Professionals And Cons You Want To Know

Welcome to our MailerLite evaluation.

MailerLite is considered one of our high suggestions in relation to e-mail e-newsletter software program—however that doesn’t imply it’s the suitable alternative for everybody.

That will help you work out whether or not or not it’s the suitable platform for you, I’ve put collectively an in-depth, sincere evaluation of MailerLite, with every little thing you want to know.

On this evaluation, I’ll take a first-hand take a look at all MailerLite’s principal options, focus on pricing, reveal what I feel its greatest execs and cons are, and far more.

By the point you’re completed studying, you’ll have all the data you want to work out whether or not it’s a great match to your wants. And if not, I’ll additionally recommend some options you’ll be able to attempt as an alternative.

Prepared? Let’s get began.

What’s MailerLite?

MailerLite is marketed as an e-mail advertising and marketing answer. However in actuality, it’s far more than that.

Like most e-mail advertising and marketing providers, it offers you every little thing you want to run subtle e-mail campaigns in a single place.

You should use it to craft stunning e-mail newsletters, construct advertising and marketing workflows, handle and phase your subscribers, clear and optimize your lists, and so on.

However that’s not all.

Except for operating e-mail campaigns, you can too use MailerLite to create touchdown pages, signup kinds, interactive content material, and all the opposite stuff you want to accumulate leads.

Should you needed to, you could possibly even use it to construct your whole web site (full with its personal weblog) from scratch. 

And you could possibly promote digital merchandise and subscriptions via that web site due to MailerLite’s built-in ecommerce options.

At this level, then, MailerLite is extra of an all-in-one advertising and marketing answer than anything. And the platform is continually releasing new options that stretch its performance even additional. 

For instance, in addition they provide an AI writing assistant that will help you craft copy to your emails with the clicking of a button.

We’ll take a more in-depth take a look at all of the issues you are able to do with MailerLite subsequent as we discover its options.

What options does MailerLite provide?

MailerLite comes with a ton of options, together with:

• Drag and drop e-mail builder
• E-mail templates
• Automations
• Transactional emails
• Touchdown pages
• Kinds
• Web site builder
• Running a blog device
• Record administration
• Analytics
• E-mail verifier
• Ecommerce options
• Integrations

Some options are solely included in particular plans. For this evaluation, we’ll primarily be specializing in the core options that include each plan, together with the free model (see our pricing part for extra particulars).

Getting began

If you first log in to MailerLite, you’ll be delivered to your account dashboard:

Right here, below Efficiency Overview, you’ll be able to see a snapshot of probably the most crucial metrics and KPIs associated to your ongoing campaigns, like subscriber counts, e-mail opens and clicks, type signups, and so on.

You may entry all of MailerLite’s options via the sidebar on the left. They’re grouped into 5 principal apps: Campaigns, Subscribers, Kinds, Websites, and Automation.

Let’s take a look at every of those in flip.

Campaigns

The Campaigns app is the place a lot of the enjoyable stuff occurs in MailerLite. 

You should use it to design and ship out newsletters, run A/B exams, and arrange RSS and auto-resend campaigns.

To get began, click on Campaigns > Create new marketing campaign.

Then, select what sort of marketing campaign you wish to create and enter a reputation for it.

On the subsequent window, you’ll be prompted to fill out the essential particulars to your e-mail, together with the topic line.

MailerLite makes it straightforward to personalize your topic strains utilizing customized fields and enhance their clickability with emojis

Should you’re establishing an A/B take a look at, you’ll be able to add two variations of your topic line to match them and see which one has a greater open/click on charge. Alternatively, you can too examine totally different variations of your e-mail content material or From title.

The subsequent step is to design the physique of the e-mail. Thankfully, that is straightforward on MailerLite due to the…

Template gallery

MailerLite has 43 templates in its template gallery so that you can select from, making it fast and simple to construct professional-looking newsletters with out having to design them from scratch.

The out there templates are diversified and canopy plenty of totally different niches and use instances.

For instance, if you wish to ship out an e-mail to get suggestions out of your subscribers, there’s a template for that. Otherwise you wish to ship out an e-mail selling a brand new sale, there’s a template for that too.

The one downside is that MailerLite’s templates are solely out there to customers on paid plans. Should you’re utilizing the free plan, you’ll want to begin from scratch.

When you’ve chosen a template, you’ll be able to customise it within the…

E-mail editor

MailerLite permits you to select the way you wish to design the physique of your emails.

There are three editors to select from: the drag & drop editor, the rich-text editor, and the customized HTML editor.

