I've been running an email marketing SaaS using AcelleMail Extended License for 2 years now. Here are my tips for anyone looking to start a similar business:
Business Model
- Offer tiered plans based on subscriber count
- Charge monthly (not per email) — easier to predict revenue
- Include setup assistance for the first month — reduces churn
- Offer a free tier (500 subscribers) — great for lead generation
Technical Setup
- Use AcelleMail multi-tenant mode
- Let customers bring their own SES/SMTP credentials (reduces your sending costs)
- Set up automated billing with Stripe/PayPal
- Automated provisioning: customer signs up → account created instantly
Marketing
- Target small businesses who can't afford Mailchimp
- Local market advantage (support in local language, local payment methods)
- Content marketing: "How to save $X vs Mailchimp" works great
- Partnerships with web agencies (they refer clients, you share revenue)
Numbers (after 2 years)
- 180 paying customers
- Average revenue per customer: $25/month
- Monthly revenue: ~$4,500
- Costs: ~$400/month (servers + SES)
- Profit margin: 91%
The Extended License ($590) paid for itself in the first week.
