Marketing tools are the invisible foundation of a strong marketing strategy. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of online marketing tools out there, and some are expensive and difficult to use and implement.
If you’re a small-business owner, the cost of these tools alone can feel unwieldy, and choosing the best fit for your marketing efforts may be difficult.
We put together a curated list of the types of marketing tools you’ll need by marketing category.
While this isn’t a comprehensive list, it’s a thoughtful collection of tools that are at the top of their class, affordable or free, and can grow with your business over time.
Types of marketing tools
The different types of marketing tools you’ll need fall under the following categories:
- Email marketing
- Social media marketing
- Content marketing
- SEO
- Direct mail
- Lead generation
- Lead capture and conversion
- Live chat
- Design and visuals
- Project management
- SMS marketing
- Analytics and tracking
- Brand marketing
- Influencer and affiliate marketing
- Loyalty and rewards
48 best marketing tools for every business and budget
You might need tools from one or all of these categories—it really depends on what your goals are and what your overalldigital marketing strategyis. For tools that don’t have a free option, many offer seven- or 14-day free trials, where you can test out the marketing platform before you commit.
1. Email marketing
Email marketing tools help you create email campaigns, send out email blasts or newsletters, organize different email lists, and track and analyze results.
They support your overall email marketing strategy by acting as a hub for all types of email campaigns you send, such as automated sequences like abandoned cart emails, one-off announcements to your customers, or follow-ups.
There are tons ofemail marketing servicesout there with different marketing automation features, but these are some of the best.
Featured email marketing tool
1. Shopify Email
Shopify Emaillets you create branded emails in minutes with a drag-and-drop editor.
You can use pre-built automation templates to send emails at the right time, and segment your list to connect with the right customers. Create, send, and track campaigns, all within your Shopify admin.
Pricing:Included free with any Shopify store.
Type of platform:When you sign up for a Shopify store, email comes with it.
Other popular email marketing tools
- Pricing:Free for up to 2,000 contacts, and includes up to 10,000 sends per month and a daily limit of 2,000. Paid plans start at $9.99 for 500 contacts.
- Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface,Mailchimp Shopify app.
- Pricing:Free for up to 250 contacts and 500 email sends total. Paid plans start at $20 per month for up to 500 contacts.
- Type of platform:Standalone SaaS,Klaviyo Shopify应用.
- Pricing:Free for up to 300 contacts with 3,000 sends total. Paid plans start at $11 per month for 600 contacts, with unlimited email sends.
- Type of platform:Automizely Shopify app.
2. Social media marketing
Social media marketing tools allow you to do things like create one post, then automatically send it to every platform—at the time and date you set. You can easily create acontent calendarfor various channels like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.
These tools eliminate manual social media management processes like tracking the performance of each post in a spreadsheet, or going into each social media app every day to get content up. They also make it easier to create and launch paid social posts, and make it possible for customers to shop a social feed on your website.
Featured social media marketing tool
5. Buffer
UsingBuffer, you can schedule and share content across the most popular social media channels. It also helps you automate recurring tasks, saving time and ensuring yoursocial media contentis timely and relevant.
A range of analytics, performance metrics, and collaboration features are also included to help manage social media campaigns.
Pricing:Free for up to three social channels and 10 posts queued up at a time. Paid plans start at $5 per month per social channel, with unlimited posts in the queue.
Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface.
Other popular social media marketing tools
- Pricing:Try any plan for 30-days free. Paid plans start at $99 per month for 10 social accounts, content curation and management features, and more.
- Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface.
- Pricing:Free for up to one profile, with 50 Twitter searches per day. Paid plans start at $23 per month with up to three profiles and unlimited Twitter searches per day.
- Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface.
- Pricing:Free, even if you don’t have a Shopify store.
- Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface.
- Pricing:Free option with AdRoll branding and up to 5,000 email sends. Paid plans start at $19 per month. Total cost depends on your paid ad campaign budget, even with the free plan.
- Type of platform:Paid marketing for ecommerce businesses:Integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, Wix, and PrestaShop.
3. Content marketing
Content marketing tools can support every leg of your content strategy, whether that’s helping you create new videos, produce infographics, contribute to your blog, orstart a podcast.
They simplify tasks and support yourmarketing plan, no matter how much experience you have.
Featured content marketing tool
11. Vimeo Create video maker
Vimeo Createis the perfect tool for marketers who want to create stunning videos quickly and with minimal effort. Thousands of licensed audio tracks, motion graphics, and effects are available, and AI-powered editing tools make it easy to customize videos.
