989: Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance

The post How Do You Set Up Email DNS Records for Better Deliverability? appeared first on Email Marketing Blog | Sendigram.

Thirty.

That is how many spam complaints it takes to reach a complaint rate of 0.3% on 10,000 delivered emails.

It does not sound like much. In fact, if 9,970 people did not complain, you might be tempted to call the campaign a success and move on.

Mailbox providers may see it differently.

Google recommends keeping the user-reported spam rate below 0.1% and preventing it from ever reaching 0.3% or higher. Yahoo also tells senders to keep their spam rate below 0.3%.

That makes 0.3% an upper limit, not a comfortable target.

And the trouble usually does not begin with an obviously terrible email. More often, it begins with a list you have not cleaned in a year, a subscriber who no longer remembers signing up, or one extra automation quietly turning one weekly email into four.

None of that feels like spam from the sender’s side.

It can feel very different from the subscriber’s side.

What is a spam complaint rate?

A spam complaint happens when a recipient uses the Report spam or Junk button in their mailbox.

The complaint rate is the percentage of delivered messages that recipients report as spam. In a simplified example:

• 10 complaints from 10,000 delivered emails = 0.1%
• 30 complaints from 10,000 delivered emails = 0.3%
• 150 complaints from 50,000 delivered emails = 0.3%
• 300 complaints from 100,000 delivered emails = 0.3%

The numbers look small because the percentages are small. Their effect may not be.

One detail matters here: mailbox providers calculate complaint rates using their own data and traffic. Your total list size is not necessarily the denominator they use. Yahoo, for example, says its rate is based on messages delivered to the inbox. Your email platform and each provider’s reporting dashboard may therefore show different figures.

Use the examples above to understand the scale, not as a substitute for provider-level monitoring.

Is a 0.3% spam complaint rate acceptable?

Not really.

It is better to think of complaint rates as three zones:

Below 0.1%: the safer zone

This is where Google recommends senders stay. It suggests that the audience generally recognizes and wants the messages it receives.

Between 0.1% and 0.3%: the danger zone

You may still be below the maximum, but that does not mean everything is healthy. Rising complaints can signal problems with consent, targeting, frequency, or expectations.

This is the time to investigate—not the time to wait for the number to become officially alarming.

At 0.3% or higher: the high-risk zone

Google tells senders to prevent their spam rate from ever reaching this level. Rates at or above 0.3% can have a stronger negative effect on inbox delivery, and senders above that threshold may not qualify for delivery support or mitigation.

In other words, 0.3% is not a finish line. It is the edge of the cliff.

Do Gmail, Yahoo, and Microsoft use the same complaint threshold?

No. Each mailbox provider evaluates mail using its own systems.

Gmail

Google says senders should keep the user-reported spam rate in Postmaster Tools below 0.1% and avoid ever reaching 0.3% or higher.

These guidelines apply to mail sent to personal Gmail accounts. If you send more than 5,000 messages per day to Gmail accounts, you must also follow Google’s bulk-sender requirements, including authentication and easy unsubscribe.

Yahoo

Yahoo requires senders to keep their spam rate below 0.3%. Its calculation is based on messages delivered to the inbox, which may explain why Yahoo’s figure differs from the complaint rate shown inside an email marketing platform.

Microsoft

Microsoft does not publish a matching universal percentage threshold for external senders. It evaluates bulk mail using several signals, including its Bulk Complaint Level, past interactions, sending frequency, and user or administrator feedback.

The practical lesson is simple: keep complaints as low as possible and monitor performance separately by provider. A healthy overall average can hide a problem concentrated at Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook.

Why do subscribers mark legitimate emails as spam?

Most spam complaints are not caused by dramatic mistakes. They are caused by small mismatches between what the sender thinks is reasonable and what the subscriber expected.

Here are seven common causes.

1. You are sending too frequently

A person may have happily agreed to one weekly update. Then you add a promotional campaign, a product automation, and a “quick reminder.” Suddenly, your friendly weekly email has brought three roommates.

Review campaigns and automations together. Subscribers experience the combined frequency, even if each workflow looks reasonable on its own.

2. The subject line overpromises

A subject line can be clever without becoming misleading. If it suggests an urgent account problem but opens into a sale, some readers will feel tricked.

Make sure the subject line accurately represents the email. Curiosity can earn an open; disappointed expectations can earn a complaint.

3. Subscribers do not remember joining your list

This often happens when too much time passes between signup and the first email.

Send a welcome message promptly. Remind people who you are, why they are receiving the email, and what kind of content they can expect.

