Back in the day, choosing an email marketing company was easy. Pretty much every author chose MailChimp, and MailChimp was the best pick for almost everyone.

Sadly, those days are over. 

MailChimp is not the platform it used to be. It has become expensive, hard to use, and it lacks the features that authors need to grow their email lists. Not only has MailChimp gotten worse, but its competitors have gotten much better. 

In this article, you’ll learn about two great alternatives to MailChimp. If MailChimp is the only email marketing service you have ever used, I will introduce you to a beautiful new world. 

I will also teach you an email strategy and how to implement that strategy on the best email platforms. Even if you are happy with your email provider, you will be able to apply these tips.  

Why not just use Outlook to build your email list?

Before we get to the advanced list-building strategies, I need to answer a question new authors ask. ‘Why can’t I use Outlook or Gmail to send my newsletters?”

Sending your newsletter via Outlook or Gmail is bad for five reasons.

* People can’t subscribe or unsubscribe, so you must add them manually.* Adding and removing addresses manually is super time-consuming. * Your email open rate can’t be tracked. Open rate is a key metric traditional publishers consider when evaluating an author’s platform.* Sending mass BCC emails annoys your friends.* It’s potentially illegal, and it’s not in compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act or GDPR.

Don’t use your regular email program for building your author email list. Use an email service provider such as MailChimp, MailerLite, or ConvertKit.

MailChimp vs. MailerLite vs. ConvertKit

I would estimate 80-90% of authors use one of these three email platforms.

MailChimp

Most authors start with MailChimp because they get up to 2,000 subscribers for free. But as of last year, MailChimp has crippled their free plan, making it less than ideal for most authors. 

I was on the fence about MailChimp when these changes first went through. Since then, I’ve worked closely with some of the email service alternatives. I discovered that the alternatives have better free plans, and they are easier to use.  

MailChimp Affiliate Link

MailerLite

While MailerLite doesn’t give you as many free subscribers as MailChimp, it has a fully-featured free plan. When your MailChimp list grows, and you have to start paying, MailerLite is about half the price of MailChimp’s paid plan. 

MailerLite Affiliate Link

ConvertKit

ConvertKit is built specifically for bloggers and authors. MailChimp and MailerLite were built with small businesses in mind, which makes them more complicated for authors.

Since ConvertKit is made specifically for you, it has exactly the features you want and none of the complications you don’t want. It’s more expensive, but for many authors, that added expense is well worth the cost because it’s so easy to use.

ConvertKit Affiliate...