Internal email software will take your workplace communications to the next level—but choosing the right one for your business can be daunting. Luckily, we’ve analyzed the best internal email platforms on the market so you don’t have to!
Internal email remains the most trusted channel for employees. They’re simple, secure, and familiar to employees of all generations.
In other words: they get the job done.
Just because email is a long-standing communication method, it doesn’t have to feel dated. Even with legacy IT systems and Outlook, internal email platforms offer contemporary data-driven features and enhanced design capabilities. But with all of the options out there, how do you find the right internal email platform for your business?
We’ll break down the best internal email software on the market today along with their pros and cons. After reading this article, you should have a clear idea of what to look out for when choosing the right internal email communication tools for your workplace.
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What are Internal Email Platforms and Why Are They Necessary?
Internal email platforms are specialized internal communication tools designed to elevate plain text emails. They can provide sophisticated design features, comprehensive analytics, enhanced security, and other features that help you get more out of email.
Here are just a few benefits of internal email apps in the modern workplace:
Upgrading Basic Outlook and Gmail: The latest internal communications email software integrates with Outlook and Gmail while enhancing their capabilities with stronger security, engaging internal email design features, customizable newsletter templates, and so much more.
Driving employee engagement: While email providers like Outlook and Gmail are focused on distributing information, internal email platforms are designed to build dialogue with employees. They foster employee engagement by offering interactive features like employee pulse surveys, anonymous comments, clickable content, and other interactive capabilities.
Understanding staff with employee feedback: internal email software allows users to try out creative employee newsletter ideas such as collecting employee feedback directly within emails. Gathering consistent employee feedback is easy and quick with the help of embedded employee pulse survey questions.
Optimizing emails with analytics: a key benefit of internal email platforms is that they let you understand your audience better. They do this by going beyond the open rates and clicks to reveal read times, most popular clicks, best email scheduling times, and the most engaged business locations.
Delivering tailored emails with audience segmentation: Internal email tools with list management capabilities allow you to automatically divide, organize, and update internal email lists for more targeted messaging.
Can I use Mailchimp or another email marketing software for internal communications?
Mailchimp and other external email marketing tools were designed for customer engagement. They lack key security features necessary to protect sensitive internal data and the interactive capabilities to engage employees.
Moreover, email marketing tools like Mailchimp treat employees like customers, allowing them to unsubscribe from key company updates and alerts. This is risky business if you’re sending crisis communications or simply trying to build employee engagement.
Unlike internal email software,external email tools lack specialized functionalities that help optimize internal communications. Employee feedback collection and interactive features are limited across external email tools—they’re designed to deliver information—not start a dialogue.
Luckily, there are plenty of Mailchimp alternatives designed specifically for internal communications. Read on as we cover them below.
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Best Internal Email Software for 2024
Without further ado, here’s a list of the best internal email tools on the market today and what they can do for your business:
1. ContactMonkey
Overview: ContactMonkey is a modern internal email software that integrates directly with Outlook and Gmail. The intuitive platform elevates internal email communications with sophisticated design tools, powerful analytics, targeted audience segmentation, and a host of data-driven features. Companies like Ikea, Toyota, and KPMG rely on ContactMonkey’s all-in-one internal email software for their employee communications.
Main features:
- Drag-and-drop email builder for stunning and intuitive email design
- Email-embedded employee feedback to understand your staff
- Library of customizable internal email newsletter templates
- Segmented email analytics by department, role, and more
- Click map reports for detailed email engagement analysis
- ChatGPT email-writing assistant to dodge writer’s block
- Email personalization for greater reader engagement
- Built-in employee SMS to reach employees anywhere
- List management to segment/target unique audiences
- Anonymous comments for honest feedback
- Email-embedded event management
- Multi-language email sending
- Data-driven email scheduling
ContactMonkey Pros:
- Seamlessly integrates with existing email systems
- Makes it easy to create and send personalized emails
- Suitable for small, mid-level, and enterprise businesses
- Provides detailed engagement analytics
- Easy onboarding—no learning curve
- Highly-rated customer support team
- Top-tier security and compliance
ContactMonkey Cons:
- Designed specifically for internal communications and not external email marketing, making it less multi-usage.
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2. Poppulo (Harmony)
Overview: Harmony by Poppulo is an omnichannel communications tool and internal email newsletter software. It focuses on maximizing the reach of internal communications by allowing users to instantly publish a single piece of content across multiple channels. These include email, intranet, and mobile.
Main Features:
- Multi-channel communication capability
- Personalized and targeted messaging
- Detailed analytics and reporting
- Survey and feedback tools
- Microsoft 365 integrations
- Digital signage
Poppulo Pros:
- Streamlined internal communications sending
- Very detailed analytics for tracking engagement
- Multi-channel capabilities provide extended communications reach
- Personalization capabilities make it easy to send targeted email content
Poppulo Cons:
- Complex set-up and technical onboarding
- Designed for large, dispersed enterprises
3. Staffbase
Overview: Staffbase is an internal communications email software and multi-channel communications app designed to centralize workplace collaboration. Their internal comms email platform helps simplify internal email newsletter design and creation with a drag-and-drop email builder and multi-editor collaboration.
