email marketing services for small businesses: your urgent input here (advice, plaint, joeks, general exploration of phenom as a boon or curse etc)

OK so I am in the process of expanding my writers' workshop into something I do ALL THE TIME rather a few days at a time once or twice a year -- bcz I enjoy it, bcz the world is full of ppl anxious abt their writing, and bcz it's a good workshop brent

I have spent the last few weeks (!) trying to navigate the labyrinth of sign-up, verification and upload that is SPARKPOST:  “the world’s most powerful email platform in the cloud (…) Sending 25% of world's non-spam email”

But I am considering part ways with them: the website is nicely designed, but not user-friendly if yr not coding-literate or good at explaining why things are a problem. THINGS HAVE BEEN A PROBLEM.

A: it took ages and multiple emails back and forth (and the services of my pal Mr Tracer Hand) to sort out verification of my website
B: I haven’t yet successfully uploaded a SINGLE email (I always get an error message)
C: I have used up the support offered for the free service, and (and tbh this is the most maddening)
D: they can’t process my payment to upgrade bcz the US continues to be backward and utterly mystified by on-line banking the form requires that I type in my EXACT address (as used by my card issuer) and yet doesn’t actually provide the correct spaces to do this.

(I suspect it might also be a debit rather than a credit card issue.)

ANYWAY: who do you advise using ilx? What are your weary experiences and thrilled breakthroughs in this cutting-edge yet also mind-numbing field?

ps I am allergic to the word “chimp”

And more to the non-perverse and reasonable point, I am now quite wary of going US-ways, as the time difference has added to the delay — a UK-based set-up is one I can actually perhaps phone and talk to -- and I wd quite like NOT to go thru the whole "can't process yr card ftb "Fraud Filter" sorry not sorry" rigmarole

I'd try getting over that allergy because mailchimp is a v good tool and very easy to use.

Mailchimp in my present job and Mailchimp in the last one. Never had a problem.

ok but every time this guy winks at me i am going to have to grit my teeth and say "sunk cost fallacy" seven times to myself to tamp down the shudders

https://cms-assets.tutsplus.com/uploads/users/23/posts/27048/image/mailchimp-vs-campaign-monitor-best-email-marketing-software.jpg

Yes mailchimp is the best. Their online support is much better than any UK provider I've used.

so shd i jump straight to the lowest priced rung or is there anything to be gained (beyond the obvious) from trying out the free service?

I think you can go free up to 2000 email addresses? The only downside is having a mailchimp button at the bottom of the message, which you can remove if you pay.

Cool -- and thanks all. I shall swallow my chimpist pride and set to tomorrow.

The thread may now descend into properly ilx-ish content.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/610IePTYFJL.jpg

Incarcerate the concept chimp.

Doesn't feel necessary to start a new thread - and apols for hijacking Mark S, you pals with the monkey yet? - but the social media 4.0 kru seems gathered here, so:

What social media manager do you people use? After years of juggling it manually I've come to the point where it hurts my head. So, do I need Buffer or Hootsuite, or a different service, to post cross-platform and have things made easier for me? (main goal tbh) Doesn't have to be free, there's a budget. But I need to rid myself of the monster I built using IFTTT gluing several platforms together.

What I want: one tool to update facebook/twitter/website, for links or short posts to be posted automatically instead of me manually pasting urls into bit.ly and checken IFTTT if it works ok etc.

Anyone? It'd be greatly appreciated.

I use SproutSocial for work, but in general am against the idea of posts that aren't native to each platform (e.g., a Facebook post full of hashtags and @instagram account names that don't work). Better to make a unique post for each place, even if it's more time-consuming.

Not what I wanted to hear, against better judgement tbh. Hoped there'd be a tool that does make it easier to serve different platforms like native use, but just from inside one tool you know? Totally get what you are saying though. It's just so time consuming when it's something you have to do "on the side" (ie. takes time away from your main task).

Would you at least rate SproutSocial above Buffer/Hootsuite, and if so, why?

I've never used HootSuite, so honestly not sure. Most of them have 30-day trials, so it would be pretty easy to test them out (though each would be a little time-consuming getting accounts synched, etc.).

I've looked at this extensive compare and contrast spreadsheet today. I have some budget to throw at this, but $99 per month for SproutSocial seems rather steep, compared to others?

(spreadsheet compiled by ppl from Buffer, as a disclaimer)