Campaign Monitor Review

Introduction

One of the key focus areas for any business is the need to reduce costs to the most extent possible. As people look to find a means of cheap communication, it stands to reason that emails make for rather efficient and cost-effective ways to communicate with each other. Thus, it was but a natural progression to use emails to market products and services.

Going a step further, there is some innovative email marketing software developed that ensures that marketers take a hands-free approach to marketing and communicating with each other. Campaign Monitor is one such application that has been able to fulfill the role of an automated email marketing software more than efficiently.

Like all products that make up the marketing sphere, email software to have certain operating criteria. It stands to good reason that some of the features are discussed below.

• Targeted Campaigns: One of the strong points of email used as a marketing tool is that it is a targeted campaign most of the time. The addressee is known, and the approach is made directly to the audience as far as possible. This is further strengthened by the use of segmented lists and contact points that make the whole process effective. Few people could resist the offers when they are straightforwardly directed at them.
• Better Credibility: Few means of communication carries the credibility that emails does at any point in time. This is because it is possible to trace the sender to ensure that the email has been sent from an authorized source and the ability to verify can also mean a more credible origin to the email. There is no belittling the need to be credible with email campaigns and that is also one of the reasons why email marketing has taken off like never before. The use of further features like digital signatures ensure that the emails are genuine.
• Sharable Content: Everyone knows that emails can be shared and that the content of emails can be copied too. This facility only ensures the easy transmission of the messages within groups and helps spread the message conveniently. At the same time, it is possible to keep the emails confidential to the outside world and this only adds to the value of the email communication.

Features of Campaign Monitor

An automated email marketing software like Campaign Monitor is used by folks that need to reach out to the most people and at a fixed budget. There are some very desirable features to the email marketing system as there are drawbacks as well. It stands to good reason that the Campaign Monitor software is noted for the following features most of the time.

1. Drip Campaigns: In drip marketing, the target audience is sent promotional material at regular intervals. This sort of builds up the brand and the buying momentum which eventually results in sales being generated. The concept is to create sales through constant exposure to marketing material. It thus follows that an automated system like that of Campaign Monitor can well act to create a drip campaign. The software can be programmed or tuned to send out promotional material often and at regular intervals.
2. AB Testing of Emails: To know the importance of AB testing, first the concept of the test must be understood. Here two variants of the same email are sent to two different segments of people. From the replies and click-through rates achieved, it is then concluded which one of the two is effective in communicating a piece of information effectively. Campaign Monitor can be used effectively to conduct AB testing of emails and with it increasing the email campaign’s effectiveness.
3. CAN-SPAM Compliant: CAN-SPAM is a set of best practices guidelines that have been set about in the email marketing industry. It ensures that customers and audiences are not harassed unnecessarily with email messages and prevents the abuse of privacy of the individual. There are tough penalties and fines for those breaking the CAN-SPAM Act and it is meant to control the email marketers with compliance. Campaign Monitor does comply with the Act in full and thus people making use of the system to market products are not in any way acting against the law.
4. Mobile Support: It can be taken that Campaign Monitor is one of the most user-friendly software available to the customer. That is because it is practically independent of the device on which it is loaded. The continued mobile support enables the use of the application by people on the go. One of the most defining aspects of the software is that it can be used on Android and iOS platforms as well.

Drawbacks of the software

The software requires a person with a technical bend of mind to work it. This is due to the lack of user-friendliness on the part of the dashboard, but it must be said that the software tries to make up for this feature by making itself simple in the application. There are lesser levels of controls and operations.

Getting to be an expert in using email marketing software can be a tedious affair. The user interface could have been made more user friendly and intuitive. Some of the competing software is much more friendly on the budget but the cost of maintaining the system works out to be one of the cheapest possible.

Conclusion

One of the strongest attributes of any software and not just to email marketing software is that it gets to be as user friendly as possible. This can be a simple feature to include with a software application but in practice one of the hardest to implement. It stands to good reason that Campaign Monitor has managed to understand the needs of the user and managed to come out with a product that meets customer expectations to the full.

No doubt there are competitors to the software, and it stands to reason that the product can stand up to them and with credit as well. Feature for feature, Campaign Monitor could be the most economical email marketing software available in the market.