Email marketing tools are a must-have for Shopify store owners. A good email marketing service brings powerful automation, elegant design tools, and list-management capabilities to your fingertips — literally, because the best ones work on your mobile device as well as your desktop. But there’s no such thing as the best email marketing services for Shopify. There’s only the right choice for you at this time in your business’s growth.
Get some tips for choosing the right Shopify email marketing tools below. And then check out our list of seven stellar options that you might consider when you’re ready to ramp up your lifecycle marketing with email.
Choosing the Right Email Marketing Tools for Your Shopify Store
Any email marketing service is going to provide some basic functions and features. You’ll be able to send emails to your list, and they all have at least some basic automations or scheduling options. But they also offer different levels of functionality and Shopify integration and come with a variety of price points. When you’re considering email marketing tools for your Shopify store, here are some top factors to consider.
- Automation. If you wanted to sit there for days manually handling your email workflow, you wouldn’t need software tools. So, when you start shopping ecommerce email marketing services, look for those that offer automation that makes your job faster and easier. That way, you can manage lists to support scalable growth and ongoing lifecycle marketing strategies that turn buyers into loyal customers.
- Analytics and reporting. Customer data tells the story of your email marketing campaigns, helping you understand what’s working so you know what to continue doing and what to change up. But raw data is useless for most people, so look for email marketing software that converts into easy-to-understand reports and customizable analytics.
- Audience segmentation. Segmenting your list is a powerhouse email marketing move, because it lets you send tailored messaging that’s more likely to convert. You might want to segment by demographics and geolocation or more advanced categories such as how long ago someone bought from you or which types of products they purchase. Check the features for email marketing solutions you’re considering to find out how they help with audience segmentation.
- Embeddable opt-in forms. Opt-in forms are how you get people to sign up for your email lists. Without the sign-up, you can’t send the email. It’s poor form and turns your valuable marketing content into spam—plus, in some cases, it’s illegal under the federal CAN-SPAM Act. But you don’t just want any old forms—you want customizable forms you can embed on your own webpages and in your Shopify store. Look for options that make it easy to create branded opt-in forms you can add to your pages.
- Customizable templates. Visually pleasing emails are great, but you can’t just copy and paste elements in and call it a day. You need dynamic formatting that shifts to appear correctly on various size screens, and you also want designs that are easy to read and position your content as professional. Unless you’re a designer, you may want to meet this need with prebuilt email templates you can add brand elements to, such as colors and fonts. So, look for email tools that include robust template options or the opportunity to upgrade to additional templates.
- Integration with ecommerce tools. Integration with your Shopify store is a must. This way, you don’t have to manually migrate customers and email addresses into your email software and contacts that opt-in at checkout can be automatically added. Some tools even let you bring in information such as purchase history or cart abandonment details for advanced personalization.
- User-friendly visual editor. Finally, you’ll want a Shopify email tool that you can use. Look for demos or free trials so you can test the visual editor provided by the software or service. Some are more user-friendly than others, sometimes offering a drag-and-drop editor, and which one you’re comfortable with can depend on factors such as your technological savvy or design skills.
7 of the Best Email Marketing Services for Shopify
Now that you know what to look for in the best email marketing services for a Shopify store, let’s look at some of the top contenders. These options make our list for a variety of reasons, including great integration and automation features, budget-friendly pricing and easy-to-use interfaces. However, they all bring different pros and cons to the table, so take time to look into options that appeal to you to understand exactly how each tool might work for you.
1. Klaviyo
Klaviyo offers robust data tools that lets you use the entire customer and order journey to launch appropriate email marketing and support. You can also track metrics that range from whether someone is active or buying on your site to what actions they’ve taken based on landing pages and emails. Forms and email personalization, social advertising and cross-channel campaigns are just some of the advanced features you can get with this email marketing service.
Klayvio Cost Breakdown
You can choose email, SMS or both. Email costs $30 per month for a list of 1,000, and you’ll pay $1,200 a month for a list of 100,000 contacts. SMS costs 3 cents per message.
Pros & Cons of Klayvio
This is one of the most expensive options on this list. But it’s also one of the most robust email marketing tools. Large retailers or bigger physical stores looking to go digital may want to look into Klaviyo.
We also recommend Klayvio for any Shopify store looking to use more sophisticated segmenting tactics and lifecycle marketing strategies.
2. GetResponse
GetResponse offers tools to automate many marketing tasks, including emails. You can also create and manage landing pages and sales funnels, and automated marketing lets you set up abandoned cart emails and other drip campaigns that are triggered by certain events.
Some stand out features of this email marketing service include:
- The ability to build and manage individual contact profiles
- Personalized emails
- Templates for a variety of stages, including nurturing, converting single purchasers into repeat customers and winning back lost customers
- Options to use behavioral targeting for more powerful segmenting
Get Response Cost Breakdown
Like most email marketing tools, GetResponse offers multiple tiers with pricing based on how big your list is. The basic package, which includes some email automations, unlimited landing pages and automation templates and one sales funnel, starts at $15 per month for a list of 1,000.
You get more functionality with each increasing tier, including webinars, more sales funnels and the ability to add more users to your account. The Plus plan starts at $49 per month for a list of 1,000 and the Pro plan starts at $99 per month for a list of 1,000. There’s also a Max plan that can be customized, and the pricing depends on what type of service you get.
Pros & Cons of GetResponse
GetReplacement is a comprehensive tool that lets you manage a variety of email marketing and online marketing tasks. It includes advanced features such as payment integration and the ability to drive traffic via social media ads. However, it can be somewhat expensive if you have a larger list—as much as $580 a month for the Professional plan if you have 100,000 contacts.