The drag-and-drop editor offers you extra design flexibility and allows you to craft your emails, fully on the entrance finish, with a real-time preview of the way it’ll look:

From the left-hand aspect, you’ll be able to drag in premade content material blocks.

Then in the primary window, you’ll be able to rearrange blocks, change their settings and styling, and enter your personal textual content.

There are many cool blocks to select from, like countdown timers, picture galleries, social hyperlinks, sharing buttons, product blocks, and so on.

I actually like how straightforward MailerLite’s drag-and-drop editor is to make use of. The interface is clear and easy, and every little thing feels intuitive. 

When you’ve completed designing your e-mail within the editor, you’ll be able to click on Preview and take a look at to view a full-size preview or ship out a take a look at e-mail.

Within the preview window, you’ll be able to change between cellular and desktop views to see the way it’ll look on totally different gadgets. The editor makes use of responsive design so your emails ought to look good on any display screen measurement.

If you’re proud of it, click on Carried out modifying to maneuver on to the subsequent step.

Segmentation

MailerLite permits you to ship emails to particular viewers segments for extremely focused campaigns.

You may create viewers segments from the Subscribers app (extra on this later), after which select to focus on or exclude these segments below Recipients when constructing your marketing campaign.

Alternatively, below the Superior tab, you’ll be able to goal recipients utilizing Filters.

For instance, let’s think about you wish to ship out a 4th of July promotional e-mail, however you solely need it to exit to subscribers within the US.

In that case, you’ll be able to select the Location filter. Then, choose Is > United States of America.

Now let’s say you resolve that you just additionally solely wish to ship the provide out to re-engage subscribers that haven’t opened or clicked your emails shortly. 

In that case, you’d wish to add one other AND situation. And this time, you’d choose the Time inactive filter:

You should use AND/OR circumstances and filters on this solution to arrange extremely subtle, extremely focused campaigns, which is without doubt one of the issues that makes MailerLite so highly effective.

Scheduling

The Schedule window is the ultimate step in establishing your marketing campaign.

Right here, you’ll be able to select once you need the e-mail to exit. 

If you would like it to exit instantly, click on Ship now. In any other case, click on Ship later to decide on a particular time/date, and MailerLite will ship it out mechanically at the moment.

There’s additionally a very neat Ship based mostly on timezones function. If you choose this feature, MailerLite will mechanically alter the sending time for every recipient based mostly on their timezone. 

Subscribers

The Subscribers app is the place you handle your checklist in MailerLite.

Underneath All Subscribers, you’ll be able to add subscribers manually or by importing them from  CSV/TXT file or from Mailchimp.

You can too view a operating checklist of your subscribers right here, alongside primary data just like the date they subscribed, their location, and the variety of despatched emails, opens, and clicks.

To type via them, you should utilize filters. And you’ll click on on any subscriber in your checklist to view detailed details about them and carry out actions on their account. For instance, you’ll be able to manually unsubscribe them, add notes to their file, or export them as a JSON file.

Underneath Segments and Teams, you’ll be able to cut up up your checklist based mostly on shared attributes, after which goal these segments individually in your campaigns.

Underneath the Clear up inactive tab, you’ll be able to take away inactive subscribers out of your checklist mechanically. These are subscribers which have both by no means opened your emails or haven’t opened one in a specified length (e.g. 6 months).

It’s value cleansing up inactive subscribers no less than every year as it will assist to make sure you proceed to get good deliverability in your e-mail campaigns.

Kinds

To construct your e-mail checklist, you should utilize MailerLite’s Kinds app. Simply click on Kinds > Create type to get began.

There are three various kinds of kinds you’ll be able to construct with MailerLite: Pop-ups, Embedded kinds, and Promotions (superior plan solely).

Select the sort you wish to make and title your type, then click on Save and proceed.

Subsequent, you’ll want to decide on what subscriber teams you wish to hyperlink your type to. And after that, you’ll be able to choose a template.

There are two dozen type templates to select from, they usually all look nice:

When you’ve chosen a template, you’ll be able to open it up within the drag-and-drop editor.

As with the e-mail editor, it’s tremendous easy to work with. You may drag blocks for issues like textual content, photos, countdown timers, and social hyperlinks from the suitable, and customise the font, background, and so on. within the Design tab.

You’ll additionally be capable of design each the popup type and the success window from the identical web page.

If you’re completed, click on Preview to see the way it appears to be like or Carried out modifying to maneuver on.

Within the remaining window, you’ll be able to select once you need the pop-up type to seem.

For instance, if you wish to create an exit-intent triggered pop-up, choose the Present earlier than closing web page set off.

