Comparison Chart of Popular Small Business
Desktop E-Mail List Handling Programs (Listservers)
Web Marketing Today, Issue 109, February 12, 2002
Slight modifications 2/13/02
This article contains older information. Go here for newer information on e-mail marketing.
In this comparison chart, I have included the desktop e-mail list handling programs most often used by small to medium-size businesses as measured in a survey I took in Fall 2001 of my readers. I make no claim that the proportions of users shown in my survey reflect all users. Out of necessity I have left out dozens of good, but less-known, programs.
As I surveyed dozens of desktop programs, I found these as the major features to be aware of in your comparison-shopping:
- E-mail merge. All of these programs allow merging of database fields into an e-mail message to personalize it. The better programs allow you to have merge fields in the subject line. Bulk e-mail programs that don't allow merge fields are generally spam programs. Avoid them.
- Message editor. Many programs have a pretty crude editor -- mainly a window in which you can paste in your text or HTML code. Most don't have WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editors, so you'll need another editor to prepare text.
- Previews of outgoing e-mail messages allow you to correct your mistakes before sending out your mailing. Some programs omit this and make pre-testing difficult.
- HTML. Some programs allow text OR HTML messages. The better programs allow both text AND HTML (sent in multi-part MIME). Don't get a program that allows just text messages.
- SMTP Server. Most programs allow you to send e-mail through your ISP's SMTP mailserver.
- Direct Send is available on most programs. It is slower, but allows you to bypass your ISP's SMTP server and send directly to the recipient. This may keep you out of trouble if your ISP limits the number of messages you can send each hour.
- Multi-threaded sending delivers several messages at the same time, rather than one after the other. It is definitely worth getting if you have big lists. With DSL it screams.
- Database support is crucial. Some programs require you to import data for use by the mailer, or to use specially formatted dedicated data files. The better programs allow you to use directly the customer data contained in your existing databases without having to import it into the mailer. This permits you to use state-of-the-art tools to manage your database and allows updates to e-mails, bounces, and data fields extracted from e-mails to be recorded directly in your working database in one simple step. Only a few of these programs use your database directly or via ODBC: Gammadyne Mailer, MailKing, and WorldMerge. Make sure your database is accessible -- some programs don't support Outlook 98/2000 directly.
- Selection of e-mail recipients is done by SQL database queries in the better programs, allowing multiple selection factors or filters. Be wary of programs that whittle down the size of the actual mailing list to just those records needed for a particular mailing. They are difficult to maintain.
- Duplicate removal is important, especially in programs that import data from elsewhere. Most have this feature.
- Exclusion lists are important to please individuals who ask to be excluded from further mailings. With an exclusion list, you don't have to remove their name from your database, just exclude it when it comes to sending out e-mails.
- Listserver functions are included in some programs. These check incoming mail from specified POP e-mail boxes, and handle subs, unsubs, and bounced e-mails automatically. Without these features it is difficult to keep a mailing list up-to-date. The best programs run constantly in the background without using much RAM.
- Extracting data fields from e-mails provides an automatic way of collecting information from online forms. A great feature with lots of potential.
- Autoresponders scan incoming e-mail for keywords in the subject line or the body, and then send out pre-written messages based on those keywords.
- Sequential autoresponders can be programmed to send pre-written messages to contacts or customers in a timed sequence, such as 1, 3, 7, 14, and 21 days after an initial contact.
- Scheduling events allows you to send out e-mail campaigns at non-peak times. You can also schedule to check a POP e-mail box at certain times during the day or week.
- Programmable scripts allow the user to perform just about any action in any sequence. Some are menu-driven or use wizards. Others, such as Gammadyne Mailer may require careful programming and testing, but can do just about any function automatically.
Don't shop by price. I found that price seldom measures the value of the program -- more expensive is not necessarily better. Most of these programs are available for under US $400.
