Best Email Marketing Software for Affiliate Marketers

Affiliate marketing and email marketing can be a powerful combination. By promoting third-party brands through blogs, YouTube, and social media, affiliate marketing now accounts for over 15% of all digital media revenue, offering significant earning potential through commissions. Email marketing, in particular, excels at delivering affiliate offers directly to loyal subscribers.

However, many email marketing platforms are cautious about affiliate promotions. This is because promotional emails can sometimes be flagged as spam, posing a risk to the provider’s sender reputation. To avoid potential issues like account suspension or cancellation, it’s crucial to select an **affiliate-friendly Email Service Provider (ESP)** with clear policies.

We’ve conducted extensive research, examining the terms and conditions of over 20 popular ESPs, to help you make an informed choice. This guide highlights which email marketing platforms welcome affiliate marketers and details their specific offerings.

Overview: Top Email Marketing Software for Affiliate Marketing

After extensive research into various terms and conditions, here are the nine best options for affiliate marketers, noting their primary strengths:

1. GetResponse: Advanced marketing automation features for impactful affiliate campaigns.
2. EmailOctopus: Excellent value, especially for large subscriber lists.
3. SendX: User-friendly email marketing platform offering great value.
4. Moosend: Flexible automation options that simplify complex affiliate funnels.
5. Benchmark Email: Intuitive email builder for visually impressive emails.
6. Brevo: Strong free plan for promoting affiliate marketing without extra cost.
7. AWeber: Simple email marketing software for newsletters and basic automations.
8. Kit: Commerce tools enable direct selling from emails.
9. Sendlane: Email + SMS marketing for multi-channel affiliate campaigns.

9 Best Email Marketing Software for Affiliates

Different email marketing services have distinct rules regarding affiliate marketing. To choose the right one, understanding these nuances is essential. Here’s a detailed breakdown of each platform:

1. GetResponse

GetResponse openly welcomes affiliate marketers, explicitly listing affiliate marketing under its industry solutions. A search for ‘affiliate marketing’ in their online resources reveals a wealth of tips and how-to guides, demonstrating their positive stance, which sets them apart from many other email marketing services.

So, what does GetResponse offer? It’s a highly impressive email marketing platform, scoring 8.5 out of 10 in our comprehensive review. It provides all the essential features you’d expect: customizable templates, a drag-and-drop email editor, list segmentation, and detailed campaign analytics.

However, GetResponse’s tools extend much further. Its marketing automation and funnel features are among the best available. GetResponse boasts a highly flexible workflow editor, allowing you to build sophisticated automations. You can create email sequences based on subscriber actions, and tag and segment contacts dynamically to enhance targeting and personalization.

Other powerful tools GetResponse offers for affiliate marketing include:

• Time-optimized email campaigns: Utilizes data to send emails when recipients are most likely to open them.
• Contact scoring: Measures subscriber engagement based on campaign activity, enabling targeted promotions.
• Publish product reviews: Incorporates RSS feeds to add reviews of promoted products.
• Personalization: Customizes campaigns with merge tags and dynamic content, including sending different promotions based on subscriber preferences.
• In-depth click analysis: Provides insights into subscriber responses through web and social media clicks.

Cost-wise, GetResponse offers a Free plan, which allows unlimited emails for up to 500 contacts and one landing page. The Email Marketing plan starts at $19 a month for up to 1000 contacts but only includes core email marketing features.

To access the advanced tools that significantly benefit affiliate marketing, you’ll need at least the Plus Plan, starting at $49 a month for up to 1000 contacts. Discounts are available: 30% for 12 months upfront, or 40% for 24 months upfront.

Additionally, our readers can get an additional 10% off any plan.

2. EmailOctopus

EmailOctopus permits affiliate marketing but conducts an account review. They are transparent about this process, verifying that subscribers have granted permission for emails and performing basic checks to confirm business validity.

EmailOctopus is a straightforward email marketing service featuring a drag-and-drop email builder with 30 pre-made templates. It allows you to build simple automated email sequences and time-based drip campaigns. While it tracks open and click rates, advanced analytics and reporting are limited. A notable advantage is the ability to build unlimited landing pages.

As highlighted in our full EmailOctopus review, it’s an excellent ESP for sending newsletters and creating basic automations.

The primary appeal of EmailOctopus is its value for money. It provides a generous free plan, allowing up to 2,500 contacts and 10,000 emails per month. The Pro plan starts at $24 a month for up to 5,000 contacts, offering great value for larger lists, though monthly email sends are capped at 10x your contact count.