If you would like your pop-up to seem when the consumer scrolls beneath the fold, click on the Present when consumer scrolls to… field after which choose the specified share from the dropdown field.

You can too change the visibility settings, schedule, and frequency. When you’re executed, click on Save modifications, and copy-paste the monitoring code snippet over to your web site.

Alternatively, for those who don’t wish to fiddle with code, you should utilize MailerLite’s native Shopify or WordPress plugins so as to add the snippets out of your account mechanically.

Websites

It’s not simply kinds that you would be able to construct with MailerLite. Their touchdown web page builder may create whole web sites.

To take action, open up the Websites app after which click on Create web site.

Then, select whether or not you wish to create a single web page or an internet site (a group of pages with a navigation menu).

Once more, there are a bunch of well-designed templates to select from, which you’ll be able to open up within the drag-and-drop editor (or simply begin from scratch).

The web page/web site editor makes use of the identical simple interface as the e-mail and type editor: drag in blocks and format choices, rearrange and edit them in the primary window, and alter your setting, navigation, headers, footers, and so on. within the sidebar.

Should you’re constructing a web site, you’ll be able to add new pages and rearrange your navigation bar below the Pages tab. You may then shift between pages to edit them individually utilizing the Lively web page dropdown on the high of the web page. It’s all very simple.

When you’ve completed designing your web site, the final step is to vary the web site settings.

You may publish the location/web page to a Mailerpage.io subdomain, or join your personal customized area to create a private URL (paid plans solely).

There are additionally some very primary web optimization settings that you would be able to change right here. For instance, you’ll be able to change the web page’s web optimization title and outline, arrange redirects, and switch Sitemap on to assist with indexing.

Running a blog

Earlier than we transfer on, there’s one particular function of MailerLite’s web site builder that we wish to take a more in-depth take a look at, and that’s the power so as to add a weblog to your web site.

It is a actually neat function as including a weblog to your web site is an effective way to drive natural search site visitors and develop your mailing checklist sooner.

Right here’s the way to do it.

First, open up the web site builder as we outlined above.

Then within the sidebar, click on Pages > Create new.

You’ll see a dropdown checklist of web page varieties: choose Weblog.

This’ll create an archive web page in your web site with a operating checklist of all of your weblog posts. Each web site can have one weblog archive web page.

You may change the web page settings to specify what number of weblog posts to function per row, and per web page. Plus, change different choices like whether or not or to not present featured photos, publish dates, and so on.

So as to add particular person weblog posts, return to the primary dashboard and open up the Websites app once more, then click on the Weblog tab.

Subsequent, click on Create a submit to begin writing. You may add your personal submit title, excerpt, featured picture, and so on. And also you even have the choice of turning on the Clicks heatmap possibility to trace the place your weblog readers click on throughout the web page (this may help with conversion charge optimization).

You’ll write the weblog content material itself within the editor. There are a dozen or so blocks to select from, together with textual content blocks, picture blocks, dividers, tables, movies, columns, and so on.

When you’ve completed writing it, click on Save and publish to publish it instantly. Or alternatively, click on the drop-down arrow and put it aside as a draft, or schedule it for later.

Automation

MailerLite’s Automation app makes it straightforward to construct subtle e-mail advertising and marketing workflows.

To get began, click on Automation within the sidebar, then choose New automation.

There are pre-made templates for all probably the most commonly-used workflows, like welcome e-mail sequences that greet and nurture your new subscribers, win-back sequences that re-engage lapsed subscribers, on-line course campaigns that drip out classes at common intervals, deserted cart automations that mechanically remind clients who don’t full the checkout course of in your web site to complete making their buy, and far more.

You may choose any of those templates to open them up within the workflow builder. Or for those who can’t discover a template that does what you need it to do, you’ll be able to simply begin from scratch.

Should you’ve ever constructed automations earlier than, it’s best to discover MailerLite’s workflow builder straightforward to get the cling of.

You begin by selecting a set off: the factor that you just wish to begin the automation. 

For instance, you may select to set off the workflow to begin when a subscriber completes a type or clicks a hyperlink.

Then, you add steps to your workflow to resolve what occurs subsequent. These steps might be actions, circumstances, delays, or emails.

For instance, your first step when somebody completes a type may very well be to ship them a pre-made welcome e-mail. And on the similar time, you could possibly additionally arrange the workflow to mechanically transfer them to a particular group.

Situations mean you can arrange branching logic and ship totally different subscribers down totally different workflow paths relying on whether or not or not they meet sure circumstances. 

In doing so, you’ll be able to create very complicated and superior automations pretty simply.

Integrations

MailerLite integrates nicely with plenty of different platforms and instruments.

