Mailing lists: choose - software or service

Hi, Habr! We continue the cycle of publications about e-mail newsletters . This time we will talk about how best to organize them - by purchasing specialized software or using an online service.

There are many evaluation criteria, but the main ones are costs and safety. Let's start with them.

Expenses

We agree immediately that we are talking about legal mailings (that is, see the previous post , based on your own database of addresses). Consequently, all sorts of grabber postal addresses in this review go by. The basic program for mailing lists can be purchased relatively cheap - from $ 60-100 without additional buns.
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Using the mailing service, of course, does not require primary costs, because only the cost of a subscription is paid, which, using the example of Unisender’s tariffs , varies depending on the size of the mailing list and the number of emails sent: from 300 rubles per month for a list of up to 500 contacts, and for smaller mailings of less than 100 contacts - completely free. With large volumes of mailings in the long term, of course, buying software looks cheaper - but this does not mean that it is more profitable. Saas vs. software - 1: 1

As a rule, software for mailings has license restrictions on the number of user accounts. Therefore, large companies prefer to use the services of online services: for example, our single account allows you to create as many additional accounts with the necessary rights for employees as required. 1: 0

Also, programs tend to become obsolete, and their update is not free - after a while you will need more “fresh” software, for which you will have to pay again. 1: 0

But many programs have no restrictions on the number of contacts on the mailing list - a kind of buffet, the rates of online services, as I wrote above, directly depend on this - how much I paid, I ate so much. Saas vs. software - 0: 1

And the fourth factor is the cost of support. In the case of the saas-service, they completely lie with those who provide the service, while purchasing the program for its customization, training and solving technical problems that arise - the user's care. Analyzing, for example, the causes of SMTP errors is not the best way to take the time of a manager or system administrator.

Total: 4: 2 in favor of the online service.

Security

Specialized software is definitely more preferable for those who are used to keeping their information with them. However, force majeure associated with the physical destruction of a computer or storage location, or simply a virus attack, demonstrate the vulnerability of this approach. Mailing services, as a rule, copy data to secure storage places in data centers with professional equipment, so even the physical destruction of part of the servers will not affect the business (for example, we use the Hostsy leaseweb and Future Hosting ). But to each his own, so independence vs. reliability - 1: 1

Another important aspect is the protection of your mailing list from getting into the spam lists (for more information about how not to get into spam, read the previous article ). If, however, to summarize the conclusions from it, then getting into the spam lists of even the most innocent and legitimate mailing is inevitable - whether by the ardor of the user who sent your letter to spam, or by your own mistake or oversight.

When sending mail yourself, you may not even suspect at some point that your letters have long been falling into spam - except for some indirect signs, such as reducing the number of clicks on links. Just for users of software for mailings, there are online monitoring services - but, of course, paid. And in any case, the clarification of relations with anti-spam services, especially if we are talking about large mailers, is a long and unpleasant task, I know from my own experience. The use of specialized mailing services allows you not to worry about it, that your letters fall into the Inbox folder, we care.

However, I repeat, if you really intend to engage in spam, Unisender will not help you - the use of illegally collected address databases (including “honestly purchased”) is prohibited by the rules of service.

Total: data storage on a personal computer against protection against antispam and data loss - 2: 1

Integration

In addition to the mailing list itself, the Unisender service can be integrated into your projects that require mass delivery of electronic messages, at the API level or even the version for resellers . They offer opportunities for integration with your databases and programs for mailings, but already in more advanced and expensive, compared to the basic, versions. As a result, in both cases, you still have to spend money on integration or purchasing software. 1: 1

But web services have specific advantages associated with permanent online presence - for example, when filling out a subscription form on the site, the subscriber’s address should be checked for validity - and only after that is added to the mailing list. The service will easily cope with this, but the software is unlikely, unless it is installed on a dedicated server. 2: 1

Customization

The design of the letter is often no less important than its content - it may depend on this, including how many people read and accept the message. Ordering a unique template in any case will not be a free service, but online services also provide sample templates for free. 1: 1

Mobility

The natural advantage of online services over desktop applications is the ability to instantly access from anywhere in the world. Subject to the availability of the Internet, of course - but because we are talking about email newsletters, is not it?

They also differ in speed of work, especially in the time of delivery of large volumes of letters - the description of one of the popular mailing programs indicates the possibility of sending several hundred letters per minute, the rate of Unisender mailings is at least 100,000 letters per hour.

In addition to sending mail, Unisender also offers SMS distribution . For companies that are interested in this tool, the ability to manage all types of mailings "in one window" is very convenient. 1: 0

Summary

As a tool for organizing newsletters, Saas services win on points; they provide the user with exactly what he needs: the desired service — the ability to quickly and conveniently organize mailings, while ensuring their safety and efficiency. In the light of the ever-increasing popularity of web-based solutions and the cloudization of everything and everything, further their popularity will only increase.

But for specialized software it is not a sentence - like any other professional programs, it provides detailed settings and sophisticated features for responsible and experienced users. In addition, there is a specific category of consumers who are not afraid of the possible risks of independent mailings and who never resort to the services of mailing services - these are spammers. While they are, the battle of software vs. the service will not be won by anyone.

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