Pricing:Basic membership is free, but get up to 5 GB per week (up to 250 GB per year) of storage with the Plus membership, which starts at $7 per month.
Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface,Vimeo Shopify app.
Other popular content marketing marketing tools
- Pricing:Free product.
- Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface.
- Pricing:There’s no free plan for Simplecast, but it does offer a 14-day free trial. A Basic plan starts at $13.50 per month for two team member seats.
- Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface.
- Pricing:Free plan offers 10 searches per month. Paid plans start at $79 per month for unlimited monthly searches.
- Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface.
4. Search engine optimization (SEO)
SEO tools help you optimize and research ways to optimize your organic website traffic through online search engines.
They allow you to do keyword research, track the performance of different web pages, monitor backlinks, and help you understand how to get your website to perform better in organic search.Ecommerce SEOhelps you drive more free traffic to your website.
Featured SEO tool
14. Moz
Mozoffers a suite of tools to analyze your website’s visibility, ranking, and performance on search engines. It includes features like keyword research, website audits, link building, competitor analysis, and keyword tracking.
Pricing:免费的搜索引擎优化工具像关键词探险家,MozBar,《婚姻保护法》in Analysis, and Link Explorer. Moz Standard starts at $99 per month for marketing teams that need to track weekly keyword rankings, custom reports, competitive research, and more.
Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface.
Other popular SEO tools
- Pricing:There’s no free option. Paid pricing costs $119.95 per month. With this plan, teams can have up to five projects and track up to 500 keywords daily. The second tier plan costs $229.95 per month and includes up to 15 projects and 1,500 keywords tracked daily.
- Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface.
- Pricing:Optimize up to 50 images with the free plan, and upgrade to the Pro plan at $29 per month for unlimited image optimization.
- Type of platform:Avada Shopify app.
- Pricing:Comes free with any Shopify store.
- Type of platform:Part of the back end of your Shopify store.
5. Direct mail
Catalogs, coupons, and event flyers are all methods ofdirect mailmarketing that you might send to a customer. Direct mail marketing tools make it possible to design, ship, and track the performance of your direct mail initiatives at scale.
Featured direct mail tool
18. Sendoso
Sendosois an automated solution for sending direct mail, saving you hours of manual work and ensuring your items get delivered.
Pricing:There’s no free plan and no pricing listed on the Sendoso website, but the Essential plan allows up to 1,500 sends per year. The Plus plan allows up to 4,000 sends per year.
Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface.
Other popular direct mail tools
- Pricing:Postie does not list any prices on its website; you’ll need to contact the sales team for a demo.
- Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface.
6. Lead generation
Lead generation tools automate the lead sourcing process and help nurture new prospective buyers into customers.
Without these tools, attractingnew customersto your business would be a manual time-consuming process, requiring that many moving parts work in harmony. Lead gen tools take the guesswork out of these processes by doing them for you.
Featured lead generation tool
20. HubSpot
Hubspotis a marketing and sales platform designed to help you grow better. It offers an integrated set of tools, including a content management system, CRM, analytics, and website optimization.
Pricing:HubSpot offers freecustomer relationshipmanagement (CRM), marketing, sales, and customer service tools. The actual Marketing Hub plans start at $45 per month for 1,000 marketing contacts. The next tier plan starts at $800 per month for up to 2,000 marketing contacts and significantly more features.
Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface,HubSpot Shopify app.
Other popular lead generation tools
- Pricing:Free app.
- Type of platform:ONE Shopify app.
7. Lead capture and conversion
You might offer a 15% discount to first-time email subscribers, or let people sign up on a landing page for updates on a new product launch.
Lead capture tools prompt potential customers for their emails so you can send them marketing emails in order to convert them into customers. Without inbound lead capture tools, you’ll miss out on the ability to nurture the people who come to your site and don’t convert.
Featured lead capture tool
22. Unbounce
Unbounceis a digital marketing tool that helps you create, publish, and optimize landing pages. You can quickly create and deploy campaigns to capture leads and increase conversions.
Pricing:There’s no free option, but you can start with a 14-day free trial. The basic Launch plan costs $90 per month and includes up to 500 conversions, up to 20,000 visitors, and one domain. The Optimize plan costs $135 per month and includes up to 1,000 conversions, 30,000 visitors, and up to five domains.
Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface.