4. The unsubscribe link is difficult to find

If leaving politely requires a magnifying glass and three clicks, the spam button becomes the easier option.

Keep the unsubscribe link visible and make the process simple. Losing one uninterested subscriber is much safer than collecting a spam complaint from them.

5. You are sending to an old list

Consent has a memory problem.

People change jobs, abandon email addresses, forget purchases, and lose interest. A list that was healthy two years ago is not automatically healthy today.

Remove invalid contacts, review long-term inactivity, and consider a careful re-engagement campaign before continuing to mail people who have stopped responding.

6. Everyone receives the same message

An email can be useful and still be irrelevant to most of the list.

Segment subscribers by their interests, purchases, location, or recent engagement. Relevance reduces the feeling that your email arrived simply because an address existed in a database.

7. Your sending volume suddenly spikes

A sharp jump in volume can look suspicious to mailbox providers, especially when it includes older or less engaged contacts.

Increase volume gradually, keep your sending pattern reasonably consistent, and avoid emailing the entire forgotten corner of your database in one heroic afternoon.

How can you lower your spam complaint rate?

The solution is not finding a more impressive synonym for “Sale.” It is improving the audience, the message, and the sending process.

Fix the audience

• Remove invalid and persistently inactive contacts.
• Never use purchased, rented, or scraped lists.
• Segment subscribers by interest and engagement.
• Confirm that your signup process clearly explains what people are joining.

Fix the message

• Match the subject line to the actual content.
• Set expectations in the welcome email.
• Send content that is useful to that particular audience.
• Use a predictable identity, tone, and frequency.
• Avoid making every email a promotion.

Fix the sending process

• Make the unsubscribe link obvious.
• Honor unsubscribe requests quickly.
• Check whether campaigns and automations overlap.
• Avoid sudden increases in sending volume.
• Monitor complaint rates after every campaign and by mailbox provider where possible.

What should you do when complaints start increasing?

Do not wait for the rate to reach 0.3%.

Pause and investigate:

1. Identify the affected campaign, audience, and provider. Was the increase concentrated in one segment or mailbox provider?
2. Check the source of the contacts. Were they active subscribers with clear consent?
3. Review the promise. Did the subject line, offer, and sending frequency match what subscribers expected?
4. Check overlapping sends. Could the same people have received several campaigns or automations close together?
5. Suppress complainers immediately. Do not send marketing messages to them again.
6. Reduce risk before the next send. Start with your most recent and engaged subscribers while you correct the underlying problem.

Changing the subject line alone will not repair a consent or list-quality problem. A new sending IP will not turn an unwanted email into a wanted one, either.

Complaints are small numbers with a large message

Spam complaints are not merely lost subscribers. They are feedback sent directly to the mailbox providers deciding where your future emails belong.

The safest approach is not to hover just below 0.3%. It is to stay comfortably below 0.1% by sending wanted email to people who recognize you, making it easy to leave, and noticing changes before they become reputation problems.

Thirty complaints may look tiny next to 10,000 recipients.

To a mailbox provider, they can be loud enough.

The post How Many Spam Complaints Are Too Many? Fewer Than You Think appeared first on Email Marketing Blog | Sendigram.

“I have 40 emails to write and no time.”

That is how email marketing can feel when you run a small business. It becomes one more enormous task squeezed between helping customers, paying invoices, updating your website, and trying to remember where you left your coffee.

But you probably do not need to write 40 emails.

You need to send one useful email at a time. With a simple routine and a little help from AI you can prepare your next campaign in about 10 minutes.

Why does email marketing feel overwhelming for small businesses?

Small business owners often treat every email campaign as a completely new project. They start with a blank page, try to find several things to say, rewrite the subject line repeatedly, and then worry about links, formatting, recipients, and deliverability.

That is a lot of small decisions for one email.

A repeatable process removes most of them. Instead of asking, “How do I do all my email marketing?” ask, “What useful email can I prepare this week?”

The following routine divides that job into five short steps.

What is the 10-minute email marketing routine?

The routine looks like this:

1. Minutes 1–2: Review the last campaign.
2. Minutes 3–4: Choose one useful topic.
3. Minutes 5–6: Ask AI to create a first draft.
4. Minutes 7–8: Rewrite the draft in your own voice.
5. Minutes 9–10: Check and schedule the email.

You are not trying to build an entire email strategy in 10 minutes. You are creating enough momentum to send one relevant message instead of postponing email marketing for another week.

How should you review your last email campaign?

Spend two minutes looking for one useful lesson, not every possible insight.

