When I created the website on WordPress, I was expecting all the features I had on our WordPress.com which powers this website. As I called out in my previous post, this is not the case. I wanted a way to allow people to subscribe to my content. It turns out that I needed an email marketing solution which was quite a surprise.
The search is on
I had a very basic list of needs.
- A way to subscribe
- Subscriber management
- Email subscribers
The first platform recommended by WPBeginner whose parent company is the source for many of my plug ins was Constant Contact. I then looked at HubSpot and MailChimp because I had heard of them. They met my needs but at a cost. If they had free options, they were limited in functionality. I ended up choosing Brevo which has a robust free plan.
To be clear, I needed a low to no cost solution to meet my needs and fill this gap in functionality. I do not generate income from my website, so a free option is required. Brevo fits the bill nicely.
Ancillary costs
As part of the setup, I needed to set my sender email address and domain. Both needed to be verified and compliant with the major email providers’ requirements. I had to create DKIM and DMARC records in my domain.
Little did I know that this was not a straightforward process. The email I am using is a Microsoft 365 account hosted and managed by GoDaddy. First, getting the correct entry required me to contact GoDaddy for support. They worked on the backend to get me set up and create the entries I needed for DNS.
Note: If you manage your own Microsoft 365 and Azure accounts, you can do this process. It will require elevated permissions to both environments.
The second requirement to make this work is to turn on Advanced Email Security. I wanted to apply this to the email I was using, but it is a domain level setting. Six emails had to be updated. The cost of this required upgrade is the most expensive single cost of my website build out. On the plus side, we are getting far less spam. 
Newsletters are a bonus
When I started working with Brevo, I was not sure how to send out emails. After some digging, I discovered campaigns. I am not an email marketer, so this was not obvious to me. I created my first campaign by following the steps provided. It was very easy to do.
I used a template to create my first newsletter. It was a very intuitive process. I used clicks to add new items to the newsletter. I think you can use drag and drop also. I created a couple of test campaigns to see how it all worked. I liked what I found. I created and sent my first newsletter shortly thereafter.
I really like the metrics. They tell me the delivery rate, the opens, and the clicks for each campaign. This has been helpful to understand the effectiveness of the newsletter.
Managing subscribers
This functionality is the primary reason I wanted a solution. In Brevo, this work is done in the CRM. I started by creating a couple of lists. After I became familiar with lists, I imported a spreadsheet with family and friends who were invited to one of my children’s weddings. I used this to see who wanted to subscribe to the newsletter. I found a couple of additional lists that I imported to recruit newsletter subscribers. All the lists I used were ours and included people who we know or have expressed interest in our journey.
When I was done with the importing and recruiting, I had around 1000 contacts. About 50 were blocklisted due to hard bounces and unsubscribes. More than 80% were opened. In the end I had around 60 subscribers. Overall, this process went very well.
I also use list segments. I created segments to manage my daily email count which is limited to 300 emails a day in the free version. I am also using segments to help me welcome new subscribers.
There is more functionality in the CRM that I don’t use. Most of it is for sales pipeline like deals and tasks. I don’t have a need for this capability.
Automation
I use automation to clean up my lists. It is the most difficult feature for me because it uses drag and drop to build the workflows. I have only begun to explore its full capabilities.
Final thoughts
I really like this application. The only thing I wish I could do is embed the form that allows subscribers to modify their information into my website. I can include it in the newsletter which works for now. This is a minor inconvenience. I would recommend Brevo for individuals like me and small organizations who need these capabilities. There are many more features available in the free version and even more in the paid tiers.