Other popular lead capture tools
- Pricing:There’s no free option, but you can start with a 14-day free trial. The Starter plan costs $29 per month after that; the next tier costs $199 per month and includes dynamic quiz functionality.
- Type of platform:Octane Shopify app.
- Pricing:The free version includes up to $100 in boosted revenue. The second tier plan costs $3.99 per month and includes up to $1,000 in boosted revenue.
- Type of platform:Sales Popup Shopify app.
8. Live chat
Live chat isn’t just for customer support. We found that 70% of customers conversing with businesses through Shopify Inbox had questions around a purchasing decision.
Live chat tools facilitate real-time conversations, can automate responses, and can help you track and analyze what types of messages work better for conversion. They play a major role in answering the questions that hold customers back from making a purchase.
Featured live chat tool
25. Shopify Inbox
Shopify Inboxis a free messaging tool that lets you chat with customers while they shop. You can manage conversations from online store chat, Shop app, Instagram, and Messenger.
Pricing:Free with any Shopify store.
Type of platform:Add Shopify Inbox to any Shopify store.
Other popular live chat tools
- Pricing:No free option but you can sign up for a seven-day free trial. Priced plans start at $60 per month for 350 tickets and an extra $25 for each additional 100 tickets. The next tier costs $300 a month for 2,000 tickets and an extra $23 per 100 additional tickets.
- Type of platform:Integrates with Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento.
- Pricing:Free option includes 100 unique website visitors reached and unlimited messages. Paid plans start at $39 per month, with unlimited unique visitors reached, and unlimited chats and chatbots.
- Type of platform:Tidio Shopify app, SaaS plug-in.
9. Design and visuals
从你的包装你的名片刺激uct photos and videos, the design and visuals of your website are unique to your brand. These design tools make it easy for anyone, design chops or not, to create a bright, compelling, visual language for your business.
Featured design tool
28. Canva
Canvais an online design tool that allows its users to create stunning visuals with ease. It offers an array of templates and custom designs that can be modified to fit any need.
Pricing:Free option includes a large set of features. Pro option costs $12.99 per month and comes with premium photos and templates, collaboration features, and brand kits.
Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface.
Other popular design tools
- Pricing:Free Shopifybusiness tool—no Shopify store required.
- Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface.
- Pricing:Make videos for free, but if you’d like to download them, you’ll have to pay for a plan. The entry level tier costs $29 per month.
- Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface,Promo Shopify app.
- Pricing:There is no free option, and pricing depends on how large your packaging is and how much volume you do.
- Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface,Arka Shopify app.
10. Project management tools
Project management tools are the key to an organized marketing campaign calendar and smooth communication between you and the other members of your team.
Featured project management tool
32. Asana
Asanais a project management desktop and mobile app designed to help teams manage their workflows and projects. It is a flexible tool for project-based teams, as it can be used to assign tasks and track progress, create custom dashboards, and store resources.
Pricing:Free product that works for up to 15 team members. Paid plans start at $10.99 per month if you have more than 15 team members or want additional features for more complicated workflows.
Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface.
Other popular project management tools
- Pricing:Try out Google Workspace free for 14 days. Plans start at $6 per user per month for 100 participant video meetings and 30 GB of cloud storage per user. The second tier plan costs $12 per user per month for 150 participant video meetings and recordings, plus 2 TB of storage per user.
- Type of platform:Standalone SaaS.
- Pricing:Robust free product. Access up to 10,000 messages, 10 app integrations, and 1:1 voice and video calls. Upgrade to a paid plan at $6.67 per month for full message history, guest accounts, unlimited integrations, and group video calls with up to 15 people.
- Type of platform:Standalone SaaS software download.
- Pricing:Basecamp Personal is free and includes three projects, 20 users, and 1 GB of storage space. Try out Basecamp business free for 30 days, and upgrade to a paid plan for $99 per month with unlimited projects and users and 500 GB of storage space.
- Type of platform:Standalone SaaS software download.
11. SMS marketing
According to a study,SMS marketingis extremely effective—many SMS campaigns have an average open rate of 98%.
Compared to email marketing, which often hovers around 20%, it’s becoming a more effective way to reach customers. SMS marketing tools make it possible to send those bulk messages and measure their impact. Without these tools, it would be impossible to text customers at scale.
Featured SMS marketing tool
36. Postscript
Postscriptlets you create and send customized, automated messages to customers at scale and track engagement. Postscript also has features like segmentation and A/B testing that help you optimize SMS campaigns for maximum results.
