Switching newsletter provider time. Can we talk about what you use?

[alhawke]

My email list is now over 2000. That meant that in order to send this weekend's newsletter I was asked to upgrade Mailchimp from free to $36/month  Trying to keep cost down, I switched to Mailerlite--for this month. I'm shopping around. Cause $15 through Mailerlite per month is still high, right?

So now I'm resurrecting another thread on preferred newsletter subscribers. I know we've talked before, and I did a bit of review with some threads I've bookmarked. We've talked of Substack recently. I'd love any info or benefits you guys see with that one or other providers you're using.

[Post-Crisis D]

I use Aweber for mine.  I'm currently under 500 subscribers, so mine is still the $19/mo. level.  No real problems except that they count unsubscribed addresses toward your billing until you delete them.  So, I have to remember to keep the lists pruned so I don't get bumped to $29/mo.  I have multiple lists (others not related to writing) so all count toward the total.  The others are small though, but still have to keep an eye on them.

I have a client that I set up with phpList (self-hosted).  They have fewer subscribers than I do but they eMail more frequently.  No problems that I'm aware of.  It's hosted alongside their website so it doesn't cost anything more than their regular webhosting.

If my list(s) grow past the 500 subscriber level, I might move from Aweber to phpList (self-hosted).

[LilyBLily]

I pay MailerLite yearly, which knocks a lot off the price. Looks like at your number of subscribers it would be $126 per year or $10.50 a month, which isn't bad if you're sending once a month and you have an organic list that is responsive to your mailings. Their pricing page is quite confusing and it might be worth an email to them to ask for clarification.

The quality of your list and the number of emails you're allowed to send in the plan per month are both important determinants. If you're the kind of author who writes a chatty newsletter twice a month, you might go over the number you're allowed in one plan and need to buy a different one. If your list of subscribers is mostly disengaged people who entered a contest and will unsubscribe with every newsletter you send, you'll want to delete them fast so as to reduce your mailing costs and give your good list space to grow.

[alhawke]

I use Aweber for mine.

I checked out Aweber. Pricing is cheaper, but is the same after 2500 subscribers. This might have been a cheaper transition for me as I have less than 2500. But ... I just spent a couple hours transitioning. So I might stay with mailerlite for now. Do you know of any benefit with functionality with aweber vs mailerlite?

I pay MailerLite yearly, which knocks a lot off the price.

That might work out cheaper for me. I'm gonna keep an eye on it and transition to annual if I stay with them.

Of course, I have my Mailchimp account referenced on all my 11 books for subscribing still. Doh!  This is something I never even thought of. I might, though it's a bit weird, keep Mailchimp for collecting subscribers from my books because of this. Still thinking 

[LilyBLily]

Of course, I have my Mailchimp account referenced on all my 11 books for subscribing still. Doh!  This is something I never even thought of. I might, though it's a bit weird, keep Mailchimp for collecting subscribers from my books because of this. Still thinking 

I had the same problem. It's not a big deal to reduce your list on MailChimp so you stay free and then batch move the new sign-ups to another service. This is why some people use various versions of permalinks. The problem with those is some readers won't click a bitly, so then you're back to the old "Send to my website (extra step) or send to my mail service?" It's also an argument for editing your own formatted files, even if you don't format them yourself to begin with.

[Wonder]

I pay MailerLite yearly, which knocks a lot off the price.

Same here. I used to use Mailchimp, but they jacked up their prices and started charging customers even for unsubscribed people a while back. Mailerlite has been great so far.

Wonder

[alhawke]

It's not a big deal to reduce your list on MailChimp so you stay free and then batch move the new sign-ups to another service. This is why some people use various versions of permalinks.

Multiple services is another option to save money, but could get complicated with mass send outs--again, I'm still deciding.

As far as a main link, I format all my books, except one, so I could go back and change the subscriber links. But it'd be doubtful relying on Amazon updates on books already sold. I'll probably continue using a central Mailchimp link and just periodically check on Mailchimp for new subscribers. I only get a couple per month at the moment who subscribe from the website or from a book through Mailchimp. I can gather those manually.

For direct free ebook for newsletter swaps on my website, I decided to send those direct to a Bookfunnel newsletter sales page and bypass an email service entirely. But I don't think Bookfunnel's the wisest method for "subscribe to my newsletter" CTAs or a main newsletter link on books (the book funnel page is better for providing the book, not explaining the newsletter subscription, imo).

[idontknowyet]

I always wondered why people didnt use multiple services. Until i started sending newsletters out. Now i barely want to take the time to do one. 3 or 4 a week would drive me crazy!

[PaulineMRoss]

I switched to Mailerlite when I got to the point that I couldn't even work out from Mailchimp what sequence my sign-up peeps would see. Mailerlite is way, way simpler to use, and it also allows me to use multiple accounts for different pen names. My moribund fantasy pen name is on the free system, while my Regency pen name, which has 7K+ names, is paid for. The Regency pen name sends out roughly one email per month

As far as signups go, my books all have a link to the website, and the website signup page goes through Mailerlite.