Check a few basic results from your previous campaign:

• Click rate
• The link that received the most clicks
• Replies
• Unsubscribes
• Sales, bookings, downloads, or another conversion connected to the email

You can also look at the open rate, but treat it as a directional signal rather than a perfect measurement. Privacy features and image-loading behavior can make opens less reliable than clicks, replies, and conversions.

Then ask: What seemed to interest people most?

If one link received most of the clicks, your audience may want more advice, products, or information on that subject. If people opened but did not click, the email may have needed a clearer offer or next step. If readers replied, their questions may give you the topic for your next campaign.

Take away one lesson and move on. This is a quick check, not an archaeological dig through your reports.

What should a small business email its customers about?

Choose one subject that is useful to your customers right now.

Your email could contain:

• A practical tip
• An answer to a common customer question
• A short business or product update
• A new product or service
• A customer story or example
• A timely and genuinely relevant offer

One clear idea is usually stronger than five unrelated announcements squeezed into the same email.

If you are stuck, ask yourself one of these questions:

• What do customers frequently ask before buying?
• What small problem can I help them solve today?
• What received the most interest in my previous email?
• What is new, useful, or time-sensitive this week?

You do not need a complicated content calendar to answer one of those.

How can AI help you write a marketing email?

AI can quickly turn your idea into a first draft when you give it a clear topic, audience, goal, and tone.

Avoid prompts such as “Write a marketing email.” The result will probably sound like it could have come from any business and it may contain enough enthusiasm to power a small city.

Instead, include four details:

1. Topic: What should the email say?
2. Audience: Who will receive it?
3. Goal: What should readers understand or do?
4. Tone: How should the email sound?

For example:

Write a short email sharing one simple productivity tip with busy small business owners. The goal is to help them save time and encourage them to try the tip this week. Keep the tone friendly, practical, and concise. Avoid hype and complicated language.

Use the result as a starting point, not a finished campaign. AI handles the awkward blank-page stage; you decide what is accurate, useful, and appropriate for your customers.

How do you make an AI-written email sound human?

Read the draft aloud and replace anything you would not naturally say to a customer.

Remove language that feels too polished, vague, or formal. Be especially suspicious of phrases such as “in today’s fast-paced world,” “unlock your potential,” and “we are thrilled to announce.” They are not always wrong, but they tend to make different businesses sound exactly the same.

Make the draft more specific instead:

• Replace broad claims with a concrete benefit.
• Use short sentences where they sound more natural.
• Add a real example or useful detail.
• Ask a simple question readers can answer.
• Keep only one clear call to action.

Your email does not need to sound perfect. It needs to sound like it came from a real person who understands why the reader might care.

What should you check before sending a marketing email?

Before sending, verify the audience, sender details, links, mobile layout, message, and next step.

Use this quick pre-send checklist:

• Is the email going to the correct group or segment?
• Are the sender name, sender address, and reply-to address correct?
• Do the subject line and preheader work together?
• Do all the links lead to the correct pages?
• Does the email look good on a phone?
• Is the main message easy to understand?
• Is there one clear next step?
• Is the unsubscribe option easy to find?
• Are there any obvious spam or deliverability problems?

If your email marketing platform includes an automatic pre-send checker, let it handle the repetitive checks. Sendigram’s built-in Inspector, for example, reviews the campaign before launch and flags potential issues so you can correct them before the email goes out.

Finally, send a test email if necessary and schedule the campaign. If the message should be triggered by a customer action, such as subscribing, making a purchase, or becoming inactive—add it to an automation instead.

Set it up once, and let the system remember it for you.

Does a small business need to send marketing emails every week?

No. Consistency matters more than forcing an email into every Friday afternoon.

A weekly routine can still be useful if you send twice a month. Use the time to review results, collect ideas, or prepare the next campaign in advance. Choose a schedule you can maintain without sending emails simply because the calendar told you to.

The right frequency depends on what you sell, how often customers want to hear from you, and whether each message provides a useful reason to open it.

A simple email marketing process is easier to repeat

Small business email marketing becomes overwhelming when every campaign feels like a giant creative project. It becomes manageable when you turn it into a short routine:

1. Review one result.
2. Choose one useful idea.
3. Ask AI for a first draft.
4. Rewrite it in your own voice.
5. Check it and schedule it.

Ten focused minutes will not build your entire email marketing strategy. But they can help you send one relevant email this week instead of waiting for the mythical quiet Monday when you finally have several free hours.

That Monday is probably not coming. Your next email still can.

Want to make the routine even simpler? Create a free Sendigram account to create, check, schedule, and automate your emails in one place.

