iContact Reviews

Pros

iContact is easy to use in most cases. There are tons of different templates and creating your own email template is a breeze. If you get one of the Pro plans they'll even help you make templates for future use, so that's great, too.

There are plenty of ways to upload data and keep track of that data. In fact I tend to use iContact to export my data for use on other platforms because it keeps everything so nicely. My point of sale doesn't even allow the breadth of exports and options that iContact does, so it's more than just an email platform to me.

Automation is visually very simple and means that I know I'm reaching my audience at the correct times. I no longer have to manually send each email, and with the automation there are tons of options to segment in addition. This means I'm not sending frivolous emails, so that keeps our open rate high.

Cons

I have three businesses that have to be kept separate and my only big complaint is that I can't copy automation plans or other things back and forth between them. So a lot of time is wasted redoing certain campaigns between the locations.

I also think the social connectivity needs to be updated. Twitter for one is outdated and the actual website allows much more text to be posted than in-app. They're several updates behind on Twitter.

Pros

When I want to send out an email, I go into my list of prior emails, make changes, and send. It's very easy. It has all of the functionality we need for sending out bulk emails.

Cons

The editor is a bit clunky. It does take a bit of time to create a new email format. Sometimes it doesn't behave like it is supposed to. But once you save that new format you can use it over and over.

Pros

I need to engage my members - particularly young members - in a fast, eye-catching format. iContact allows me to create quality messaging with minimal effort. I love the ability to track clicks and see what members are gravitating too.

Cons

There is a bit of a learning curve when it comes to designing email messages. I have design background but it took a bit of practice to get the look I wanted.

Pros

The new email templates are nice and easy to use once you get the hang of it. The analytics and insights are helpful in gauging how many people are seeing our messages. I also like the ease with which we can add and remove contacts.

Cons

The new templates are easier to use than the original email layout, but there are an awful lot of steps in the formatting. I feel like that process could be streamlined. Also, I understand that our account doesn't allow for tons of file storage, but it would be nice if the individual file/asset upload size was a bit bigger. I also think that there could be a more user-friendly way to re-verify contacts. We have over 8,000 contacts we email regularly but the process to re-verify contacts to keep our lists healthy is really confusing.

Pros

So, my client was trying to decide between iContact, Mailchimp and other SMB email tools and decided to start the project with iContact -iContact has a really user-friendly interface that's easy to navigate, even for people who aren't super tech-savvy.-They offer decent customer support, and we were able to get in touch with a real human whenever we needed help or had questions (we've put them to the test) -The reporting and analytics features are really robust, and it was easy to track our email campaigns and see how they were performing.The pricing was pretty parred with other SMB email tools so we felt like we were getting good value for our money.

Cons

1)While the interface is user-friendly, there are some limitations when it comes to design customization2) We weren't able to make our emails look quite as polished as we might have liked.3) It can take a little while to get used to the platform if you're used to more visual ones 4) if you're after a marketing automation syle hubspot , iContact won't offer that level of sophistication

Alternatives Considered

Mailchimp

Pros

It's extremely easy to deploy automated marketing campaigns, newsletters, quick information to your target audience using this platform. I enjoyed the ease of use in terms of sending out an email. It's nice for small business owners who don't have the time, energy, or resources to allocate to figuring out an email marketing platform.

Cons

I love this platform, but it's extremely out-of-date compared to other email platforms. For example, it's impossible to edit a template. For it being 2022, I would assume this would be easier from a user-friendly perspective.

Alternatives Considered

Higher Logic Thrive

Reasons for Switching to iContact

Ultimately the price point is what led our small business to choose iContact

Pros

Many-to-many relationships of all entities (except subscription to one list). Very flexible. Also ability to select multiple segments or exclude them.

Cons

Would like to be able to insert an image with text scrolling around it. ((Captions do not do that.) MailChimp allows this!

Pros

I inherited this task from a retiring volunteer. The ease of passing the job from one to another was great. I copy reuse & recreate and get my weekly information to members without spending a lot of time. I can set up , go on vacation and have another person update and add any information needed while I am gone. The spam check results in minimum recipients that have our email in the spam box.

Cons

Having difficulty managing old e-mails that are in the data base. Not sure what happens when some one un-subscribes but wanted to get e-mails. (confirmations on unsubscribing?)

Pros

CS picks up the phone great traing video

Cons

no complaints at all - great staff is always there for me

Pros

We've used iContact for several years and their Customer Service personnel are wonderful. They go above and beyond, are extremely professional and so helpful always.

Cons

I wish it were easier to remove contacts and easier to move contacts around to different lists.

Pros

When our company first switched to Icontact from our email provider, we were very satisfied as their responsive technical support, quick setup, and easy to use interface was a perfect email solution. Icontact is a solid choice for small to medium sized companies looking to grow their list in a comfortable environment. You will get better support from regular technical support and they are more willing to work with you, and quickly resolve any issues. Their email deliverability is above average.

Cons

Their templates leave much to be desired. If you have some html/css knowledge and are creative, then you can modify theirs or create your own. Sometimes our emails would end up in spam, without explanation from Icontact. Icontact is a good company, however if you are considering in moving to Enterprise account, you may consider looking elsewhere. Stick with regular technical support plans due urgent issues being resolved quicker. They have a deliverability team but they may disable sending and removing large amounts of emails without a warning which is very strange especially if you need to send out emails the next day.

Pros

At our business, we appreciate the timed releases, simple platform, and easy-to-access data following an email release.

Cons

The only thing we wish there could be an improvement on is ease of design. It seems like there are some quirks where we try to change a font color and it snaps back to the original, forcing us to go into HTML mode to edit. Thankfully, it's easy to switch between "design-mode" and "HTML mode."

