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Sendstudio 2004 has hedged the competition giving marketers the ability to create and manage their own subscriber lists, send text and HTML newsletters,
schedule autoresponders and more. Sendstudio is a powerful multi-user email marketing solution giving web developers the ability to rebrand and on-sell to clients. With a host of 20 new features Sendstudio 2004 should be on your short list for a self managed autoresponder or newsletter marketing tool. (read more...) |
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SendStudio has a large number of features that make it my favorite choice for a self maintained autoresponder. I haven’t always had the luxury of co-located servers that I can do what I like with, but I do now so it’s best (and cheaper in the long run) to take advantage. I have a Unix FreeBSD server with PHP and mySQL which Sendstudio requires. Even if you are not overly technically inclined Sendstudio install is a breeze. It comes with a very cool automated install script which runs in a web browser that will do everything but make the database for you. The only step outside of this is to add a cron job. Luckily the Sendstudio users manual walked me through this step, which was a snap. All in all it took me about 10 minutes to have fully functional, and I was left feeling very impressed without having even used the program.
Update: Sendstudio now includes FREE installs on any purchase!
Sendstudio can run a complete autoresponder, newsletter, or ezine campaign completely in a web browser. SS even includes a tool for uploading images to your server, and sending out the emails directly from your browser session. Very handy for mobile users or coffee house junkies like me. I just upgraded to the 2004 version and noticed some really amazing new features. The core sending modules have been completely re-written from scratch, and sending has been tested successfully with over 500,000 subscribers. Also new is a filter system. You can now filter autoresponder recipients based on custom fields. For example, only send a specific autoresponder to a subscriber that has set their sex to 'female'. I think the best new feature over the last version is the much asked for scheduler, which allows scheduling mailings so your browser does not need to be open. SS now also includes improved statistics and reporting, bulk subscriber editing, new custom field types, and a total of 20 other excellent improvements.
On to the interface which has been completely overhauled. As you can see from the screenshots the interface is not crowded, orderly, and really pleasant to work with. Also it is 100% brandable via a simple template engine. This means if you are an online marketer you can provide access to this tool to your clients and they will see your logo and brand – very professional indeed.
Collecting subscribers is a breeze with SS which includes tools for building email collection forms, unlimited customized fields, import/export features, opt-in settings, filtering, and even banning. SS also has a unique tool for processing bounced emails. In fact Sendstudio’s subscription management features are so powerful my list of 5000+ subscribers for my ezine has a ‘99% no bounce’ success rate. This is really great and a feature you will not find in all products.
As with most bulk email tools messages can be sent via text/html or even both. SS 2004 includes improved inline editing tools which made creation of my emails a simple task. Also handy is the ability to create templates for my mailings, which is essential when sending out a lot of different emails. Where Sendstudio really stands out is with extra features like its ability to create text links that you can track. This means you can see statistics on any link that is clicked in your emails, to really see the results of your campaigns. New in version 4 is the ability to also see if your email was even opened or not. Nice.
Of course the actual autoresponder system works great as well. You can specify an email to go out on the hour and this is triggered via the cron job I mentioned. Of course you get statistics on this as well which is essential for analysis or any troubleshooting that needs doing.
I don’t know what else I can say about this product other than it is the best of all the solutions I tried. In fact I liked it so much I bought it and use t for my own newsletter and autoresponder service. I can also happily report that my sales increase exponentially with any project I utilize it – which is pretty much all of them.
Sendstudio 2004 costs $239. This may sounds spendy at first but believe me it pays for itself very quickly. Like many marketers I started out with a remotely hosted solution (AWeber) before jumping to something I hosted myself. Since I have switched not only are my campaigns twice as effective, but they take half the time to manage as well. Overall, I cannot recommend Sendstudio 2004 enough.
BONUS: Wow you actually made it through that review? How about a reward then. The following BONUS is not being offered anywhere else...
Through a special arrangement with Interspire we have been granted the priviledge of offering a FREE 20% OFF bonus to all Autoresponder-Reviews readers. Sweet!
The Sendstudio discount code is: FY30983SXL02FT0 - Visit the Sendstudio website now to claim your discount and download the software.