Frequently asked questions about small business email marketing

How often should a small business send marketing emails?

Many small businesses start with one or two useful emails per month and adjust based on customer expectations, engagement, and available content. A sustainable schedule is better than sending frequently for a few weeks and then disappearing.

Can a small business use AI to write marketing emails?

Yes. AI can create outlines, subject-line ideas, and first drafts. Give it information about your audience, goal, topic, and tone, then review the result for accuracy and rewrite it in your own voice before sending.

What email marketing metrics should a small business track?

Start with clicks, conversions, replies, unsubscribes, and the links that receive the most attention. Open rates can provide context, but they should not be treated as a perfectly accurate measure of reader interest.

What can I email customers when I have nothing new to sell?

Answer a common question, share a useful tip, explain how to get more value from a product, tell a brief customer story, or highlight an older resource that is still relevant. Every email does not need to contain a promotion.

Do I need a content calendar for email marketing?

Not necessarily. A simple list of customer questions, seasonal moments, useful tips, product updates, and offers may be enough. A content calendar becomes helpful when several people contribute or when you plan campaigns across multiple channels.

The post How Can Small Businesses Do Email Marketing in Just 10 Minutes a Week? appeared first on Email Marketing Blog | Sendigram.

Think of email marketing as a direct line between your business and the people you want to reach. It can help you introduce your brand, build stronger customer relationships, encourage repeat purchases, and support all kinds of business goals.

And it’s much more than simply sending messages. Done well, email can keep your brand on people’s minds and bring customers back when the time is right. According to Statista, the global email marketing market was valued at $7.5 billion in 2020 and was projected to reach $17.9 billion by 2027.

Curious about the numbers behind email marketing? Take a look at our Email Marketing Statistics 2024.

Why use email marketing?

Digital communication is built on email marketing. If you want to engage your target audience and build a lasting relationship with your customers, email marketing should definitely be in your toolkit. And your email campaigns are a  personalized and non-intrusive channel to deliver content, send out promotion alerts, and share other valuable information.

Here is why email marketing matters:

• It’s a cost-effective way to reach a large audience for a business of any size. 
• You get to talk to customers on a global scale, breaking through borders and time zones.
• It brings you valuable marketing insights in the form of open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates.
• As email campaigns are pesonalized by nature and deliver tailored content, they let you build brand loyalty.
• With email automation tools, you can create drip campaigns, set up automated responses, and personalized workflows. This can help you save time while keeping interactions with subscribers relevant.
• When done right, email campaigns often result in high conversion rates. The two main factors that lead to high conversion are compelling calls-to-action (CTA) and personalized content.

To learn more about the benefits of email marketing check out this article: Top 7 Benefits of Email Marketing.

Email marketing is a powerful tool. But it’s not without downsides. Here’s what you should be on the lookout for when designing your email campaign:

Spam risk: You will be dealing with a constant challenge of emails being marked as spam. This can happen if your emails are not properly optimized or if your readers think that your content is irrelevant or excessive.

Overwhelmed subscribers: If you send out too many emails, your subscribers may develop email fatigue. They may become disinterested, unsubscribe, or mark content as spam.

❓ Do you want to know the best time to send marketing emails?

👉 Check out this article: The Best Time to Send Marketing Emails: Insights for Higher Conversion in 2025

Technical challenges: Email campaigns may run into technical difficulties like formatting errors, inconsistent display across email clients, or possible deliverability concerns.

Data privacy concerns: We live in the era of heightened privacy concerns. Mishandling or misusing customer data  can lead to legal and reputational issues. Compliance with data protection laws like GDPR is crucial.

Limited visual appeal: Emails often have less visual appeal than other marketing platforms. Your capacity to develop highly interactive or visually captivating information may be hampered by design constraints.

Dependency on user behavior: User actions, such as opening emails and clicking links, play a very important role in the success of email marketing efforts. Deliverability might be impacted by things like email client settings and spam filters.

Changing algorithms: Email platforms and providers may alter algorithms, affecting the visibility and delivery of emails. Keeping an eye on industry changes is crucial to adapting strategies accordingly.

To avoid the most common email marketing mistakes, check out this article: 7 Crucial Email Marketing Mistakes You Must Avoid in 2024

How Much Does Email Marketing Cost?

The cost of email marketing can vary widely. It depends on factors such as the size of your business, the complexity of campaigns, and the email marketing platform you choose. 

Generally, businesses can expect to pay anywhere from $9 to $1,000 or more per month for email marketing services. 

