One challenge that often besets small business owners is finding an email service provider. Some business email service providers are too large and too costly for small business owners.
Others may not provide all of the features and benefits small business owners need. However, that has changed in recent years.
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Email Service Providers for Small Businesses
Today there is a nice variety of email service providers geared specifically toward small businesses. The providers here have different features that can help different kinds of small businesses.
Peruse the list below and see if one of these small business service providers might work for your business.
1. ConvertKit
ConvertKit email service was created specifically for online business owners. This company aims to help you grow your business using your email list. It uses forms, trackable data and email marketing automation.
The services ConvertKit offers:
- Bloggers
- Podcasters
- YouTubers
- Course creators
- Freelancers
- Musicians
- Photographers
And other creative business owners. There are four ConvertKit email packages to choose from, and they’re based on the size of your online business.
ConvertKit was founded by a blogger and course creator who couldn’t find exactly what he wanted in an email service. So, he built ConvertKit to help make business email more helpful for small business owners.
Here is a list of the various plans ConvertKit offers to small business owners.
0-1,000 Subscribers
If you have between 0 and 1,000 subscribers you qualify for this $29 per month package.
You’ll get a lot for your money, including:
- Visual automations
- Unlimited customizable forms
- Unlimited email sends
- Email and live chat support
Do you have more subscribers? ConvertKit has additional packages to fit larger small businesses.
1,000-3,000 Subscribers
This package offers the same benefits as the smaller 0-1,000 package. However, the monthly fee is $49 per month.
3,000-5,000 Subscribers
This package also offers the same benefits as the other packages. The monthly fee for having between 3,000 and 5,000 subscribers is $79 per month.
Over 5,000 Subscribers
Do you have more than 5,000 subscribers? ConvertKit has a package that includes all of the features listed above, along with free concierge migration.
As you can see, ConvertKit is affordable and comes with different package options depending on your email service needs.
2. Constant Contact
Constant Contact aims to make its service simple for even the non-techy business owner to use.
Its mobile-optimized templates and drag-and-drop editor can help you create emails that engage your customers, no matter which device they’re reading on.
Constant Contact has several benefits worth looking at:
- A free 60-day trial membership for new customers
- No contract commitments
- Special discounts and plans geared toward specific businesses
- A money-back guarantee
Here is a quick summary of some of the plans and pricing Constant Contact offers.
Basic Email
Constant Contact’s basic email service is great when your just getting started.
Features:
- Unlimited emails
- Customizable templates
- Contact management
- List-building tools
- Pop-up forms
- Tracking and reporting
- Access to an image library
- 1 GB file storage
- Apps and integrations
- A mobile app
The Basic Email is designed for one user who manages the company’s email and marketing. Plan prices vary depending on the number of subscribers you have.
Email Plus
Constant Contact also has an upgraded plan called Email Plus.
Features:
- 2 GB file storage
- 10 users instead of 1
- Email automation
- Event marketing
- Online donations
- Surveys and polls
- Coupons
The Email Plus plan is your full-service email plan. It will help you integrate nearly any type of email marketing idea you can think off.
Like Constant Contact’s basic email plan, Email Plus is affordable and sets rates based on the number of subscribers you have.
Note that both Constant Contact plans have discounts for prepaying your plan as well.
3. G Suite: Google Mail for Business
You or someone you know might have a Gmail account for personal email. In that case you might want to take advantage of Google’s G Suite mail for business.
G Suite has three package options for small business owners:
G Suite Basic
G Suite Basic costs just $5 a month per user.
Features:
- 30 GB of storage
- Video and voice conferencing
- Secure team messaging
- Shared calendars
- Google Docs
- 24/7 support by phone, email and online
- Security and administration options
This package is perfect for sole proprietor businesses.
G Suite Business
The G Suite Business package is $10 per month per user. This package includes all that G Suite Basic offers.
Additional Features:
- Low code app development capabilities
- Unlimited cloud storage (or 1 TB per user if fewer than five users)
- G Suite’s Smart Search tool, which helps you search across your company’s content
- Audit reports for tracking user activity
- eDiscovery for emails, chats and files
If you have employees and want a few more important features at an affordable price, the Business package could be right for you.
G Suite Enterprise
The G Suite Enterprise plan costs $25 per month per user. The package includes all that G Suite Business has and more, including:
- Data loss prevention for Gmail and Google Drive
- The ability to integrate Gmail with compliant third-party archiving tools
- Gmail log analysis
G Suite email services are designed more for traditional businesses that want to be able to effectively communicate with their employees.
Interested? You can try it for free for 14 days.
4. Amazon WorkMail
According to its website, Amazon WorkMail works on a pay-as-you-go approach. It offers over 120 different cloud services, and you only pay for the services you need and use.
