Recommended mailing list services

[fechten]

I have an opt-in list of around 8,000 users and I'm having trouble getting my newsletter out to them.

My web host currently is limiting outgoing emails to 100 per hour for all hosting accounts, so I can't send the newsletter when I want to.

I've seen Constant Contact (what Yahoo!Store pushes), but don't know of any of the other mailing list hosting services.

Does anyone here have experience using them and have an opinion as to which service works best in terms of:
- Price
- Robustness (need to be able to grow to over 20K users)
- Marketing Tools (link tracking, etc.)
- Flexibility
- Reliability

I need to be able to send my newsletter out at least once/month to 8,000 users, growing by 250-500/month.

By September I'll need the ability to send daily updates to cover the Olympic Games.

Thanks,
Craig

[Duncan Pollock]

You may find it useful to look at
http://www.intellicontact.com/index.pl
My needs are much smaller than yours, with a list of some 1600 names, but I'm impressed by the facilities they offer.
You can compose in text or html. You can import names via an Excel database. They do an excellent job of tracking, which includes adds per a "Join my mailing list" box on your webpage(s) and automatic removal per a click at the foot of your newsletter. Not the least, there's no lack of support, especially per e-mail questions and quick replies.
It isn't a free service, but their rates are certainly affordable.
If -- but only if -- you think it will help, tell them that I've suggested you get in touch with them.
(They'll recognize me as Duncan Pollock Real Estate Broker, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada, e-mail dsp.pru@sympatico.ca )

Duncan
PS. They actually have something in the way of an affilitate/associate program that pays you for referrals to them. However, I haven't done anything about this. Moreover, I don't foresee doing so and I am NOT making this suggestion to you for any reason except my decided satisfaction with the way their system works for me.

[John Glube]

Craig,

You are seeking an opinion as to which third party service works best in terms of:

* Price
* Robustness (need to be able to grow to over 20K users)
* Marketing Tools (link tracking, etc.)
* Flexibility
* Reliability

Mailings are done monthly, with the potential for daily mailings during special events.

A couple of comments. Personally, I would put reliability and robustness at the top of the list.

Secondly, Msn (hotmail) and AOL have stiffer filtering requirements for email delivery than other Internet access providers. MSN has is using the Bonded Sender program run by Iron Port. AOL has its own whitelist requirements.

Thirdly, depending on the particular service you select, you will be asked to reconfirm your mailing list. This is done by some services to protect against spam complaints. But it can be a pain if you are already running a confirmed mailing list, or you are satisfied this is not an issue with your list.

With these caveats in mind and keeping your criteria in front of me there are three services I would suggest for consideration:

* The first service you may wish to look at is run by "Doc" Phelps, a software engineer. This is a smaller firm and he provides excellent support. You can try out the free service to see how the system works. In essence, for a monthly fee, you get unlimited auto-responders, each with a mail broadcast feature (meaning you can run a list server), tracking and all the usual bells and whistles. The name of the firm isA1 eBiz Solutions. The only issue? The rack monthly fee rate is pegged to a list size of 25,000 subscribers (meaning you would have to work out an arrangement once your list hits this size.)

* The next service I reference has many more subscribers. Excellent support. Strong reliability. Very robust. All the bells and whistles, tracking, etc. Autoresponders doubling as list servers. When importing a new list, you will be asked to reverify (which may be a good thing as you will weed out those people not responding.) The pricing is based on list size, with an additional fee being charged for each additional increment of 10,000 subscribers. Many list owners with lists of 100,000 and up use this service. The name of the firm is Aweber.

* The third service you may wish to look at is a medium size firm. Lots of flexibility. The service is reasonably robust and you receive appropriate support.

(This firm went through some growing pains in the fall and for about a month there was an issue with the reliability of the service. These issues have been rectified. If you use this service, you will want to have an alternate service available, just in case.)

A complete suite of tools to run your e-business including auto-responders, list servers with auto-responders, shopping cart, affiliate program, marketing co-ops, discussion boards, contact centers, surveys, polls, recommend it script, etc., etc. The bells and whistles on the auto-responders and list servers, including tracking, etc. The monthly fee is slightly higher than the other services, but then you can run a list size of up to 50,000 without any questions. The name of the firm is Ultimate Marketers Resource.

Trusting these comments are of some value.

Wishing you all the best.

Kind regards,

John Glube
Toronto, Canada

[danbroughton]

This is a very good product - install the script on your server (or they'll do it for you) - costs $99 one off fee, requires PHP and MySQL. Mail to as many a s you like. HTML or plain text.

http://www.perlscriptsjavascripts.co.../consolidator/[/url]

[danbroughton]

This is a very good product - install the script on your server (or they'll do it for you) - costs $99 one off fee, requires PHP and MySQL. Mail to as many a s you like. HTML or plain text.

http://www.perlscriptsjavascripts.co.../consolidator/

[VeraS]

Originally Posted by fechten

I have an opt-in list of around 8,000 users and I'm having trouble getting my newsletter out to them.

Try using Zinester.com mailing list services. Premium accounts include clicks-through statistics and open rate, automated bounce handling and others.

[Noga]

Fechten,

I would highly recommend that you take a look at http://www.intellimailer.com

I only joined them a few days ago, but after a long long research have found them to be one of the best mailing list services out there. And it is so easy to upload an existing subscriber list.

I beleive you will find them answering to all the terms you specified.

Good luck!
Noga.