That features all the preferred CMS and web site builders, like:

• WordPress
• WooCommerce
• Shopify
• BigCommerce

You can too join MailerLite to Fb to sync up your mailing checklist with Fb Viewers, and with Zapier to attach it to all the opposite instruments, apps, and providers you utilize to handle your enterprise.

Should you plan on promoting digital merchandise via your MailerLite touchdown pages and web sites, you’ll want to attach your Stripe account too so that you could begin taking funds, which brings us onto…

Ecommerce

We’ve already coated how you should utilize MailerLite to construct touchdown pages and web sites. However in order for you, you’ll be able to go even additional than that and use it to construct a functioning ecommerce retailer, then begin promoting digital merchandise and subscriptions.

To take action, you’ll want to begin by making a product web page/retailer utilizing the Websites app in the identical manner that you just’d construct every other sort of web site or touchdown web page.

Then, so as to add a product, you should utilize the One-time buy block. You could find it within the Blocks tab on the backside of the sidebar within the drag-and-drop editor.

Should you’ve already linked Stripe to MailerLite, your Stripe product checklist ought to mechanically seem contained in the one-time buy content material block, and you’ll then select your product so as to add it to the web page. 

After that, you’ll be able to choose the motion that you just wish to occur after the client makes a purchase order. For instance, you’ll be able to add a post-purchase motion so as to add the client to a particular subscriber group for future concentrating on.

Except for one-off purchases, you can too promote recurring subscriptions for issues like on-line programs, and even paid e-newsletter subscriptions.

To take action, as an alternative of including a one-time buy block, you’ll want to pull within the Recurring buy block to the web page within the editor.

The settings are the identical because the one-time buy block. However you’ll additionally must specify what motion occurs after profitable checkout, and after cancellation of the subscription.

Should you’re promoting a paid e-newsletter subscription, you’ll most likely need the after-purchase motion to be so as to add them to a particular group/phase, which you’ll be able to then ship premium e-mail content material to by way of automation sequences. And the post-cancellation motion could also be to take away them from that group and the automation.

File supervisor

MailerLite additionally has its personal built-in File supervisor that you should utilize to handle all of the visible property you utilize in your emails, touchdown pages, and web sites. You may entry it on the backside of the sidebar.

From right here, you’ll be able to add photos out of your laptop, or import them from a URL, Google Drive, Giphy, Unsplash, or Iconfinder.

Then, you’ll be able to click on any picture within the file supervisor to edit it in MailerLite’s built-in design instruments.

The picture editor is definitely surprisingly subtle. You should use it so as to add filters to your photos, alter the degrees (brightness, readability, publicity, and so on.), change the main target, add textual content, overlays, and frames; and far more.

Different options

We’ve coated most of a very powerful MailerLite options to date, however there’s nonetheless extra you are able to do with it. 

Right here’s an outline of a number of the different options I didn’t have time to cowl in depth (word that some might solely be out there on sure plans):

• Dynamic content material. This function permits you to personalize your emails to point out totally different content material to totally different subscribers based mostly on attributes of their subscriber profiles. For instance, you may select to point out a sure block to recipients from a selected nation or business.
• Desire middle. Superior plan customers can goal their campaigns based mostly on subscriber preferences with the choice middle function. You may let your subscribers choose their very own pursuits and most well-liked cadence/e-mail frequency, enabling you to ship related content material to every curiosity group at a time that they like.
• AI writing assistant. MailerLite’s AI writing assistant makes use of the ability of machine studying to mechanically generate copy to your campaigns on the click on of a button. You simply select your most well-liked tone and enter some preliminary prompts, and the AI will do the remainder.

Now that we’ve explored the platform, let’s speak about pricing.

How a lot does MailerLite value?

There are three MailerLite plans to select from: Free, Rising Enterprise, and Superior. Let’s take a look at every of them.

The Free plan gained’t value you something, however it’s capped at 1,000 subscribers, 1 consumer, and 12,000 month-to-month emails. It comes with a lot of the key options together with the drag-and-drop editor, automation builder, web sites, touchdown pages, and kinds.

The Rising Enterprise plan begins from $10/month. It comes with limitless month-to-month emails, limitless web sites and blogs, and three customers. You get all of the options included within the Free plan plus templates, dynamic emails, auto-resend campaigns, the unsubscribe web page builder, and the power to promote digital merchandise.

The Superior plan begins from $20/month and comes with all of the stuff you get on the Rising Marketing strategy, plus limitless customers, 24/7 dwell chat assist, Fb integration, customized HTML editor, promotion pop-ups, a number of triggers in automations, AI writing assistant, and extra.

