Templates are a useful tool that many email marketing software providers usually include with their subscription plans. Templates allow you to quickly format an email intended for your audience, including images, content, calls to action and links. The way an email is arranged can significantly affect how recipients engage with your content (or if they engage with it at all), so it is important to optimize your email marketing campaign by choosing the right template.
Here is a closer look at some of the best email marketing templates available and the software that supports them.
1. Mailchimp
Mailchimp is one of the most popular email marketing services out there. It's used by small and medium-sized businesses to create eye-catching, informative, and effective marketing email campaigns.
It's a good choice for smaller businesses that are in the beginning stages of email marketing and want an appealing template that is also easy to customize and not too expensive but still comes with all of the features they need for the campaign to be successful.
Editor's note: Looking for the right email marketing service for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs.
Features
Mailchimp isn't just for newbie businesses that are starting to send marketing emails to boost sales. If you are an established business and want to let people know what's going on at your company, or if you want to check-in with your customers, Mailchimp has what you need. Here are some key features of this service:
- Multiple marketing email template options
- Predesigned marketing email themes for specific things like an event, sale announcement or appointment reminder
- Email insights and analytics
The above features are all crucial for an effective email marketing campaign. A well-designed template is the first step.
Price
One of the biggest advantages of using Mailchimp is there is a completely free option that gives you access to the platform's basic email marketing templates. While you might not get all of the bells and whistles with a free plan, it's a good way to try out the service before committing to one of its paid plans. Let's compare the different pricing plans:
Plan | Price | Key features |
Free | $0 per month |
|
Essentials | Starting at $9.99 per month |
|
Standard | Starting at $14.99 per month |
|
Premium | Starting at $299 per month |
|
2. Constant Contact
Constant Contact is a great option not only for small businesses, but businesses of all sizes. One of the best uses of Constant Contact is sending email newsletters, as their templates can be customized with your brand's colors, fonts, photos, etc.
There are e-commerce options as well; whether you sell a physical product or a digital download, Constant Contact has a template to suit your campaign.
Features
If you prefer low- or no-code software, Constant Contact has everything you need to create the marketing email of your dreams without a lick of programming knowledge. Constant Contact offers:
- Responsive templates
- Customized templates
- Email list segmentation
- Email tracking and reporting
If you want to test out the service before committing to it, Constant Contact offers a 60-day free trial. Its paid plans are reasonably priced, so you won't break the bank trying to grow your business. Here is a side-by-side comparison of the plans Constant Contact offers:
Price
Plan | Price | Key features |
Free Trial | Free for 60 days | All of the features included in the Email plan |
$20 per month |
| |
Email Plus | $45 per month | All of what's listed above, plus:
|
3. Benchmark Email
Benchmark Email has options for small business owners who have some HTML experience, as well as those who have none. One thing to keep in mind, though, is that Benchmark's pricing is based on the number of contacts you have and how many emails you want to send each month.
Features
Here are the key features of Benchmark's email marketing service:
- Drag-and-drop email builder
- Responsive email templates
- RSS email templates
- HTML editor
- Photo editing
- Color customization
- A/B testing
Price
As mentioned earlier, Benchmark's pricing is based on the number of contacts you have; for the purpose of this list, the prices below are based on 500 contacts.
Plan | Price | Key features |
Free | $0 per month |
|
Pro |
|
4. Sendinblue
Sendinblue is one of the more economical choices for small businesses because there is no limit on the number of lists or contacts you can have. That means you won't pay extra if you gain thousands of subscribers. Sendinblue also has a library of email templates, as well as a drag-and-drop editor if you want to create an email with a more customized design.
Features
Sendinblue's features are very similar to those offered by other email marketing template services, but Sendinblue organizes everything clearly and provides step-by-step instructions. If you don't have a lot of experience designing and sending marketing emails, Sendinblue is a very user-friendly option for small businesses. Here's what you get with Sendinblue:
- Drag-and-drop editor
- Email template library
- From scratch email design
- Email personalization
- Unlimited lists and contacts
- A/B testing
One of the best features of Sendinblue is the unlimited lists and contacts. You pay one price no matter how many contacts your email list has. This is great for small businesses that expect their email list to grow but don't want to have to pay more money when that happens.
Price
As we mentioned above, all plans come with unlimited contact storage. While the free plan has a daily email limit, the other plans do not. You will, however, have to pay more based on how many total emails per month you want to send. Here's an overview of its plans and the features included in each tier:
Plan | Price | Key features |
Free | $0 per month |
|
Lite | $25 per month for 10,000 emails | Everything in the Free plan and
|
Premium | $65 per month for 20,000 emails | Everything included in Free and Lite, plus:
|
Enterprise | Custom quote |
|
5. ConvertKit
At first glance, it may seem like ConvertKit doesn't have much to offer in the way of templates. However, there is so much customization you can do within each template, that it's almost like you're creating your very own email from scratch, with the help of a guide. If you want to code your own emails, you can do that, too.
ConvertKit could be overwhelming for a small business owner who is brand new to email marketing. ConvertKit's pricing model is similar to services like Benchmark, where your monthly payment is determined by how many contacts you have, which could be a deterrent for some users. However, if you're looking for highly customizable templates, ConvertKit might be the email marketing services best suited for you.
Features
Here are the features you get with ConvertKit:
- Landing page templates
- E-commerce templates
- Email designer
- Email signup form templates
- Marketing automations
- Integrations
Price
ConvertKit is another service where rates fluctuate depending on how many contacts or subscribers you have. For the purpose of this list, all prices are based on up to 1,000 subscribers. Here's a closer look at the cost of ConvertKit's three plans and the features included in each tier:
Plan | Price | Key features |
Free | $0 per month |
|
Creators | $29 per month | Everything included in Free, plus:
|
Creator Pro | $59 per month | Everything included in Free and Creator, plus:
|
6. ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign offers more than 25 professional-looking email templates you can choose from. ActiveCampaign's pricing is similar to Benchmark's in that what you pay each month is based on how many subscribers or contacts you have. There's an additional complication and that is the type of business you operate (e-commerce, digital business, B2B company) also impacts pricing. More about that below.
Features
As far as templates go, you're probably best served by selecting the "Inspiration" tab within the platform. There, you'll find premade email templates that you can customize to suit your campaign.
Below are a few more key features of ActiveCampaign:
- Email segmentation
- Subscription forms
- Dynamic content
- Split testing
Price
ActiveCampaign's pricing is based on the number of subscribers and whether your business is a digital business, B2B company, or e-commerce business. Below is an overview of ActiveCampaign's plans and features. The prices below are based on a hypothetical business that is a digital business with a list of 500 contacts:
Plan | Price | Key features |
Lite | Starting at $9 per month |
|
Plus | Starting at $49 per month | Everything in Lite, plus:
|
Professional | Starting at $129 per month | Everything in Lite and Plus, plus:
|
Enterprise | Starting at $229 per month | Everything in Lite, Plus, and Pro, plus:
|