Besides Constant Contact and Mailchimp, is there a better eblast email service? Using our members to communicate/manage email campaigns
We are looking for a better service. Have any recommendation for an eblast or to better manage email campaigns? Email blasts are not getting through or opened by corporate partners. Plus only to our constituents and members of a 40 year old public service.
After reading through a few of the answers on here most of them have the right idea! iContact is a great tool. Exact Target is an awesome platform but it is a little higher end (along with a higher price tag) I actually prefer it however. Since I started using it, it is hard to use anything else.
I also have had problems with non delivery of e-mail. It turned out that my ISP was on some blacklists. You might want want to check both your domain name and the service you use if web hosted.
Hi Larry,
I would definitely have to agree with other responses that recommend Aweber. Very straightforward and efficient platform to use.
I have used Madmimi for almost 5 years with very few problems. They are responsive to questions and always available on chat.
Check out a product called Instant Customer. It has a totally intergrated marketing system that handles email, sms, video, podcasting.
We have access to the product at a lower price than the RRP if you are interested or just signup on the site for a trial
I highly recommend Global Intellisystems (https://www.globalintellisystems.com) . They are whitelisted everywhere and the have amazing open rates.
If you're serious about your business, look at Infusionsoft. It tracks the behaviour of your customers and prospects and, when set up properly, will run your marketing funnel for you. Very powerful.
If you are looking for an open-source solution that you can manage yourself - then you should consider CiviCRM - http://civicrm.org/
If you have a big budget - then consider SilverPop - http://www.silverpop.com/ or Engaging Networks - https://www.engagingnetworks.net/
http://mandrill.com/ - by the same people who brought you MailChimp, but operates like a remote SMTP server with built-in monitoring and other goodies. You can use whatever you like to format and send the emails to Mandrill, then manage the analytics etc. from inside their dashboard.
It's also the most inexpensive mass mailing option I've encountered to date. The free plan allows 12,000 emails/mo.
If you've got a self-hosted WordPress installation, combining Mandrill with the MailPoet plugin is a great option. Use Mandrill to send, and MailPoet to compose/layout your email blasts. Otherwise, you can actually use any mail client and just set Mandrill as your outgoing server. No need for complicated interfaces on the compose and send side of things.
That said, the issue you're having with email not getting through or not getting opened likely has to do with the DKIM and SPF records for your domain, which is really a DNS issue, not specific to the service you're using. Incorrect DKIM and SPF records will get a lot of messages blocked or sent to spam.
Doing our homework. Looking for a better service in accountability, overall service, credibility, fewer complaints on the web from present users. Not shopping for price. Not getting through corporate/company servers. We have several board members which did not receive any emails in the eblast from Mailchimp.
Hi Larry, If you have a large database you might want to try Exact Target
http://www.exacttarget.com/
Hello, I use this one and it's easy to use: You can give them a free 30 day trial: http://www.benchmarkemail.com/?p=12173
Hi Larry, I am curious as to Kurt's question myself.
I have been using Aweber, Campaign Monitor and now MailChimp for my clients. MailChimp has always had the straight-forward user experience and even as a professional, I find their platform, support and integrations into other platforms hard to beat.
The reason for our question. We had complaints, lack of service, outcome and started to do some homework on Mailchimp.
What were the complaints you were receiving? Which provider were you finding was unhelpful?
I'm old and cheap, and I've been using Vertical Response for years now. It's a small db, but service is good and reliable. Plus VR lets you buy by the piece, and I can't find anything cheaper...
Mailchimp is certainly not deficient, although it may or may not be the "best" choice for you, depending on your needs. I like it because they have made their API available to developers, so it integrates with lots of other applications.
If you're having problems, I've found their support to be excellent.
If you are a non-profit organization, then you can use Generacity.com. If you were to simply use the newsletter functionality and basic management of of your donors/members, receiving donations, sending receipts, its free for unlimited number of constituents in your database.
Aweber.com. I've been using them for years! Great customer service, reasonable priced, always staying current, email always goes through.
We have been having problems with Mailchimp, anyone else having problems?
Complaints generally don't happen because of "the service", they happen because of the way the service gets used, if messages aren't getting through with one major service then they are likely to not go through with another for reasons outside of the service itself. You need to have someone look at the technical issues surrounding your deliverability issues to determine the root cause.