iContact

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 Twitter for one is outdated and the actual website allows much more text to be posted than in-app.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

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I love this platform, but it's extremely out-of-date compared to other email platforms.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

Reasons for Switching to iContact

Pros

iContact is a low cost solution for basic email marketing. You have access to a strategic advisor. My strategic advisor always provides thorough answers and/or solutions when requested. iContact offers automation with workflows that are easy and quick to build. The user interface is easy to understand.

Cons

The response time to fix API issues can be slow. iContact does not offer a post unsubscribe survey. I'm not able to download user profile information when exporting email send statistics - this is important for me when I want to do a quick analysis on my data.

Pros

The templates for messages without standing, the analytics for determining who read who didn't and when was the last time they opened the email, is critical and keeping my mailing costs down, and engaging with my clients for future bills

Cons

There is nothing I don't like about the new upgrade, there were some issues on tracking a couple years ago I just worked around it with the help of their customer service, those issues have been fixed and I have nothing but positive says across-the-board about eye contact