Email marketing continues to drive incredible results for businesses across the spectrum. It’s no wonder, then, that the email marketing software space continues to become more competitive by the day. As a business owner, your email list is one of your most powerful assets. An email list gives you a direct line to your customers as well as the opportunity to supercharge your marketing automation efforts. While SEO and social media have their place, email marketing tools make it so you’re not at the mercy of any one platform or update. Given the amazing benefits of this marketing tactic, there’s no shortage of email marketing platforms to choose from. But which one is right for your brand’s needs? In this guide, we’ll cover the best email marketing software, from simple tools with free plans to complex apps with advanced features.

Ruby Friel always knew she wanted to start her own shop. Her entrepreneurial journey began as a teenager working as a florist for small business owners and began to take shape as a product designer, where she traveled the world to research trends, and drew inspiration from small boutiques and stores she found. But it wasn't until 2020, when a friend offered her an affordable space above their business in Stockport, UK that she decided to take the leap. In March 2020, with all £3,000 of her personal savings, Ruby opened Still Life Story, one week before the first UK lockdown.

Metafields sound technical, but with a bit of time they can be simple to understand. At the core, they’re about adding additional information into your admin or storefront that doesn’t come standard across Shopify’s platform. Many businesses have specific needs that are unique to what they sell, their customers and their business goals. We created Metafields to help you customize and manage the information you need to grow your business to match your ambition.

It might seem like just another standard link in the navigation menu, but an online store’s Contact Us page is often one of the most under-optimized locations on its entire site. While you’ve probably put a lot of thought into making your homepage or landing page represent your brand and personality, other web pages tend to get a lot less love. This is a mistake. By making your Contact page more personable and more inviting, you’ll be giving customers who need to talk to you a better experience.

Choosing an online payment processing system that doesn’t accept the payment methods your customers prefer is much like speaking Chinese at a Marrakech market: both approaches are unlikely to result in a successful transaction.

Credibility is important in marketing. It’s better to have someone else vouch for you than preach credibility yourself. Backlinks that point from one site to another are ranking factors in many search engine algorithms. These backlinks act as a vote of confidence: another website owner is stating your page offers value and that your domain has authority on the article topic. Knowing how to get backlinks is an important part of search engine optimization (SEO), as it helps your website rank higher in search engine results pages (SERP) and delivers a steady stream of traffic. Realistically, there are likely hundreds—if not millions—of sites very similar to yours. How do search engines choose which to show on the first page?