Mailerlite Review – A Great Email Service Provider for Bloggers
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When it comes to email service providers, you have lots of choices. Of all the ones that I have tried, I like the features in Mailerlite the best, especially for new bloggers.
You probably have heard that you NEED to start building an email list for your blog right from day 1.
And to build an email list you need an email service provider.
There are tons of choices out there, and everyone has a different opinion as to which is actually the best email service for new bloggers.
But I can tell you this – one of your main concerns is probably budget.
As in no budget, zilch, nada. Am I right?
I hear your pain because I’ve been there, done that, and tried them all.
Ok, maybe not all but way too many, for sure.
And the one that I kept coming back to, time after time after time, happens to be one of the most affordable email service providers out there: Mailerlite.
Related: What is Email Marketing? It’s Time For You To Start Winning at Email
Why Mailerlite is Great for New Bloggers
I know cost is of great concern so I will get to that in a minute – but let’s start with features that Mailerlite has that are great for new bloggers.
The Email Service Features That Bloggers Need
There are certain features that you need as a blogger.
Needless to say – you will find all of these in Mailerlite.
- List segmentation
- Automation
- Forms builder
- An easy to use editor
There are other features that are definitely nice to have, which you will also find in Mailerlite:
- Auto Resend
- Include RSS feed
- Custom time delivery
- Built in surveys
Why You Need Email List Segmentation
Email list segmentation is a powerful tool for bloggers.
When you first start blogging you will probably plan to send out a general newsletter to your entire email list.
In fact, you probably are thinking that you have no idea what to write about – what on earth are you going to send to these people every week?
But as your blog grows, the scope of what you write about will also grow.
Suddenly, you will realize that not everybody is interested in all the things.
If you segment your list from the beginning, you will be able to send targeted information to the people that actually want to get it.
For example, on my other blog I used to write about:
- Blogging Tips
- Organization and Productivity
- Easy Recipes, and
- DIY
The scope was huge! (and I definitely don’t recommend it – see more about choosing a niche for your blog here)
But for me, it was what it was.
So, I absolutely had to segment my list.
When I sent out a newsletter to my Blogging people they did not want to see a guacamole recipe.
And if I had a hot tip on a blogging course sale – like Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing – well, my DIY people don’t really want to know about it.
By keeping track of who signed up for what, I was able to segment my list by reader interests.
This concept of email list segmentation used to only be a part of high end email service providers like Infusionsoft.
But it was popularized and brought to the masses by email service providers like ConvertKit.
Mailerlite vs ConverKit
In fact, many bloggers think that ConvertKit is their only option if they want to use email list segmentation because of their lists and tags features.
While ConvertKit is awesome, they are a little pricey – especially for new bloggers.
What many people don’t realize is that Mailerlite also offers email list segmentation – it just works a little bit differently.
Instead of using lists and tags, you use their groups feature.
I can explain how I use email list segmentation in Mailerlite, but that would be a whole different post.
If you would like me to share my process, please leave a comment below so I know to post about it.
Why You Need Email Automation
Another email service feature that bloggers need is Email Automation – which is also part of Mailerlite’s feature set.
You may think of automation as the ability to schedule an email at a future time – but that is only part of it.
Certainly, email automation is great for sending out a series of emails – like a welcome sequence to a new subscriber.
But email automation also includes the ability to further segment your list based on your reader’s action.
Using Mailerlite you can automatically add a reader to a different group or list based on their interaction with your previous email.
You can even use Mailerlite’s very cool Survey feature to directly ask your audience about their interests.
Mailerlite will automatically place them into a group of their choosing based on their responses in your survey.
Mailerlite Has A Built In Forms Builder
The best email service for new bloggers should have an easy to use forms builder that spits out attractive forms.
It seems like a no-brainer but some email service providers don’t offer this.
Mailerlite shines in this area.
With their native forms builder you can create:
- great looking opt in forms
- pop up opt in boxes
- top of the page sign up bar
- and landing pages.
They have every kind of form you need to get started.
If you would rather use a third party forms builder like Thrive Leads (this is what I use) then Mailerlite integrates with that and many other services too.
The Mailerlite Email Editor is Easy to Use
Finally, creating emails should be very easy – so you actually do it!
Mailerlite has a beautiful email editor with several drag and drop boxes.
On a paid plan you even get a template gallery to choose from.
MailerLite Pricing
So now that you know a little bit about the features in Mailerlite – let’s talk about cost.
Is Mailerlite Free?
You may have heard that Mailerlite is no longer free because they recently changed their pricing structure.
But this is not true.
Mailerlite has a very generous free level with limited features that is a perfect place to start for new bloggers.
You can simply go here and sign up for a FREE account.
Reasonable Pricing Tiers
Or if you would rather jump in with no limitations, Mailerlite’s pricing tiers are very reasonable compared to other email service providers.
For up to 1000 subscribers you will pay $84 annually or $10 per month if you prefer monthly.
Up to 2500 subscribers will run you $126 per year paid annually.
You can go to their website to see pricing tiers for even more subscribers.
Mailerlite Is An Attractive Package
As you can see, Mailerlite has a strong feature set that includes:
- email list segmentation
- email automation
- an tool for you to build attractive sign up forms
- an easy to use email editor.
On top of that, there is a generous free level and the pricing is very reasonable.
If you have any questions that I can help you with, please leave a comment for me below!