What are the top features to look for in email management software for small businesses?

[VanessaM7330]

Email management software is an important tool for almost every modern business. What are the most important features to look for when choosing an email management software platform?

[Chris-S]

When selecting email management software, consider the following key factors:

1. Email Organization and Search

   - The software should provide comprehensive features for organizing emails into folders, tags, or categories.

   - It should also have robust search capabilities for quickly locating specific emails.

Email Delivery in 2024: Success Hub 

2. Integration with Existing Tools:

   - Compatibility with other business tools, such as CRM software, project management tools, and calendars, is essential for seamless workflow integration.

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3. Security and Compliance:

   - Ensure that the software meets industry standards for security measures like encryption and secure access control.

   - Consider compliance requirements such as GDPR or HIPAA if applicable to your business.

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[Abigail_S]

Constant Contact is a great email management tool! You get access to:

• Email automation: Automatically send follow-up emails to customers who engage with your emails, such as opening them or clicking a link
• Landing page builder: Create landing pages without code or design experience using a drag-and-drop editor
• Email design: Use brand-specific fonts and colors, and make sure your text is legible on mobile devices
• Email editing: Copy a sent email, rename it, edit it, and resend it to the intended recipients
• Analytics: Track metrics such as bounces, click rate, opens, and sends 

  You can customize your experience depending on what your business needs are! 

[Caitlin_M]

Ease of use! I proposed creating newsletters for a program I volunteer with and there was some hesitancy since they thought email creation was a manual process. During a meeting, I showed off the Constant Contact editor and they were able to see how easy it would be to build newsletters. 

They also wanted different types of sign-up forms. We have an inline form on the website and also shared a landing page URL on Facebook so our followers can sign up to receive our communications.

[ACTIVATE]

In addition to the other comments above which are robust and thorough, @Caitlin_M highlights something that is irreplaceable at the core - ease of use! So many of my seminar/webinar attendees or consulting clients are the sole operators or lead a small team, meaning they have to do the marketing themselves. Since it's not their main skill set, they fear the unknown and imagine it to be worse than it is. There is no system easier or simpler to use! That was a core part of Constant Contact's goal in creating their software all those years ago: easy to use for the average small business or nonprofit!

[LeaveittoLindsay]

As part of my role as a consultant, companies have hired me to review third party systems these are some of the things I've looked for when companies have proposed alternative options other than Constant Contact that I think are important to consider include:

- Does the system automatically remove duplicate email addresses?

- Do you have the ability to grow your email list through sign up links? 

- Is it easy to use?

- What integrations does it offer?

- Do you have the ability to export your contacts at any time seamlessly?

- What tracking capabilities does the system offer? 

- Can you schedule the email to go out at anytime?

- Do you have the ability to segment contacts based on behavior?

- Do you have the ability to add their birthday date in their contact profile for an automatic email to go out?