• Entry-level plans for small businesses typically start at around $9 to $20 per month, providing basic features and support. 
• For mid-sized businesses with more extensive needs, plans can range from $50 to $300 per month. 
• Larger companies  with advanced automation, segmentation, and analytics requirements may invest $500 to $1,000 or more monthly. 

Additionally, costs can increase as your email list grows – a lot of providers set up their pricing plans based on the number of subscribers.

Keep in mind that the prices we mention here are just for general overview. If you are considering email marketing, you will need to carefully evaluate your needs as a business and then select a pricing plan that best matches your goals and budget

According to a 2021 survey, the average return on investment (ROI) for email marketing was reported to be around $42 for every $1 spent, underlining its cost-effectiveness and potential for high returns.

Email Marketing Types

Here are the key types of email marketing:

Take the time to explore each email marketing type. By using them strategically, you may be able to better tailor your campaign to your goals: driving sales, building relationships, or informing your audience.

Related article: Types of Email Marketing Explained [2024]

The Basic Principles of Email Marketing

Here are several effective tips to help you maximize your email marketing campaign:

Stay human: Email marketing is popular—which also means it is competitive. Use email to speak directly to your readers. Use their name, and let them see the human side of your brand. 

Use engaging titles, but don’t bait and switch: As you probably already know, using interesting subject titles is essential for higher open rates. With that said, your subject titles should be on topic and not spammy. If your readers feel duped, they’re likely to unsubscribe or mark your message as spam – and this will impact deliverability.  

Keep messages short: Most people read emails on their phones. So, your copy should be brief and to the point. If you have more to share, add a link to a blog post or landing page.

Include CTAs at the top and bottom: On landing pages, CTAs are always included above the fold—use the same strategy with email by including strong CTAs after the first paragraph and again at the end. 

Ask permission and deliver on your promises: Never buy email lists—that is illegal in most cases and won’t deliver ROI. If you offer a deal or great content, make sure to deliver high-quality content or offers. Using lead magnets is a win-win: you get contact info and subscribers get cool freebies, naturally growing your email list with interested audience.

Check out this article for more details: How to Do Email Marketing in 2024: A Step-by-Step Guide

Email Marketing Laws and Regulations

Email marketing is regulated by several laws. They protect consumer privacy and ensure fair and ethical practices.

CAN-SPAM Act (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing):

Enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the United States.

• Requires commercial emails to include accurate header information, a clear opt-out mechanism, and the sender’s physical address.
• Prohibits deceptive subject lines and the use of false or misleading information.

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation):

• Enforced by the European Union (EU) and applies to businesses handling the personal data of EU citizens.
• Requires explicit consent for collecting and processing personal data.
• Gives individuals the right to access, correct, or delete their personal information.
• Imposes strict penalties for non-compliance.

CASL (Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation):

• Enforced by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
• Requires consent for sending commercial electronic messages (CEMs).
• Mandates clear identification of the sender and an easy opt-out mechanism.

Australia’s Spam Act:

• Enforced by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
• Requires consent for sending commercial electronic messages.
• Mandates accurate sender information and a visible unsubscribe option.

Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR):

• Applies in the United Kingdom and is separate from GDPR.
• Requires consent for using cookies and similar technologies.
• Regulates electronic marketing, including email marketing, with rules on consent and opt-out mechanisms.

California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):

• Applies to businesses collecting personal information from California residents.
• Gives consumers the right to know what personal information is collected and the right to opt-out of the sale of their information.

So, how do you ensure compliance with the regulations in your country? Here’s a quick roadmap:

• Obtain explicit consent before sending commercial emails.
• Provide a clear and easy-to-use opt-out mechanism.
• Include accurate sender information and a physical address.
• Regularly update and maintain their email lists to reflect user preferences.

If you choose to not comply with these regulations, you may end up paying heavy fines and damaging your business’s reputation. This is why it’s important to keep yourself informed and adjust your practices to align with the related regulations. 

Be aware of the fact that in February 2024 Google and Yahoo set new standards for sending bulk emails: Google & Yahoo’s Updated Guidelines for Bulk Email Campaigns [February, 2024]

To Sum Up

Email marketing is a strategic use of email to reach YOUR audience. If you do it correctly, it can be a great way to make more people aware of your brand and help you build a community around your product or service.

Email marketing is a quickly growing market, expected to increase from a valuation of $7.5 billion in 2020 to $17.9 billion by 2027. Keep up with the current trends!

There are different types of email marketing — each serving a specific purpose. Find what suits your goals and use it wisely.

Be aware of and fully comply with the data protection regulations in your country. 

The post What Is Email Marketing? appeared first on Email Marketing Blog | Sendigram.

