Offers flexible and easy-to-use templates and email editor (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Email Creation)
Offers helpful and thorough customer support (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Customer Support)
Offers comprehensive reports analyzing subscriber actions (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Analyzing Reports)
Offers 1 GB of picture hosting (our Industry Benchmark is 5-10MB)
Allows you to create an A/B test campaign
Offers Google Analytics integration
Allows you to directly import contacts from Outlook
Allows unsubscribers to fill out feedback form
Templates offered are incredibly flexible
Cons
At the time of our review there were no noticeable cons
Best For
Beginners or other email marketers who need user-friendly email creation tools and flexible templates
Conclusion
GetResponse received an overall star rating of 23 out of 25, one of the highest scores of the services we reviewed. They scored well on Email Deliverability and on Email Creation for offering more than 350 templates. Through a paid account, users are able to import contacts to their address book through Excel spreadsheets saved as CSV files but not in the free trial. They also scored high on Analyzing Reports for Google Analytics integration and on Customer Support for offering live chat support.
Scored the maximum number of points (5 out of 5) in every category
Templates offered are incredibly flexible
Offers Google Analytics integration
Pricing by number of emails and by number of contacts is available
Someone checks and approves your email before it is sent out to subscribers
Cons
At the time of our review there were no noticeable cons.
Best For
Companies who want to create online surveys/polls easily in their email marketing campaigns
Conclusion
Benchmark received 24 out of 25 stars, the highest score in our survey. Benchmark received five stars for Email Deliverability because they have both a real person and an automated tool checking your email for spam. They also received five stars for Contact Management because of the ability to import contact lists directly from Excel, Salesforce and several email clients as well as tools that automatically remove bounces and unsubscribes. They also have flexible and easy-to-use tools for Email Creation.
Offers comprehensive reports analyzing subscriber actions (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Analyzing Reports)
Offers helpful and thorough customer support (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Customer Support)
Offers flexible and easy-to-use templates and email editor (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Email Creation)
Offers 20 MB of picture hosting (our Industry Benchmark is 5-10MB)
Offers Google Analytics integration
Allows you to create an A/B test campaign
Templates offered are incredibly flexible
Pricing by email and by contact count is available
Cons
Doesn't offer free removal of logo from emails
Best For
Users wanting competitive pay-as-you go pricing
Conclusion
GraphicMail scored 23 out of 25 stars, making it a great service with a couple of slight disadvantages. They offer a 20 MB of image hosting space, which is much more than our Industry Benchmark of 5 to 10 MB. However, you cannot remove their brand logo for free from your email campaigns. We found their Contact Management to be average without the capability to import contacts from Outlook. GraphicMail offers many comprehensive reports, A/B testing, and Google Analytics integration. We found their Customer Support to be very helpful with little to no wait times.
Offers helpful and thorough customer support (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Customer Support)
Has an easy-to-use system for adding and managing contacts (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Contact Management)
Templates offered are incredibly flexible
Allows you to directly import contacts from Outlook
Allows unsubscribers to fill out feedback form
Offers Google Analytics integration
Cons
Offers 1.7 MB of picture hosting (our Industry Benchmark is 5-10MB)
Best For
Users who want Salesforce integration or a comprehensive contact management system
Conclusion
Constant Contact received 23 out of 25 stars, the second highest overall rating of email marketing service we have reviewed. They have great Contact Management and incredibly knowledgeable Customer Support. However, they only allow you to host five images. Constant Contact scored well on Analyzing Reports, as well as Email Deliverability for having a spam checker.
Offers comprehensive reports analyzing subscriber actions (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Analyzing Reports)
Allows unsubscribers to fill out feedback form
Allows you to create an A/B test campaign
Pricing by number of emails and by number of contacts is available
Offers Google Analytics integration
Cons
Does not have telephone customer support
Best For
Users who want A/B testing (ability to send split-test campaigns) and advanced features, such as social stats, co-branding, and inbox inspections
Conclusion
MailChimp received an overall star rating of 21 out of 25 MailChimp scored perfectly on our evaluation of Analyzing Reports by meeting every single Industry Benchmark. While scoring highly, MailChimp could use more flexibility in the Email Creation process. MailChimp's Customer Support was found to be direct and courteous through email and live chat services, but they do not offer phone support.
