14 best email automation tools for small businesses in 2025

Sales teams send hundreds of emails daily to connect with prospects and close deals as part of their marketing strategy. That’s why every email needs personalization and follow-up at the right time.

Email automation tools streamline how you handle these critical but time-consuming tasks. They capture leads automatically, personalize outreach at scale and track engagement in real time, letting you focus on customer relationships.

In this article, you’ll get a list of the best email automation tools for every stage of your sales process. Discover everything from capturing leads to optimizing campaigns and driving the most conversions.

Lead capture and list building

Lead generation and capture tools collect contact information from website visitors through online forms and pop-ups. The software extracts visitors’ email addresses, which are necessary to start any sales conversation.

Qualified visitors who leave without joining your email list are missed sales opportunities. Lead capture tools prevent this loss by offering something valuable to new subscribers in exchange for an email address (e.g., e-books, free trials, free courses, webinars, etc.).

Lead capture systems often include automation features like:

• Landing page builders that convert visitors

• Sign-up forms that extract information seamlessly

• Lead magnets to offer prospects value upfront

• Website integration that connects with your existing systems

• List segmentation to group similar leads by interest, etc.

Here are some tools that excel at capturing the right leads with ease of use in mind.

1. Pipedrive’s LeadBooster

Pipedrive’s LeadBooster uncovers high-quality leads in seconds without manual research.

The native add-on works seamlessly within the customer relationship management (CRM) software, enhancing email functionality.

With access to 400M+ verified profiles through the AI-powered Prospector tool (part of LeadBooster), you can quickly filter sales prospects by location, industry, job title and company size to match your ideal customer.

Prospector helps you spend less time searching for leads and more time closing sales. The AI engine verifies contact information daily, so your emails don’t bounce back and you hit your campaign goals.

This is how the filters look when you search prospects in Pipedrive:

Key features:

• Search and filter prospects using buyer demographics data

• Verify contact info before adding to your CRM software

• Capture website visitors with customizable Web Forms

• Build email marketing lists with GDPR-compliant data

• Auto-import and enroll Prospector-sourced contacts into your pipeline

• Automate workflows (emails, tasks, follow-ups) as soon as leads enter your CRM

LeadBooster’s Web Forms feature collects inbound leads from your website while Prospector handles outbound email prospecting. Both feed directly into your sales pipeline for immediate action.

Since LeadBooster is built into Pipedrive, you can send outreach emails and schedule calls from the same view where you find prospects. Everything syncs automatically.

Take performance marketing agency MediaVision. After upgrading its Pipedrive plans and leveraging LeadBooster tools, it doubled automation – including email follow-ups – and grew lead generation by 30%.

2. Formcrafts

Formcrafts helps you create robust forms to capture more leads while analyzing visitors’ behavior.

The form engagement feature tracks how visitors interact with your forms. You can see which fields cause friction (e.g., people leave or spend too much time on them). This data helps you optimize the content to drive higher conversion rates.

You can choose from ready-made form templates or build your own.

Key features:

• Create text inputs and drop-downs (e.g., name fields, company size, industry selectors)

• Enable file uploads and sender signatures

• Process payments with the Stripe integration

• Gather feedback with rating scales and customer surveys

Conditional logic keeps forms relevant to each visitor. The feature shows or hides fields based on previous answers, cutting out extra steps.

Multi-step forms work alongside it to break long processes into smaller sections, so visitors complete one task at a time without feeling overwhelmed.

When someone abandons your form, partial submissions ensure you don’t lose everything. You capture whatever information they entered before leaving, giving you a chance to send a follow-up email and still complete the sale.

3. V1CE

V1CE turns business cards into lead capture tools with NFC-enabled digital profiles.

When a user taps their phone with your V1CE card, you can automatically collect their contact details into your CRM using the Auto Sync feature.

This functionality is especially helpful for networking events, as you won’t need business cards or to manually enter details into your CRM.

Key features:

• Build digital profiles with your contact info and links

• Use the two-way lead capture on every tap

• Sync contacts to your CRM for immediate follow-up

• Integrate with your digital wallet for easy sharing

You control what information appears on your profile and add social media links, calendars, portfolios or website links. Analytics show who viewed your profile and when they engaged.

Cold outreach

A cold email automation tool helps you automate reaching out to prospects who have yet to interact with your business.

Traditional email providers such as Gmail or Outlook limit the number of emails you can send in bulk and lack tracking capabilities. Cold outreach tools bypass these limitations with unique IP addresses and advanced analytics.

5. Lemlist

Lemlist creates multichannel sequences that combine email, LinkedIn and voice messages.

You create sequences that start with an email, follow up on LinkedIn and circle back to email. This multichannel approach increases your chances of getting a response.

Here’s a multi-channel sequence example with LinkedIn and voice message options:

Key features:

• Create custom landing pages with text, logos, videos and branded colors

• Set up multi-channel sequences combining email, SMS and LinkedIn

• Send LinkedIn connection requests automatically

Lemlist also personalizes cold emails at scale with custom landing pages for each prospect. When you send emails, you can link a custom landing page with your offering to help boost reply rates.

