Likelihood to Recommend Small businesses with even smaller marketing budgets and no email marketing experience would be better off selecting a lower-end email marketing provider. However, Adestra will provide a growing company with every email marketing tool along the way.
Read full review It works very well for my cooking business.
Read full review Pros Adestra's "dynamic" list allows users to consolidate multiple lists in combination with data filters and exclusion lists. This implements segmentation and is a powerful marketing tool. Adestra's MessageFocus API integration provides developer-tools for list, campaign or transactional automated requirements. Campaigns can be sorted into project folders. This allows marketers to group campaigns together for management or reporting requirements. Moving or copying campaigns from one project to another is a simple process. Data downloads via Reporting is available at every level, from overview to individual KPI. Creating "core" tables helps marketers develop lists with similar attributes. Whether a list has many fields or simply the one required email address field, a "core" table helps to quickly map data labels from spreadsheet to online database. Creating data labels on the fly is a simple process, as well. The "core" table also groups similar contacts into one core database. Any list can be quickly "emptied" for to manage refreshed data. The contacts within the "emptied" list would still be members of the "core" table and so the process does not negatively impact reporting. Unsubscribes can be managed in one list (as a default) or individual lists. Creating individual unsubscribe lists -- dependent on business requirements -- would allow for a preference center, whereby recipients could be given a choice as to which campaigns they receive. The Form tool creates signup forms, simple surveys and landing pages. These can be hosted via Adestra or otherwise on the web. The tool provides for branding and proprietary cascading stylesheets, with a number of actions available through a drag-and-drop interface. Read full review The CRM holds all of my contacts and it is already integrated with all of my other tools. The Email Management system is already integrated with all of my other tools. This means that I do not have to download CSVs and upload them to a separate email program everytime I want to send out an email blast. I can take payments in the same system that has my email marketing and CRM. This means that I can create tags and send different email campaigns depending on if I have received payment or not. The website hosting means that I can use the same software to update my blog and gallery of food pictures. I can sell tickets to my cooking classes from the same software that manages everything else that I do in my business. I use the task manager that is built in to remind me of things I need to do. I really like that it is tied into my CRM so I can tag tasks to specific clients. The built in timecard system allows me to "clock in" to whatever client that I am working on so that my time and hourly rate are automatically calculated for me. My invoices are sent automatically on the first of each month. Read full review Cons As of this writing, there are at least 3 different editors available (a drag-and-drop, a WYSIWYG and HTML). However, only a small template library is available if requested through support. Those expecting to find ready-built templates for re-branding would find them through the third-party EDM Designer drag-and-drop editor. Read full review QuickBooks Integration More email templates They do not have an app Read full review Usability I have been self-trained on different ESPs for over 10 years, so my experience isn't comparable to most users. However, I've trained people on various email marketing platforms, and with some training, clients have a positive user-experience with Adestra.
Read full review Support Rating I have had campaign related issues solved very quickly. When there are technical issues, that involve more than one departmental, it may involve a longer turn-around and management.
Read full review Alternatives Considered For medium and large sized businesses, Adestra competes well with
dotMailer . While many of the functions are available through either provider, creating campaigns, managing lists and reviewing metrics are somewhat different. As of this writing,
dotMailer 's drag-and-drop editor dominates that platform and performs well for low-end users with little-to-no HTML experience. Even high-end users will appreciate how quickly campaigns can be built via the drag-and-drop editor. While Adestra utilizes the EDM Designer drag-and-drop, the third-party functionality is not completely cohesive and lack of a template library gives
dotMailer a bit of an advantage.
Read full review I used to use Microsoft Excel to organize my business - but it got pretty crazy pretty fast.
Read full review Return on Investment For companies that focus on goals and analytics, Adestra provides all the necessary tools. Read full review It just makes it easier for me to track what is going on in my business. I like having everything in one place, instead of a bunch of different programs. Read full review ScreenShots AllProWebTools Screenshots