Which email newsletter software/service to use? [Archive]

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carju1

07-08-2003, 01:49 PM

I am seriously looking at starting a monthly newletter for fans of the Nissan Rally Raid team. The newsletter would contain 1 monthly article (interview with a driver type thing), calander for the month ahead (rallies, web competitions, motor-shows etc) and a summary of the last months activity for the team. The purpose of the newslatter is primarily to remind fans the site exists and to get them to re-visit the site. I have an initial list of about 300 fans who have signed up for other promotions on the site.

My questions are:
a) Should I run the data base myself and use a program like outlook to maintain my lists (I'm quite capable of doing the subscribe/unsubscribe pages for the site and managing the list) or
b) Should I pay for a list server and newsletter software. If so which ones and what are the real benefits for me if I do?

The problems I am going to have are that everything has to be tri-lingual so I need different sign up screens, welcome letters and newsletters for each language group and I want it distributed in both HTML and text. The HTML version will have to be in Team colours meeting Brand Identity Guidelines so I'll have to design this layout myself. Most of the 'cheap' software (like list builder in MSN) can not handle the multi lingual requirements especially in its automatic pages.

Any thoughts, help or personal experiences greatly appreciated.

Regards
Julian

webproguy

07-08-2003, 02:56 PM

Julian,

In my opinion you should not use Outlook to maintain your list. You should utilize software that is designed specifically for email list management. The software will include features such as bounce handling, unsubscribe and subscribe support, ISP friendly high-speed bulk sending, HTML email support and maintain statistics on number of delivers, total sends and much more.

It is critical to successful email publishing that you send and manage your newsletter with professional software. Trust me on this one! I started one of the internet's first HTML newsletters called NewsLinx Web News (now owned by internet.com where I was formerly their Director of Email Operations) which was originally sent by an open source bulk mailer without many advanced features. Many mistakes were made because of this.

I looked into using LSoft ( http://www.lsoft.com ), an ASP for sending email, but eventually settled on Lyris ( http://www.lyris.com ) because it was more cost effective for us and had all of the advanced features.

At iEntry, the parent company of the WebProWord forum, we use both our own internally developed software and a high-priced software program called Accucast, in conjunction with a softare package called Port25.

Below are a couple of articles I found in WebProNews on this subject:

http://www.webpronews.com/wpn-5-20030501DevelopENewsletterSoftwareOrBuyOffTheShelf .html

http://www.webpronews.com/wpn-5-20030604FourTipsOnChoosingYourListManagementSoftwa re.html

Both articles are by our WebProNews email newsletter expert Michael J. Katz. Perhaps others have more software or ASP suggestions for you as well.

Thanks.

kfegarty

07-09-2003, 03:32 PM

I agree - please do not use a product like Outlook to manage your lists. It really does become to cumbersome to manage bounced, unsubscribes, subscribes, etc. as your lists become bigger.

We use Broadc@st http://www.mailworkz.com which is a product we developed. But at the risk of being self-promoting take a look at Gammadyne as well. They are a worthy competitor http://www.gammadyne.com

jeffg

07-09-2003, 03:56 PM

We use Constant Contact which is reliable though it requires a separate on-line database be kept. Since we have an ACT contact database there's a duplication of work in loading and deleting e-mail addresses.

carju1

07-15-2003, 05:46 PM

I'm slowly working my way through the suggested software and testing those I can.

Regards & Thanks

Julian

p.s. I'm sure I posted this in e-newsletters not SEO ???

bonza girl

07-18-2003, 07:17 PM

Get Response Autoresponder is also very good.
It costs though
Ros

Janet

07-19-2003, 02:12 AM

Here is a very good comparison table of many email programs:
http://www.gammadyne.com/gm-comparison.htm

vfaulkner

07-20-2003, 11:40 PM

Topica Email Publisher at http://www.email-publisher.com/

I am still learning but this seems good.

Linda Buquet

07-21-2003, 11:30 AM

Julian,

Since your list is fairly small - you can get the best pricing at http://www.intellicontactpro.com Their pricing starts at only $13 a month and they have all the features the others do. I used to recommend another HTML email service but they were just too expensive.

(FYI, I think you did post in email marketing - but it looks like they merged threads.)

tonykoh

07-22-2003, 12:03 AM

Julian,

Since your list is small, you can simply use a freeware available at http://www.mailsbroadcast.com
Check it out.