The platform tracks engagement across all channels. See which prospects showed the most interest so you can focus your energy on warm leads.

6. Smartlead

Smartlead allows you to manage unlimited email accounts for your cold outreach efforts.

Having many email accounts connected to Smartlead means you don’t reach sending limits easily. You keep each account healthy and your emails out of spam folders.

All replies from your multiple accounts land in one unified inbox:

Key features:

• Rotate unlimited email accounts for more messaging capacity

• Warm up email accounts with daily sends and automate follow-ups

• Manage all replies from all accounts in one central inbox

• Categorize emails with AI based on prospect replies (e.g., interested, not interested, out of office)

Smartlead’s automation and AI features streamline outreach workflows, improving response handling to save you time.

Email generation

Email generation tools use AI to write sales emails based on prompts and templates. You create compelling email copy that’s essential to get prospects to respond.

Sales reps need to create personalized messages based on prospect context (e.g., their industry, company size, pain points, pricing). Because writing unique messages takes time, email generation tools help you scale this process.

The best email generation tools have these features:

• AI writing assistance with sales-focused prompts

• Template libraries for common email content scenarios

• Recipient personalization using prospect data

• Brand voice consistency across all messages

• Tone adjustment for different audiences

Here are some tools you can explore to support your email copy efforts.

7. Pipedrive’s AI email writer

Pipedrive’s AI email writer lets you create compelling emails within your CRM with one click.

When reaching out to a prospect or following up with a client, click on “Write my email” in your email composer. Enter a simple prompt, then choose the tone and email length to get follow-ups and sales proposals in seconds.

Here’s where to find the AI writer button in your email composer:

Key features:

• Generate context-led emails from simple prompts

• Adjust message tone and length for each prospect

• Create follow-ups based on conversation history

• Summarize email threads with AI to gauge lead intent

The tool’s email summarization feature analyzes entire email conversations. It shows sentiment, readiness to buy (scored 1–10) and action items, so you know exactly where each deal stands before writing your response.

As the AI email writer is built into Pipedrive, everything in the sales funnel works seamlessly within your existing workflow. You won’t have to switch to standalone AI tools, copy customer data and lose deal context in the process.

8. Jasper AI

Jasper AI helps you write marketing content using pre-built automation templates and copywriting formulas. You can create blog posts, social media posts, emails and other copy.

The platform includes email templates for different scenarios, such as email sequences, newsletters, abandoned cart emails and transactional emails.

After selecting the template, choose the voice and enter the theme and key points you want to cover.

Key features:

• Choose from multiple email templates to suit specific communication needs

• Train AI on your brand voice for consistency

• Write in Gmail, Outlook or any text field with the Chrome extension

You can upload your emails and other marketing materials to Jasper AI, which will learn your brand voice by studying messaging tone, terminology and style.

Email automation and sequencing

Sales and marketing email automation tools send targeted emails based on triggers and schedules. You create a sequence for onboarding clients once, and it runs automatically.

Email sequences ensure every lead receives timely messages based on their actions. For example, if they open a welcome email, they may see a follow-up. If they experience cart abandonment, they get a recovery sequence. This tailored approach improves customer experience and conversions.

The best email automation and sequencing tools have these features:

• Visual workflow builders to map sequences

• Trigger-based email automation for timely responses

• Drip campaigns for nurturing leads

• Advanced scheduling and time zone detection

• Performance tracking for each sequence

Here are some tools that can help your email automation efforts.

9. Pipedrive’s Campaigns

Pipedrive’s Campaigns add-on creates and sends email marketing campaigns directly from your CRM. It crafts sales-focused newsletters and email sequences that feel personal because they use actual deal information, giving you a competitive edge.

Every time you send an email, Pipedrive automatically pulls contact data from your CRM to fill existing fields and tailor your content.

The drag-and-drop editor allows you to design professional emails. Choose from templates and add images, buttons and different sections – or create your own from scratch.

Here’s how you can track campaign engagement in your Pipedrive contact records:

Key features:

• Build sequences with the drag-and-drop email builder

• Track and analyze performance in real-time

• Segment audiences using CRM data

• Experiment with different subject lines and content using A/B testing

• Resend automatically to non-openers

Campaigns shows you which clients, leads or prospects have interacted with your emails. You can see opens, clicks and replies for each contact. The data syncs back to your deal records, allowing you to understand which prospects are warming up.

Since Campaigns is native to Pipedrive, all your contact data and sales metrics stay synchronized.

10. Calendly

Calendly automates meeting scheduling and triggers email workflows based on booking actions.

Prospects can book meetings without back-and-forth messages once you share your Calendly link in emails. The tool then automatically sends confirmation emails, reminders, notifications and follow-ups. You can customize each message to match your sales process.

Here are automated workflows for different booking scenarios in Calendly:

Key features:

• Send your prospects automated email confirmations and reminders

• Create custom follow-up sequences after sales meetings

• Set buffer time rules to space out your meeting cadence

Calendly’s automation workflows trigger different emails based on meeting outcomes. If someone cancels a meeting, the tool sends a rescheduling email. If your prospect doesn’t show up, a different email goes out.

