Selecting the right email marketing solution depends on your marketing goals and objectives. If you are going to target a small list of subscribers and send something out once or twice a year then you may want to consider a hosted service. If you are planning on an ongoing campaign to a large list or multiple lists of subscribers then you may want to look at an software package that you can self-host.

Let’s compare the advantages and disadvantages of an service versus an email marketing software package.

• If you use a host service you will pay a fee every month whether you send an email or not and the fee will increase as your list of subscribers grows or if you establish a second or third list. If you purchase email marketing software you will pay a software vendor once and there will be no additional monthly costs or additional costs if you email list grows or you establish additional lists.
• If you use a hosted service it is difficult to export your contact lists and statistics to a new server whereas if you are using your own email marketing software you can easily move all of your information to a new server.
• If you are using a hosting service you cannot modify the source code to add your own custom features. If you are using email marketing software you can modify the code to build custom features or incorporate your own add-ons.

The advantage to using a hosted package is you don’t have to install any software or worry about backing up your data or installing up grades or performing maintenance the host service does that for you in exchange for the monthly fee. The monthly fee often runs around $20 a month for small email marketers (500 or less subscribers and one list). However if you have a larger list of subscribers the fees ramp up quickly and if you have two or three lists your monthly fee may double or triple.If you purchase an software package there will be a larger up front expense. Depending on the package you may pay nothing to $500 to purchase the software. This is a one-time cost and most of the commercial packages will typically support up to five separate lists. And there are no additional costs for larger lists.

So before you sign up for an hosted service evaluate the costs and benefits of purchasing an email marketing software package to run on your own server. If your campaign is small and you intend to keep it small in the future a host service may be right for you. If you plan to use email marketing for multiple lists and grow those lists over time and if you want to have the flexibility to customize your email marketing approach then a dedicated self-hosted email marketing software package may be a better choice.

Ryan is a copywriter focusing on online marketing. With a strong focus on web based software solutions including email marketing software, survey software, and other marketing & customer service applications.