Jimmy ParkerActiveCampaign is an effective email marketing platform that gives incredible value due to its affordable pricing plans. It can take a while to adjust to the system, which is why it’s recommended for those who have time to focus on making maximum use of analytics, automation, and internal contact database. But is it the right email marketing tool for you? Let’s find that out!
Note: ActiveCampaign only has a landing page builder, so if you’re looking for a complete website builder, have a look at our best website builders in Canada and best website builders in Australia articles.
Table of Contents
Pros of ActiveCampaign
- The CRM is fully integrated with the automation that can increase efficiency in your company
- Machine learning can improve your marketing performance over time
- The range of features is extensive for the most advanced users
- Fantastic email delivery immediately
- Price upfront with no setup charges
- CRM feature
- SMS marketing campaigns
- Predictive email scheduling
Cons of ActiveCampaign
- Support hours are not always available
- No support by phone on Lite and Plus plans
ActiveCampaign Overview
ActiveCampaign is an incredibly flexible email marketing platform as well as a CRM with features such as automated scheduling, SMS marketing, and smart calendars. But one drawback is that it can be costly when you have a significant quantity of clients.
If you’re in search of the top marketer for email software, it’s worth having an examination of ActiveCampaign. There are definitely features you will like since this software provides a variety of sophisticated options like lead scoring, automation, and machine learning-based email scheduling. The downside is that it could be costly if you have a lot of contacts. In this email marketing service review of ActiveCampaign, we’ll discuss the essential information you should learn about the platform.
Pricing and Plans
ActiveCampaign offers four levels of plans. These plans differ in cost based on how many contacts you’ve got. The Lite plan begins at just $9 per month if you pay annually to receive discounted rates (or $15 per month without the discounts for the year) for 500 people. This plan’s lowest level offers unlimited email addresses and marketing automation tools. However, it only has a single user account.
For the annual price, the Plus plan is $49 per month, which covers 500 contacts or $70 per month on a monthly basis. The price is offered for up to 25K contacts. This raises the monthly cost to $379which includes the discount for the year. This plan also includes contact and lead score, marketing via SMS, and integrations. Plus subscribers also receive up to 25 user accounts when you subscribe to the Plus subscription.
The Professional plan begins at $149 per month if paid annually, or $187 if monthly with a minimum of 500 contacts. This plan comes with machine learning-based features, such as automatic email schedulers and winning prediction. Additionally, it comes with one-on-one training sessions as well as at least 50 user accounts.
If you require unlimited user accounts 24/7 phone support or custom branding in the application, there is an Enterprise option available. However, there is no price and a customized quote is required.
Features
ActiveCampaign stands out in that it provides its users with features that most other email marketing solutions do not have. An excellent example can be SMS marketing. It connects people via text messaging instead of email.
The machine-learning-based features that are part of this platform distinct. By using predictive messaging, you are able to monitor the time when your contacts are opening your emails for marketing. In subsequent campaigns, the software automatically forwards your email at the right moment to boost engagement.
The likelihood of turning an email lead into a buyer is also tracked by ActiveCampaign. Scores are either positive or negative. given to the program according to how often contacts engage with your content for instance when they register for a webinar or do not respond to your emails. If you have a large number of customers this can make it easier to focus efforts on the ones most likely to contribute to profitability.
Automation
Automation: what a fantastic practical thing. How? Let’s say the contacts are on two different lists. Certain have signed up to receive deals, while others have signed up to receive industry news. What if you wanted to inform everyone on your industry information list about your business in a non-intrusive manner?
You could tell them, “Click here to fill out another form to get the best deals on services in the taco-making industry!” But it would be tedious and frustrating for the person reading it. Many people will leave the process before they have read “another form.” So… Don’t do this. There’s a better approach.
The automation tools of ActiveCampaign allow users to create a procedure that takes place in a way. For instance, you could include a link saying, “Want to find the most competitive prices on leashes as well as other dog-walking equipment? Register now!” That last part could be a CTA button.
The link will lead a visitor to a landing site that reads, “Thank you, you’ll be getting the best deals now!” In the meantime, if you’re using ActiveCampaign the email address of the person who clicked the link is transferred into your email list of customers who wish to receive email updates about sales. While you’re waiting you can send an automated confirmation email with the message “It’s wonderful to be with you! The first email you receive will be about special offers next week. If you’ve signed up for the wrong reason This is how you can unsubscribe.”
This all happens without even lifting one finger, so long as you’ve got that automation workflow set up. Need an additional illustration?
If you don’t wish to create a process by hand, you can use more than 250 templates for automation (plus duplicates in a variety of languages) such as abandoned cart emails followed-up emails with specific content, and tagging customers who are interested in certain products and many more.
The interface for automation is modern and adaptable. You can share your automation recipe among others ActiveCampaign users and then import their recipes as well. Since there’s a large community of users on ActiveCampaign, it could save you a lot of time.
It is worth noting that certain features such as automated workflows that rely on SMS messages are only available on more expensive plans.