Offers helpful and thorough customer support (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Customer Support)
Cons
Doesn't offer free removal of logo from emails
Best For
Users who want to integrate their email marketing with third-party applications, such as Drupal, Appointment-Plus, and WordPress
Conclusion
iContact received a star rating of 21 out of 25. They scored high for Customer Support because their staff was very responsive and helpful. While they are lacking a few features, including integration with Google Analytics and the free removal of their logo from emails, we found their Contact Management to be efficient since they allow you to directly import contacts from Outlook. Their Email Deliverability also scored fairly high due to the high percentage of emails that went through and their spam checking tool.
Offers flexible and easy-to-use templates and email editor (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Email Creation)
Offers comprehensive reports analyzing subscriber actions (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Analyzing Reports)
Offers 25MB of picture hosting (our Industry Benchmark is 5-10MB)
Someone checks and approves your email before it is sent out to subscribers
Allows you to create an A/B test campaign
Offers Google Analytics integration
Pricing by number of emails and by number of contacts is available
Offers comprehensive reports analyzing subscriber actions (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Analyzing Reports)
Cons
Does not have an autoresponder
Does not have a spam checking tool
Best For
Users wanting a wide variety of email templates to choose from and a large amount of image hosting space
Conclusion
Vertical Response received 21 out of 25 stars. They have excellent Customer Support and Email Creation tools. They also offer a large amount of picture hosting space for your emails. Vertical Response scored well on Email Deliverability because they have a real person checking your email before it is sent out, though they do not have an automatic tool that scans it for spam. They also offer the ability to create an A/B test campaign.
Offers helpful and thorough customer support (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Customer Support)
Offers comprehensive reports analyzing subscriber actions (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Analyzing Reports)
Offers flexible and easy-to-use templates and email editor (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Email Creation)
Offers unlimited picture hosting (our Industry Benchmark is 5-10MB)
Pricing by number of emails and by number of contacts is available
Offers Google Analytics integration
Cons
Does not have a spam checking tool
Best For
Users who want excellent email creation tools, reporting and customer support, as well as unlimited image hosting space
Conclusion
MyNewsletterBuilder received 22 out of 25 stars, making them a strong service. MyNewsletterBuilder scored high on Email Creation by offering unlimited image hosting and a drag and drop interface. We also found their Customer Support to be top-notch. While they don’t offer a spam checking tool which hurt their Email Deliverability rating, MyNewsletterBuilder scored 5 out of 5 stars on Analyzing Reports by offering varied and detailed statistics as well as several ways to view them graphically.
Offers flexible and easy-to-use templates and email editor (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Email Creation)
Offers helpful and thorough customer support (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Customer Support)
Offers unlimited picture hosting (our Industry Benchmark is 5-10MB)
Offers Google Analytics integration
Templates offered are incredibly flexible
Cons
Live chat support not available
Best For
Users who want to add design upgrades to create a one-of-a-kind email campaign
Conclusion
Emma received an overall star rating of 22 out of 25. The service has extremely helpful Customer Support. However, they do not allow you to import contacts by cut and paste. They also offer highly flexible templates with over 100 different layouts. Emma's Email Deliverability was rated highly because of their Spam checking tool and the large percentage of emails that got through in our testing.
Offers helpful and thorough customer support (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Customer Support)
Offers flexible and easy-to-use templates and email editor (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Email Creation)
Templates offered are incredibly flexible
Cons
Doesn't offer free removal of logo from emails
Does not have a spam checking tool
Best For
Users who want excellent email creation tools and customer support
Conclusion
Campaigner received 21 out of 25 stars. They scored well in Email Creation for their large amount of customizable email templates. While they do not allow you to create an A/B campaign and do not have Google Analytics integration, Campaigner’s Customer Support received high marks for their 24/7 availability and knowledgeable customer service representatives.
Offers unlimited picture hosting (our Industry Benchmark is 5-10MB)
Offers Google Analytics integration
Templates offered are incredibly flexible
Someone checks and approves your email before it is sent out to subscribers.
Cons
Does not have a spam checking tool
Does not have telephone customer support
Fewer than 100 templates are offered
Best For
Users who want a manual review of their email campaigns before they're sent
Conclusion
MadMimi received 21 out of 25 stars overall. This email marketing service scored high in almost every category and has a knowledgeable and friendly customer support staff. However, with no spam checker, MadMimi’s Email Deliverability could be improved, as well as a lack of telephone customer service. MadMimi scored well with easy Contact Management, extremely flexible email templates and comprehensive reports.