Automated responses in Calendly keep prospects engaged without manual work.

11. Typeform

Typeform creates forms to collect customer data and trigger personalized emails based on responses.

Typeform also qualifies leads using the lead scoring feature. When prospects fill out a form, each answer branches to a different question. By the end, you understand your customer’s needs and can trigger targeted emails automatically.

Here’s what the trigger builder looks like:

Key features:

• Adapt questions based on previous answers with logic jumps

• Trigger emails based on form responses for added relevance

• Set up integrations with your email automation platforms

The Smart Insights feature shows you how prospects interact with your forms. You see completion rates by question, where people left and which questions get skipped.

Email optimization

Email optimization tools analyze and improve your email performance. They test different elements to increase open rates, clicks and conversions.

With email optimization tools, you can check which email content creates the most engagement. The tool shows you what works and what needs improvement.

The best email optimization tools have these advanced features:

• A/B testing for subject lines and content

• Analytics and reporting dashboards

• Deliverability monitoring and spam scores

• AI-powered suggestions for improvements

Here are some tools that can help your email optimization efforts.

12. Pipedrive’s email analytics tool

Pipedrive’s email analytics tool shows which emails drive deals forward and which fall flat. This tool is part of Pipedrive’s Campaigns, offering insights on your marketing campaigns without switching apps.

Every email interaction appears in your contact’s detail view. You see which campaigns prospects opened, which links they clicked and when they unsubscribed. With this information, you personalize future outreach based on actual engagement patterns.

Having your analytics tied to your email campaigns and sales efforts also helps you understand how email engagement aligns with deal health or sales stages.

Here’s an example of the report data you can pull from your campaign’s data:

Key features:

• A/B test designs using the drag-and-drop editor

• Filter and segment active contacts based on engagement

• Find optimal send times with location data

• Compare campaigns to replicate success

The tool’s customizable reports show you exactly what’s working. You can share performance dashboards with your team and assign follow-up activities.

Since analytics are built into Pipedrive’s Campaigns, you see the complete customer journey from first email to closed deal.

13. Litmus

Litmus automatically tests your emails across 100+ email clients before you hit send. The tool integrates with multiple email service providers to keep track of key metrics from your email campaigns.

Once you upload your email, Litmus shows you previews of how your message appears in Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail and others. The tool also catches rendering issues, broken images or text overlapping in mobile so you can fix them before prospects see them.

Here’s the dashboard interface in Litmus showing engagement metrics:

Key features:

• Preview messages across all major email clients

• Test spam scores automatically and get actionable fixes

• Check email accessibility for screen readers

• Track engagement with email insights

Litmus runs tests automatically and provides specific instructions on how to fix any email issues. The platform even shows before-and-after previews to confirm whether your changes work.

Spam testing happens automatically, too. Litmus checks your email against major spam filters and gives you a deliverability score.

14. Boomerang Respondable

Boomerang Respondable uses AI to predict whether your emails will get responses before you send them.

You write your email as usual. The tool will score your writing from 0 to 100 based on factors that drive responses – like subject line length, word count and question placement.

See an example of how Boomerang scores your email:

Key features:

• Predict email response rates in real time

• Get AI-powered writing suggestions

• Detect tone and politeness for relevant messaging

• Schedule follow-ups if you get a no reply

The AI learns from millions of emails to determine what works. Each suggestion comes with data showing why specific changes increase response rates.

Respondable also schedules automatic follow-ups if you don’t get a reply, keeping deals moving without manual tracking.

Sync your CRM with your email automation tools

Pipedrive’s CRM connects with various sales email automation tools, enhancing visibility into every customer relationship.

Your sales pipeline shows deals as cards moving through stages. You can customize these stages to match your sales process.

Maybe you start with “Lead In”, then move to “Contact Made”, “Demo Scheduled”, “Proposal Sent” and finally “Won”. Each card shows deal value, expected close date and the person responsible.

With your pipeline set, you can create activities or send specific email sequences for every stage of your sales process.

You can also click any of the cards to check your contact information. Here you’ll find details for people and organizations, including phone numbers, email addresses and social media profiles.

Plus, custom fields let you add industry-specific information that matters to your business.

The fields in your contact view can help you fill in key information in your email campaigns.

You can also view all your customer interactions. The activity timeline shows every interaction chronologically: emails sent from your automation tools, calls logged by your team, meetings and notes from conversations.

To make your process even more powerful, connect every email automation tool you already use to Pipedrive. Automated campaigns will feed data into your CRM, showing which messages work and which relationships need attention – all in one place.

Email automation tools FAQs

Final thoughts

Managing email automation tools can improve every stage of your sales and digital marketing process. Lead capture and cold outreach tools support your outreach efforts, while email generation and optimization tools help you nurture prospects.

The most successful sales teams use email marketing services that connect seamlessly to their CRM,allowing them to monitor marketing efforts while staying on top of sales opportunities.

Ready to automate your email workflow? Try Pipedrive free for 14 days, an all-in-one solution with built-in email automation, AI writing and campaign analytics.