Pros and Cons: Email Marketing with External and Internal Tools

E-mail marketing is one of the most sustainable and effective strategies in digital marketing. It enables direct communication with the target audience, promotes trust in the company, and increases revenue. 

For many of us, the question then arises: „External service provider or internal system – which approach is better suited for my goal?“ 

In this post, we will discuss the most relevant pros and cons of both options.

First and foremost, we should clarify what the terms „internal and external tools“ actually mean: 

In e-mail marketing, a distinction is fundamentally made between internal and external tools. The distinction lies mainly in the type of integration and data processing:

External newsletter marketing tools

When it comes to so-called external newsletter marketing tools These are systems that are cloud-based and are therefore managed outside of your own website.

The provider you've selected is the host and makes various functions and updates available online. 

Once you have logged in via the web interface, you can manage your newsletter campaigns there. Some of the best-known providers include Mailchimp, Brevo, ActiveCampaign and CleverReach. These are the right choice, particularly for large-scale marketing campaigns involving automated workflows and cross-channel communication with your target audience.

Advantages

These tools therefore offer a wide range of functions such as:

• Integration A variety of connections to CRM systems, shops, or social media make marketing easier
• Design & User-friendliness: Drag-and-drop editors and professional templates make it easy to create attractive newsletters. You don’t need any programming knowledge to do this
• Scalability These tools are ideal for large recipient lists
• Automations This allows for intuitive creation of, for example, welcome emails or trigger emails.
• Analyse Opening, click, and conversion rates can be viewed in real-time to enable optimisations as quickly as possible.

Disadvantages

Despite the diverse functionalities, external tools are not the right choice for every use case:

• Costs: As the use of these platforms is usually subscription-based, the fees for using them often increase with the growing number of your newsletter contacts or the emails sent. This can very quickly lead to high ongoing costs. If templates, automations and the database are already in use and set up, switching to another provider later is usually very complex, as there is already a high dependency on your current provider's tool.
• Data Protection A very underestimated aspect of email marketing is the legal side (keyword data protection). Furthermore, many website visitors don't even sign up for a newsletter if they have to agree to cookie banners, tracking tools, and other services. This concerns personal data stored outside the EU (many providers host their services outside the EU) as well as, for example, the measurement of subscriber open and click rates.
• Subscriber List ManagementManaging subscribers is often complicated. With many external tools, such as MailChimp, subscribers are often archived rather than permanently deleted, which means inactive or duplicate users continue to incur costs. Permanent deletion is time-consuming and complicated, which makes subscriber management difficult.
• Complexity Setting up and maintaining complex features can be challenging for beginners or users who are not tech-savvy

Internal Newsletter Marketing Tools

Internal Newsletter Marketing Tools These, in turn, are hosted on your own server, using a content management system (CMS) such as WordPress, for example. As the data is processed on your server, in-house tools are particularly advantageous when it comes to data protection. Two good examples of in-house tools are the Easy Newsletter plugin for WordPress and MailPoet. These are particularly well suited to small and medium-sized businesses and projects for which data protection and cost control are key considerations.

Advantages

Internal solutions such as the Easy-Newsletter-Plugin can be linked directly to your WordPress website. They represent a privacy-friendly option with good value for money, which is particularly advantageous for small to medium-sized projects.

• No ongoing costs The Pro version of Easy Newsletter is a one-time purchase – including lifetime updates and support
• Seamless WordPress integration: Administration, creation and dispatch are carried out directly in your WordPress backend. You also have access to your website content and can, for example, include images from your media library, the latest posts or a list of your pages.
• Drag and Drop functionality with the block editor's standard
• Data protection as a competitive advantage: All data is stored locally on your own server – a clear advantage with regard to GDPR. No personal data is transferred to third parties. Additionally to easily integrate into existing privacy policies
• Compatibility The plugin works with common SMTP solutions and supports custom post types, meta fields, and WooCommerce (in the Pro version).
• User-friendliness The operation is intuitive and requires no external platforms or additional training.
• You have the Full control Regarding consent, storage, and deletion

Disadvantages

Even internal solutions have inherent limitations:

• Potential performance limits for large distributors: As shipping and processing run through your server, you are bound by the performance and limitations of your hosting provider.
• Technical responsibility: With tools like MailPoet, setup and maintenance lie with the operator – a corresponding basic understanding is assumed

Mailchimp vs. Easy Newsletter

The following is a structured comparison of the external tool Mailchimp and the internal newsletter tool Easy Newsletter, taking into account various factors or criteria:

Criterion	Example: MailChimp (external tool)	Example: Easy Newsletter (Internal Tool)
Costs	Ongoing costs (monthly subscription models and subscriptions, depending on the number of recipients and the scope of features)	One-time payment with lifetime support. No ongoing costs.
Data protection	Depending on the provider, the data is stored on US servers (not GDPR-compliant), for example. A privacy-compliant solution is only possible with considerable effort, for example, by deactivating tracking.	Data is stored on own server (GDPR-compliant)
Usability/User Experience	The backend is complex for many users, making it not straightforward to set up and use. This also makes it time-consuming.	Easy and straightforward to implement with WordPress, and generally simple to understand in use.
Design	Many templates and a drag-and-drop editor	Adaptable to your own needs, no templates available. Compatible with e.g. Gutenberg block editor and DIVI
Subscriber List Management	The definitive removal of users from the subscriber list is complicated and time-consuming.	All subscribers can be deleted easily and permanently
Functionality	Extensive features such as segmentation, A/B testing and automations	Diverse functionalities for newsletter dispatch, integration with WooCommerce & SMTP, simple automation (e.g. double opt-in or welcome email)
Number of subscribers	Varies depending on the subscription model. However, the cost of the subscription increases with the growing number of subscribers to your newsletter.	Unlimited
Number of newsletters	A higher subscription is required for sending more newsletters, otherwise the number of newsletters is limited	Unlimited
Scalability	Helpful for large recipient lists, powerful. From more than 10,000 subscribers, the costs increase significantly	Dependent on server performance with a high number of recipients. No costs with rising subscriber numbers.
Statistics	Diverse KPIs such as open rate, clicks, and conversion rate in real time	Newsletter open rates and clicks visible (in the paid version)

Conclusion

Which solution meets which need?

The decision between an internal or external solution should always be based on your personal requirements and resources. Always consider the functional, legal, and economic aspects. 

If you have a business that works with large recipient lists and where more complex automation of newsletter campaigns is relevant, external solutions are usually the right option. 

Internal tools like the Easy Newsletter plugin are ideal for you if your focus is on GDPR-compliant solutions that can be integrated into the WordPress environment you already know – and which incur no ongoing costs at the same time. With internal solutions, you can score points through simplified compliance with GDPR regulations, a lower bounce rate and more trust from consumers!

So, if you're looking for an internal newsletter marketing tool that offers good value for money, is GDPR-compliant and easy to use, then our Easy Newsletter plugin is just the thing for integration with your WordPress! Pay once and use forever!