That’s who we’re building Sendigram for.

Our roadmap through May 2027 focuses on making it easier to create emails, build automations, connect your existing tools, and understand what to do next, without becoming an email marketing expert.

Here’s what we’re planning and where we’d like your input.

October – December 2026: Create, launch, and get answers faster

The first phase is about removing the blank page and helping users move from an idea to a working campaign or automation.

Create campaigns and automations with AI

The AI Assistant for campaigns will ask you a few questions and help you build an email campaign in chat. For automations, you’ll be able to describe your goal and follow guided steps to create the right flow.

We’re also working on Sender Voice. You’ll be able to use your existing emails or social media posts as references, helping Sendigram generate emails that sound like your business rather than a generic template.

The new Holiday Calendar will show upcoming holidays and events and remind you when it’s time to start preparing a relevant campaign.

Get help without leaving your work

The AI Help Assistant will let you ask questions directly inside Sendigram instead of searching through help articles. New notifications will highlight important events and recommend what to do next.

We’re also expanding campaign and automation statistics. You’ll be able to view their results separately and examine individual automation steps to understand what is working and where contacts are dropping out.

This phase will also introduce transactional emails, allowing businesses to send messages such as password resets and receipts through Sendigram and view their delivery history and results.

January – March 2027: Connect your tools and know what to do next

The next phase focuses on bringing more customer data into Sendigram, helping users decide what to send, and making email results easier to understand.

Collect contacts from the tools you already use

Planned integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, and Webflow will help businesses collect contacts from their existing websites.

We’re also exploring connections for websites built with tools such as Claude Code, Codex, and Gemini. These connections will make it easier to send form submissions directly to a Sendigram contact list.

For businesses that need a new way to collect subscribers, the landing page builder will make it possible to publish a page with a signup form and share its link, even without a website or custom domain. A separate website form builder will let users create forms for their existing sites.

Planned CRM integrations will help keep contact information synchronized and pass relevant events between Sendigram and selected CRM tools. Social media integrations will offer more ways to bring subscribers into Sendigram and trigger messages based on activity in your email marketing or on your website.

Get a practical next step

My Plan will provide a practical email marketing plan based on what your business has already set up. It will show you what to work on and which campaigns to send next.

Ready-to-use automation templates will provide a starting point for common goals and include draft emails that you can customize. Instead of creating every audience filter manually, you’ll be able to choose from segment templates or describe the audience you want to reach using the AI segment builder.

A customizable dashboard will let you choose which statistics and indicators are most important to your business.

Understand what your results mean

Real-time activity will show important campaign and automation events as they happen. Custom conversion metrics will help connect email performance to meaningful actions, including purchases, registrations, demo requests, and downloads.

AI insights will appear directly on campaign statistics pages and inside automations, providing analysis and practical recommendations where you’re already working. You’ll also be able to ask the AI Statistics Assistant what has changed across your results and receive a summary with suggested next steps.

Planned predictions and trend reports will help you see where your results may be heading and identify patterns across your email activity.

April – May 2027: Give every email a better chance

The final phase of this roadmap focuses on improving individual emails: from targeting and testing to design and delivery.

Send the right version to the right people

With subscriber preferences, contacts will be able to choose the topics they want to receive and how often they want to hear from you. You’ll then be able to organize and target contacts based on those choices.

A/B testing for campaigns will let you compare two campaign versions and use the results to improve future emails.

We also plan to introduce deliverability statistics by mailbox provider, so you can see how your emails perform across services such as Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo instead of relying only on an overall delivery rate.

Before sending, email previews will show how your message looks in different email clients.

Create and edit emails your way

You’ll be able to create an email using an image, design mockup, or HTML file as a reference. A new HTML editor will make it possible to apply targeted changes to an email’s code directly inside Sendigram.

We’re also planning a clearer and more organized Settings area to make account management easier.

Finally, we’re exploring an AI Sales Assistant that could help interested email recipients get answers and move toward a purchase or another business goal.

Help us decide what comes first

This roadmap shows what we’re currently planning and exploring. Scope and timing may change as we learn from customers.

Which feature would make the biggest difference to your business? Tell us which one you would use and why by a DM or a comment on LinkedIn. Your feedback will help us decide what to prioritize.

The post What’s next for Sendigram: Our public roadmap through May 2027 appeared first on Email Marketing Blog | Sendigram.

⭐ Email marketing is still not dead in 2025 and keeps on growing in regard to both revenue and ROI.

⭐ To remain relevant, email marketing needs to evolve by prioritizing mobile-first design, automation, and AI personalization.

