Selecting the Best Email Services for Business

Company name? Check.

Business plan? Yep, all ten pages.

Email service provider? Hmmm…. not sure yet.

In the early days of starting your business, you’ll face numerous decisions, but one of the most important is your email service provider. Email services facilitate communication between your brand, customers, employees, and vendors. You want to choose a provider that offers features that suit your needs, and many options are available.

Consider this your guide to everything about email service providers and how to select the perfect one for your brand, whether you’re using it for email digital marketing purposes or general communication.

Most used email service providers

Email is the predominant form of communication in our world. Nearly 362 billion emails are sent daily—about 45 messages per person. Without email services, we’d be back to fax machines and handwritten memos—or maybe carrier pigeons—definitely not the instantaneous communication we’re accustomed to through email.

Here’s a look at eight of the top email service providers and the features they offer.

Gmail

Initially launched in 2004, Gmail is among the most ubiquitous email services. Nearly 1.5 billion people actively use Gmail daily. Gmail’s numerous integrations and functionality make it one of the top free email services available.

Some of the features Gmail offers include:

• Free personal and business accounts with up to 15GB of storage space
• Paid plans are available for business users who need more storage, a custom domain, or meeting tools
• Industry-leading encryption and spam detection tools
• Free upgrade to Google’s Advanced Protection Program if your messages contain highly sensitive information
• Free integration to Google Workspace, which includes Google Docs, Sheets, Drive, Meet, and Calendar
• Robust search functionality and organization tools

Outlook

Microsoft Outlook is another prominent email service that has been around for a while. It is part of the Microsoft 365 family, which includes office favorites like Word and Excel. However, you don’t have to be a Microsoft 365 subscriber to get a free Outlook account.

Here’s how Outlook’s features stack up against the competition:

• Free account with up to 15 GB of regular storage space and 5 GB of cloud storage
• Paid accounts receive 50GB of total storage space
• Built-in calendar to track meetings and appointments
• Focused inbox option that separates your messages by importance
• Organization tools to separate messages into various categories
• Phishing and spam protection tools
• Personalize your account with a domain if you have a Microsoft 365 subscription

Yahoo! Mail

Yahoo! Mail is one of the earliest email service providers. It entered the market in 1994 and quickly gained traction among consumers seeking a free email account. Today, Yahoo! Mail continues to offer reliable email services to consumers. However, it spun off its small business email services to Turbify. It remains one of the best email services for personal use.

Features available through Yahoo! Mail include:

• Lots of storage space — up to one TB per account
• Attachments up to 25 MB in size
• Customized domain options through Turbify for a fee
• Spam and phishing protection alerts
• Filters and folders to manage your messages
• Free calendar for appointments and scheduling

Constant Contact

Investing in comprehensive email marketing services makes sense for businesses that use email campaigns to advertise to customers. Constant Contact lets you create and send emails directly to your subscribers, ensuring your email looks brilliant no matter what provider they use. 

Here are some of the features available to Constant Contact users:

• Up to 25 GB of storage, depending on your plan
• A dedicated email address for your company
• Fully customizable, drag-and-drop email templates
• Automation tools, including scheduled sends and automation path templates
• Reach and engagement reporting
• Dynamic content available for premium subscribers
• Subject line personalization, recommendations, and A/B testing

Zoho Mail

Zoho is a software suite that offers a variety of products to business users, including word processing, spreadsheets, presentation apps, and online meeting tools. Zoho Mail is available as a standalone option, or you can subscribe to Zoho Workplace for all the office productivity apps.

Zoho Mail offers the following features:

• S/MIME encryption to protect business data
• Customizable email addresses when you purchase a domain name
• Robust email filters, search, and organization tools
• Support for 73 languages
• Up to 1 GB attachment limit with a paid plan
• Up to 50 GB mail storage and 50 GB archival storage with paid plans
• Free accounts include a 5 GB storage limit and a 25 MB attachment limit

iCloud mail

iCloud is Apple’s solution to email. Anyone with an Apple ID can create a new account, and you can upgrade to iCloud+ for additional features. While iCloud doesn’t explicitly offer business email services, it allows users to create personalized email accounts using purchased domains.

Features available with iCloud mail include:

• Easy integration across all your Apple devices
• Completely ad-free; you’ll never see ads in your inbox
• Two-factor authentication and encryption tools
• Spam filtering technology to prevent phishing emails
• Up to 5 GB of free iCloud storage
• Upgraded storage up to 2TB available with an iCloud+ subscription
• Customizable domain with iCloud+

GMX Mail

GMX Mail is a German company that offers email services to consumers and businesses. While it’s not as well-known as others on this list, it provides plenty of features. Users can access:

• Up to 2GB of free online storage via the GMX Cloud
• Attachment limits of 50 MB
• Powerful encryption tools, including two-factor authentication
• Antivirus and spam protection
• Create up to 10 alias accounts under a single email address
• Access to a free online office suite

The major drawback of GMX mail is its inability to personalize email addresses under a unique domain. That may make the service less attractive to business users. 

Proton Mail

Proton Mail is a Swiss email service provider that emphasizes security and privacy in its offerings. Both consumers and business owners can sign up for the service under free or paid plans. 

