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iContact Reviews

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For start-up companies who are working towards medium business status, iContact is an email management service that has been providing marketing solutions since 2003. Their focus is on the organization that needs high-volume email, subscription list, and marketing strategy management. They fall under the umbrella of Cison, a global media management company that is headquartered in Chicago. Cison offers services, like iContact, that help businesses manage every part of their client relations.


REVIEW

The big draw for clients interested in iContact is the user interface. Their simple, down-to-earth system makes it totally intuitive for you to create and send messages. iContact offers the standard array of newsletter templates that you can use, as well as a built-in photo library that you can use freely and legally as part of your monthly subscription. Their templates include things like surveys, and it’s easy to manage multiple lists from your single iContact account. The template designs haven’t changed much since 2003, making them feel outdated to some, but for others, the ease of use trumps the lack of modern aesthetic.

Recently, iContact has begun focusing on serving your social media needs from inside your newsletter. This means that your biggest fans can share news and business coupons in communities like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn by simply clicking a button right in the email. This feature is new enough that the bugs haven’t been totally worked out, but it’s a solution that has become a great way for many businesses to expand their social media presence.

The ability to use previous emails as a template, or even to re-send old messages, has become a big positive for many companies. iContact also offers a feature called Segments, which divides your subscribers into user-defined lists. Within these organized lists, you can focus specialized campaigns and learn how your business is attracting or discouraging certain groups of potential customers.

One important factor that many companies cannot overlook is the ability to track which links or articles are clicked on within your email. This allows you to tailor your emails even further to optimize their usefulness to your customers. iContact provides this service, and for many users, it is the number one feature that they can’t stop talking about.

Where iContact doesn’t meet its competitors is in its lack of storage, particularly for images. Uploading your own images becomes a hassle when you are restricted to limited storage allowances. Pictures are also frequently limited to specific sizes. Additionally, iContact’s email preview tool does not show how the email will look on devices like phones and tablets, so you must send a test email to check the appearance on other devices.

The pricing of iContact is very comparable to its competitors. Like others, they rely on a system that charges more per subscriber. You can pay monthly, or enjoy a discount if you choose to pay annually. They offer a free trial that does not require a credit card, but limits you to a small amount of total emails sent during the trial.


RATINGS

9.2 Total Score
Excellent

iContact's focus is on the organization that needs high-volume email, subscription list, and marketing strategy management.

Price
9.5
Features
9.3
Usability
9.0
Deliverability
9.1
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BRAND REPUTATION COMPARISON

iContact
59 %
Competitors
50 %

USER ENGAGEMENT COMPARISON

iContact
75 %
Competitors
50 %


POPULARITY TREND COMPARISON

iContact
79 %
Competitors
50 %


PROS:
  • Easy-to-use email templates
  • Data rich reporting on clicks and views
  • Built-in photo library
  • Social media connectivity
  • Intuitive subscriber organization
  • Comparable pricing

CONS:
      • Lack of storage, particularly for images
      • Preview tool is not responsive
      • Outdated email templates
      • Opt-out feature can be buggy
      • No way to embed video or other media




CONCLUSION

If your email management needs are fairly straightforward, and you rely on the ability to track your customers’ interests through clicks, iContact is an easy choice. Their focus on the small and start up business owner means that you’ll be able to go through the process of email management step-by-step with a company that understands your needs, and is ready to help you as you grow.

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