⭐ For direct and personalized communication, email is more efficient than social media.

⭐ The biggest challenges for email marketing are inbox fatigue, low-quality data, fast technological advancement, and customer expectations.

Is email marketing dead? Considering later developments both in the technological arena and the field of marketing, sprinkled on top of a rapid generational change, this question presumably pops up in the heads of many business owners and marketers alike. 

The rise of social media and messaging apps, changes in consumer behavior of younger generations, and rapid technological advancements – this is not a full list of later trends that put email marketing in a presumable jeopardy. 

Nonetheless, and despite potential challenges posed by later trends in marketing, technologies, and worldwide, the data prove that the popularity of this marketing channel among marketers keeps on growing. With an estimated revenue of more than 10 billion U.S. dollars worldwide in 2023, email marketing keeps on beating other channels also in regards to ROI. 

In this article we are looking at possible reasons supporting misconceptions that email marketing is dead, as well as providing compelling arguments proving this concern wrong.  

Email marketing in milestones: critical points and what they meant for contemporary email marketing

• Emergence of commercial Internet and email services (1990s)

The 1990s saw the commercialization of the Internet and the emergence of popular email services like Hotmail (1996). In 1997 Hotmail had grown to 12 million users, demonstrating the rapid adoption of email as a communication medium. 

Since then, the number of email providers has substantially increased and diversified, proving – email is not dead. Proportionally, the number of email users in 2024 has grown to almost 4,5 billion, making email an incredibly popular tool for marketing worldwide. 

• The passing of the CAN-SPAM Act (2003)

By 2003, spam emails accounted for over half of all email traffic, highlighting the need for regulatory measures. This resulted in the adoption of the CAN-SPAM Act in 2003, adopted by the United States Congress, and establishing national standards for sending commercial emails. 

The CAN-SPAM Act substantially improved the practices of email marketing bringing them to the state we know them now – with relevant content, automatic opt-out mechanisms, and sender’s legal information included. 

• The shift to mobile email consumption (2010s)

The 2010s saw a significant shift to mobile, with more and more users accessing emails through their smartphones. By 2018, almost half of all emails were opened on mobile devices, emphasizing the importance of mobile optimization in email marketing strategies.

• Integration of AI and automation in email marketing (late 2010s) 

Advancements in AI and automation technologies began to be significantly integrated into email marketing tools in the late 2010s. Automated email messages have almost 71% higher open rates and 152% higher click-through rates than non-automated ones.

• Surge in email marketing during COVID-19 pandemic (2020)

Since the start of the pandemic, email marketing volume increased by almost 50%, as email became one of the few channels for reaching out to customers. By pushing businesses towards digital communication, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant increase in email marketing during the first years of the pandemic and its advancement and diversification later. 

How Effective Is Email Marketing: Current State 

While the data show that email marketing keeps on growing steadily, do they also support its overall effectiveness? The answer is yes. It is estimated that email marketing drives ROI around $36 for every dollar spent. This makes email marketing the second most efficient channel in ROI generation after PPC (pay-per-click advertising) and SEO.While precise ROI can vary by industry and strategy, email marketing continues to offer one of the highest returns on investment among digital marketing channels. That is why every third marketing specialist uses it in their work, while 87% plan to increase the usage of this marketing channel in their work.

Email marketing revenue worldwide

Apart from an ability to generate high ROI, what are other aspects that characterize this marketing channel and its current state?

✅ Personalization and segmentation: Today it is hard to underestimate the importance of advanced personalization and segmentation, which are getting increasingly sophisticated. While email segmentation is considered to be the most efficient email marketing strategy, it also leads to 30% more email openings and 50% more clickthroughs in comparison to unsegmented ones. Email personalization is the second most effective strategy, with 72% of marketing specialists supporting this fact.

Factors affecting email personalization

Source: Litmus 

✅ Mobile optimization: With the majority of emails being opened on mobile devices (with 43% of emails opened on mobile devices in 2018, and growing), mobile optimization of emails is getting critical. This includes responsive design, interactive content, and clear calls to action to ensure a seamless experience on smartphones and tablets.

✅ AI integration: The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in email marketing allows the creation of content that is better optimized and personalized leading thus to a better customer experience and even higher ROI. According to the recent findings, 51% of marketers across US, UK and Europe believe that marketing emails created with the use of AI are more effective in comparison to regular ones. 

Marketing content aspects reported to be advanced by AI

✅ Gamification, interactive design, and GIFS: Why are these design elements so important and why are they growing in trend as an inseparable part of successful email marketing? Well, because they are engaging. According to recent data interactive email content leads to an increase in click-to-open rate by 73%, while videos can make this indicator spike up to 300%.

