Email marketing is a great way to build a stable customer base. The list of email subscribers remains intact until they unsubscribe of their own will. If you’re looking for a comprehensive email marketing service that offers all the bells and whistles, you should definitely check out ActiveTrail. It is a powerful email marketing software that provides users with everything they need to create and send effective emails, track their performance, and improve their conversions. In this detailed ActiveTrail review post, we will take a closer look at what ActiveTrail is, how it works, its features, and the different pricing plans available.
We’ll also discuss the pros and cons of using ActiveTrail so that you can decide if it’s the right platform for your business.
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ActiveTrail Review: What is ActiveTrail?
ActiveTrail is an all-in-one email marketing platform that helps businesses grow their online presence and increase sales. With ActiveTrail, you can easily create beautiful emails using the drag-and-drop editor, track your results with detailed reports, and automate your email marketing to save time.
ActiveTrail also offers a wide range of features to help you engage your subscribers and improve your conversions, such as marketing automation, SMS campaigns, and feedback surveys.
ActiveTrail started its services in 2004 from Israel and slowly expanded its wings into other countries like the US, Germany, France, and Latin America.
How does ActiveTrail work?
ActiveTrail is easy to use and doesn’t require any technical skills. It is a cloud-based platform and can be easily accessed from any desktop and location. Simply sign up for a free trial account for 30-days and you’ll be able to access all the features and create your first campaign in minutes.
Once you have created an account, just add your contacts, create email groups, select a template from the library and then customize it to match your brand. Once you’re happy with your design, you can add your content and start sending emails.
ActiveTrail also offers a wide range of integrations so that you can connect your email campaigns with the rest of your marketing stack.
We’ll go one by one on some of the important ActiveTrail features below.
ActiveTrail Features
Email marketing campaigns – You can create and run an effective email marketing campaign using ActiveTrail’s software. This software is inclusive of:
Email templates: ActiveTrail’s email designer has a wide range of templates to choose from, or you can create your own custom template. The numbers are not overwhelming (a few dozen to be precise) but these templates are noteworthy and can suit many types of businesses.
The templates are customizable which means you can tweak, and amend the design, colors, pattern, and text according to your choice.
To a user’s delight, ActiveTrail has a dedicated image editor that lets you edit pictures/images. You can resize, crop, and enhance the appearance of your existing images and insert them into your emails.
Email personalization: You can also add personalization fields, such as the recipient’s first name or last purchase date using ActiveTrail’s personalization tool.
This tool also lets you use multiple email subject lines, select specific fields such as birthday, anniversary, city, etc. and write dynamic content to make your subscribers feel closer to you.
Email triggers: You can also set up triggers based on your subscriber’s action. For example, if one of your subscribers clicked on the link you shared in your email, you can create a trigger based on the details and follow up again with the same subscriber to complete the action.
This will help you achieve higher conversions that can lead to more revenue.
Contact management and Segmentation: ActiveTrail’s contact management is another great feature that you can use to import your contacts from a variety of sources and then segment them into different lists.
The contact management feature from ActiveTrail is very helpful in organizing your list of subscribers. Whether you are just beginning with zero contacts or a pro with 100s of subscribers, ActiveTrail allows you to create a new one or import an existing list with ease.
The importing feature works with Excel, and CSV formats that you can use to bulk upload your contacts from an internal CRM system or generic email services like Gmail, Yahoo, etc.
You can also add custom fields to your contacts based on their interests, demographics, category, etc., and use the data to create a well-organized list of subscribers to whom you can send targeted emails.
The group can be further segmented based on your recipient’s action taken on your emails. You can choose to filter individuals who clicked the emails, opened the campaigns, when, and how they did it. ActiveTrail provides this data for the last 90-days adhering to which you can plan and execute future campaigns.
A/B testing: ActiveTrail allows you to test your email campaigns with its A/B testing feature. With this feature, you can create two versions of emails that can be sent to two different email groups.
ActiveTrail lets you create emails based on appearance and content so that you can test which one works best. These emails can be sent to a limited group of subscribers and after analyzing the test results the email software automatically highlights the version that performed best.
This way ActiveTrail helps you improve your email creation capability and provides vital info on what should be included in a particular email that increases conversions.
Email delivery: The delivery of emails work on an automation feature created by ActiveTrail called ‘Predictive Delivery’. This feature enables ActiveTrail’s email marketing software to observe and record the email opening time, and instances by your subscribers.
Based on this historical data, the email software will send emails to your subscribers at their preferred time of checking emails. This will ensure that your emails are delivered and have the best chance of getting opened and read.
It will certainly help your campaign gain visibility and improve engagement. To work with this feature, you just have to enable it in the Email summary screen.
Predictive delivery is not the only option to send emails. You can also customize and choose your own schedule and hours for sending personalized emails to your subscribers.
