5 things you must know when selecting an email provider

Before you start searching for the best email service provider (ESP), let’s do first an exercise of imagination. Think for a second how you would keep walking on the stress if you were missing a shoe. How do you think the others would look at you if you would be wearing just one shoe? It would become difficult for you to express your standing point in such situation, isn’t it? Well, choosing the right email provider for your business is exactly like finding the right shoes for your feet.

Even though it might be easier to create a Gmail or Yahoo! email account, if you want to look professional you will need something more than that. Yes, the budget is important, but you should also think that emails are one of the most important communication tools for your business. You use emails to communicate with your employees, business partners, and customers. So, getting the right email service provider is essential if you want to develop an effective communication strategy.

Each email provider offers different products. So, it is important to choose those which have the right features for you. What is more, as budget is extremely important, you need to know how to avoid paying for features which you don’t need. Below you can find 5 things you must know before you start collaborating with an email provider for your business.

1. A top product

If you want to take your business to the next level, you will need the email service provider to offer features like customizable email templates, contact management, or reporting tools. Why are these elements important? Let’s take them one by one and tell you more about them:

• Customizable email templates – the majority of people nowadays read their emails on their mobiles. So, if your emails are not easily readable on a mobile device, then your subscribers will most probably delete your emails. So, you need your email service provider to make sure that your emails look good on any device. Moreover, PickWriters also collaborate with various ESP and offer customizable email templates in various languages, helping business owners address different types of customers.
• Contact management – a great ESP will offer you solutions for contact management. As you will send emails to thousands of people to promote your business, you will need to group your contacts on several categories. Thus, you will be able to send targeted messages faster.
• Reporting tools – especially when you send newsletters or other similar types of emails, you will need to know who opened your emails, who read them and who were those who shared your emails. So, your ESP needs to offer you efficient reporting tools to help you analyze these results.

2. Security

It doesn’t matter if you choose a paid or free email service. In both cases, you will need to protect your email from cybercriminals. Your financial data, in particular, needs extra protection. So, before you set-up your email account, you should first check for basic security features like spam and phishing filters. In addition, you can also ask for a two-factor authentication feature. This means that you will need to introduce two pieces of information when you sign in. Therefore, you will keep curious eyes away from your inbox. You can choose to introduce first your password and then a code and thus increase your email’s security. Finally, you can also opt for antivirus measures and thus keep malware off. Especially when you download a lot of attachments, this feature is very efficient.

3. Establish your budget

An effective email service doesn’t need to cost you a lot of money. There are many tools offered for free and there are also many which can cost you a lot. It all depends on what exactly you want your ESP to do. Thus, it is very important to first evaluate your needs. Do you need a business email account? Or do you need an email service provider perfect for email marketing campaigns? If you need email campaigns and analytics, then you will need to define a more generous budget. What is more, as you ask for more features and tools, then the price might go higher. However, it is important to keep in mind that investing in an email service can become more profitable than investing in social or search.

4. Awesome customer support

Even if you have already used an email provider before, there will be moments when you need to talk to a customer support representative. Plus, if you are using ESP for the first time, you will definitely need support especially during the first months. So, a world-class customer support is not a luxury. It is more an essential feature that your provider has to offer. Apart from phone support, a great ESP should also be active on social media and answer to your questions whenever you have one. Furthermore, you should also have access to a community forum as well as a dedicated email address where you can address all your worries. Finally, a blog would be great as it will keep you informed with the latest updates in the industry and new features on your ESP products. In the end, it doesn’t matter if you have a question after the first week or the first year, your ESP should be always there to help you.

5. Successful history

When an ESP enters on the market, he will most likely create attractive packages to increase its number of clients. However, this service requires a lot of attention. This is why choosing an experienced ESP with a history of success will be better for your business. By having an established position on the market, your ESP will know what product works best for your business specifics. Plus, he will immediately give you solutions to your problems as he most probably already faced those situations.

Choosing the right email provider according to your business needs is essential if you want your company to have success. However, this doesn’t have to be a difficult process. It is more important to make an informed decision. Therefore, you should first start with defining your business goals and decide what types of emails you want to send. Then, you should rank the features you need from your ESP as they will help you to define your budget. Finally, you should have a look at the delivery rates and then evaluate the customer support. It is as simple as that!