The success a marketer enjoys is largely dependent on the company they choose to provide them with the necessary email marketing software and services. Because you can never really know what to expect, taking a given service for a spin before you invest is highly recommended if you have the option. A free trial offers a way to do this, and in most cases there are three main factors that determine whether an aspiring email marketer converts to a paid package or chooses to go with something else.

1. Setup Process

When testing an email marketing solution through a free trial offer, the first determining factor you encounter is usually the setup process. Ideally, you want to be able to import your existing contacts, configure the software and get everything up and running quickly. For this reason, a free trial that provides a fast, painless setup process will have a higher paid conversion rate than one that makes getting started a hassle.

2. Ease of Use

For most users, the ease of use of a free trial experience is the deal breaker. It is not uncommon for some people to pay a little more for a service if they feel it’s worth it, but very few will pay for something they find nearly impossible to use. The same goes for a free email marketing trial. If the software is easy to use, they are more likely to opt for a paid subscription. If not, they will probably look for a solution that better suits their experience level.

3. Customer Service and Technical Support

Free trial offers typically give you the opportunity to test various elements of the service. In many cases, this includes customer service and technical support. For example, a 30-day trial period should give you more than enough time to see how the company is at handling customer service inquiries and the type of support resources they have available. In fact, one of the main reasons to take a service for a trial spin is to get a better feel for how the help may be in the future.

As it relates to email marketing, the free trial experience has its advantages and disadvantages. On the bright side, the user’s expectations are set from the very beginning. You know that you are merely taking the service for a test drive and will eventually have to decide whether or not you want to invest in a paid plan. It also gives you a chance to determine exactly what you require to make an impact, which makes scaling considerably easier when it comes time to purchase that subscription.

The major disadvantage comes from wasting your time and energy on something that didn’t work out. Even though you didn’t have to come out of your pocket for the test run, you are still looking for quality, and expending your efforts on something that lacks it can be disappointing. It is always wise to take advantage of the full time allotted by a free trial to see if you’re really getting your money’s worth from your investment in email marketing.