The delivery of emails is further strengthened by ActiveTrail’s adoption of an anti-spam policy. All the emails sent through the ActiveTrail channel carry an ‘Unsubscribe’ link which let users decide whether to receive your emails or not. This makes sure that your emails reach only the active inboxes and not the spam folders.
Landing pages/Sign-up forms – ActiveTrail offers a dedicated landing pages section to convert your products/services into sales and revenue. The landing page creator comes with a drag-and-drop editor and 100+ professionally-designed templates.
You can choose the pre-built templates or create your own design using the HTML editor. You can further edit the templates by simply dragging and dropping the elements. There are blocks containing text, images, social network buttons, and call-to-action buttons.
Landing pages are perfectly supported by lead-generating sign-up forms. These forms are pre-designed and can be customized to fit your landing page format. You can also set a specific time and location for your landing page appearance.
Once created, you can incorporate the landing page onto your website, or social media profiles by just pasting a simple code. The great thing about ActiveTrail landing pages is they are mobile-responsive which means regardless of the size and design, users can easily view them and take action on the go.
Marketing Automation – Marketing automation is one of the flagship features of ActiveTrail. If you don’t have time and want to focus more on building your business rather than sending emails you can transform your email campaign steps into an automated workflow.
You can create multiple workflows that are trigger-based and includes segmentation. For example, if you want to send a welcome email and follow it up with another series of emails you can do so using an automation setup instead of sending it manually.
The automation is equipped with templates that get activated on triggers or segmentation you have assigned to a specific workflow.
Some of the common triggers are when you have a new subscriber who registers with a sign-up form, opened a campaign, clicked on a link, or celebrates an event such as a birthday, anniversary, etc.
Once the first trigger is activated, ActiveTrail will take action by sending an email. The system will wait for another trigger event to happen in a day or two as per the setup and follow up with another email/SMS. The messages will continue to flow till the last step of your workflow is achieved.
The automation feature will be key to relieving you from performing repetitive email campaign steps and improving engagement at a personal level.
SMS Marketing – Mobile messaging is another effective way to communicate with your audience. To capture this advantage, ActiveTrail offers SMS marketing where you can set up an SMS campaign just like an email campaign to remain in touch with your audience.
There is a dedicated SMS section in the ActiveTrail dashboard. To send an SMS, you have to create a campaign name, sender’s name, and message. The SMS is formatted with an Unsubscribe link button to remain spam compliant.
The next step is to add contacts. The SMS campaign will work for subscribers who have provided their contact numbers. This can be done manually one-by-one or by selecting a list of members who have opted for SMS services.
Lastly, you can choose to send the SMS immediately or schedule them according to user preferences.
Integrations – Integrations are very important in utilizing your existing resources and adding new ones. ActiveTrail doesn’t disappoint in this section.
As claimed by the platform itself, it integrates with more than 100 platforms/apps/marketplaces. Some of the renowned ones are Zapier, WooCommerce, Magento, Shopify, Salesforce, WordPress, Google Analytics, PayPal, social media platforms like Facebook, and even your own e-commerce store.
While you can use ActiveTrail’s standard user interface to connect with your desired channel, it also offers an API option to program the integration. API is a useful feature to integrate with external/third-party websites, CRMs, etc.
The process of using API requires some sort of technical knowledge and is more inclined towards developers/coding operators but it is an added advantage to create a link between ActiveTrail and other channels.
There is whole documentation on using API for integration which you can use if you are not tech-savvy.
Online surveys – ActiveTrail has another great feature in the form of surveys. The surveys reflect the inner satisfaction of your subscribers and provide valuable feedback on improving your campaigns further.
ActiveTrail offers a list of questions including open-ended, single select, multi-select, and personal info questions. You can also choose matrix of choice or net promoter score options to obtain feedback.
The survey option is part of general settings. To set up a survey, you have to provide a survey name, title, and introduction message. Once the survey is submitted, you can set up a thank you message followed by survey questions. You can select one of the question types from the drop-down that will display the relevant questions.
The survey page is customizable. You can design a header, add content by selecting specific fonts, and colors, include a background image, and end with a thank you message to make it more engaging.
You can conclude the survey by assigning participants, duration, and closing date. All the responses and feedback can be tracked and viewed through survey statistics.
Real-time reporting and analytics – With ActiveTrial, you can track and monitor the progress and performance of your email and SMS campaigns.
ActiveTrail provides real-time reports and data on some of the must-have aspects of your email campaign. The reporting includes emails/newsletters sent, open and click rates, unsubscribes, and error or complaints percentages.
There are multiple types of reports that can be filtered and generated based on users, campaigns, A/B split testing, device-based, google analytics integration, goals, etc.
ActiveTrail Pricing
ActiveTrail offers a variety of pricing plans to suit businesses of all sizes.
–The Basic plan starts at $8/month and includes up to 500 contacts, unlimited emails, landing pages, automation, sign-up forms, surveys, segmentation, API integration, A/B testing, reporting & analytics, chat & email support for 1 user.
