Comparing Newsletter Applications: MadMimi, LetterPop, and MailChimp
These past few weeks we took a look at the newsletter applications MailChimp, MadMimi, and LetterPop to get a better idea of how these applications handled the task of sending out email newsletters. Following the chart we’ll share some of our notes about the applications, but to see an introduction to the topic, please see our post: Using Web 2.0 Applications To Get The Word Out: Newsletter Applications.
| MailChimp | MadMimi | LetterPop | |
| Templates | yes | yes | yes |
| Spam checker | yes | no | no |
| Contact lists | yes | yes | yes |
| Design tools | yes | yes | yes |
| HTML and plain text | yes | yes | no |
| Able to use purchased lists | no | no | yes |
| Tutorials | yes | yes | yes |
| Tracking | yes | yes | yes |
| Segmented lists | yes | yes | no |
| A/B split campaigns | yes | yes | no |
| Dynamic coding (conditional) | yes | yes | yes |
| RSS to email campaigns | yes | no | yes |
| Image hosting | yes | yes | yes |
| SSL | yes | yes | yes |
| Newsletter URL | no | yes | yes |
| Import addresses | yes | yes | csv only |
| Inbox inspections (multiple client test) | yes | yes | yes |
| Starting plan | $10 monthly | $8 monthly | $25 annually |
| Free plan | yes | yes |
All three of the applications were easy to use, but of the three there was little question that MailChimp offered the greatest degree of control. Where MadMimi and LetterPop offered drag and drop features to create newsletters, MailChimp allows users to actively edit a template or enter their own CSS. Design-wise, MailChimp allows for greater control from its pages, putting more options into a single page while retaining a clean design.
The list of features for all three applications will cover most users, yet MailChimp’s editing tools and refusal to accept purchased lists (spam!) was worthy of our respect. MadMimi followed with an automated removal of duplicates, but the newsletter creation tool is, as we’ve mentioned, too small. The most simplistic was LetterPop, and as we implied with the ease of use, each of the three have a user in mind. LetterPop has made its interface (and feature set) with anyone in mind - simple and straightforward, where MadMimi has more complexity to design and features. MailChimp is the application that will appeal most to comfortable web users.
The three applications handled authenticating differently; MailChimp screens for purchased lists and asks for a working cell phone number, MadMimi reviews accounts (human reviews), and LetterPop had no verification. The importance of verification is that the more reliable the service (less spam it generates), the less likely it is that the email program will reject your newsletter.
Pricing was most flexible with LetterPop’s custom plans, and it should be noted that all the applications have pricing plans for volume and features desired. To find this or other applications like it, there is the Listio search: create+newsletters.
Previously in this series: Mailchimp: Newsletters With Options
Application: MailChimpListio Profile: http://www.listio.com/web20/app/MailChimp/
Website: http://www.mailchimp.com
Application: MadMimiListio Profile: http://www.listio.com/web20/app/MadMimi/
Website: http://www.madmimi.com
Application: LetterpopListio Profile: http://www.listio.com/web20/app/Letterpop/
Website: http://www.letterpop.com
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April 1st, 2009 at 10:50 am
I just wanted to thank you for mentioning Mad Mimi.
I do have two corrections though. Mad Mimi does not allow purchased lists or anything even resembling spam to be sent through our app.
We also do provide a newsletter URL.