Email Campaigns, Templates, and Personalization
Of course, you can send out email-based campaigns (this will be a shorter article if you could not). In addition, you could also be able to advertise to people using SMS, although you’ll have to be on the Plus plan to do that.
Social media marketing can be achieved by using the many add-on applications that are available to all ActiveCampaign users.
Email campaigns come in several varieties: First, you’ve got your standard email campaigns. Simply design an email and then send it to your contacts list. You can then create campaigns that are based upon automated procedures, design autoresponders, create split (A/B) testing campaigns (sort of) and send out emails when the RSS feed updates or create calendar-based emails for birthdays, anniversaries, etc.
There are more than 125 templates for an email to pick from, but you could start from scratch or make use of a basic template if you prefer. If you are concerned about making sure that your design fits with your brand to the best extent you can, almost-blank start points are great.
In terms of some of the most “designed” options, all of the choices are modern and flat. They’re basic designs that won’t hinder your work but aren’t likely to be spectacular or awe-inspiring. But, it’s email. It is important for people to be looking at the text, not at you in amazement.
Oh, and all the templates are responsive and mobile-screen-friendly. This is a huge positive.
However, if you’re looking for a wild you can build or import customized HTML templates. If you truly are concerned about your personal style guide then you can hire someone to create email templates specifically for you.
The email editor is a drag-and-drop job using predefined blocks of content which can be added in any order you’d like. The colors can be easily customized however fonts are likely to be limited, based on your template selected. Select wisely.
You can also add images, text videos, buttons, text social hyperlinks, HTML code, or perhaps even you can add an RSS feed to your emails. So, you’re in control. You can also perform basic editing, such as cropping on the images you upload. Some templates have stock images, however, there’s no stock image library. It is recommended for you to create your own pictures for these templates anyway.
The final note on this is The email preview can be set to the width of your preview email to see how it appears on different sizes of screens. That’s good. The support offered for right-to-left (RTL) languages such as Hebrew or Arabic is very restricted. It is only available in the raw HTML blocks or custom HTML templates. So if you’re planning to use these languages, you’ll need to know some basic programming.
Setup
Beginning using ActiveCampaign is made easy by the checklist that is launched upon your first login to the service. The checklist guides you through the fundamentals of the import of contacts, including integrations, to creating campaigns.
To transfer your contacts, begin by uploading the CSV database or setting up an account with over 800 other CRM and email marketing software platforms, including SalesForce, WordPress, and Google Analytics. You can also create an unlimited number of custom tags that you can create in the process of creating the scoring model for your leads as well as contacts. This will help you remain well-organized.
Performance
For the various tools ActiveCampaign comes with, we found the program well-organized and simple to use.
When you’ve created an email campaign, it is possible to filter or separate lists to include only contacts. In addition, this platform includes an extremely flexible drag-and-drop designer we’ve seen. With a lot of control over what each element is displayed and displayed, you are able to decide which block to make only accessible to contacts who satisfy certain criteria.
When you are putting together an automated marketing system it is possible to choose from hundreds of templates to pick. We like that the visual design is easy to use and offers very flexible triggers and responses. As an example linking ActiveCampaign to a third-party application such as Slack and sending messages whenever a tag on contact is updated is possible quickly.
The most notable thing missing from ActiveCampaign is an instrument for making landing pages. This program supports extremely customizable forms, however, they did not include the integrated design of your personal landing pages. Instead, you have to return to your personal web designing software which we’re dissatisfied with, or sign up for Pages which comes at an extra cost.
Security
While ActiveCampaign is very concerned about security and provides a few levels of protection, the details about it aren’t prominently displayed. For users, the ability to enable two-factor authentication for each account is an accepted best practice. On the other side, ActiveCampaign has an in-house security team who continuously searches for weaknesses within the company’s digital infrastructure more quickly than anyone else. You can also rest assured that the company is HIPAA-compliant. It also makes the SOC 2 report public to alleviate any concerns about security.
Customer Support Support
Assistance is available to ActiveCampaign via email through the portal or via live chat. Its hours in operation within the US are Monday through Thursday between 6 am and 11 pm, CST. On Fridays between 6 am and 5:30 pm, CST which means that there will be no assistance on weekends and during holidays.
All accounts come with no-cost migration when you’re moving from another CRM or marketing service. In addition, Professional customers receive one-on-one training sessions. Enterprise customers receive free telephone assistance that’s not available in lower tiers. We would like to see additional methods for support, including an email directly to the user as well as the hours as well as days for support.
The company also offers an extremely comprehensive online knowledge base which includes videos and a community forum. The help articles we read were extremely thorough as well as a number of webinars such as “Accelerated Onboarding,” and “The Digital Study Hall.”
We contacted them through their Live Chat as seen above although the representative connected quite quickly, it took approximately four minutes to respond to our question from beginning to end. In addition, the response was an article link that we could prefer a more specific response.
The most effective ActiveCampaign alternatives
As ActiveCampaign isn’t the best choice for all Here are some alternatives that include all the essential features that you’ll need to use to carry out effectively with email marketing.