EmailOctopus does not offer annual payment discounts, but they are confident in their competitive pricing. They even provide a comparison tool to show potential savings against rivals.

You can save even more by using our exclusive deal for 50% off your first 3 months.

3. SendX

SendX is a smaller email marketing service with approximately 3,000 active customers.

Similar to GetResponse, SendX explicitly welcomes affiliate marketers. They state, “We will never ban or block your account because you are an affiliate marketer,” a clear distinction from services that restrict affiliates.

Beyond its affiliate-friendly policy, SendX is a straightforward service focusing on core email marketing functions with fewer advanced features. Key highlights include:

• Unlimited emails on all plans
• A drag-and-drop email builder and over 50 templates
• Access to over 500,000 free stock images
• Signup forms and landing pages
• Drip campaigns and behavior-based automation
• Segmentation (crucial for promoting different products to various audiences)
• Basic campaign analytics (open rate, click rate, and unsubscribe rate)

SendX pricing is competitive. Its Business Plan begins at $9.99 a month for up to 1000 contacts, with a 25% discount for annual payments. There is no free plan, but a 14-day free trial is available.

4. Moosend

Moosend doesn’t prominently advertise its affiliate marketing policy in the same explicit way as GetResponse or SendX. However, it strongly hints at its acceptance in an article titled “The Ultimate Guide to Affiliate Marketing,” stating:

“Quality content along with an interesting newsletter is key to a successful online marketing strategy. Fortunately, there are tools that allow you to manage your list, automate your emails to your subscribers as well as create cool forms. One of them is Moosend’s email marketing and marketing automation service.”

Moosend offers all the standard features expected from an email marketing platform: a drag-and-drop editor, email templates, sign-up forms, landing pages, list segmentation, and analytics.

Where Moosend truly shines is its email marketing automation. It features a visual workflow builder, similar to GetResponse, allowing for sequences with numerous conditions. This flexibility is ideal for affiliate marketers navigating various conversion pathways, handling complex “who to send what, when” scenarios. Its scalable automation options can significantly lighten the workload. Our Moosend review scored it an impressive 86 out of 100.

Moosend also includes an AI-powered product recommendation tool, suggesting products based on similar contacts’ browsing or purchase history.

The Pro plan starts at $9 a month for up to 500 emails, reducing to $7 if paid annually. This single Pro tier provides access to all features, and a 30-day free trial is available. For more details on pricing and comparisons, check out our Moosend pricing review.

Our readers can access an awesome deal for 15% off any Moosend plan.

5. Benchmark Email

Benchmark Email does allow affiliate marketing, though campaigns are subject to an extended review process.

The appeal of Benchmark lies in its quality as an email marketing platform. It’s highly user-friendly, making it suitable for newcomers to email marketing or business owners with limited time. Despite its ease of use, it offers sufficient advanced features to support skill and business growth.

Benchmark’s email builder rivals some of the industry’s best, offering over 200 fully customizable email templates. If you need more, explore the many templates that integrate with Benchmark.

Benchmark offers a Free plan for up to 500 contacts, but with a limit of 3500 emails per month, no landing page creation, and restricted automation. The Lite plan costs $10.50 a month for 500 contacts and 3500 emails, discounted to $8/month with annual payment.

We’ve secured a sweet deal for Benchmark Email, offering 20% off for 12 months on any paid plan. You’ll also receive free list verification and 100 Litmus-powered inbox checkers at no additional cost.

6. Brevo

Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) doesn’t overtly promote or prohibit affiliate marketing; there’s no explicit mention of it in their documentation. Thus, it can be assumed affiliate marketing is permissible.

A primary reason to choose Brevo is its standing as one of the most affordable email marketing services available, particularly its outstanding free plan.

With Brevo’s free plan, you can manage up to 100,000 contacts at no charge. It grants full access to the drag-and-drop email editor, email templates, and sign-up forms. Segmentation options are robust, and CRM tools are included for customer management. Basic automations can also be set up, making it an excellent free autoresponder for affiliate marketing.

The main limitation of the free plan is the 300 email sends per day. The Starter plan, beginning at $25 a month, increases this limit. For advanced affiliate marketing, the Business plan, starting at $65 a month, offers up to 2 million contacts and unlocks all of Brevo’s advanced features.

