Are you thinking of setting up free email marketing services for your blog or website but unsure of your options?

As bloggers and entrepreneurs, we are aware of the advice from our role models, mentors and business coach that we should set up email marketing from day one.

However, when it is time to choose a provider the process can be a bit daunting. Choosing a free plan seems sensible but which one is the best?

You see many of us struggle because some of these providers use jargon that just does not make sense.

Another big hesitation could be that we have no idea what to offer anyone who signs up or what a welcome series should look like.

Let me spend some time with you outlining my experience as well as the available options.

Do You Really Need Email Marketing Services?

Well, the blunt and truthful answer is yes. The number one reason is that your email list can be a great source of traffic.

Right now many of us depend on Google (SEO), Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to bring traffic to our website.

What if you get up one morning only to realise that Google made a huge change in their algorithm.

This change affected you so much that your traffic went from 3,000 visitors a day to 100. What will you do?

We all know that Pinterest traffic dwindles as well so it is not 100% guaranteed.

However, having an email list of 1,000, 10,000 or even 100,000 subscribers means that you can easily send one email and make a 5-figure income (of course it depends on your list).

Building a list of 100,000 responsive subscribers does not happen overnight so you need to start early.

photo by Sarah Pflug

What to Look For in a Good Email Marketing Service?

I am so glad that you asked that question because this is the key to finding an autoresponder that suits your needs.

As this is vitally important let's spend some time looking at the fine print.

Here is a list of key features to look for in any email marketing service: 

1. Total Number of Subscribers

As we are looking at free email marketing services it is important to know what limits you have on the total number of subscribers. I believe that having a minimum of 1,000 subscribers is worth the effort.

2. Sending Broadcasts

Once you have subscribers on your list it is important to have the ability to send out a monthly or weekly newsletter or a broadcast to everyone.

3. Limit on number of emails per month

The other time that you may want to send out emails is after someone joins your list by sending them a welcome email sequence. 

If your provider has a huge restriction on monthly email limits then you may want...