WebCraft

07-22-2003, 01:26 PM

Carju,

As I have tested so many newsletter systems, i found one that is 100% FREE and is completely customizable. In addition you can create as many newsletter topics, and contain as many subscribers as you feel you need.
The program is called MOJO Mail. It is Perl, and very powerful.
" Mojo Mail is an intuitive, web-based e-mail list management system, which runs on any hosting account that can execute custom CGI scripts.

The web site where you can get the program is: http://mojo.skazat.com/

I have it in use with 30 varieties of different newsletters on my site: http://nswebcraft.com/

It enables you to send, straight text, html or web pages with ease.
I hope that this will help.

Linda Buquet

07-28-2003, 01:27 PM

I forgot to mention the fact that http://www.intellicontactpro.com also has a two tier affiliate program that offers ongoing residual income. If anyone is interested in becoming an e-mail marketing reseller.

carju1

07-28-2003, 02:54 PM

Once again thanks all, I'm still sifting my way through some of your suggestions. The project is low priority for the client so I can only spend a couple of hours a week officially looking.

What I'm tending to find is that a lot of the products that are based on someone elses server tend to be too inflexible for my multi language requirements and those DIY ones have such a steep learning curve I read the bumf and do a kermit (throw hands in air and go aggghhhhhhh to complex - just imaging kermits arms on those little sticks waving in the air in panic- you'll get the picture:)

If any one has other suggestions please do add them, and Janet that comparison table page is great.

regards
Julian

fathom

07-29-2003, 12:51 AM

Soul Creative

07-30-2003, 01:59 AM

vshields

07-30-2003, 05:53 PM

yes, go with constant contact. I use it for all of my campaigns (I have several clients) and it works wonderfully.

TranscendMedia

07-31-2003, 12:11 PM

Julian,

A good friend of mine started PensaWorks (http://www.pensaworks.com/) and developed the SPD E-Letter (http://www.pensaworks.com/prg_spd.asp). It's a great solution and I use it for all of my clients sites and they just love it. It's extremely fast and has tons of advanced features. It works great with lists smaller then 50K subscribers but they also offer custom solutions for larger clients.

Take a look and good luck with your mailing list and web site.

Sincerely,
Gregory Van Horn
Founder & Senior Developer
Transcend Media Interactive Development & Marketing Group (http://www.transcendmediagroup.com/)

WebCraft

08-05-2003, 10:30 AM

Soul,

Hi I am having trouble with the Mojo config.pm variables, how did you get around this? Did you already have a database for your lists?

There are only 5 variables to change in the Config.pm file. Based on what variable you are havng trouble with, there really is not much to it.

1- Which variable?
2- did you chmod the file to 777?

Once you check into those, you should be all set. If you are stil having trouble, finnd the root path to your mail prog. If you use the command line prompt. try this command: %which sendmail

If you have more problems, let me know.
Once it is configured, then you will be all set to create your own lists etc.

amcknight

08-05-2003, 07:45 PM

Hello,

Whilst at present we only support English at MarketingPal.com, we are setting up custom opt-in and unsubscribe pages in various languages over the coming month. If you have any specific language requests please let me know.

We have a Bronze account which you can try to see if our service suits.

Regards,

Paulo

08-05-2003, 08:14 PM

Just to add to the already overflowing list, Julian;

been using http://www.realtracker.co.uk from http://www.realproductions.co.uk for a few months and 4000 clients.

LauraB

08-14-2003, 04:00 PM

Hi Julian,

We use Opt-In Pro Email Marketing Software http://www.myaffiliateprogram.com/optinpro.asp by My Affiliate Program I did not see it mentioned.

I am going to check-out some of the other options mentioned here.[/url]

kplatt

08-25-2003, 04:28 PM

Oh what the heck...I'll throw our Mail List Management product into the mix as well. It's called Puppeteer. More information can be found at
http://www.commnav.com/products/puppeteer.php

With this product you can easily query from existing databases and maintain multiple lists. I think that you'll also find that we are very affordable compared to the competitive products that are out there.

Good luck in your search.

KennKiser

08-25-2003, 05:05 PM

Perfect timing. I've spent my afternoon looking for a program to create our first, of hopefully many, eNewsletters. I can't wait to review some of the suggested software packages listed in this thread.

A few programs/services I've discovered online are ExactTarget, High Impact eMail 2.0, and RocketSales. Has anyone heard of these or had any experience using them?

By the way, our mailing list only contains approximately 200 email addresses. I would like the option of sending HTML and/or plain text.

wenjo

08-30-2003, 12:14 AM

Hello,

I've been reading over the posts here.
Many interesting suggestions.