This includes the comprehensive suite of marketing automation and transactional email tools. Both are highly flexible and user-friendly, featuring an excellent visual workflow editor. You can even A/B test your workflows to optimize performance.

7. AWeber

AWeber boasts over 100 native integrations, including popular affiliate program platforms like ClickBank and JVZoo, where marketers find and join affiliate programs.

However, AWeber’s stance on the specifics of affiliate marketing is not entirely clear. While they feature an article about their integration with ClickBank that includes many examples, these are primarily focused on businesses that use affiliate promotions as a supplementary activity alongside their own products.

It remains ambiguous whether affiliate marketing is permitted if it constitutes a business’s sole focus. Services like Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign are explicit: they do not allow ‘pure’ affiliate marketing, only enabling businesses to promote third-party products within campaigns where the main focus is their own business. Refer to the “Affiliate Marketing vs. Affiliate Links” section below for more context.

AWeber is a robust email marketing tool well-suited for beginners and small businesses. It’s user-friendly and particularly effective for building and sending newsletters, offering over 600 email templates and an intuitive drag-and-drop editor.

The AWeber landing page builder is commendable. Although page templates primarily focus on sign-up forms, you can add eCommerce functionalities. However, don’t expect the advanced capabilities of dedicated landing page builders. Automation and segmentation could be more refined compared to other services. For a deeper dive, check out our AWeber review.

Regarding cost, AWeber offers a free plan, ideal for learning email marketing, with limits of up to 500 contacts and 3,000 emails per month. The Lite plan starts at $12.50 a month for up to 500 contacts, providing unlimited emails and access to automation, segmentation, and analytics tools. Discounts of up to 20% are available for quarterly or annual payments.

8. Kit

Kit (formerly ConvertKit) imposes restrictions on the type of affiliate marketing it permits. If your business is solely dedicated to affiliate promotions, Kit is not suitable. As explained in their help center, “you need to have your own business/content outside of affiliate marketing.”

Kit is acceptable for those earning additional income through an affiliate program. They even provide a guideline: if 70%-80% of your email marketing promotions are for your own business, you can use the remainder to push affiliate programs.

As an email marketing platform, Kit provides expected features. The email designer is user-friendly, though templates are somewhat basic. You can build unlimited landing pages and forms, and while the landing page builder is good, it doesn’t match the level of specialized tools. Automations are simple yet effective, with a visual workflow builder that allows for targeted campaigns based on contact behavior. Learn more about the visual automation builder in our ConvertKit review.

Kit also lets you sell directly from within your emails, a valuable feature if you plan to sell third-party products or services alongside your own.

Contact scoring is available on higher tiers. Advanced analytics include deliverability reports. A notable feature is the free integration with Sparkloop, a referral tool that incentivizes subscribers to invite friends and contacts.

Kit offers a free plan for up to 10,000 subscribers, allowing you to start selling digital products immediately. The Creator plan starts at $29 a month for 1000 subscribers, with a discount for annual payment (making it $25 a month, equivalent to two months free). The Creator Pro plan starts at $59 a month, with a smaller annual discount.

9. Sendlane

Sendlane’s CEO and co-founder, Jimmy Kim, himself has a background in affiliate marketing. Kim founded Sendlane in 2013, identifying a gap in the market for email marketing options tailored to affiliate marketers.

Sendlane addresses the spam concerns often associated with affiliate marketing directly. Kim emphasizes, “[A]ffiliate marketing [doesn’t] have to be considered such a grey, spammy industry, when guidelines are laid out and understood.” This indicates a commitment to responsible affiliate marketing practices.

Feature-wise, Sendlane provides several sophisticated email marketing tools. A standout is Sendlane Beacons, which links real-time customer tracking to message automation. This enables immediate email sends based on specific actions, such as clicking a link, perfect for timely offers and promotions.

Sendlane also offers send-time optimization and automated list hygiene, both highly beneficial features for affiliate marketers.

Compared to other software on this list, Sendlane is quite pricey. Its Growth plan starts at $100 a month for up to 5,000 contacts. For those just starting a blog or newsletter, more affordable services might be better initially. Annual payment provides a discount, bringing the cost down to $83 a month (equivalent to two months free). There is no free tier, but a 14-day free trial is available.

Affiliate Marketing vs. Affiliate Links

Email marketing services often differentiate between “affiliate marketing” and “affiliate links.” Understanding this subtle but critical distinction is vital.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

Affiliate marketing is a business model focused on earning commissions by promoting third-party brands. Affiliate marketers partner with established companies through affiliate programs or networks, leveraging their online presence (blogs, social media, email) to market products and services in exchange for a commission on sales.

