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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Substack

    Score9.2 out of 10
    N/ASubstack is a subscription-based newsletter publishing platform.N/A

    VerticalResponse

    Score10 out of 10
    N/AVerticalResponse is an email campaign management software and services platform from Deluxe. In addition to providing email marketing tools, VerticalResponse offers fully managed email marketing services from campaign launch and management to reporting and analysis.

    $9

    per month

    Pricing
    SubstackVerticalResponse
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Basic
    $11.00
    per month
    Pro
    $16.00
    per month
    Pro Plus
    $196.00
    per month
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    SubstackVerticalResponse
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    SubstackVerticalResponse
    Considered Both Products
    Substack Inc.
    No answer on this topic
    VerticalResponse
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    83%
    Would buy again
    5 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    5 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    83%
    Happy with the feature set
    5 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    5 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    5 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    SubstackVerticalResponse
    Email & Online Marketing
    Comparison of Email & Online Marketing features of Substack and VerticalResponse
    Feature
    Substack
    -
    Ratings
    VerticalResponse
    9.9
    8 Ratings
    21% above category average
    WYSIWYG email editor00 Ratings10.07 Ratings
    Dynamic content00 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Ability to test dynamic content00 Ratings10.04 Ratings
    Landing pages00 Ratings10.04 Ratings
    A/B testing00 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Mobile optimization00 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Email deliverability reporting00 Ratings10.08 Ratings
    List management00 Ratings10.08 Ratings
    Triggered drip sequences00 Ratings9.02 Ratings
    Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Substack and VerticalResponse
    Feature
    Substack
    -
    Ratings
    VerticalResponse
    10.0
    9 Ratings
    27% above category average
    Dashboards00 Ratings10.09 Ratings
    Standard reports00 Ratings10.09 Ratings
    Custom reports00 Ratings10.06 Ratings
    Pre-Send Testing
    Comparison of Pre-Send Testing features of Substack and VerticalResponse
    Feature
    Substack
    -
    Ratings
    VerticalResponse
    10.0
    1 Ratings
    20% above category average
    URL Validation00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Link Tracking00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Image Validation00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Inbox Display00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Email Accessibility Tools00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Spelling and Grammar Check00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Spam Testing00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Email Previews00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    SubstackVerticalResponse
    Small Businesses
    Quora Blogs / Spaces (discontinued)
    Score8.7 out of 10
    Mad Mimi
    Score10 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Blogger
    Score10 out of 10
    Campaign Monitor by Marigold
    Score9 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Quora Blogs / Spaces (discontinued)
    Score8.7 out of 10
    Emma by Marigold
    Score8.4 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    SubstackVerticalResponse
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.7
    (6 ratings)
    10.0
    (28 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.6
    (19 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (4 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (4 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    SubstackVerticalResponse
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Substack Inc.
    I think Substack is better for people who want to set up a personal-facing branded website vs people who just want to post random musings every so often. Monetization is better there than any other collective publishing platform as well as organic reach via email. Substack also allows you to build direct relationships with your readers via emails and own them 100% which is great long-term if you use it to pivot to another site or another form of writing/content creation. Substack would be less helpful for someone wanting to write as a part of a group, not individually, or someone who's unwilling to put their personal brand behind their content. It's less optimized for SEO (which other platforms allow you to do) and can be harder to curate content based on your interests (you really have to go in knowing what you want vs finding it on the fly).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    VerticalResponse
    For businesses requiring advanced email marketing features like sophisticated automation, in-depth analytics, and extensive customization, VerticalResponse might fall short due to its limited featuresVerticalResponse is ideal for small businesses or freelancers who need a simple, straightforward email marketing tool. Its ease of use and basic features make it suitable for those without extensive technical expertise in email marketing
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Substack Inc.
    • Because it has a very high Domain Authority ranking relevant backlinks in a published article will help make my store more searchable.
    • Substack is very easy to work in. The toolset they provide may not be as extensive as other platforms but it is certainly enough to create a meaningful, interesting post.
    • Substack is very focused on creating a community of writers that support each other. They run an ongoing email campaign that reinforces their focus on building a community of writers.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    VerticalResponse
    • I love the ease of list builder because we often times have a lot of data to import. It would be simply impossible without this tool, considering the amount of customer data we have for any one given email.
    • We really enjoy the ease of use of the HTML wizard as well. It helps even a novice be able to make a beautiful and attention grabbing email.
    • The dashboard is functional and easy to find when you need with a quick search.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Substack Inc.
    • editor is on the primitive side - it's wysiwyg, but missing some embed options
    • integrate with google analytics
    • percentage cut that Substack takes can become a burden as your revenue grows. Problems scaling.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    VerticalResponse
    • The type face is small. Not sure if this is to avoid overwhelming the reader, but I could see this being an issue with vision-impaired people or people who don't see small print well.
    • Sometimes I find it takes multiple clicks to make one simple change. I wish there was a search field at the top of the screen that allowed me to jump directly to a client's entry to update it there.
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Substack Inc.
    No answers on this topic
    VerticalResponse
    Product is easy for both technical and non-technical people to use. A cost effective solution for sending out large number of messages. We can manage unsubscribes by individual accounts, so we can have multiple multiple accounts combined to maximize our buying power on credits. Effective API for sending/receiving data makes tool a valuable asset.
    Read full review
    Usability
    Substack Inc.
    No answers on this topic
    VerticalResponse
    I truly love this product. We are moving to an all-in-one system next year and my greatest fear in doing so is how much I will miss this platform. Although we are excited for things ahead, I will always keep Vertical Response in my back pocket incase I don't love the new platform as much
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Substack Inc.
    No answers on this topic
    VerticalResponse
    Never had an issue with uptime
    Read full review
    Performance
    Substack Inc.
    No answers on this topic
    VerticalResponse
    No issues
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Substack Inc.
    No answers on this topic
    VerticalResponse
    At Vertical Response the help desk associates are courteous, knowledgeable and helpful. You can tell they enjoy what they do. And clearly, they are well trained because most times, the first point of contact is able to resolve any issue you may have. There have been very few times where an associate has needed to get back to me or escalate me to a supervisor
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Online Training
    Substack Inc.
    No answers on this topic
    VerticalResponse
    Basic functions and online help...we used what was needed, at the time, and will continue to explore other online trainings as our functional needs expand
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Substack Inc.
    No answers on this topic
    VerticalResponse
    Salesforce integration never worked right. We had to abandon.
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Substack Inc.
    Medium is not so good for running newsletter. I find the mail that a user gets is very easily readable. Also as a creator it's very easy for me to track the analytics and monetise my blogs unlike Medium. Blogger is a very old technology. The kind of integrations and the support for Markdown / different media is very great in Substack.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    VerticalResponse
    In addition to using Vertical Response personally I also manage email marketing for clients that already use Mailchimp, Robly and Constant Contact. While most of these platforms all offer similar features I choose Vertical Response first if the client does not have a platform in place. Typically I am also teaching the client how to use this tool and the Vertical Response visual interface is very easy for me to teach a client how to navigate and create their own campaigns.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Substack Inc.
    • I haven’t made any money from it
    • Can be disheartening when you realise you’re putting in maximum effort for minimum audience
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    VerticalResponse
    • We were able to blast out promotions our company was having to customers which created an increase in business.
    • By blasting out any service issues, it keeps our customers informed so that they are not wondering what is going on.
    • Allows us to store unsubscribed emails so that we are not constantly pestering people who do not want to be emailed.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots