There are several different routes to choose from when seeking an email marketing solution or service provider:

Fully outsourced service
This is where you simply supply an agency with the your message and your list and they take care of the rest.

Custom built system
Some software houses offer a custom solution incorporating all of the features you require. These systems can become obsolete within a few years and are costly to support and implement. With the range of solutions available on the market there should no longer be the need to go down this route.

Web-based ASP Hosted Software
The most popular offering is a web-based solution that users access from their Internet browser. The suppliers servers will handle the delivery and tracking of the emails.

In-house software
The features in an in-house software solution are comparable to web-based software however the software is hosted on the customers server and relies upon their Internet connection to deliver and track the email messages.

When choosing between the different options it is wise to consider the following points to ensure you choose the right option:

1) Pricing model

There are three main pricing models used by suppliers:

Hourly Rate
This is used when you outsource your email marketing campaigns to an agency. This is always going to be the most expensive option although an agencies ehanced knowledge base can enhance your email marketing, providing you with higher open and click-thru rates and a better ROI.

Cost per email
The vast majority of email solutions are priced on a volume basis. While at the lower end of the market this can be cost effective for marketers if you are sending 50,000 or more emails a month the bill starts to reach significant levels.

Licence fee/Flat rate pricing
For high volume users who find the cost per email prohibitive it can be far more cost effective to pay a licence fee for the software or agree a flat rate fee for monthly use of the system without any volume pricing.

2) Deliverability

In the last few years Spam filters have made marketers think about techniques and technologies for getting their email delivered. The most important of these is the IP address the emails are sent from. If an ISP believes the email sent from a particular IP address is Spam then they will block it. Most marketers using a web-based ASP system will share an IP address with other marketers.

This obviously has implications, as you are not in control of whom else is using that IP address. In particular the low-cost ASP solutions are more likely to become Spam blacklisted, as there are a higher ratio of users per server and IP address while less support is given to clients to ensure the IP address remains clean.

While this should not be a major issue for many smaller mailers for anyone sending above 50,000 emails a month it is wise to choose a supplier who can offer you a dedicated IP address. This will ensure you remain in complete control of your mailings.

On top of the Spam blacklist issue the delivery speed is also important. Clearly the more emails that are sent the slower the delivery rate will be. In some cases this can lead to your campaigns being queued for a few hours and your campaigns miss the optimum time for your delivery. Ask your provider about the ratio of customers to every server if you are concerned about speed. Alternatively high volume mailers might wish to invest in in-house software or request a dedicated server from their supplier.

3) In-house skills required

Whether you choose a fully managed service or a self-service solution will depend on the capabilities of the marketing team. If you do not have the skills to develop your own HTML and manage lists then a fully managed service should be the option to choose. There is no point in trying to cut corners if you don’t have the skills as it will only be reflected in the response you generate from your campaigns.

A self-service solution, whether a web-based tool or in-house software is suitable where the skills are in place. A self-service solution will provide cost savings and give you extra control over your email marketing.

4) Reporting

Evaluating each campaign is important if you want to continually improve your email marketing and develop closer relationships with your customers. Look for the following reporting features in a service or solution as a minimum: