PHPlist is a very powerful, very cool piece of open source software, but If you’re hitting a wall, be careful. Don’t just jump into the next mailer you find.
From cost to deliverability, to ease of use and extensibility, there’s a wide range of options in front of you that you would be wise to weigh carefully.
To help, here’s a list of phplist alternatives, so you can weigh some of the pros and cons associated with each:
1) GNU Mailman - Free open source app. As with phplist, deliverability is the key issue here. PHPlist and Mailman both require you to send from your own IP, or your hosting company’s IP, which means deliverability will likely always be a struggle.
2) Ninjaresponder - Just about as different from phplist as you can get. It’s a subscription based service that costs $19 per month for up to 500 subscribers. Beginner friendly, and while it’s not free like phplist, I think you’ll find their support staff is nothing short
“fan-freaking-tastic”.
3) Dada Mail - $50 - $100 depending on which license you get. Features include the ability to give your confirmed subscribers a profile page where they can easily update their subscription preferences. Downside: lump it in with phplist because you host it yourself.
4) Constant Contact - unlike phplist C.C. is subscription based and costs from $15/month up to hundreds depending on your mail volume. While their interface is fairly
intuitive and creating a nice looking newsletter is a snap, the same can be said for their competition. What most of their competition can’t do is maintain deliverability rates above 97%. Constant Contact 1, PHPlist zero.
5) iContact - Boasts average deliverability statistics in the neighborhood of 98% - 99%. To be completely honest, I’ve used a different third party deliverability tracker which reports that their deliverability rate fluctuates between 93% and 98%. Still, not too shabby at all if you ask me.
6) Aweber - Honestly, if you’ve seen Ninjaresponder.com you’ve seen Aweber they are
functionally identical. But If you check out Aweber’s blog you’ll find a treasure trove of fantastic free information on email marketing. Great service.
7) Lyris - Been around since 1994 and has managed to carve out a niche as one of the most powerful and trusted Autoresponders on the market. It can pretty much do anything you need it to, but it actually might be too powerful for smaller lists. The level of complexity isn’t staggering to a pro, but there are more "lightweight" options.
8) OfficeAutopilot - OfficeAutopilot is really freaking cool. You can use it to blast out emails, schedule in your newsletters, create autoresponse series’, and even sequence your messages with rule based logic. But the coolest feature IMHO is the ability to create an autopilot marketing sequence that delivers emails, postcards or even voice broadcasts to your list. Take a tour on their site, it’s a fun ride.
PHPlist is a powerful piece of very cool open source software, but problems with deliverability, ease of use and technical issues can cripple your email marketing
strategy in short order.
Honestly, alternatives 1 and 3 above are going to be pains in the butt for the same reasons. If you’re just getting started, or if you’ve been using phplist for a while and you’re ready to graduate, then I’d pick either NinjaRespnder.com, Constant Contact, iContact, Lyris, or Office Autopilot.
Picking the right solution for your email marketing strategy can be tough, but a quick chat on the phone with any of the services mentioned above should provide you with enough specifics to make an educated decision.
Oh, and while you’re sniffing out alternatives to phplist, make sure you avoid the most common mistake in the world of email marketing… Picking a fancy mailman and forgetting the message. This quick video was made to help you avoid the terrifying and horrible horrors
of ineffective email marketing:
http://www.OvercomeEverything.com/phplist
