I have used Constant Contact for years and am trying to move to mailchimp which is free. However, it is very different and doesn’t seem to be as user friendly! Or, am I just an old dog that can’t learn new tricks???? So, I’m wondering if there is anyone who uses mailchimp that can recommend it.ThanksDea

From one self-professed “old dog” to another, mailchimp ain’t no Constant Contact, thus free.  I am not besmirching mailchimp, I just cannot get it to do the same things for my business that Constant Contact can.

You are correct.  ”Old Dog”  is a compliment and thank you.  My 24 year old daughter calls me “wing tip” and has hid the 2 pair I own from her last visit here.  Says I need to catch up with the times, technology included,  Hah  I’m getting there.

I use Mailchimp.  It’s the only email service I’ve ever used and I’ve never had any problem with it.  Did you have a specific problem with it?

@deairby I used Constant Contact for about 5 minutes then switched to Mailchimp which I love. I’m just wondering what it doesn’t do that CC did. It may take getting used to, like anything, if you are switching from something you’re familiar with but I’ve always found it user friendly, especially when integrating with my blog/site/Facebook/etc.

Stats are good, lists are easy to track, campaigns are easy to set up. Their customer support is fantastic, so if you ever need help doing something or have questions, you can catch them on chat.

Maybe I can help you get acclimated if you tell me what you’re finding difficult?

thanks for the link, don’t think I’m going to go with mailchimp! @dyanebradley

I have to say that I’m an “old dog” also, LOL … love this conversation … but I really like Mailchimp … once you get the hang of it, which took me a couple of hours (for me that is not bad at all) it is very easy to use. I really like it, a lot.

I started out using Constant Contact and moved to MailChimp a couple years ago. I found Constant Contact cumbersome and inflexible. I love mailchimp and find their interface very intuitive and a lot easier to create templates for. And I spend a lot less time creating new email campains in Mailchimp than I did in Constant Contact. 

@deairby the question you may want to start with is what are you looking to accomplish with your newsletter and does Constant Contact do a better job than MailChimp? I personally think that MailChimp is the most user friendly, but what I love about it the most, besides that they are playful and actually make something like creating a newsletter fun, is the integrations they have with other companies. My company, http://revivenyc.com, designs and develops websites and the integration that MailChimp provides with Gravity Forms, Paypal, and Wordpress means I can pretty much build anything with very few programs.

Just a thought…

R

I found Constant Contact so very HEAVY to use and navigate. Preferred Aweber, have yet to try Mailchimp.

I have used both CC & Mailchimp and find Mailchimp quicker & easier.  There’s something about the CC interface that just doesn’t feel at all intuitive.  Maybe it’s just me but Mailchimp seems more straightforward.  And it truly is wysiwig.  With CC it sometimes seems like you can’t really make it look the way you want it.

@deairby @dscottwalker @abigailgorton @rachelmaskell @juleswebb @dfriesland (and many more)!!!
I use CC, MailChimp and Aweber as I test many of them for clients. I’ve also used iContact and Vertical Response and MyNewsletter Builder but they are not as popular as CC and MailChimp.

I think MailChimp is GREAT for a free tool. It also has Autoresponders that CC does not have at present.  It is very easy to use and can be customized like CC templates can. 

I do like CC templates better though and I have used CC for years. But I have no problems using MailChimp but this one…..recently with AOL subscribers.

When AOL subscribers get a MailChimp newsletter it will say “Unknown Sender” in the From. But when you click to open the message it will say from “you” correctly.  But the initial “unknown sender” may cause the email NOT to be opened.  I’ve found this problem only with AOL so far.

Aweber I find the most non-user friendly but has great auto-responders.  They have a new editor in BETA and it is GREAT and can’t wait for that. It makes it more easy to build newsletters and that will be more appealing to many in creating a custom newsletter (where you don’t have to do it in HTML anymore).

I’d be happy to help anyone with MailChimp questions as well or CC, or aweber.

Heather

@deairby @dscottwalker @abigailgorton @rachelmaskell  @dfriesland

I really like mailchimp and usually promote it, but it’s just not fitting one of my clients needs. As a result I’m currently exploring  http://www.campaignmonitor.com/

Bummed at having to learn a whole new interface and templating language, but so far impressed at what they offer and their interface for creating new email campaigns.

 DomainKeyOne of the main features that attracted me was being able to set up a template that dynamically brings in the RSS feed from a blog. You can schedule these RSS email campaigns to go out say once a week and it will automatically have the latest (insert whatever number you want) posts. 

This is a technique I see Sitpoint doing with there email newsletters. Nice to have this automated in an email that reflects the look and feel of your site.

You can also set up your domain as the from address for each campaign by adding DomainKeys to the DNS records on your sites server. By authenticating your domain you’ll be able to bypass certain SPAM filters within many major ISP’s, increasing the chance that your email will get through to your recipients. Maichimp just verifies emails from a domain, which doesn’t hold quite the same authority.

cheers!
Jules

@deairby  MailChimp templates can be formatted to look like just about any website – to keep the branding consistent. Log into your dashboard and click on my templates > Start from scratch. Then build to your hearts content. Remember just because the template shows a header doesn’t mean you have to use it. That can give your newsletter a whole now look and feel. Please feel free to ask questions I know we have quite a few MailChimp experts in the club.

@amyhallbiz Hi Amy—hopefully I can pick your brain about MailChimp (which I’m very happy with). I’m not able to upload an image. I would like to customize my newsletter to look like my website. I can find the template link to add image, but after taking me to the page to add images, I’m not able to upload.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Good afternoon,I never used Constant Contact, however I do use mailchimp and love it! 

@rachelmaskell hope it helps!