Best deals for marketing and social media

Marketing tools are a good place to look for deals, because most work on subscriptions with a free plan or trial, and teams often pay for features they never open. The offers below are listed on HelloDeals right now. They cover publishing, link tracking and email. Terms change, so check the deal page and the seller's site before you pay.

Start with the job, not the tool

Before you compare prices, write down the one task you want to improve. Typical jobs:

• Publish consistently without logging in to every network each day.
• Know what works: which posts, links and emails bring people to you.
• Keep an audience you own, such as an email list.

A tool that does one of these well is usually better than a suite that does everything in a basic way.

How to compare scheduling and publishing tools

1. Networks supported. Make sure every channel you actually use is included, with the post types you use (images, video, threads, carousels).
2. Seats and approvals. If more than one person publishes, check per-seat pricing and whether there is an approval step.
3. Analytics. Look for the numbers you would really act on: reach, clicks, best times.
4. Queue and calendar. The daily experience matters more than the feature list. Try planning a real week.
5. Export. Can you take your scheduled content and reports with you?

Links and tracking

Short, branded links make it possible to see which posts and campaigns bring visits and sign-ups. When you test a link tool, create links for one real campaign, share them, and check whether the click and conversion data is something you would use. Also check custom domains, link limits and whether data is kept after a plan ends.

Email and newsletters

An email list is the one audience you own. For a first newsletter, a simple tool is enough: a sign-up form, a clean editor and reliable delivery. Check how the tool handles consent and unsubscribes, whether you can export your list, and what happens to your price as the list grows.

Getting the most from a marketing deal

• Choose yearly only after a month of real use.
• Put the renewal date in your calendar and review it at full price.
• Connect only the accounts you need, and review the permissions you grant.
• Do not buy two tools for the same job because both are discounted.

More to explore: the Marketing category, and our post on testing software with a free trial.