MailChimp vs. ActiveCampaign
Mailchimp has become the multibillion-dollar elephant within the marketing of emails and has grown into a complete toolkit for businesses. Although it isn’t able to do certain tasks as effectively as ActiveCampaign does, it makes the upside with its simplicity and is free for lists of a small size.
- Postcards to entice customers
- Facebook Ads Management
- Pages for landing
- A free plan that is less than 2000 contact
Sendinblue vs. ActiveCampaign
Sendinblue is a good option if you’re interested in sending out email newsletters, but don’t need the sophisticated features offered with ActiveCampaign. Although they can do this but it’s not as sophisticated as ActiveCampaign (read more about the complete Review here). If I hear of Sendinblue I imagine newsletters and transactional emails, which it excels.
- Marketing via SMS
- Excellent tool to send transactional emails
- Basic CRM
- Very simple to utilize the email newsletter creator
ConvertKit vs. ActiveCampaign
ConvertKit is mostly focused on creators, and its automated features aren’t ideal for eCommerce businesses. ConvertKit compensates by providing additional features for education and resources to help new creators get started.
- A clear and helpful report
- Form builder with decent quality
- Free plan
- Pages that land on the page
GetResponse vs. ActiveCampaign
It started out as an autoresponder tool and newsletter program however it has evolved to become an entire online marketing toolkit. It comes with a useful funnel marketing feature that includes webinars and landing pages and Facebook Ads integrations. Stipe integrations as well as an online storefront and much more.
- A clear report throughout the entire funnel
- Tools for creating Facebook ads
- Prebuilt templates that can be used for all features
- Free plan
- All your marketing needs can be managed from the same place
Keap vs. ActiveCampaign
Keap (formerly Infusionsoft) is an email marketing tool that combines CRM. It also handles your customer service it manages your checkout pages, landing pages, and even your Affiliate marketing programs. Take a look at this list of the top email tools that support affiliate marketing. Although it’s a good tool, however, it’s a bit complex and requires quite a while to master.
- Text messages and business line
- Marketing automation
- Booking an appointment
- Sales CRM
- Invoices and payment
Hubspot vs. Activecampaign
Let’s now compare ActiveCampaign with HubSpot. HubSpot is more than ActiveCampaign in terms of inbound marketing. It comes with a complete set of tools that can help you improve your organic traffic and converts.
My opinion is that ActiveCampaign is a superior automation and email marketing tool however Hubspot is just larger with more features and is significantly more expensive.
- Pages for landing
- Marketing automation
- Create websites (CMS)
- Live chat
- Free CRM
Conclusion
ActiveCampaign is an online platform that has lots of power as it blends the best elements of email marketing with a CRM. We love the distinctive features, including automated email scheduling and SMS marketing, and do a good job using common tools such as the automation of marketing and design for emails.
The biggest negative of this particular platform is the high cost. The Professional or Plus plans could be priced at hundreds of dollars a month for a tiny quantity of contacts.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is ActiveCampaign superior to Mailchimp?
Yes, but just! In our tests, ActiveCampaign has rated 4.6 points out of five and Mailchimp received 4.5 points out of five all-in-all. This is why we recommend choosing based on the features you require. For instance, Mailchimp is better for companies that sell online, while ActiveCampaign offers more price-to-value.
Does ActiveCampaign offer a free service?
There’s no need to worry; ActiveCampaign doesn’t have a free plan. Instead, it comes with an initial 14-day trial for free which allows you to take it for a spin before committing to a premium plan. All you require is an email address and a password – without details about your payment or billing to start.
Do I require coding skills to make emails using ActiveCampaign?
No! You don’t require any programming skills to make amazing emails using ActiveCampaign. It features a drag-and-drop email builder. So no matter if you’re using an existing template or creating it from scratch, you’ll be able to just click and drag to build your email. You can also use HTML however only if you’d like to.
Are you able to use ActiveCampaign user-friendly?
ActiveCampaign is simple to use since the interface is user-friendly which makes navigation easy. The platform offers hundreds of templates you can use to create marketing automation as well as email campaigns The drag-and-drop editor is easy to master. The platform also offers easy-to-access tutorials and guides to assist you.
What are the benefits of using ActiveCampaign?
ActiveCampaign is the best choice for marketers who are advanced and require top-of-the-line automation features and would like to use machine learning. It’s also an excellent choice to collaborate with sales teams since it offers the ability to score leads and calculate win probability, and e-commerce capabilities.
What is ActiveCampaign do?
ActiveCampaign is a user-friendly customer experience automation platform. It offers email marketing that helps you reach out to and nurture users, workflows that are automated that reduce hours, CRM software that aids in building relationships, and e-commerce software to help you generate revenues. If you’re interested in exploring it ensure you go through our coupon codes for email marketing in order to save some cash on the ActiveCampaign plan.
Is ActiveCampaign an excellent marketing email service?
ActiveCampaign is among our top options for email marketing because it offers hundreds of beautiful templates, and maps of visual automation and is perfect regardless of your previous experience with email marketing. If you’re new to the field it is possible to take advantage of the 14-day trial offer. Alongside sending emails, the program comes with strong sales automation capabilities and integrations with more than 300 applications.