For some businesses, promoting third-party brands is their sole revenue stream; they generate income exclusively from commissions without their ‘own’ brand or products. Other businesses integrate affiliate marketing as an additional income source, promoting third-party products alongside their own in email campaigns.

What are Affiliate Links?

Crucially, most affiliate marketing relies on affiliate links. These links contain tracking information, allowing the company running the affiliate program to identify which affiliate generated a specific customer and to pay commissions accordingly.

However, simply including an affiliate link does not automatically categorize you as an “affiliate marketer” in the eyes of some email marketing software providers.

Consider these examples: If you run a photography business and regularly write blog posts about the equipment you use, including affiliate links for your favorite products can be mutually beneficial. Your chosen brands get exposure, and you earn a commission if your followers purchase through your recommendation. Similarly, an artisan food company sending out recipe newsletters could name the brands of ingredients used and include affiliate links for readers to easily buy them.

In these scenarios, the affiliate links complement the main business; the primary goal is not solely to promote affiliate products or brands.

To summarize, some email marketing software providers view affiliate marketing and the use of affiliate links as distinct. This is a grey area often determined by your main business objective. If your core business involves your own products or content, you can generally use affiliate links within your content, provided your primary focus remains on marketing your own offerings.

How to Choose the Best Email Marketing Software for Affiliate Marketing

Selecting the ideal email marketing software for your affiliate marketing business requires understanding the distinctions between platforms. Knowing their specific policies on affiliate marketing is paramount.

We advise thorough research. The guide above offers a strong starting point. When making your decision, consider the following factors:

• Terms and conditions: Verify that the service explicitly permits the type of affiliate marketing you intend to pursue. For instance, Kit allows businesses and digital creatives to promote third parties as a side venture but restricts users from running purely affiliate-focused campaigns.
• Lead generation: A large, engaged subscriber list is crucial in affiliate marketing, increasing commission opportunities. Evaluate the platform’s sign-up form options: how many are available, how flexible are they, do they look professional, and are they easy to embed? Ask similar questions about landing page capabilities. Brevo, for example, only offers landing pages on its Premium plan and higher.
• List management: As lists grow, segmentation and list hygiene become increasingly important. Flexible segmentation tools help target the right offers to the right audience. Effective list hygiene ensures you avoid wasting efforts on unengaged contacts or those who have unsubscribed. Automated list hygiene tools can save significant time.
• Automation: Promoting an affiliate business via email can be demanding, juggling multiple affiliate programs, offers, and subscribers. Automation is your ally. An affiliate-friendly email automation software should be flexible, scalable, and user-friendly. Look for options that allow you to create behavior-based conditions and triggers, enabling responsive campaigns based on subscriber actions.
• Value for money: Ensure the cost of email marketing software aligns with your business’s financial plan. While advanced automation and list management features might be appealing, consider if you can afford them and if your business is ready to fully utilize them. If you’re just starting, you may not need them immediately. Also, assess future costs as your business scales, as many platforms charge based on contact list size.

Email Marketing Software to Avoid for Affiliate Marketing

As previously mentioned, affiliate marketing often exists in a grey area for email marketing software providers. The specific allowances and restrictions are not always clear, which can be problematic if you aim to grow a dedicated affiliate business. The last thing you want is a campaign blocked after all your effort.

MailerLite, Constant Contact, Mailchimp, and ActiveCampaign generally allow affiliate links but prohibit pure affiliate marketing. MailerLite states that recommending products and services is acceptable, but if your primary goal is to earn a commission, it is not.

Constant Contact explicitly prohibits content “…for the primary purpose of affiliate marketing.” Mailchimp refers to affiliate marketers as “generating business for someone else.”

If your main source of income derives solely from affiliate promotions, it is advisable to avoid these services.

Best Email Marketing Software for Affiliate Marketing Wrap Up

Choosing the right email marketing software is crucial for your affiliate business. This guide has outlined the key considerations and introduced the leading contenders, each offering unique strengths. The ultimate decision depends on your specific priorities.

For many affiliate marketers, GetResponse often stands out as a strong recommendation. It explicitly embraces affiliate businesses, provides clear advice and support, and imposes no restrictions on the type of affiliate promotions allowed. Furthermore, it offers a robust suite of advanced features, ideal for supporting and scaling an affiliate business.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)