Some of the services it offers include:
- Networking and delivery content services
- Database migration services
- A variety of developer and management tools
- Mobile services
- Desktop and app streaming
- Game development
The site contains calculators to help you understand the monthly price for email service based on the services you need for your individual business.
Bonus: You can get a free 30-day trial of AWS for up to 25 users.
5. Yahoo Small Business
Yahoo Small Business email can help you set up a professional email address for as little as $1.19 a month. It’s got four different plans to choose from.
One Mailbox
Are you a sole proprietor who just wants to be able to communicate with clients in a business manner? You can get one mailbox from Yahoo Small Business mail for as little as $3.19 a month.
5 Mailboxes
Do you run your business using a small team? Yahoo’s plan for 5 to 10 mailboxes costs as little as $1.59 per mailbox per month.
10 Mailboxes
If your business is a bit larger, you can choose Yahoo’s plan for 10 to 20 mailboxes. You’ll pay as little as $1.19 per month per mailbox for this plan.
20+ Mailboxes
Is your small business a bit on the larger side? Yahoo Small Business can create a customized email plan for you and your business. Simply call their customer service line for price quotes.
Some of the features of Yahoo Small Business mail include:
- 1 TB of free storage for each mailbox
- The option to use email aliases
- Forwarding services
- Free Yahoo mail app
6. Microsoft Exchange Online
Microsoft has its own business email plan called Microsoft Exchange Online. You can use Microsoft’s business email as a standalone product or in combination with an Office 365 business plan.
There are three different Exchange Online packages available.
Exchange Online Plan 1
The Plan 1 package costs just $4.00 per user per month. Each user has a limit of 50 GB per month.
Exchange Online Plan 2
The Plan 2 package costs just $8.00 per user per month. In addition to the Plan 1 features, Plan 2 users will receive:
- Unlimited storage
- Hosted voicemail
- Data loss prevention
Office 365 Business Premium
This plan costs $15 per month per user. You can get a discount and pay $12.50 per month per user if you pay on an annual basis instead of monthly.
The Office 365 Business Premium plan includes all of the features of Plan 1, plus:
- Fully installed Microsoft Office
- 1 TB file storage and sharing
- Video conferencing
Contact Microsoft directly for more information regarding its small business email plans.
7. Rackspace Email
Rackspace Email services for businesses has been around since 2001. For as little as $2 per user per month, you can get business email features such as:
- Outlook, webmail and mobile access
- Free migration service as you switch from your current email provider
- A 100% uptime guarantee
- 25 GB mailboxes
- Unlimited aliases, group lists and forwarding
- Email archiving and file storage
The 24/7 live support ensures there’s always someone to talk to if you need help with your email service.
You get a 14-day free trial to give Rackspace Email a try and see if it’s right for your business.
8. Aweber
Aweber was founded back in 1998 and currently serves over 100,000+ small businesses and entrepreneurs.
You can try Aweber for free for 30 days. After that, plans range from $19 per month to $149 per month depending on the number of subscribers you have on your list.
If you have over 25,000 email subscribers, you can request a custom quote for a larger Aweber plan.
Aweber syncs with GoToWebinar, WordPress, PayPal, Facebook, and more to help you automate your business as much as possible.
Which Email Service Provider is Right for Your Small Business?
As you can see, you have many choices as far as email service providers go. How can you know which one might be right for you?
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to determine the answer to that question.
What Type of Business Do I Run?
The type of business you run makes a difference in the email service provider you’ll need. For instance, Constant Contact and ConvertKit are geared more toward creative business owners that do email marketing to their clients regularly.
A big goal of these types of businesses is to engage customers to discover and potentially purchase new products and services. Whether it’s a new personal finance product or a newly-launched course, creators need to be able to effectively get the word out to customers about new opportunities.
Conversely, other email services are geared more toward traditional businesses that don’t have the need for regularly communicating with customers via email.
Instead, these businesses might be more interested in a service that helps them communicate efficiently with employees.
Knowing what you need from your email service will help you better determine which company will best suit your email needs.
How Much Do I Want to Spend on Email Service?
Another consideration for deciding on an email service can be found in your business’s budget. Ask yourself what your business can afford – or want you want to spend – for monthly email service.
What your small business needs and what it wants in an email service can be two different things. It’s up to you or your accounting department to decide how much you should spend in this area.
Summary
The email service providers listed here have a wide variety of services and prices. There’s likely at least one service available that will help you manage your business’s email effectively at an affordable price.
Do you currently use an email service provider for your small business? Is the service you use helping your business be the best that it can be? Share your comments on our Facebook page.
B.
What about a run down of these service providers based on the classification of data that needs to be managed (restricted access, remote wiping, security, etc.) please?
Deacon
It actually wouldn’t be that hard to do on your own. Just make a spreadsheet, go to each site to look up their features and put it on the spreadsheet. That would easily allow you to see which provider has the majority of the features that are the most important to you.