e-news is the way to deliver news, in my opinion.  not only is it an environmentally friendly option to relay info to your clientele – but it’s very cost effective and easy too.

there are TONS of companies that offer e-news services  – so i’m planning to do a trial of a few of the most popular and report back on my findings.  first up – my alma mater of e-newsletters from the ooma days:  Vertical Response.

here are some things i like about Vertical Response:

• Super easy to use!  they offer several ways to use it depending on your HTML skills.  i chose the template version (but would always simple border with my logo)
• Color-match:  you can use a dropper to choose a color from your logo so your border will match perfectly.
• Pay as you go!  i prefer to pay for what i use instead of monthly fees (though they do offer a fee-based option if your email list is large enough).  The fees are affordable:  up to a 1000 emails is .15/email ($15 for a 1,000).  then the price goes down to .13/email for 1,001 – 2500, etc.  I’d buy in bulk and then you’ll get the lowest cost for several months worth of enews.
• Simple reports:  the reports are easy to read, graphic format that show quickly and easily how many people read your email (and exactly who!), who unsubsrcibed, who bounced, etc.

 

 

you may ask:  why not just send an email from my account?   well – i have a few reasons why i prefer using a service:

1. you don’t have to deal with unsubscribes and bounced emails (and when your list gets into the thousands – you really don’t want your email box junked up with this!)
2. the templates provide a professionally designed look – an opportunity to extend your brand
3. the reports can guage what links people click on, etc – so you can test various offers if you choose.

mainly – it just makes it easier and the cost is so little (as long as you don’t bombard people with emails – which i don’t think is a good idea anyway!).

i have a few more companies up my sleeve – would like to know if you have any recommendations!  THANKS