Using an email marketing API is important if you’re developing a software application that needs to send emails, an eCommerce platform that sends transactional messages to customers, or an automated performance report.
Email is now one of the most powerful and straightforward ways for companies to connect with their customers. Businesses can send bulk email campaigns to large numbers of contacts and scale their one-to-one email messages to manage any volume with the help of email marketing service providers like Postr, without having to worry about email deliverability problems or setting up their own SMTP server infrastructure.
Although online email marketing applications are great for designing and sending emails, some companies have more specific email use cases that necessitate the use of an email marketing framework that can be incorporated directly into the features of a website or application. An email marketing API is needed for this.
What is an API?
For those unfamiliar with the term API, it simply refers to a collection of methods by which developers can access the different features of a software application using code rather than logging into the app.
Let’s use an example to explain this point: imagine a software tool as a restaurant. Most people who want to eat at a restaurant go there, sit down at a table, and have a waiter order food from the menu. These “standard” customers are similar to software users who log into a program and use the tool’s features by navigating through a graphical user interface.
But what if you’d rather get the food delivered to you than drive all the way there, sit at a table, and order it from a waiter? In this scenario, you’ll most likely call the restaurant and place a delivery order. This is equivalent to using the API of a software tool. You can always order things from the menu, but you’ll have to go through a separate process and they’ll be shipped to you instead of having to go to the restaurant.
APIs allow a user to “log in” to an application by submitting a programmatic request that contains an API key (usually just a random encrypted string of characters) that is special to their account.
What is an Email Marketing API?
An email marketing API is a programmatic interface that allows developers to use code rather than a GUI to access the functionality of an email marketing platform. This is essential when incorporating email features into other apps or websites.
Usage Cases for Email Marketing APIs
Now that you know what an API is and, more importantly, what an email marketing API is, let’s look at how it can be used to help companies grow and build stronger customer relationships.
Notifications and transactional messages from powerful applications
The most common reason for companies to use an email marketing API is to add email updates and transactional messages to their website or software tool programmatically.
Notifications
Notifications are used by many software applications and websites to alert users when anything occurs with their account on the network. This may be a new comment or “like” on a user’s post on social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram.
It is not always necessary to send an email for each action taken in a software application. Sending an email, on the other hand, may be a perfect way to ensure that the user gets the information in a timely manner if the action is more critical or time-sensitive and needs the user’s attention.
Transactional Messages
You’re already familiar with transactional emails if you’ve ever shopped online or made in-app purchases. These are messages that provide users with timely information about a particular purchase they have made on a website or application. An order receipt is the most common example.
Email marketing APIs allow you to create beautiful transactional emails and incorporate them directly into the features of your website, allowing you to maximize the potential of a well-designed email rather than only providing the minimum necessary details to your customers.
Customize your activation and growth hacking workflows
Emails can also help with your growth hacking or product engagement workflows by increasing engagement. For instance, you may want to send an email to users reminding them to leave a review for a product they recently purchased. This can be accomplished by using an email marketing API to deliver the message at the most opportune time in order to increase interaction and provide valuable product details to other consumers.
Conclusion
There are a variety of reasons why someone would choose to use an email marketing API, which is why it’s important to understand what they can do. However, when comparing various email marketing API providers, one thing to bear in mind is scalability. When your company grows quickly and the email API solution you used to integrate with it can’t keep up, you don’t want to be left out in the cold (or worse, the price scales beyond what you can afford).
When choosing for the best email marketing platform, there are plenty of choices. One of the best well known is Postr. This is one of the best free email marketing software options because it includes content-ready, responsive free email templates that work in all major email clients. This app allows you to send up to 20,000 emails a month with Postr branding with the free email marketing plan. The cost of a paid plan starts at $25 per month.
It’s also a web-based program that works with most web browsers, so the client doesn’t have to download or install any software. The drag-and-drop email builder is ideal for people who are new to email marketing.
You can deliver customized content on a one-to-one basis based on the automated rules we set for each user, in addition to the standard features provided by most email marketing services. To improve your content, layout, or submit time, run an A/B or multivariate test. While this isn’t a must-have for your email marketing campaigns, it is useful if you want to send automated, real-time, content-based emails.
Also published on Medium.