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Originally Posted by jestep
I'm looking for a newsletter management and delivery software program. There are so many out there, but I would like to know of some that people have used in the past with good results.
I prefer PHP based, and it must be able to manage non-deliverable emails, and send in milti-part, html, and text based.
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Are you looking for a PC based, server side or 3rd party solution?
Meaning do you want to manage your own mailings, or do you want to retain a 3rd party?
What list size (roughly) and amount of monthly volume (total emails) on average are you looking at?
Are you concerned about delivery? Are you willing to accept that on average anywhere from 25 to 50% of your emails will either be simply dropped or end up in the junk mail/bulk mail folder?
This is the statistical average, based on most major studies. 25% is the average for business to consumer and 50% is the average for business to business.
You can significantly improve these numbers, but you need to take important steps to monitor and improve delivery rates.
This is especially important if all or some of your email messages are critical communications?
I am asking these questions, because even with a good "server side" software solution, you are still confronted with these issues.
Therefore, if you are looking at server side solution, I suggest you also need to consider two additional concepts:
* Certification - send email from a dedicated IP address, which is listed with a service that monitors your mailing practices, allowing messages from your IP to be "safe listed" or "white listed" at the server lever with large and small networks.
* Monitoring Delivery - being able to monitor delivery of your email, so that you can assess what changes are required to resolve issues.
These services are not free, but if you have a significant list, the return on investment will justify the expenditure.
Presuming for the moment that you are looking at a server side solution, Interspire markets
Send Studio 2004 which is a nice product that is well supported and would likely satisfy your needs.
(Yes, that is an affiliate link. Or you can simply go
here.)
The only draw back is that presently the software does not integrate RSS into the offering.
In my view, online publishers will want to look at RSS for delivering content.
Are you familiar with Mozilla's Thunderbird email client software?
This program is a good example of what I believe the world will look like in the near term.
The program allows users to access both e-mail, along with their News and Blog feeds in an easy fashion. The News and Blogs appear in the same fashion as email messages. You can simply read the subject line, or the whole message.
I appreciate this is still "bleeding edge," but the program is easy to use for the average non-techie. Meaning, I would consider adding an RSS feed.
Trusting these comments are of some assistance.
Kind regards,
John
P.S. Another solution is to send your marketing/newsletter email from your own server and use a third party (which is certified and does provide access to good statistics) to send your transactional messages for you.
One provider which does offer this service is
Bighip. You will find details of their Receipt Delivery Service on the landing page.
I add that this provider also allows you to integrate your email "campaigns" with RSS.
John Glube
Toronto, Canada