Main Features:
- Customizable intranet
- Audience segmentation
- Internal email tracking app
- Employee engagement goal-tracking
- Drag-and-drop internal email designer
- Extensive team collaboration features
- Mobile employee communication app
Staffbase Pros:
- Highly customizable
- Mobile features are convenient for employees on the go
- Goal tracking and email analytics help users set and reach email goals
Staffbase Cons:
- Hsted in the cloud, which can result in security issues
- Steep learning curve compared to Staffbase alternatives
- Designed for large, dispersed enterprises
- Too complex for smaller organizations
- No AI writing assistant
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4. Workshop
Overview: Workshop is an internal communications email platform aimed at creating and sharing engaging employee newsletters and emails at scale. It’s targeted towards professional newsletter design and internal email campaign measurement.
Main Features:
- Customizable internal email newsletter templates
- Drag-and-drop email design features
- Internal email analytics software and performance tracking
- Internal communications audience segmentation
- Integration with popular workplace platforms
- Embedded employee pulse surveys
- Internal email campaign comparison
- Email distribution list management
Pros:
- Straightforward user interface
- Easy-to-use email creation tools
- Customizable and professional templates
Cons:
- Primarily focused on email newsletter design
- Limited integration with non-email platforms
- Limited audience segmentation features
- No event management features
5. PoliteMail
Overview: PoliteMail is a data-driven internal communications email tool designed to elevate Outlook emails. It enhances Outlook users’ email newsletter design capabilities while offering robust internal email analytics.
Main Features:
- Integration with Outlook
- Email tracking and analytics
- Intuitive campaign comparison reports
- Time zone-specific internal email scheduling
- HTML newsletter template creation and management
PoliteMail Pros:
- Seamlessly integrates with Outlook
- Includes robust email security features
- Easy to create and manage email templates
- Offers comprehensive analytics and reporting features
PoliteMail Cons:
- Limited to Outlook users
- Basic design features
6. Unily
Overview: Unily is a multi-channel employee experience platform and internal email marketing software. With its broadcast email tool, Unily allows users to share internal newsletters across multiple channels—email, intranet, mobile and more.
Main Features:
- Customizable internal email newsletter templates
- Internal email personalization
- Mobile app for on-the-go access
- Social and collaboration tools
- Internal email tracking tool
- Employee journey tracking
- Mobile-friendly intranet
Unily Pros:
- Offers a variety of channels for employee engagement and collaboration
- An all-in-one suite of tools for streamlined communication
- Geared towards tracking/measuring employee engagement
- Highly customizable to fit specific organizational needs
Unily Cons:
- Scores low on user onboarding experience
- Complex and time-consuming to implement and use
- Designed mostly for large enterprises with a large remote workforce
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Why ContactMonkey’s Internal Email Software Comes Out on Top
There are plenty of internal email communication tools to choose from with impressive capabilities. But there’s a reason why ContactMonkey consistently comes out on top.
With a simple Outlook and Gmail integration, ContactMonkey enables users to tap into sophisticated design and analytics features without disrupting their existing workflows.
The internal email software and tracking tool have several advantages that make it a compelling choice for a wide variety of businesses—from healthcare to finance.
Here are just a few of the ways you can improve internal email engagement with ContactMonkey:
- Enhance email design: ContactMonkey’s drag-and-drop email builder allows you to create professional internal email newsletters with just a few clicks. You can also access a library of pre-made and customizable internal communications email templates.
- Decode employee behaviour: With its powerful internal email tracking software, ContactMonkey delivers robust analytics that go beyond open rates and clicks. You can monitor email read times, measure pulse survey response rates, see your employees’ eNPS ratings, and more. This data also helps you set (and hit) your internal email benchmarks through a data-driven internal communications strategy.
- Personalize every email: Grab (and keep) your employees’ attention with first-name greetings, subject lines, and content that’s tailored to every individual user. ContactMonkey makes it super easy to learn how to send personalized emails in Outlook or Gmail.
- Segment and target your audience: See exactly which teams or individuals engage with specific internal email content and then use internal audience segmentation to target the right people with the right messages.
- Extend communications reach: With the help of responsive HTML email templates, employees can access all of their internal email newsletters from the comfort of their phones (without seeing distorted code or jumbled text).
- Secure internal communications: ContactMonkey prioritizes data security and compliance with industry standards such as GDPR and HIPAA. The internal email software also offers encryption, access controls, and audit trails to safeguard sensitive internal communications.
- Schedule emails at the best time: Learn exactly when employees have opened or interacted with your emails. Leverage this data to complete timely email follow-ups and ensure that key information is always delivered.
- Simplify event management: ContactMonkey’s internal email platform makes it possible to embed and manage event invites straight from the newsletter builder. For internal communicators, this makes life easier and employees can stop forgetting about important events!
- Gain valuable employee insights: With email-embedded pulse surveys, ContactMonkey empowers employees to voice their opinions and concerns quickly and easily. And an easier feedback process equals more valuable employee feedback to improve your workplace.
- Connect dispersed teams: ContactMonkey’s employee text-messaging extension helps staff access vital alerts and business updates even when away from their desks.
Get more out of your internal emails—see ContactMonkey in action with a free personalized 3-minute demo!