Needless to say MailerLite makes use of a subscriber-based pricing mannequin. The price of every plan is determined by the variety of subscribers in your checklist. The costs mentioned above are based mostly on 500 subscribers however you’ll pay extra if the variety of energetic subscribers in your checklist exceeds this restrict, and overages are charged mechanically. 

Except for the above plans, MailerLite additionally provides a transactional e-mail and SMS Service, known as Mailersend. That is priced individually. Annual reductions out there.

There’s a Free Mailersend plan for as much as 3,000 emails and a Premium plan that begins from $30/month (or $24/month billed yearly).

MailerLite execs and cons

After attempting out every little thing MailerLite has to supply, I can let you know that like every platform, it isn’t excellent.

However of all the e-mail platforms I’ve examined, it ticks extra packing containers than every other.

Listed here are the largest execs and cons that stood out throughout my exams for this evaluation:

MailerLite execs

• Broad function set. MailerLite provides extra options out of the field than most different e-mail advertising and marketing instruments, which makes it glorious worth. You get rather a lot to your cash and will use it to handle your whole on-line enterprise for those who had been so inclined. 
• Function-rich free account. The free account helps as much as 1,000 subscribers. Should you’re new to e-mail advertising and marketing, that can be greater than sufficient to get you began. And most options can be found on the free plan.
• Wonderful templates. MailerLite offers you a ton of templates for every little thing: touchdown pages, emails, automations, and so on. They usually’re all nice.
• Straightforward to make use of. MailerLite is a really beginner-friendly platform. It’s simpler to work with than most of its rivals, and also you don’t want any technical expertise or coding information to get began.
• Highly effective automations builder. MailerLite’s automation builder is considered one of its greatest strengths. You should use it to arrange actually subtle campaigns with ease.
• Business-leading e-mail deliverability. MailerLite takes a whole lot of steps to enhance its sender status, so you’ll be able to anticipate glorious deliverability on all of your campaigns. For instance, all accounts need to be authorized in an effort to ship emails. This helps to cease spammers from ruining everybody else’s e-mail supply charges.
• A number of integrations with third-party instruments. It doesn’t matter how good an e-mail platform is for those who can’t combine it along with your touchdown web page & opt-in type instruments. Thankfully, many third-party instruments provide API integrations with MailerLite.

MailerLite cons

• Ecommerce options are very primary. MailerLite remains to be no substitute for an actual ecommerce answer like Shopify or WooCommerce. You should use the acquisition blocks and Stripe integration to promote merchandise, however it’s not very intuitive and lacks subtle promoting instruments like order administration, coupon code era, delivery/tax instruments, and so on. Nonetheless, it’s value remembering that MailerLite is primarily an e-mail e-newsletter device, not an ecommerce platform.
• Touchdown web page and web site builders limitations. MailerLite’s touchdown web page and web site builder isn’t as versatile as another instruments. It makes use of a grid-based system so you’ll be able to’t transfer components round freely, and customization choices are restricted in comparison with ‘actual’ web site builders/CMS platforms like WordPress.

MailerLite options

MailerLite isn’t the one e-mail advertising and marketing software program on the market. Should you don’t suppose it’s the suitable alternative for you, listed below are another e-mail advertising and marketing platforms you may wish to attempt as an alternative:

• Moosend — An e-mail advertising and marketing service that stands out for its ease of use and affordability
• ConvertKit | Our evaluation — An all-in-one advertising and marketing toolkit designed for creators. Use it to design emails, construct touchdown pages and kinds, create automations, and promote merchandise.
• ActiveCampaign — A complicated e-mail advertising and marketing platform and CRM. The beginning worth is just a little larger than MailerLite, however you get what you pay for—it’s one of the vital highly effective platforms available on the market.

Last ideas on MailerLite

That concludes our MailerLite evaluation.

Total, I couldn’t be extra impressed with MailerLite.

It will get high marks throughout the board: It’s straightforward to make use of, extremely feature-rich, highly effective, dependable, and nice worth for cash.

Specifically, I actually like MailerLite’s professionally-designed templates and beginner-friendly e-mail editor.

Nonetheless, even though it now provides an all-in-one function set, it’s nonetheless an e-mail advertising and marketing platform at its core. Whereas it does provide a web site builder and promoting instruments, these aren’t a real substitute for a devoted CMS or ecommerce platform simply but.

If you wish to test MailerLite out for your self, you’ll be able to click on the button beneath to enroll in a free plan.

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Disclosure: This submit comprises affiliate hyperlinks. This implies we might make a small fee for those who make a purchase order.