"Emma" is a loose acronym for "Email Marketing" and also serves as the face behind the company logo to set it apart from the large pool of available email marketing software solutions. At first glance, Emma looks very simple and easy to use. It offers a plethora of features, including custom integrations, complex auto-responders, more than 100 templates, and themed sign-up forms. Many of these features might be overkill for some customers, but the software is organized so that you're not overwhelmed by functionality you don't use (though you can find it easily should the need arise).
For these reasons and more, Emma is on par with Campaigner , our Editors' Choice winner in this email marketing review roundup, though it's a bit more expensive than the others. If you need a plan smaller than one geared for 2,500 subscribers, then MailChimp (Visit Site at Mail Chimp) is our Editors' Choice for basic email marketing software.
Pricing and Features
Creating a Subscriber List
From the main dashboard, you can explore Emma's features by using the tabbed user interface (UI), which includes Audience, Automation, Campaigns, and Response. Under Audience, you can manage subscribers and signup forms. You can also see recent signups from the past week or month. You can import contacts directly from Infusionsoft ($199 per month and up) and Eventbrite, or upload Microsoft Excel and CSV files. I went with the latter option, which went smoothly, though I had to map some fields that Emma didn't recognize (such as birthday and gender). You can then add your contacts to a group or create a new group on the fly. As with RedCappi (10.00 Per Month and Up; Free Plan Available at RedCappi) , you can do other tasks while the upload takes place in the background. I like that you can also add new contact fields, including a date picker, radio button menu, and drop-down menu; you can also see a preview of how the field will look as you build it.
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From the Audience tab, you can also create segmented lists based on audience groups, contact information, response history, or signup/manage preferences history. You can filter your contacts by any field that you collect; Emma also automatically adds a field indicating when they became a contact. If you've set up multiple signup forms, then you can also target users by the form they used.
Speaking of forms, you can build standard forms that are coded into a page on your website or a lightbox form, which pops up after you've been on a website for a certain amount of time and offers access to gated content or a sale if you provide your email address. Emma's team can also create custom forms for you.
Setting Up a Campaign
When you're ready to build a campaign, you can start with a blank template or choose from more than 100 designed templates, which are optimized for mobile and desktop. The templates include holiday, sales, and general content themes as well as collections (such a Welcome series for new subscribers and re-engagement campaigns for customers who haven't interacted in a long time). Oddly, while I was exploring templates, my session timed out and I had to sign in again. Luckily, I hadn't built anything yet so I didn't have to worry about losing work.
For images, you can link your account to your Facebook or Flickr accounts, or upload your own photos and save them to your library. Whether you choose a blank or designed template, the builder uses a drag-and drop UI with the usual elements: images, videos, and social buttons. You can also add up to three image blocks at a time. If you're not sure about your subject line, then you can have Emma conduct an A/B test, choosing a winner based on open rates from a small segment of your subscribers. When you're ready to send your campaign, Emma proofs it for common issues such as broken links and spam triggers.
If you're working with sub-accounts, as the administrator you can upload assets such as templates and images and share them with any or all sub-accounts. You have full control over which features sub-accounts can access.
Auto-responders are managed under the Automation tab. Here, you can create workflows triggered by certain actions such as when a contact signs up, updates his or her information, clicks on a link, or for a birthday, anniversary, or another date-based event. When that trigger occurs, you can automatically send contacts a particular campaign either immediately or in a specified number of hours, days, or weeks afterward.
Tracking a Campaign
Campaign statistics, found under the Responses tab, are where Emma really sets itself apart from the pack. Not only can you see open rates and click rates, you can view a heat map of your campaign to see which elements got the most engagement. You can drill down to specific link clicks in the campaign and then save that as a user segment (people who clicked on the sale button). Each mailing receives a mailing score based on engagement. You can easily compare campaigns and export that data to a Microsoft Excel or PDF file for sharing with clients and colleagues. You can also connect Emma to Google Analytics. In my testing, email opens showed up immediately on my dashboard.
Emma offers several ways to get help and advice. You can call support on weekdays between 5AM and 7PM (CST). There's also email support, an online community in whch you can interact with Emma employees and other users, and a searchable resource center with Help articles and videos.
Complex But Easy-to-Use Software
It's hard to set yourself apart in the large sea of email marketing software, but Emma manages to do just that with an approachable UI and generous features and customizations. From contact management to auto-responders to well-designed templates, Emma's features are great for companies small and large. But, if your contact list is well under 2,500 and you don't need a lot of advanced features, then consider Editors' Choice MailChimp, which offers a free plan and paid plans for as few as 500 subscribers.
Emma is versatile email marketing software with a personalized touch, and its features are suitable for both small and large companies.
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