Pros

It's easy to use as long as you don't try to get creative. I also like that you can copy a previous email and use it as a template for a new email - much quicker.

Cons

Sometimes it won't send test messages, and, a few months ago the Facebook connection feature stopped working so I haven't been able to use it. Also, it's a pain to include pictures in an email. The text wrapping feature does not work. I get it looking great in the program, but as soon as I send the email or test it, it gets all messed up. Lastly, the links get corrupted if you try to copy and paste them in a lot, so that is frustrating if you have to redo all the links sometimes.

Pros

I appreciate the ability to maintain a large number of segmented mailing lists. It's easy to view and compare engagement at a glance through open and click through rates. AB testing is easy and efficient.

Cons

Email builder can be a little restrictive, I'd prefer more freedom and flexibility.
Support are US based and support for premium users is restricted to relatively limited times for those of us based in Central Europe.
Unsure yet whether iContact are GDPR compliant/

Pros

Confluence impressed me with its capability as a collaborative platform that facilitates teamwork in creating, sharing documents, thoughts, and strategies. It has a user-friendly layout that is easy to use and its adaptability to team's requirements is beneficial. The search feature that scans all the content and documents was particularly useful in finding the information required quickly.

Cons

A downside of Confluence is the steep learning curve. It can be challenging to learn all the features and how to utilize them efficiently.

Pros

I like how easy it is to use and teach to my colleagues. iContact is always looking to improve their products and roll out new features so it grows as our email marketing plans do. They're also open to feedback and value the input of their users.

Cons

I wish there was a summary at the end riiiiight before you send a message where you can see what lists you're sending to and what lists you've excluded. Would make the "Scheduled Messages" feature *that much more* functional for us.

Pros

Rapid distribution is helpful, particularly when time is of the essence- as in an announcement that is time sensitive.

Cons

Limited framework of colors, boxes, etc. The former software had more flexibility in layout. When the changeover was made, the help desk was booked a week out.

Pros

I have been using iContact for over 3 years now and never had any major issues with them. Email marketing gets a whole lot easier with iContact's features and amazing tools.

The best thing about iContact is the ease of use. You can get started without any training. They have kept things simple, user-friendly, and their interface is top-notch.

Drag-and-drop builder is another reason why its hard to switch to other email marketing services. I have tried drag-and-drop email builders of other email marketing services as well (GetResponse, MailChimpl, Mailerlite, etc.) but I personally find iContact the best in the game.

Subscriber management and ability to segment subscribers based on multiple variables is another advantage that has always helped me in understanding my subscribers and sending them relevant emails.

Cons

My only concern is price. It is expensive as compared to other email marketing services. Additionally, they don't have any free plan. Most of their competitors have like MailChimp and mailerlite.

Pros

easy to use, keeping changes without saving

Cons

not enough options (template),not available report of users who opened or not . It would be helpful to have option of 6 month inactivity to easy remove inactive accounts. Also you count one person as 2 or 3 if i put it to different lists. It's the same email and should be counted as 1.

Pros

I love the flexibility this software offers. The drag-and-drop capability makes it possible to create any look you want, and the ability to reuse content from previous sends has made my life easy. We can also manage any number of separate client folders for sends on their behalf. The support team is great and our strategic account manager has been a fantastic resource for understanding the analytics and recommending ways to improve our stats.

Cons

Some of the capability can be tricky as a new user, so that makes it difficult to have others step in and be able to quickly create messages. Training is key. I also wish there was a better way to connect our internal contacts database with the iContact database, right now I have to manually upload contact lists regularly.

Pros

Lots of templates, easy to use, and very easy to train users on emails/lists/template management. I've used it in three organizations and highly recommend it for small businesses.

Cons

I'd like an add-on for basic marketing automation -- e.g. if an email is not opened after 5 days, set up a campaign to send a follow-up v if an email is opened and the transaction isn't completed, send a separate follow-up message.

Pros

I love the new functionality! the drag and drop makes creating a new email simple and easy which is great since some store owners are not technically savvy. I can't wait for the next release of software.

Cons

The reporting could be more robust instead of a list of every person that clicked, I would like to see the link with the number of clicks and be able to click on the number to see who clicked.

The dashboard would be easier to view if it was set up as rows so you can see more than 3 campaigns. In addition to have the ability to copy a campaign from the dashboard instead of having to go into Emails > Sent.

When trying to change the font color, the theme colors show, but not any standard colors. So when you want to change the font to black, you have to go into the color chart to select black.

As with any software, it has it's qwerks, but it's nice to now that iContact is actively enhancing the software.

Pros

iContact is great for companies who need to send out mass emails to their guests and customers. It's fairly easy to learn and has a variety of different features to use.

Cons

The one main con for this software is that it loads very slow. If you are looking to draft and email, it takes about 3 minutes for the landing page to load. 3 minutes might not seem that long, but when you have to draft numerous emails, it adds up.

Pros

iContact is very user friendly and doesn't require a designer or software engineer to use. Even the most basic WYSIWYG editor will allow you to customize emails your clients will want to read. Their design services are speedy and professional. Using their premium platform includes monthly customer support calls and services. The ROI is measurable and positive for our business.

Cons

I wish we were able to integrate iContact with our shopping cart (3dcart) but it's not a friendly API. Otherwise we've been very happy with iContact.

Pros

Ease of use and management of contacts, variety of email templates make creativity easy for all occasions

Cons

Lack of integration with other systems, I wish it would integrate with our pet sitting system to help us stay in sync in all our contact areas