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 The tool is really very complete. I have created regular campaigns, Workflows, and A/B tests in my campaigns and I have not had any limitations. I have tried other platforms that are not as complete in the free version like MailerLite. This makes me want to upgrade to the premium version and I'm sure you will get the same benefits.
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 Offers a user-friendly interface, making it simple to create beautiful forms, group subscribers, and automate emails. Includes email automation workflows in their free plan - the only provider I know of that doesn't charge you after one month or hit you with "transaction fees". Excellent video tutorial library so you can learn email marketing as a beginner without feeling overwhelmed. 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 I would add more types of inbox previews so people can see their campaigns across more channels Mailerlite could definitely use a few more default fields, and more field types. This is an area where we get stuck writing more custom fields than we like. I want to see a variety of fields, from text box, to radio buttons, drop downs and more date options. Custom fields should be able to be organized according to the list type. Custom fields that are added show up on ALL subscriber profiles, so if you were building a list that had a field for the type of pet someone had because you run a Dog Walking Business, but also had a list that only served Sponsors, that dog walking option would show up on all your subscriber types. If there's a way to change this and I missed it, my bad, but I haven't yet found that to be the case. I'd really like to see Mailerlite have the option of adding a subscriber midway through the process, and a RESEND option, whether that is to non-openers or people who are new to a list. While you can set up drip campaigns or triggers to send certain emails when people change their status, it seems a bit too time consuming. I'd love to see a date specific reminder email template for meetings. That would be awesome and speed things up quite a bit. Read full review Likelihood to Renew Mailerlite is awesome and it does everything I need and then some. They're always innovating and adding new features, and their team is flippin' amazing. Can't see myself ever switching. They may not have everything, but looking at how well their team works, they'll get there for sure and I'm willing to wait.
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 Overall it's super simple to get started and use the service. For those who need a bit more help, the support team is accessible.
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 Timely responses, quality answers to my questions, showing that the support are knowledgeable and cares about my results. I've had other experiences with competitors, so I'm delighted that this team cares about my business. It's good to know there are real experts ready to jump in when you need help
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 The company I wanted to mention isn't in your dropdown list: BEACONS. While they're more like LinkTree, they also have a great feature to build a newsletter following and their AI prompts encourage you to send more newsletter blasts and then help write the e-mail for you with the blogs/YouTube videos already embedded for example.
Read full review Return on Investment For companies that focus on goals and analytics, Adestra provides all the necessary tools. Read full review Gives us the ability to track the popularity of content in our email as well as who has read the content. The customizable layout gives us the opportunity to be creative and have our culture shine through our company communication. The ability to see who has un-subscribed helps our HR department to see who isn't receiving important company information so we can ask them to re-subscribe. Helps our company to be more transparent and communicate more effectively. Read full review ScreenShots