30: What is the best email marketing software for authors?

What do you do when your email marketing software

provider changes their product changes their pricing and

doesn't let you migrate your data to the new platform. This

MailerLite rolled out their newer, better shinier MailerLite

and assured their existing clients that the classic version

would continue to function. But all new clients would only be

able to sign up for the new MailerLite , what is the best

email marketing software for authors? I decided to find out.

Welcome to the writing pursuits podcast where authors like you

discuss writing craft, author, life and book marketing

strategies. I'm your host Kathrese. McKee. I own writing

pursuits and write and produce the weekly newsletter writing

pursuits tips for authors. In addition, I am a speculative

fiction author, writing procedures for authors who drink

too much coffee, endure judgemental looks from their

furry writing companions and struggle for words. If you are a

writer seeking encouragement, information and inspiration,

this podcast is for you. Let's get to it.

What is the best email marketing software for authors? I decided

to find out. Let me preface my remarks by saying my approach is

not scientific at all. I tried to be logical, but let's face

it, my emotions were running pretty high. So maybe I wasn't

as logical as I wanted to be. This is what I did. The dilemma

stay with MailerLite , classic, go to the new version, or leave.

Last week I found an email from MailerLite in my inbox, an old

quotes from the email. Current MailerLite users will have the

option to continue using MailerLite , classic, and

transition to the new app when they're ready. Starting March

22. All new account signups will have access to the new

MailerLite , the new MailerLite will launch with a fresh design

layout, faster UI flow, several new features and tiered pricing

plans that address different customer needs. There are so

many noteworthy updates that we want to share with you to make

your life easier. We wrote a pre launch blog post with all the

information you'll need. The email included a link to a long

post entitled first look, the new version of MailerLite is

preparing to launch. I will include the article in the show

notes. I was asleep at the switch or you know paying

attention to other stuff in my life when this all began. So I

missed the initial reaction of longtime MailerLite customers.

Let's just say the reception wasn't what MailerLite hoped to

hear customer complaints. Loyal paying customers were hot under

the collar. Not only were there no migration tools ready to go,

but if a current customer wanted to use a new MailerLite , they

could expect to pay more, sometimes much more than they

were paying for the classic version. For the same features.

There wasn't even a temporary discount or a plan to

grandfather in existing customers. Only the unapologetic

assurance that existing customers could stay on classic

for the foreseeable future. But after March 22, all new clients

would be on the new plan. The complaint screamed more

strident. On March 22. The cutoff date, the day all hope

was lost. When MailerLite published an FAQ on the new

version, which is also in the show notes. I will summarize the

comments that went along with that blog post. These are not

direct quotes. They're just like summaries. I will be paying 2.5

to three times more for the same features and the same number of

subscribers. As a loyal paying customer, I thought I would

continue to pay the same amount. Didn't you build the new version

with the money you got from me? We supported you all these years

and you think is this way, you've abandoned us to the

legacy platform, you took away the chat support with some of

the paid levels. That was one of your best features. I can't

justify paying more, especially for fewer features. The new

pricing structure sounds like MailChimp, don't be like

MailChimp, and so on a new destination with no way to get

there. The migration plan is what really got to me, and I'm

quoting from the March 22 post at the moment. Your current

campaigns and subscriber data are only accessible in

MailerLite classic. We are currently working on migration

tools, so you can transfer all of your data to the new

MailerLite . We will announce the release of the main

migration tools in the coming months.

rolls out a new version without having migration tools in place.

As a former systems engineer, I'm just raising an eyebrow like

Spock. I did what any angry customer would do. I broke out

my emergency torch and pitchfork. If MailerLite was

going to treat me that way. Well, then I would take my

subscribers somewhere else. What is the best email marketing

software for authors? I was on a quest, which email marketing

service did I choose? You need to stick around to find out the

search for the best email marketing for authors. My

evaluation criteria, were these the ratio of features surprising

ease of use, my needs, and vendor reputation. Let's look at

Vin features versus pricing. What features do most authors

need to consider? Pricing is a major consideration, especially

price per subscriber. As authors, we are always trying to

grow our list, right. So one measure is price per head, so to

speak. I'm not saying that authors are headhunters. But if

the description fits, then I can go along with it. Besides price

per head, it's easier for me to say than price per subscriber if

you start out with a free plan. Remember, your goal is to grow

past the free plan. So look at the pricing of the next couple

of tiers. When you're considering which vendor you're

going to go with. Let me say that again, if you start out

with a free plan, which is great. Remember, your goal is to

grow past the free plan. So make sure you look at the pricing of

the next couple of tiers. Alright, authors want and need

easy to build signup forms, and we need an easy to use editor

for creating newsletters, otherwise, you're going to be

resistant to doing the work. So look for that I have six books

and counting and an editing business. So I need attractive

landing pages. That's one of my criteria. A landing page acts as

a sales page for your reader magnets, where you entice

readers with a new story in exchange for their email

address, or offer a book in exchange for actual money. Ask

yourself what options your potential email marketing

service provider offers. Here's a tip if your provider only

offers one landing page say on their free plan. Consider using

book funnel or books to read for this functionality. That's just

a free tip. authors need basic automation to run their new

subscribers through a welcome sequence of emails. Also, if you

want to tag users by their interests, like say those who

like Western romance and those who like Regency romance, you

might need automation to help with that a basic automation

sequence can send a reader magnet download, followed by a

personal message a day or two later, followed by a couple of

informational emails just to see if your new prospect is going to

stick around before you add them to your main list. Automation is

a consideration. What features can most authors live without?

As fiction authors, at least for those who are starting out, we

don't need all the gadgets and gizmos. At this point, you

probably aren't hosting webinars or building complex sales

funnels, you probably don't need sophisticated customer

relationship management software that's CRMs for short. Most of

us don't need integration with a payment platform like Stripe. If

you don't have an online store, then you don't need to know if

someone abandon their shopping cart. Maybe your needs differ.

