We’ve all seen those eye catching, professional looking emails that seem to show up in the inbox at just the right time. With bright colors, stunning images and easy to read fonts. Many of these email and social media ads surely must be produced by an advertising firm or other professional. Sure, organizations hire businesses to create their digital communications, but everyday people can create impactful messaging themselves – with a little help from an email marketing company, of course. And choosing the right email marketing system for a booster club or other nonprofit organization needn’t be an arduous task. A quick internet search will pull up dozens of providers making it hard to tell which ones are safe, useful and cost effective? Read on as we highlight seven top companies that offer free or low cost programs that deliver booster club email marketing solutions.
MailerLite Email Marketing Platform
Booostr Rating: 4.4/5
MailerLite is a decade-old email marketing company that heralds its 24/7 support and a simple to use platform as tenants that set them apart from other email service providers. The introductory level plan is free forever and boasts good use of automation along with point-click-publish style editing. Unlike some other automation platforms, MailerLite supports multiple languages. Easily reach up to 1,000 subscribers and send up to 12,000 emails monthly for free, then scale up to a $50 per month plan with enhanced features like a customizable landing page and email template creator. The free plan includes:
- Offers 1000 subscribers with a total of 12,000 email sends per month
- Built-in photo editing and file management
- Email delivery by timezone and RSS campaigns
- Automated templates that are easy to create and work well for booster club newsletters
MailChimp For Booster Club Emails
Booostr Rating: 4.8 / 5
MailChimp is an excellent beginner booster club email marketing solution that can be scaled up over time as the club grows. It offers a variety of features designed to be easy to use and it saves time by providing powerful report analytics to track email openings, clicks and more. MailChimp is for promoters making it a great booster club marketing tool for small to mid size clubs that send a lot of communications out. This free plan includes:
- A total of 10,000 email sends per month out to 2,000 subscribers
- Promote across numerous channels – email, landing page, pop-up forms, FB & Instagram
- Single-step automation with computer, tablet and smartphone capabilities
Sender Email Marketing Solutions
Booostr Rating: 4.8/5
Sender is a powerful email service provider geared more towards eCommerce but offers a free version that works well for nonprofits. It hosts a compliment of customizable options to make emails and social media posts that pop with colors, images and rich text. There’s cohesive integration with popular eCommerce platforms – like WooCommerce – that offer potential avenues for fundraiser sales. Sender works well for large clubs that heavily promote via their own website. Their free plan provides:
- Allows for 15,000 email sends per month out to 2,500 subscribers
- Automated campaigns to welcome, nurture and grow subscribers
- Advanced email analytics to track and respond to what is or isn’t working
SendInBlue Booster Club Email Marketing Solutions
Booostr Rating: 4.2 / 5
SendInBlue has been in business less than a decade but is a solid platform with plenty of loyal, satisfied subscribers. It’s built as an adaptable email marketing system that goes beyond drop-and-drag customization. One reason for their customer satisfaction is that SendInBlue places data privacy and system security above all else. While the free plan is a little light on the number of email sends allowed per day, it does offer an unlimited number of subscriber contacts in its booster club email marketing solutions structure. A free plan includes:
- Sizable email template library with 300 email sends per day
- Unlimited contacts and plenty of storage space for attributes about them
- Real-time reporting and a quality workflow editor
Benchmark For Email Newsletters
Booostr Rating: 4.5/5
Benchmark is structured for clubs to get the most out of their booster club email marketing solutions setup. It hosts a wide range of user options like drag and drop customization and an a/b email design for side by side comparison of templates. There’s a generous complement of monthly email sends to inform supporters of news and events to continuously grow engagement. Benchmark makes it simple to upgrade over time if needed. The free plan includes:
- Free Plan – 14,000 email sends per month out to 2,000 subscribers
- Simple to use email editor for free users with templates, color schemes and photo editing
- A wealth of education and support resources for creators
AWeber Email Marketing Platform
Booostr Rating: 3.8 / 5
AWeber is a lesser known email marketing software company but is a proven provider since its inception in 1998. Customers praise them for email deliverability designed to hit a recipients inbox, not their spam folder, resulting in more emails being opened. With an online support center that features a how-to video library and user friendly tools like campaign copying and subscriber tagging, AWeber educates and saves time. All of this comes at a cost, however. This is a subscription based service with only a 30 day free trail. But they do offer a 25% nonprofit discount, making this a viable booster club email marketing solutions program. Plans start at $19/month and include:
- Unlimited email sends for up to 500 subscribers – but no forever free plan like other providers
- Easily create emails, use customizable templates or add sign-up forms to the club website
- Store images in their gallery or choose from more than 6,000 stock photos
Constant Contact Email Marketing System
Booostr Rating: 3.8/5
Constant Contact is a juggernaut of the automated email marketing providers, boasting more than 600,000 customers. Now a part of Endurance International Group, Constant Contact continues to place small business and nonprofit relationships as priority one. Useful analytics and easy navigation controls are specific features that help clubs market and grow. Constant Contact is not recommended for smaller clubs as it is a pay-to-play service that includes:
- 60 day free trial – but no forever free plans like other providers
- Plans begin at $20/month but nonprofits receive a 30% discount off annual plan subscriptions
- Data management and segmentation to sync and target contacts by audience type (donors, members, volunteers)
- Fundraising platform integration and an RSVP feature
Deciding upon the best booster club email marketing solution may take some time and even a little trail and error before it’s right. As the list above has shown, the number of options are seemingly endless, and each offer a variety of features that could work well for some clubs and may be insufficient for others. Booster club size, community involvement and annual budget restrictions are important aspects to consider. Discuss the needs of the club with members and officials and be sure to examine past email campaign effectiveness to better forecast the number of future communication sends needed.
If the number of club members is relatively low, chances are there won’t be a large volume of emails to send. Go with a free plan from MailChimp or MailerLite, then scale up as the club’s reach and impact grow. If the club is well established with plenty of donors and followers, the professional services of Constant Contact or AWeber will provide engaging communications with useful fundraising tools and up-to-the minute performance stats.
Still unsure where to begin?
That’s ok, just give it a go. Simply pick any booster club email marketing solutions provider from the top of this list and start learning the basics of effective email marketing. And don’t be afraid to try more than one service, because most are free. Paying for a subscription can come later as the needs of the booster club dictate and allow for it.