Pricing:Free for 30 days. Then, pay $0.0099 per message.
Type of platform:Postscript Shopify app.
Other popular SMS marketing tools
- Pricing:Free to install, and $0.0149 per SMS message. A $19 per month upgrade gets you 1:1 SMS conversations, but you’ll still have to pay $0.0149 per SMS message.
- Type of platform:SMSBump Shopify app.
- Pricing:There’s no free option, and Attentive does not list pricing information on its website.
- Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface.
12. Analytics and tracking
In order to better understand how the different elements of your digital marketing are performing, you’ll need analytics and tracking tools. These tools clue you in to what levers you can pull to increase customer conversions on different webpages.
Featured analytics tool
Google Analytics
Google Analyticsis a powerful tool that helps you better understand your customers and how they interact with your website. With detailed tracking and reporting, you can make more informed decisions about your marketing and customer experience.
Pricing:The standard version of Google Analytics is free.
Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface.
Other popular analytics tools
- Pricing:The free version of the Lucky Orange heat mapping tool includes 500 pageviews per month and unlimited heat map data and recordings for 30 days. Upgrade to the $10 per month package for 25,000 page views per month.
- Type of platform:Standalone SaaS,Lucky Orange Shopify app.
- Pricing:Free option includes one project and up to 10,000 sessions per month. Paid plans start at $3,600 per year and include up to 40,000 sessions per month.
- Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface, Shopify integration.
13. Brand marketing
Brand marketing tools tell the story of your brand, from the name of your business to your logo. If you’re a small business in particular, these tools make it quick and easy to get up and running without spending a ton of money hiring a branding specialist or designer.
- Logo Maker
- Pricing:Free Shopify logo maker.
- Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface.
- Shopify业务名称生成器
- Pricing:Free Shopify business name generator.
- Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface.
Influencer and affiliate marketing
Influencer marketing tools help you find and reach out to qualified influencers who will market your products to their audiences.
Rather than sourcing candidates yourself by manually combing through social media networks, these all-in-one tools provide an easy platform and process where influencers reach out to you. Affiliate marketing tools can help you start andmanage your own affiliate marketing programs, an otherwise bulky process that would be challenging to operate manually.
Featured influencer marketing tool
44. Shopify Collabs
Shopify Collabsis the easiest way to find creators to promote your products to new audiences. Search millions of creators and find ones that align with your brand. Send products and discounts directly from your Shopify store, and track affiliate payouts through PayPal.
Pricing:Free.
Type of platform:Shopify app.
Other popular influencer marketing tools
- Pricing:Free for 14 days. Plans start at $89 per month for 130 tracked affiliate conversions per month. Upgrade to Enterprise (price upon request) for unlimited tracked conversions.
- Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface,Refersion Shopify app.
15. Loyalty and rewards
Incentivize customers to make repeat purchases with loyalty and reward programs. Loyalty and reward program tools track purchases and automatically generate rewards when they’re due.
Many of these tools also provide referral programs that incentivize existing customers to get new customers to make purchases.
Featured loyalty tool
46. Smile
Smilelets you set up a loyalty and rewards program in minutes, no coding required. It easily integrates with Shopify POS and other email marketing apps. Smile also offers 24/7 support by a team of experts to help with everything from technical questions to best practices.
Pricing:Smile’s free version comes with a points and referral program. Paid plans start at $49 per month and include program branding, reward emails, and one integration.
Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface,Smile Shopify app.
Other popular loyalty tools
- Pricing:Yotpo’s free loyalty and rewards plan includes up to 100 monthly orders, customizable rewards, and a referral program. Upgrade to a paid plan for $29 per month for additional features like customized rewards pop-ups and points for product review.
- Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface,Yotpo Shopify app.
- Pricing:The free LoyaltyLion program includes 800 monthly orders and basic loyalty features. Paid programs start at $159 per month and also include 800 monthly orders and “core features.” Pay $399 per month for up to 2,000 orders.
- Type of platform:Standalone SaaS web interface,LoyaltyLion Shopify app.
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Marketing tools FAQ
What is a digital marketing tool?
What is the best marketing tool?
What tools can be used for marketing?
There are various marketing tools, but the most common fall into these categories:
- Email marketing
- Social media marketing
- Content marketing
- SEO
- Direct mail
- Lead generation
- Lead capture and conversion
- Live chat
- Design and visuals
- Project management
- SMS marketing
- Analytics and tracking
- Brand marketing
- Influencer and affiliate marketing
- Loyalty and rewards