Offers helpful and thorough customer support (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Customer Support)
Allows unsubscribers to fill out feedback form
Offers Google Analytics integration
Cons
Does not offer picture hosting (our Industry Benchmark is 5-10MB)
Best For
Users who want to get feedback about why someone unsubscribed from your list
Conclusion
AWeber received 20 out of 25 stars overall. Their Customer Service support quality was their ultimate strength, as they received a perfect score in that category with a knowledgeable and friendly support staff offering every kind of support. However, with no image hosting space, AWeber’s Email Creation could be improved. AWeber had high scores in every other category with easy Contact Management, high Email Deliverability and comprehensive reports.
Offers unlimited picture hosting (our Industry Benchmark is 5-10MB)
Offers Google Analytics integration
Cons
Does not have live chat support
Best For
Users who want unlimited image hosting
Conclusion
JangoMail’s overall star rating was 20 out of 25 stars. Their biggest strengths were their friendly and knowledgeable Customer Support, large amount of image hosting and excellent report generation. However, JangoMail’s lack of live chat support and a true drag-and-drop editor for content blocks caused them to lose a few points in the star ratings. Overall, this is an above average email marketing service provider as they include many of the tools that can make your email campaign a success.
Emails were received properly and vendor offers exceptional delivery tools (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Email Deliverability)
Offers helpful and thorough customer support (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Customer Support)
Offers unlimited picture hosting (our Industry Benchmark is 5-10MB)
Someone checks and approves your email before it is sent out to subscribers
Pricing by email and by contact count is available
Cons
Doesn't offer free removal of logo from emails
Does not have a WYSIWYG editor
Does not offer Google Analytics integration
Best For
Users who want a manual review of their email campaigns before they're sent
Conclusion
Elite Email received 20 out of 25 stars. They scored well in Contact Management for automatically removing unsubscribes and bounces from your contact list. However, they are missing some key features such as a WYSIWYG editor and free removal of their logo from emails. They received a low score in Analyzing Reports for not offering Google Analytics integration, but Elite Email received strong ratings for both Email Deliverability and Customer Support.
Offers unlimited picture hosting (our Industry Benchmark is 5-10MB)
Offers helpful and thorough customer support (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Customer Support)
Offers flexible and easy-to-use templates and email editor (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Email Creation)
Cons
Reports offered do not accurately reflect users' actions
Does not have live chat customer support
Best For
Users who want excellent email creation tools and customer support, as well as unlimited image hosting space
Conclusion
GoDaddy’s overall star rating was 20 out of 25 stars. They scored high for Email Creation for offering unlimited image hosting. While they do not offer an autoresponder and their reports do not accurately reflect user actions, we found their Customer Support to be very helpful. They also scored well on Email Deliverability for their spam checker.
Offers unlimited picture hosting (our Industry Benchmark is 5-10MB)
Allows you to create an A/B test campaign
Offers Google Analytics integration
Pricing by email and by contact count is available
Offers comprehensive reports analyzing subscriber actions (scored 5 out of 5 stars for Analyzing Reports)
Allows unsubscribers to fill out a feedback form
Cons
Does not have both video and web tutorials
Does not have a WYSWIG editor
Does not have telephone customer support
Does not have live chat customer support
Wait times for customer support were long
Fewer than 100 templates are offered
Best For
Web designers or those with advanced HTML skills because their templates are very difficult to edit for beginners
Conclusion
Campaign Monitor received 19 out of 25 stars. They performed very well in Contact Management and Email Deliverability. However, their lack of a WYSIWYG editor during Email Creation and poor Customer Support leave a bit to be desired. Campaign Monitor scored high on Analyzing Reports by going beyond our Industry Benchmark and offering A/B split testing campaigns.
Offers unlimited picture hosting (our Industry Benchmark is 5-10MB)
Offers Google Analytics integration
Allows you to create an A/B test campaign
Cons
Does not have both video and web tutorials
Does not automatically remove unsubscribed readers from your contact list
Does not have live customer chat support
Best For
Users who want the ability to do A/B testing (send split-test campaigns) and unlimited image hosting
Conclusion
StreamSend’s overall star rating is 19 out of 25 stars. While StreamSend’s biggest strengths are their accuracy and thoroughness in Analyzing Reports and friendly Customer Support, their weakness is in their inability to automatically remove unsubscribes and bounces. However, the inclusion of nine spam filters that test every sent email is well above the Industry Benchmark and is definitely a positive characteristic of their Email Deliverability.
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