Choosing an e-mail list manager

Recently as part of my volunteer work for Habitat for Humanity Sunshine Coast I researched options for an email marketing tool, and here’s what I found. The information is based on their websites and asking around, not on my personal experience with their services. Nonetheless, I hope you find it useful!

All of these services seem to be quite comparable/competitive, so rather than recap the features I’ve mainly commented on differences. All do the standard things you might need, at least at first glance.

If you’re shopping around you should confirm whether the service allows you to import and export your subscriber lists. The first big ones I looked into claim to, others I’m not so sure about.

Pricing and features may change of course so you should get the most current info from the providers’ websites. If you have anything to add, please do… personal experience with these services, errors, updates, etc. Bring it on!

Constant Contact

My thoughts: Constant Contact is used by many small businesses. I think it’s just because their logo is so prominent on the e-mails they send out, by which they’ve gained a lot of mindshare. Personally I would never use it just for that fact. Anyone reading your email is giving it limited attention (IF they read it!). Why waste it on driving attention to the service you’re paying for, rather than the message you’re trying to communicate? You’re basically paying them to advertise for them. No wonder they have so many small businesses in their fold.

Cost: from $15 – $150/month depending on number of subscribers. Starter plan good for up to 500.

Charitable discounts: “if you forward your 501 (c) (3) or equivalent nonprofit documentation, you are eligible for a 20% (6 months) or 30% (12 months) discount.”

Possible differentiators, for good or bad

• Must pay extra to host more than 5 images
• Puts their logo on the emails (Yuck.)
• Includes anti-spam testing? (I wasn’t too sure on this.)
• Also offers an online survey service for another $15/month.

Mail Chimp

My thoughts: MailChimp’s free offering is a great way for people to get started in the email broadcasting game. Their tagline is “We make email marketing easy & fun” and their website makes me believe it. If I didn’t personally use a service that’s made for designers, this would be top of my list.

MailChimp is also a member of The Small Business Web – a cool initiative by some software-as-a-service companies which co-operate together to better serve their clients. I learned of this through my invoicing & timetracking tool, FreshBooks.

UPDATE: As of Sept. 1, MailChimp now has a FOREVER FREE plan.

Cost: Costs are the same as Constant Contact except for:

• Offers Pay-as-you-go OR monthly fees OR a free starter plan: FREE for up to 100 subscribers, up to 6X per month.
• Entry level is $10 for up to 500 subs with unlimited broadcasts. (vs. CC’s $15)

Charitable discounts: 15% off for non-profits.

Possible differentiators, for good or bad

• See a chart comparing MailChimp and other popular contenders. Unlike Constant Contact, no limits on image hosting and no ugly logo in your messages. The part of the chart that says Constant Contact has no “Multiple Lists & Segmentation” seems to contradict this from the CC site.
• Has an “Inbox Inspector” for previews of how the mail will look for recipients. (Add-on, cost varies) See their Power Features. This kind of testing is more important than you may realize. Branded emails can look drastically different for different recipients and templates must be checked carefully.
• Co-operation with SurveyMonkey (separate company) including a free upgrade for Mail Chimp stats
• Other email services seem aimed at a more serious, business-minded market. MailChimp seems more down-to-earth while still credible. They appear to do a great job of making a service for Normal Humans that also has features to satisfy Web Geeks/Designers.

AWeber

My thoughts: I know some serious online marketers who use AWeber. When I asked on twitter what people used and why, Sonia Simone said something like “AWeber for getting into people’s inboxes, not caught in spam filters”.

Recently I’ve heard some grumbling about downtime or glitches with the autoresponders.

Cost: Entry level is a little more expensive than the others, at $19 for up to 500 subscribers.

Charitable discount: Free for 3 months, then 25% off. Unclear whether this applies outside the U.S.

Possible differentiators, for good or bad

• Maybe my impression is skewed because the people I know using it are Serious Online Marketers, but, aside from the glitches mentioned above, they appear to nail the autoresponder game.

Vertical Response

My thoughts: Except for their generous offer to non-profits, Vertical Response hasn’t made much of an impression on me so far. Looks like a solid, respectable service. Adored by at least one marketer I know of, @netchick. At least, that’s what @bluelimemedia says, and I trust her

Price: Pay-as-you-go and monthly fee plans. Starter plan is $10/month for up to 500 subs. Discounts for prepaid 6 or 12 month plans.

Charitable discount: 10,000 emails free per month for registered charities in US and abroad (way to go, Vertical Response!)

Possible differentiators, for good or bad

• Support pages have both video and text tutorials. I’m generally too impatient for video so this makes me happy.
• **VR definitely allows importing a list. Couldn’t find info on exporting.

Other Contenders

Here are some less-famous players you might want to check out which I didn’t go into as deeply.

SendLoop

• SendLoop costs 1cent per recipient. First 25 credits free each month. Bulk discounts.
• Integrates with Shopify (e-commerce), Highrise (CRM),  and Facebook.

Mad Mimi

• MadMimi is free for up to 100 contacts. Starter plan $8/month for up to 500 contacts.
• Claims “With ground-breaking technology, Mad Mimi is the simplest way to create branded, well-designed newsletters and promotions”
• Used by some very well-respected outfits by the look of it; Seth Godin’s Squidoo and the AIGA.

Wrapping Up

Was this useful? What matters to you when looking for an email marketing service? Any updates or stories about your personal experience? Can I still call it a wrap-up if I only ask questions?