–The Plus plan starts at $11/month for 500 contacts with all the basic plan features along with social media integration, mobile app, predictive delivery, and enhanced security for 10 users.
–The Premium plan starts at $298/month for 500 contacts and includes everything in the Plus plan along with a dedicated account manager, setup, migration, onboarding, on-demand training, and priority support for unlimited users.
All the pricing plans are calculated based on the number of contacts you have and the features required. The pricing increases with the increase in the number of contacts and you can pay the charges annually.
SMS marketing has a separate pricing plan. It starts at $0.82 per SMS ($41 for 500 SMS) and there are different packages you can choose from.
The pricing plans from ActiveTrail are very competitive and offer transparency, and flexibility for every business need.
Is ActiveTrail worth its pricing?
ActiveTrail is a great platform for small, and medium-sized businesses looking to grow their online presence and increase sales. Apart from the basic email marketing features, it has a powerful marketing automation tool that is helpful in improving engagement and conversions.
What’s more, ActiveTrail has a set of SMS marketing and online survey options that adds another dimension to keeping yourself in touch with your subscribers.
That being said, ActiveTrail is directly compared to some of the popular email marketing providers like Mailchimp, and Aweber. While Mailchimp is at par with ActiveTrail in terms of pricing and features it lacks a personalization campaign in the form of SMS marketing.
But again, Mailchimp has a free account that you can use with basic email marketing features for up to 2000 contacts along with a website builder.
Similarly, Aweber offers a free account with lots of premium features that can be used for 500 contacts. It excels in providing a bigger set of templates, and an easy-to-use interface and remains one of the top choices among online users. However, it doesn’t offer SMS marketing and online surveys like ActiveTrail.
All in all, even though you have to start paying a fee upfront after its free trial, ActiveTrail is still cheaper compared to the features and services it offers.
The platform is loved by its users who have given it more than 4-star ratings on various online review platforms. It does offer value for money and even with a few flaws worth it’s pricing.
Can you make money with ActiveTrail?
There is an affiliate program that pays 15% recurring commissions when somebody joins the ActiveTrail platform and uses its services. The person should join using your affiliate link and you get it every month till your referral remains associated with ActiveTrail. This is one of the direct ways to make money with ActiveTrail.
You can also expect to make money with your existing business by implementing ActiveTrail features and resources. If you are struggling to spend time preparing individual email campaigns then you could take advantage of ActiveTrail’s Marketing automation workflow.
You can also increase your engagement with your subscribers and get more personalized by activating SMS marketing and obtaining feedback through online surveys.
Likewise, there are many ways to increase your conversions and generate consistent revenue by learning and adopting ActiveTrail email/SMS marketing services.
Pros
- Easy to use – ActiveTrail is easy to use and doesn’t require any technical skills. It has a simple dashboard and intuitive user interface which can be used by beginners and professionals alike. Creating an email campaign is a breeze owing to its effortless drag-and-drop editor tool. Automation setup and workflow design can be performed just by looking at the learning resources without any prior knowledge.
- Effective email marketing features – ActiveTrail offers a wide range of features to help you engage your subscribers and improve your conversions, such as multiple email templates and landing pages, A/B testing functionality, segmentation grouping, contact listing, and autoresponders follow-up feature. These features are surely helpful in building a compelling email marketing campaign for long-lasting business growth.
- Powerful automation – You can streamline the process of sending emails/SMS to your subscribers by just creating an automated workflow. The automation works perfectly by sending a series of emails/SMS based on the triggers and segmentation. Marketing automation is one of the powerful features that help you save time, and reduces the repetitive effort of creating and sending emails.
- Excellent support – ActiveTrail focuses seriously on providing valuable support to its users. The support team can be contacted through email, live chat, and phone. There is a learning center section dedicated to blogs, articles, guides, and webinars offering insights and assistance on how to use the platform and other features of ActiveTrail. The team is quick to respond and always ready to help its users all the time.
Cons
- Not free to use – There is no free version of ActiveTrail for use. It offers a free trial for 30-days after which users have to subscribe to paid plans to use its services. It is not a big issue but can redirect some of the users (especially beginners) to its alternatives which offer a free account with limited contacts and features.
- A limited number of templates/forms – ActiveTrail does not offer a huge number of templates/sign-up forms like its competitors. Again, if you are just starting out with email marketing then the numbers are okay. For more experienced users who like to play around with designing, it could be disappointing.
Conclusion: Is ActiveTrail recommended?
ActiveTrail is a great platform for small and medium-sized businesses. Its email marketing and automation feature definitely help to grow the online presence and increase sales.
With an easy-to-use interface and detailed reports, you can take your business to the next level. However, ActiveTrail can be expensive for businesses with large contact lists and lacks some features that are commonly found on other platforms.
In the end, it depends on the type/size of business you operate with and the number of contacts you have. We recommend ActiveTrail if you are looking for a platform that is simple to use, has variety, and offers robust and powerful marketing features.
