Here is a video cast that I came across that makes this point. It goes into detail about how to have a structured approach to email marketing. This process based approach is applicable to not only email marketing but all other electronic marketing mediums and traditional mediums as well.

Here's the link: Five Best Ways to Optimize Email Marketing

I say this because chances are you do not have a very big list. The problem is that most services including iContact.com, and ConstantContact.com charge a monthly fee based on the size of your list with the smallest subscription being around $15/month. Since you are just starting out, you don't need to pay a monthly fee until you get over 500 subscribers. At that point you have a choice, return the favor to MailChimp.com or switch to another provider. Chances are you'll want to stay with MailChimp because you'll be familiar with them AND your history will be there. In other words you could switch but you'll need a compelling reason to switch.

Here are some reasons you may want to consider switching once you get more subscribers:

1. Hmmm, I can't seem to think of any....
2. Well okay, icontact.com and constantcontact will be a little cheaper

You get my point. It's a good value. Until you are an experienced email marketer or until you run into something that you can't do, stay with them. They are one of the few companies that offer "pay as you go" pricing. That means you can pay for exactly the number of email you send. If you are only sending one per month, this may be a better value than other low-cost providers. In fact, the biggest testament to this recommendation is the fact that I use mailchimp.com for my website.

When you're ready for something with more features, check out www.ExactTarget.com. They have probably the BEST full suite of email tools. They take things to a whole new level with their advanced feature set. Of course they have competitors but ExactTarget.com is the industry leader.