This comparison was as of 2/11/02. Some of these programs are being upgraded constantly, making it nearly impossible to keep this up-to-date. I have joined the affiliate programs of a number of these software vendors, so links reflect my affiliate codes. Features mentioned are abbreviated and do not reflect the breadth or elegance of some of these programs.
|
|
Sending |
Database |
Incoming |
Automation |
|
Broadc@st HTML |
Integrated message editor. One at a time or BCC send. |
Import from ODBC compliant databases. Can edit database directly. Price varies on number of recipients in lists. Removes dups. |
Checks POP. Handles subs and unsubs, bounces. |
Schedule outgoing campaigns. |
|
Email Workshop |
Integrated message editor, 11 int'l dictionaries. |
Import from text files. Can edit database directly. Removes dups. |
Checks POP. Handles subs and unsubs, bounces. Puts other mail into inbox. |
Schedule outgoing campaigns. |
|
EmailUnlimited |
Integrated HTML editor. Message preview. E-mail merge. Direct send acts as own SMTP server. |
Standard uses MS FoxPro, Excel, dBase (Works), Outlook 98/2000 contacts. Gold any ODBC compliant database. Can edit database directly. Unlimited number of lists, recipients. Removes dups. |
Checks POP. Handles subs and unsubs, bounces. Adds addresses from autoresponder. Extracts data fields from forms e-mail, inserts into database. |
Autoresponder, Scheduled sequential follow-up messages |
|
Extractor Pro |
Integrated message editor. Sends thru SMTP, direct, or thru e-mail client. Multi-threading up to 8 channels. |
Databases are saved in MS Access. Imports from Outlook contacts, Excel, Access, other. Can edit database directly. Unlimited number of lists, recipients. Removes dups. |
Checks POP. Handles subs and unsubs, bounces. Adds addresses from autoresponder. |
Autoresponder can respond to different keywords with different messages or attachments. |
|
Gammadyne Mailer |
Integrated basic text editor, preview HTML thru browser. Sends individual e-mail via SMTP or direct send. Multi-threaded sending. |
Uses existing database tables or queries directly via ODBC without import. No native database, only text lists. Unlimited lists, recipients. Removes dups, exclusion list. Filters select groups of recipients using SQL WHERE. Cannot edit database directly, though can be programmed to read from and write to database. |
Checks POP. Handles subs and unsubs, bounces. Extracts data fields from forms e-mail, inserts into database. |
Contains complex database language that can program Mailer to do just about any process. Wizards set up basic functions. Examples given for programming for extracting data from e-mail forms and writing to database. |
|
Group Mail |
Integrated HTML editor. Foreign language support. Sends e-mails thru BCC, or individual e-mail via SMTP or direct send. Plus allows multi-threaded sending. |
Pro imports e-mail address books. Plus imports from Outlook 98/2000, and any ODBC or OLE compliant database. Unlimited lists, recipients. Merges lists, removes dups. Filters to select groups of recipients. |
Checks POP. Handles subs and unsubs, bounces. |
N/A |
|
MailKing |
Crude editor. Paste message into box. Text OR HTML. Sends thru SMTP or e-mail client one message at a time. English, French, German spell checking. |
Uses existing database directly without import. Including Eudora, Outlook 98/2000, Excel, Access, Lotus, Act. Or develop new list using native Access database. Unlimited lists, recipients. Filters to select groups of recipients. |
N/A |
Can schedule outgoing e-mail campaigns. |
|
Mailloop |
Crude text editor. Paste message into box. Supports text OR HTML, not both. Sends thru SMTP or direct send. Multi-threaded sending. |
Must import data into comma and quote delimited text files before use. Unlimited lists and recipients. Various list utility features. Crude filter requires chopping unwanted e-mails into another list. |
Checks POP. Handles subs and unsubs, bounces. Extracts data fields from forms e-mail, inserts into database. Handles multiple POP boxes and newsletters. |
Scheduler. Strong automation features run in the background. Strong, unlimited autoresponder features, takes action on the basis of keywords. Not sequential delayed messages. |
|
Postmaster |
Sends e-mails, thru BCC or individually using SMTP server. |
Uses dedicated MS Access database (runtime or retail versions). Imports CSV text files only. Filters to select groups of recipients. Records notes and messages sent for each contact. |
Checks POP. Handles subs and unsubs, bounces. Adds new contacts to database in predefined categories, extracting content from e-mail message using IES module. |
Schedule sequential outgoing campaigns. Unlimited autoresponders, replies on the basis of keywords. |
|
WorldCast |
Sends e-mails thru SMTP or direct delivery. Multi-threaded send. Text editor, preview HTML, spell check, thesaurus, attachments. Many languages. |
Imports contact lists in .txt, .csv, and XBase .dbf formats. |
Checks multiple POP. Handles subs and unsubs, bounces. |
N/A |
|
WorldMerge |
Sends e-mails one-by-one thru SMTP or direct send. Crude text editor, previews HTML. Spell check. Multiple attachments. |
Uses external database directly: Access, Paradox, Outlook Express, Excel, Fox Pro, dBase, Eudora, ODBC, Outlook 98/2000, txt. |
N/A |
N/A |
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