I have been running a Bi-Monthly Newsletter and found that Publishing it Online is the way to go.

Why pay other program owners to support your Newsletter.

A simple Script installed on your server that has the ability to take care of all Subscribers Opting-In or Removing themselves Automatically Works Great!

Once they Subscribe, they are taken to a Welcome Page that you set up and also a Removal Page if they choose to remove themselves from your list.

Any And All Mailings can be handled on your server.

That will take care of your Subscribers & Unsubscribers Automatically.

As far as Publishing your Newsletter Online, this gives your Subscribers the option of looking at Past Issues. You will be surprised at the Subscribers reviewing Past Issues much in the same way members of this Forum look at Previous Postings.

If you are looking for a Mailing Program, contact me, I offer many.

Hope this helps. :)

Warm Regards,
John (wenjo)
admin@wenjo.com

emeaeagle

09-01-2003, 06:26 PM

....
The problems I am going to have are that everything has to be tri-lingual so I need different sign up screens, welcome letters and newsletters for each language group and I want it distributed in both HTML and text. ...

Hello Carju,
I would like to add also something to your search..
there is a product called emarsys xpress. We are using it for some our our local clients, one is the largest bank in my country. It is designed to serve html and text mails, is supported by a group of highly specialised people.

I know Constant Contact, I like it and in some projects we are using it for our clients as well;
it is a great piece of solution, however it does not officially support german language - although you can customise some parts to your language needs.And I assume one of the three languages you mention is german, am I right?

Please tell me which languages you are looking at?!

emarsys xpress it currently supports the following languages for sending eMail-newsletters, registration forms etc. English, German, French, Czech, Poslish, Hungarian and Italian; the editor´s interface is available in both german and english.

If you are capable in German I can offer you a short guided tour online, if not we also have a powerpoint in English language within a couple hours, let me know.

Best regards,
Thomas

mailto:thomas@friese.cc
phone: +43 664 4216164

cooler1

11-03-2004, 04:30 AM

you may want to try
http://www.1-BULK-EMAIL-MAILING-ADDRESS-LIST.COM

it offer 900 Million emaill address list for internet marketing

nesox

11-08-2004, 11:16 PM

So much list!
Are they SOLICITED and complicable to CAN-SPAM law?

Crabtreeop

09-19-2005, 05:55 AM

I would recommend Adestra's Message Focus, but then again, I am the Marketing Director for Adestra!

Make your own mind up:

Adestra’s Message Focus is a complete email marketing program management tool. From data acquisition through to campaign reporting, the product enables our clients to manage campaigns from simple direct response promotions through to complicated CRM programs.

The below detail is only a concise summary of the features of Adestra’s Message Focus. We would welcome the opportunity to understand your objectives more and encourage you to contact us. After this discussion and if appropriate, we’ll be able to demonstrate the relevant features of the product to you, saving you time gathering feature listings.

http://www.adestra.co.uk/email_experienced

Thanks

Paul

NetPublisher

09-19-2005, 04:13 PM

Hello All!

After years of frustration, we simply built our own robust, in-house email marketing/management browser-based application, ProMail.

ProMail was designed by marketers for marketers... Pure and simple.

ProMail includes the following features (without limitation):

* Unlimited Lists
* Unlimited List Size
* Double Opt-In Capabilities
* Full Syntax (Personalized Emails) Function
* Autoresponders
* Link Tracking
* Unlimited List Uploads (.csv)
* Unlimited List Downloads & Back Up (.csv)
* Login From Any PC
* HTML/TEXT Multi-Part Mime Function
* Complete Email Date Scheduler
* Automated Form Builder
* Developed in .php and works with MySQL

Many other features, too.

If you would like more information, you may contact our Client Services Team at:
info@americawebworks.com

You may also obtain more info at:
http://www.americawebworks.com/email_marketing_software.htm

Happy marketing!

Tony

DeadIntoIt

09-23-2005, 04:58 PM

Hello Carju,

Since your list is small but holpefully you want something that will grow with your business but wont cost you a mint, please consider the following:

@ $47.00 one time cost, installed on your domain server at no charge, this one is hard to beat.

1)Multi-Responder / Bulk Email Broadcast Server
Software> MailPacks Pro (http://go.bizpacks.com/click.cgi?deadintuit=1)

Killer support (If you ever do need it) direct from the developer.

Beats monthly payments for a system, hands down.

For what it's worth, I have been using this server software for 3 years trouble free.