Despite the appearance of new digital marketing platforms and tools, email marketing still holds a solid position among other marketing channels and instruments. Its adaptability, integration of technological advancements, ongoing design evolution, and continued personalization allow email marketing to remain a cornerstone strategy for engaging and retaining customers.

Email Marketing vs. Social Media

If a contemporary marketer would need to apply a famous Shakespeare dilemma to his work, he would probably ask, “Email marketing or social media?”  

The rapid growth of social media popularity might provide the biggest contribution to an overall concern about email marketing longevity. Nonetheless, the data showcase that marketing email is not dead and still holds the leading position regarding main metrics. 

Thus, while an open/view rate through email marketing accounted for a solid 21.5% in 2022, the same indicator for social media varied between 2% and 4% depending on the platform with an overall tendency to decrease. Similarly, email marketing accounts for more than a twice better click-through rate (2.9%) in comparison to social media (1.36%). Finally, with ROI accounting for $36 per $1 email marketing advances social media with its $2.8 per $1 ROI by almost 13 times. 

While the data above speak in favor of email marketing as a more efficient marketing tool, it is crucial to understand that email marketing and social media marketing have different advantages, approaches, and goals.

Email marketing’s strength lies in its ability to provide personalized, longer content to an (on average) older demographic group and facilitate professional business communication. In contrast, social media targets a younger audience with more personal, short-form content that excels in building brand awareness and fostering community engagement. 

With this information in mind, both channels can be turned into allies rather than competitors. By understanding and leveraging the unique advantages of each platform (and even combining them from time to time), marketers can create a well-rounded approach that maximizes the efficiency of their digital marketing efforts. 

Challenges Facing Email Marketing

In 2024, email marketing will continue to be a vital component of digital marketing strategies for businesses worldwide. However, like any dynamic field, it faces a certain set of challenges, or developments, which, if properly addressed, can propel the effectiveness of email marketing even further.  

1. Generating traffic in the right way 

As inboxes become increasingly crowded, standing out among the multitude of emails that users receive daily becomes more difficult. Thus, the creation of compelling, engaging, and personalized content becomes both crucial and challenging. Additionally, finding the right balance between the frequency and relevance of emails is crucial to avoid being marked as spam or simply ignored by users. Thus, according to HubSpot, for companies sending their emails to clients on a weekly basis, it makes sense to concentrate their efforts on Tuesdays and keep their enthusiasm to a minimum on weekends. 

Best and worst days for sending marketing emails throughout a week

Source: HubSpot

2. Keeping up with trends 

Being able to integrate the latest email marketing trends, such as artificial intelligence, personalization, and interactive email elements is essential for email marketing evolution and development. Marketers must invest time and resources into continuous learning and experimentation to ensure their strategies remain effective and compliant with industry standards and expectations. 

Thus, email marketing is the second most popular marketing channel for which content is generated with the use of AI (28%), with only social media being ahead with 31%.

3. Understanding customers and their needs 

Customer data, while providing companies with a chance to craft highly personalized emails, also requires careful analyzing and the ability to draw meaningful insights. Understanding customer preferences and behavior patterns, allows marketers to craft an exciting customer journey. 

Factors important for email marketing personalization

Source: Litmus 

4. Having low-quality data 

The quality of data used for email marketing campaigns significantly impacts their effectiveness. Low-quality data, including inaccurate, outdated, or incomplete information, can lead to poorly targeted emails, lower engagement rates, and potential compliance issues. Marketers face the challenge of continually cleansing and updating their databases to ensure the accuracy and relevance of the data. Studies show that email list decay naturally occurs at a rate of approximately 22.5% per year, indicating the importance of regularly updating and cleaning email lists to maintain data quality.

Future of Email Marketing

So, is email dead? No. And neither is email marketing. And let’s face it: both are here to stay and grow. Nonetheless, while it successfully keeps up its position as one of the leading marketing channels, it needs to change and evolve to keep up with the rapid change.  

With the number of email users constantly growing and expecting to hit 4.73 billion users worldwide in 2026, it is obvious that email is not dead. Nonetheless, aspects like personalization and user experience should become a priority for marketers in the years to come. 

By advancing customer experience with personalized recommendations, created and optimized by the use of artificial intelligence, better data analytics, use of interactive content, and integration with other marketing channels, email marketing will be here to stay. 

The post Is Email Marketing Dead? Here’s What Statistics Show appeared first on Email Marketing Blog | Sendigram.