Some ESPs charge you based on the number of contacts you upload into their software. Some charge based on the number of emails you'll send each month (CPM).

You'll have to do some math to see which model makes more sense for you. If you have a large list but don't send that many emails each month, the CPM model may work better for you. If the opposite is true, you may want list-based pricing.

NOTE: Keep in mind that CPM-based ESPs charge an overage fee if you go over the limit of your plan.

Yes

No matter how good your emails are, they won't work if your subscribers aren't actually receiving them. And fixing deliverability issues is one of the quickest ways to boost email revenue.

Make sure your ESP comes with deliverability monitoring features, or integrates with third-party tools like Litmus, Everest, or Email On Acid.

Yes

If you have an email marketing specialist on your team, they should be able to learn an navigate most ESPs with some basic training/practice.

But there may be situations where someone else on your team needs to perform some task on your ESP. Or your email marketing specialist may leave out of nowhere.

In both cases, you want to be sure your ESP is user-friendly - that is, someone new can quickly learn how to use it (especially, at the very least, the core features).

There's a reason we have experts in 50+ different ESPs on our team. And that's because every ESP is different, and the success of your email marketing efforts will depend on your ability to use your ESP.

Even if you have an experienced email marketer on your team, they've likely only used a handful of ESPs in their career. And even if the ESP is user-friendly, they'll need some training on how to navigate the ESP and run certain tactics.

Most ESPs offer free certification programs, usually in the form of a [Brand Name] Academy. Their blogs also include detailed guides and webinars. But obviously, live training is best, so you can ask questions that are specific to how you plan to use it.

Being trained on the ESP makes the learning curve quicker and brings success faster. And it helps to have multiple people on your team who know how to use it in case of emergency.

If you don't have an experienced email marketer on your team, it's best to seek outside help.

Managing an ESP can be a cumbersome, time-consuming process. You don't want to add it to the workload of another marketing employee, otherwise all of their work will suffer.

Outsourcing ESP management is relatively inexpensive and comes with a host of benefits - saves time and human resources, better results, etc. The money you spend on outsourcing will be more than offset by the improvements in ROI.

You can hire a freelancer who's an expert in your ESP or an email marketing agency like us. (Note: We offer totally-customizeable email campaign management, including ESP management)

Let us save you the suspense - you're definitely going to experience some technical problems with your ESP at some point (even with good training on a user-friendly ESP). And these problems can hinder campaigns, cost you time and money, and be just downright frustrating.

A good ESP will have a good customer support team that'll help you solve these issues. Every ESP promises that they have great customer support. But be sure to check their reviews and customer support ratings when evaluating vendors.