GetResponse does offer a free trial. Online store owners that want to manage more than email marketing and have an aggressive growth plan may want to check this option out.
3. Flodesk
Flodesk is a favorite email marketing platform among people who are not marketers and want to limit how much time they spend on the process. It offers easy-to-use design templates so anyone can create attractive, branded landing and sign-up pages as well as visually pleasing emails. You can integrate Flodesk directly with Shopify, and some relatively basic workflow automation lets you create email marketing that works while you’re doing other things.
Flodesk Cost Breakdown
Flodesk keeps it simple by charging $38 per month no matter how big your list is. For that amount, you get access to all of the features.
Pros & Cons of Flodesk
The biggest benefit of Flodesk is simplicity. It’s super easy to use and the pricing is straightforward, so you never worry about whether the growth of your list will hike your email marketing spend. However, for some Shopify store owners, this option may be too basic as it doesn’t include some of the workflow, marketing and reporting tools that other services on this list do.
Flodesk offers a 30-day free trial if you think keeping it simple is right for you. Shopify store owners that want gorgeous emails — such as fashion retailers — and don’t plan to branch out to other elements may want to try this one.
4. Drip
Drip offers holistic lifecycle marketing tools including a central hub for customer email marketing data, personalization tools, engagement options that cover email, SMS and some social channels and revenue analytics to help you optimize your efforts. You’ll get forms and landing page templates, the ability to segment your list and options for sending targeted email and SMS campaigns to boost conversion rates.
Drip Cost Breakdown
For email marketing tools, you’ll pay $19 per month for a list of one to 500 contacts. Pricing increases from there; for example, for 100,000 contacts, you’ll pay $1,199 per month.
SMS options will run you a bit more. You can add 1,000 sends a month for $15, for example. It’s 1.5 pennies per send, so you can do the math to see how much this add-on will cost.
Pros & Cons of Drip
Drip is fairly expensive for ecommerce businesses with larger lists, but it does have options for folding in SMS. That can help boost your engagement, which might pay for itself. The tool also includes a lot of marketing automation workflows and reporting elements that can help you improve your email marketing performance.
Drip offers a free 14-day trial, and you don’t have to enter a credit card to take it for a test drive. Shopify store owners who want powerful email marketing with options for SMS may want to check out this tool.
5. Sendinblue
Sendinblue offers email, SMS and chat marketing, and it supports some fairly robust automation tools. Depending on the tools and plan you choose, you’ll be able to set up transactional emails to sell right in the inbox, and Sendinblue helps you support high engagement with segmentation and personalization. You can also get access to landing page and sign-up form creation as well as Facebook ads.
Sendinblue Cost Breakdown
Sendinblue has a free account level that lets you manage unlimited contacts and send up to 300 emails per day. From there, you move into paid plans. Lite will run you $25 for 10,000 emails a month and premium runs you $65 for 20,000 emails a month. The more emails you send, the higher the price point. There’s also an enterprise option with custom pricing.
Pros & Cons of Sendinblue
The free option makes this a stellar option for small businesses and ecommerce stores with smaller lists. And even the Lite and Premium options can be affordable depending on how many emails you’re sending.
Shopify store owners that want comprehensive management of email and lifecycle marketing but would rather pay when they’re using the system (sending emails) than just pay for a list might want to check out Sendinblue.
6. MailerLite
MailerLite comes with live 24/7 support for email marketers that need a little help. It lets you create landing pages and pop-ups to drive sign-ups and automate email marketing workflows. You can connect it to a variety of ecommerce tools, including Shopify, and design templates make it easy to create standout content that people want to open and engage with.
MailerLite Cost Breakdown
You can have a list of up to 1,000 contacts and send 12,000 emails a month without paying anything. So, if you’re going to send all 1,000 contacts no more than 12 emails a month each, this tool would be free.
Pricing then goes by how many contacts you have with unlimited emails per month. Unlimited emails for one to 1,000 contacts, for example, is $10 per month. The same features for 5,001 to 10,000 contacts run you $50 a month.
Pros & Cons of MailerLite
The free option for low-volume email marketing needs is great and makes it easy to test this service. MailerLite is also one of the most budget-friendly email marketing options out there, especially since it does have some workflow and design tools. Its email editor tools are not as comprehensive as some of the other services on this list, though.
Shopify owners with a tight marketing budget that still want some good automation tools may want to try out MailerLite.
7. ConvertKit
ConvertKit focuses heavily on email marketing, offering landing page design tools and templates as well as similar tools for creating the actual emails. Automation tools are included and you can integrate with Shopify and other tools. The email marketing service’s site also includes a lot of good information via blogs and articles about how to create email newsletters and handle other email marketing tasks.
ConvertKit Cost Breakdown
The service is free for up to 1,000 subscribers. The free plan includes unlimited landing pages and forms, email broadcasts and other basic tools. ConvertKit also offers Creator and Creator Pro plans with additional services and tools. These plans are billed based on contacts. Creator is $29 per month for 1,000 contacts and Creator Pro is $59 per month for the same size list. If you have a list of 95,000, you’ll pay $619 for Creator or $807 for Creator Pro.
Pros & Cons of ConvertKit
For what you get, the pricing for this email service is fairly competitive. Plus, you can’t beat that free trial that lasts forever as long as you have 1,000 or fewer contacts. This may be a good service for Shopify store owners that are just starting out.
Ultimately, the email marketing service that’s right for you depends on your preferences and needs. Almost every option on this list offers a free trial, so take some time to test the waters before you make a decision.
