Newsletter plugins ? what do you think ?

Discussion in 'WordPress' started by Emma13th, Jan 15, 2011.

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  1. #1
    Hi

    I'm looking for the best newsletter plugin for wordpress ..

    I found this one
    http://www.wp-newsletter.com/en/

    a little bit pricey ..

    any others ? what do you think about Meenews ?

    Thanks
     
    Emma13th, Jan 15, 2011 IP
  2. Dodger

    Dodger Peon

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    #2
    How big is your mailing list?
     
    Dodger, Jan 15, 2011 IP
  3. Emma13th

    Emma13th Peon

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    #3
    Just started building it ..
    but it's growing really fast ..
     
    Emma13th, Jan 16, 2011 IP
  4. Dodger

    Dodger Peon

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    #4
    If you want to grow with that list and it is as rapidly expanding as you say, then I would go with a service (that provides a plugin) and handles the subscriptions to your newsletter.

    Try a mailing list & newsletter service such as aWeber, MailChimp, ConstantContact, etc. They take all of the worry out of optin/optout, mailing relays, and a host of other issues. They also have newsletter templates to get you started. The only plugin you will need is a simple newsletter subscription widget that they will provide, and they handle the rest.

    If you have less than 250 email addresses, then you can go an even cheaper route by handling them in any email client. You maintain the list yourself, design the newsletter theme for your email client, then paste in the content and BCC your mailing list. All you need to add to your blog is a sign-up form.
     
    Last edited: Jan 16, 2011
    Dodger, Jan 16, 2011 IP
  5. Emma13th

    Emma13th Peon

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    #5
    It will be a lot more than 250 ..

    so do you think a simple wp plugin can't handle that ?
     
    Emma13th, Jan 17, 2011 IP
  6. Dodger

    Dodger Peon

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    #6
    My short answer is probably not. It is not that simple to create a newsletter and email it out.

    You have two major hurdles when it comes to newsletters, both of which are not native to WordPress. One is email Html which is an art form in itself (think table, tr, td, font, hr, br and not div, span, class, id) and every email client is different. The other is your email relays which is limited by your mail server, you can only send 250 per day.

    It is more prudent and less aggravating to use a mailing service, rather than dinking around with some flimsly plugin, no matter how advanced they say that plugin is.
     
    Dodger, Jan 17, 2011 IP
  7. zhoom

    zhoom Peon

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    #7
    I personally don't use that plugin mentioned, however I run email campaigns for a couple of small businesses with lists under 1000 subscribers. All these campaigns are run by Mailchimp for free. Mailchimp offer free plans for under 1000 subscribers, max send 6000 p/mo.

    Here's my suggestion... buy the Gravity forms plugin which integrates with Mailchimp and Wordpress. Then run auto campaigns that are RSS driven from Mailchimp.

    Also, I recently wrote an article about email marketing if you are interested :)

    References:
    Introduction to Email Marketing

    Gravity Forms

    Mailchimp RSS

    Edit:

    Email services also offer campaign tracking which, as a stickler for analytics, is a must for me!
     
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2011
    zhoom, Jan 20, 2011 IP