Choosing an email marketing tool
An email list is the one audience you own. Here's how to pick a tool to build it.
What to look for
- Free tier or low entry price while your list is small.
- Signup forms that embed in any site (including static sites) or a form endpoint you can post to.
- Automations: at minimum a welcome email or sequence that delivers a lead magnet.
- Deliverability tools: authenticate your domain with SPF, DKIM and DMARC records.
- Segmentation/tags so you can tell subscribers apart by interest.
- Easy export of your list, so you can switch later.
Popular options to evaluate
Common choices for small sites include Mailchimp, MailerLite, Kit (formerly ConvertKit), Brevo and beehiiv. Compare current free-tier limits on each provider's pricing page. [ADD AFFILIATE LINKS ONLY FOR PROGRAMS YOU JOIN, e.g. href="#AFFILIATE_LINK_mailerlite"]
Setup in five steps
- Create the account using an address on your own domain.
- Add the DNS records it gives you (SPF/DKIM) at your registrar.
- Create one list and a welcome email.
- Embed the form or connect your site's form to the tool.
- Send a test signup end to end.