With Proton Mail, you can access the following features:

• 1 GB storage for free plans, up to 3 TB storage for a paid family plan
• Support for customized domains under paid plans
• End-to-end and zero-access encryption
• Access to other tools, including calendar, drive storage, and VPN under paid plans
• Email organization tools, including folders, labels, and filters

Types of email accounts

There are two basic types of email accounts: webmail and email clients. A webmail account stores all your messages on the service provider’s online servers, while email clients offer local storage options that save your messages to your computer, too. 

Most email services fall into the webmail category, including Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, and iCloud. Outlook offers the best of both worlds, with users able to store their messages locally and on Microsoft’s online servers.

Businesses seeking greater protection over their messages might prefer an email client option since there’s less risk of losing important emails if a server outage occurs. However, webmail has its benefits, too, since you can access your account anywhere with an internet connection. 

Choosing the right email service

When deciding on an email service that suits your needs, consider the following factors and how they impact your business.

• Storage: Most email service providers offer a decent amount of storage for free. However, as time passes, you may need more. Consider your provider’s storage limits and policy regarding increasing the limit if necessary. 
• Security: Your business emails may contain highly private information, such as customer and vendor contracts, receipts, and banking information. Choosing a provider that offers email security services, such as two-factor authentication and end-to-end encryption, can decrease the risks of hacks.
• Integrations: Many email services integrate with office productivity tools, CRMs, and other business apps. Consider the tools you use and determine whether they integrate with your desired email service.

Setting up an email account

The process for establishing an email account is pretty straightforward. Most email service providers request minimal information, such as your name and phone number, before you can set up a new email address.

However, you may need to go through a few extra steps to get a customized email address, such as name@yourdomain.com. Most service providers require you to purchase the domain before creating a new address. Once you have the domain, follow their instructions to establish your account.

Organizing multiple email accounts

Many businesses use multiple emails to communicate with customers and vendors. If you have employees, you may need to set up dedicated email addresses for their use. 

Some email service providers recognize business needs and allow you to establish multiple addresses that interface with a single email account. For instance, GMX allows customers to create alias addresses associated with an individual email account. 

If you anticipate needing multiple addresses, another option is mail forwarding. With mail forwarding, any messages sent to an address can be forwarded to your regular account, ensuring you don’t miss any critical communications.

Email security and encryption

Businesses and consumers don’t want their emails to fall into the wrong hands, so security is paramount. All email service providers offer security features, but their extent varies.

The highest level of security is considered end-to-end encryption, which keeps all messages private from communication system providers, including telecoms and internet services. Other tools that can boost your email security include two-factor authentication, which requires users to enter a unique code generated via text or an authentication app before logging into their account.

Currently, Proton Mail offers the most privacy and security options among email providers. However, Zoho Mail, GMX Mail, iCloud Mail, Outlook, and Gmail’s Advanced Protection Program offer security features that may meet your needs.

Solutions and services provided by ESPs

Various solutions can enhance your business email experience. For instance, if you plan to use email for marketing purposes, targeted outreach tools can help you segment your subscriber list and create personalized messages for different groups. Constant Contact offers extensive targeting outreach options to manage your audience and create customized emails. 

Mail tracking is essential for monitoring email performance and read rates. With mail tracking, you can analyze your campaign’s performance and track critical metrics like click-throughs and conversions. 

Most traditional email service providers don’t offer built-in marketing tools. You’ll need to sign up for an email marketing service to access the features you need. 

Email etiquette and best practices

Whether you’re emailing a vendor or client or sending a personal message, maintaining professionalism is vital — especially if you’re sending an email from your business account. 

While marketing emails incorporate creativity, your customers expect polite, non-discriminatory, and legitimate content. Sending messages too frequently or spamming your clients may lead to complaints. 

Most professional emails include a couple of components:

• Subject line: Indicates the topic of your email
• Respectful greetings, like “Hello [Name]” 
• Concise messaging that gets to the point
• A call-to-action (CTA)
• Professional signature

Including all elements can improve your business reputation among new subscribers and enhance your engagement rates.

Maximizing email performance

Depending on which email service provider your recipients use, your messages may display differently than you intend. While that’s okay, testing the message across different providers is essential to ensure readers can view it and take action on your content. Constant Contact allows you to test messages displayed by various clients before sending them, so you know your reader won’t encounter any issues.

It’s also important to test your email templates across different devices. Many subscribers check their emails using smartphones or tablets rather than PCs. You want to choose flexible and responsive templates that are mobile-friendly. 

Resource hub and learning with ESPs

Most email service providers include resources you can use for help with your business account. For instance, Gmail, Outlook, and Zoho Mail integrate with productivity suites, and all three companies offer extensive how-to guides and community forums you can access for help. 

You can access Microsoft’s Outlook training, which includes resources for different operating systems, including Windows and Mac. Zoho Mail’s guides are available from its resource center. Gmail’s tools aren’t quite as extensive, but include Quick Start guides and a training course. 

Constant Contact provides numerous resources for its clients, including on-demand webinars, a blog, a knowledge base, and one-on-one help with marketing advisors. 

The right email service provider can make or break your business

At first glance, choosing an email provider may not seem too important. After all, an email is an email, no matter which provider you choose. However, brands who plan to use email to communicate with customers, vendors, and employees should select a provider that offers the features that suit their needs.

Some of the features most important to brands include security, integrations, storage space, and organization. If you plan to use email for marketing messages, consider your platform’s targeting outreach options and automation tools. To learn more about email for businesses, check out our guide to “Email Marketing Best Practices.”

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