Hello everyone
Does anybody knows about a email marketing software.
I've been looking for one.
any recommendations?

thank you.

http://www.netrand.com

You could make that quite easily with php and a mysql databse.

Be most effective because now if you search for anything like that you have companies where you have to pay for it or do something annoying for the software and then they are on about mass spamming and such...

Anyway good luck with your search,
Lewis Oaten

What sort of features are you looking for?

A good all around company for this is http://bighip.com they have a total email solution and are also great to work with. Bighip lets you do everything yourself and the stats are the best I have ever seen. My 2 cents hope this helps.

BEWARE! BIGHIP does not allow customers to VIEW or EXPORT their email lists. This is a way to exploit their existing customers into being customers for life, or else risk losing their email lists. This billy_boy guy works for bighip.com and has been posting shill posts like the one above on a number of forums. Do not give Bighip your business until they rethink their ethical standards.

BEWARE! BIGHIP does not allow customers to VIEW or EXPORT their email lists. This is a way to exploit their existing customers into being customers for life, or else risk losing their email lists. This billy_boy guy works for bighip.com and has been posting shill posts like the one above on a number of forums. Do not give Bighip your business until they rethink their ethical standards.

Hi Netrand,

There are really two options, a server side solution, or to outsource your emailing to a third party provider.

You can run a program from your computer, and send email through your IP conection. However, these days, this is really a non-starter.

Why? Most ISPs tend to look at bulk mail sent through a dynamic IP connection as spam (and I presume we are not talking about spamming, right? Good.)

Okay, in deciding to do mailings on your own, before getting into a server side solution (by this I mean a script hosted on your server) I suggest people read three resources:

The first involves meeting AOL's white listing rules.

(AOL has a fair amount of information on its web site and I suggest anyone who is interested in doing their own mailings review this information.

The second involves publishing an SPF record for your domain.

(I have provided the link to AOL's information on SPF, standing for Sender Policy Framework.)

The third involves understanding the issues presently being confronted by the larger mail box providers in coping with UBE and what steps these providers are taking to deal with these problems.

For more read the policy paper published in June by the Anti Spam Technology Alliance.

The fourth involves understanding the difference between a mailing list and a spam list.

On this point, the market is divided.

* Some folks believe it is ok to send unsolicited commercial email as long as you meet the criteria established by the Federal Trade Commission for commercial emailers.

However section 8 of the CAN SPAM Act of 2003 allows the ISPs and other Internet access services to adopt, implement, or enforce "a policy of declining to transmit, route, relay, handle, or store certain types of electronic mail messages."

The major ISPs all have policies declining to transmit, route, relay, handle, or store unsolicited commercial email.

Meaning? Don't send unsolicited commercial email.

* Many online marketers suggest as long as the person has "opted-in" or there is a pre-existing business relationship, this is all that is required.

There are two problems with this stance:

If someone "opts-in" and subsequently yells spam (which can happen), these days most web hosts won't back you up, unless you are running what is called a verified opt-in mailing list.

Verified opt-in means the person subscribed, was sent a request asking him or her to verify the request and there is some sort of audit trail, so that a third party can verify the person did confirm the subscription request.

A pre-existing business relationship is not a recognized concept under the CAN SPAM Act of 2003.

To send a commercial email message and not be labelled a spammer, at a minimum one needs affirmative consent, as that term is defined under the Act.

(I should mention, the FTC is presently sorting through the rules on defining the primary purpose of a commercial email message, which will provide more guidance.)

* A lot of ISPs rely on Spamhaus.org for guidance on what is or is not spam.

(Over 40% of the mail boxes world wide rely on the services of Spamhaus.org)

Therefore, if you don't want trouble (I am not saying there may not be complaints, but at least you will have a valid defence), then on the technical side, use a software script which meets the standards set out by Spamhaus and also review with care, these guidelines for proper list management.

All right, with that information under our belt, we are ready to make some choices:

* Server side scripts

There are a fair number of these on the market place. To be honest the right answer depends on what are your objectives.

For the sake of discussion, let's presume we are a small office, home office business, with broad band access, a web site, with a dedicated IP address and our web hosting is set up, so that mailings can be done in compliance with AOL's technical guidelines from our web server.

I am also going to presume that the list size is under 10,000 email addresses and we have decided to run a verified opt-in mailing list, with the appropriate audit trail in case of dispute.

* Autoresponseplus Server side script, with option of running verified opt-in mailing list with audit trail.

* Dada Mail There is a free and pro version. Again, allows the emailer to run a verified opt-in mailing list with audit trail.

* Mailman This is open source. Set up to run a verified opt-in mailing list with audit trail.

(I have used Mailman. It is better suited for a mailing list where individuals can post to the list. I have not used either Dada Mail or Autoresponseplus, although I have spoken with people who have used these scripts.)

Email Service Providers

Again, as with everything, there are a variety of choices. Based on the same assumptions, there are three providers I would look at:

* AWeber Offers both list management and sequential auto-responders. Strong support. Good delivery rates. Allows the customer to run verified opt-in mailing lists.

* Emailaces Offers both list management and sequential auto-responders. Good support and delivery rates. Allows the customer to run verified opt-in mailing lists.

AWeber's focus is different than Emailaces and the specific choice will depend on the user's wants and needs.

AWeber has stronger tracking and testing tools. Emailaces uses a different criteria for list import.

* Bighip This service only allows for verified opt-in lists and has excellent delivery rates for its customers.

I note a post suggesting the provider does not allow people to export their lists. In speaking with management, my understanding is that Bighip has no objection to customer's exporting their list, should the customer wish to change providers.

At present, this service offers strong listmanagement capability with good tracking and testing tools. The provider is planning to add sequential auto-responders next week.

I have used and tested all three service providers. The links provided are my affiliate links. Yes, that mean's I receive some compensation if someone purchases using my links. Of course, if you prefer to go direct, AWeber, Emailaces and Bighip.

Bighip has better delivery rates than AWeber or Emailaces, although all three are roughly on par. In today's market, getting your mail delivered is crucial.

AWeber and Emailaces allow for a free trial, so that you can check out the service before making a final decision. BigHip allows you to run a mailing list of under 50 subscribers for free, meaning you can test the service before enrolling.

Trusting this information is of some assistance.

John Glube