So figure out your own needs and perform your own evaluation.

nonfiction authors should give these extra features more

thought because they might be essential to you vendor

reputation, let's consider the vendors reputation which comes

down to three factors deliverability customer support,

and up to date, well designed applications. deliverability is

the ratio of emails that make it past the spam filters and get

delivered to the subscribers inbox. If you get a real bargain

on your service, but the deliverability rate sucks, then

is it really a bargain check email tool tester.com for their

latest deliverability data, but keep in mind that delivery rates

are subject to change. I will put a link to their latest test

data in the resources below. It's a great website. The second

factor is customer support. This generally differs based on the

tier of service you pay for So watch for that. One reason

people were displeased with MailerLite's new tiers of

service is that the chat support isn't available anymore on the

lower tiers. So you're stuck with 24/7 email support

Hmm, not a great trade off. The third factor of vendor

reputation is up to date. Well designed applications this is

somewhat subjective, but the software needs to work as

advertised at the very least, writing pursuits is run by

Kathrese. McKee, who has been trusted by fiction authors since

2014. To take their writing to a new level of excellence.

Kathrese is a three story methods certified editor who

specializes in story diagnostics, coaching, and line

editing to help you prepare your story for the journey ahead. For

more information, go to writing pursuits.com. The link is in the

show notes. And now, back to the podcast. Which vendors did I

consider and how did they rank these are the services I

considered active campaign Get Response Aweber Constant Contact

MailerLite MailChimp, ConvertKit Sendinblue, and

moosend. There are many other companies out there, but these

were the ones I chose to check out. Rather than do an in depth

analysis. I'll give you one Pro and one con. For each company in

reverse order of my personal preference. How subjective can

you get?

Number nine Aweber Aweber is old and kind of clunky, but it does

a bit of everything. Its deliverability score is not so

great these days. I would love to see a Weber improve and

modernize in order to be more competitive. Number eight

moosend That's m o o s e n d. Man I tried to like moosend but

it isn't as easy to get started. As I say it is. As you know, I

am a software guinea pig a certifiable nerd, but I was put

off looks like their automation is really something but the

documentation is lacking. Plus their plugins for WordPress

seemed outdated. It just made me nervous to commit time, effort

and financial resources to an application I wasn't 100% sold

on, I did experiment with them. This isn't based on a casual

look. Number seven Constant Contact. Constant Contact is a

venerable choice with a good deliverability score. But it had

more features than I need, then most authors need. So moving on.

Number six MailChimp gonna step on some toes now but MailChimp

came in as my number six. First of all, their free plan is not

what it used to be, MailChimp gets expensive fast. Second, I

use MailChimp for several years, and was happy to see them in my

rearview mirror. I moved from MailChimp to ConvertKit because

ConvertKit understands that one subscriber should count is one

subscriber, no matter how many lists they are on. Seems

logical, right? Also, I really hated creating forms in

MailChimp, because their interface was lacking. Maybe

MailChimp has improved, but I'm not going back to find out. Oh

yeah, I was going to give one Pro and one con. Sorry, number

five, send in blue, send in blue came in at number five. And

that's probably not fair. They have a stellar deliverability

rate and a good looking interface. However, they charge

by the number of emails you send, and that's not compatible

usually send one email to your subscribers every month. Well,

great. SendinBlue is highly economical. But then you have a

launch. And you need to send out multiple emails to your growing

list for a few months in a row. Ouch. We all need and want

predictable expenses. Number four ConvertKit. I used

ConvertKit for a couple of years. And I mean, I really wore

it out. But I didn't like the way their automations are

tangled up with rules that need to be set. Maybe I was always

tired, but somehow it took lots of testing to make things work

the way I wanted them to work. So I'm giving them a low ease of

use score for automations. And I don't like their brand colors

which are very pervasive and I'm not fond of their plain text

newsletter editor I left ConvertKit for MailerLite ,

there seems to be a pattern here doesn't they're number three,

get response. Good response was very tempting, but I was a bit

worried about their deliverability score, and their

pricing didn't quite stack up against MailerLite's. Number two

MailerLite , you guessed it. My second choice is MailerLite,

either version, their interface is easy to use. They have strong

deliverability

The and they are obviously committed to improvement, even

if their approach to their latest release stinks. Number

one active campaign. If I had the budget, I would go with

Active Campaign for sure, because I have champagne tastes

and that's no lie. They are the top of the heap on features and

automation, but they know their worth. Until I'm rolling in

dough. They are not an option. And honestly, they probably have

more firepower than I actually need. The solution to my dilemma

after all that which email marketing service provider did I

choose? You can probably tell I decided to stick with mailer

lite classic until they build a decent migration tool, or until

I run out of patience. I may even use the new mailer lite

free plan for a small test list. You know, because I can't help

myself.

Though I started my email marketing services survey in an

angry frame of mind. I concluded MailerLite's, new price plan and

feature tiers are comparable with their direct competitors

plans, and better than most MailerLite is easy to use, with

enough sophistication to keep me satisfied for a few more years,

and their UI was really good. And it's getting better. I can

live with that. The question of the week is: if you are a

MailerLite customer, what do you plan to do? If you're not a

MailerLite customer, which email marketing service do you

use? That's all I have for today. Until next time, keep

writing. Thank you for joining us today. If you enjoyed this

episode, please leave a comment and follow the podcast. If

you're new around here. I hope you will sign up for the weekly

newsletter writing pursuits. Tips for authors that link and

all the links mentioned in today's episode are in the show

notes at writing pursuits.com. Please join us on Wednesdays for

new episodes and keep writing my friends. Keep writing