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iContact

iContact

Overview

What is iContact?

iContact is an email marketing solution that was acquired by Vocus in 2012. The product is integrated with Facebook and Twitter and is aimed at SMBs with unlimited sending as a key feature.

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

iContact is a versatile communication tool that is used by various organizations and individuals for a wide range of purposes. For …
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Popular Features

View all 20 features
  • Dashboards (26)
    8.0
    80%
  • List management (25)
    8.0
    80%
  • Standard reports (25)
    8.0
    80%
  • Email deliverability reporting (25)
    7.0
    70%
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Pricing

View all pricing

1500 Users

$15.00

Cloud
per month

2500 Users

$25.00

Cloud
per month

5000 Users

$45.00

Cloud
per month

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services

Starting price (does not include set up fee)

  • $14 per month
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Product Demos

Build Your Brand Webinar Series: iContact Demo

YouTube

Demo of shortcut to Business Card iContact using QR code on iPhone - Part 1

YouTube

iContact for Salesforce Demo

YouTube
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Features

Email & Online Marketing

Using software to manage lists, send emails, automate email campaigns, and track results.

6.6
Avg 8.2

Reporting & Analytics

Users can report on and analyze usage, performance, ROI, and/or other metrics of success.

8
Avg 7.9

Pre-Send Testing

This set of features allows marketers to test out and preview various elements of their emails before sending out email campaigns. URL validation, inbox display, and email review are some of the activities included in pre-send testing.

7
Avg 8.5
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Product Details

What is iContact?

iContact is an email marketing solution that was acquired by Vocus in 2012. The product is integrated with Facebook and Twitter and is aimed at SMBs with unlimited sending as a key feature.

Drag & Drop Editor
No HTML required, but can be used in conjunction with their Drag & Drop email designer.

A/B Split Testing
Conduct email tests to specific subscriber groups ranging from test email subject lines, incentives, layouts, or color schemes.

Automation
Schedule emails based on your own needs, or with suggested times based on iContact's automation algorithm.

Landing Pages
Designed to help users automize conversion rates with customizable landing page templates.

Performance Reporting
Analyze email metrics with personalized dashboards.

Subscriber Management
Embed custom sign-up forms, and manage lists of subscribers based on demographics.

Multiple Users
One account, multiple users, with customizable permissions-levels.

API Integrations
Incorporate data from multiple sources into iContact for subscriber management. Export data from iContact into other tools to optimize email marketing applications.




iContact Integrations

iContact Technical Details

Deployment TypesSoftware as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

iContact is an email marketing solution that was acquired by Vocus in 2012. The product is integrated with Facebook and Twitter and is aimed at SMBs with unlimited sending as a key feature.

iContact starts at $14.

Mapp Digital, Constant Contact, and VerticalResponse are common alternatives for iContact.

Reviewers rate List management and Dashboards and Standard reports highest, with a score of 8.

The most common users of iContact are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).
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Comparisons

View all alternatives
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Reviews and Ratings

(98)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

iContact is a versatile communication tool that is used by various organizations and individuals for a wide range of purposes. For example, schools utilize iContact to manage both internal and external communications, including sending emails about performances, weekly updates, illness announcements, and emergency communication. This ensures seamless and efficient communication within the school community. Similarly, marketing departments of businesses employ iContact for email marketing campaigns, allowing them to reach out to customers with monthly newsletters, promotions, and announcements.

Moreover, iContact serves as a valuable tool for coordinating communications across different departments within a company. It enables approximately three departments to send targeted messages to specific audiences such as physicians and consumers while ensuring brand consistency and tracking open rates. In addition to these organizational use cases, iContact also caters to individual users who rely on it to stay connected with clients or referral sources. The user-friendly interface guides users through the entire email campaign process, making it suitable for those with little experience in this domain. Overall, users have praised iContact for effectively solving the challenges associated with mass email communication and promoting engagement with their target audiences.

Intuitive and Easy to Use Interface: Users find iContact's interface intuitive and easy to use, making it convenient for completing urgent work. They appreciate the ease of setting up and sharing knowledge with colleagues. Some users feel that iContact is particularly helpful for beginners in email marketing.

Wide Selection of Design Templates: Users appreciate the wide selection of design templates provided by iContact, allowing them to create eye-catching emails and newsletters on any device. The template designer feature is particularly helpful in creating professional-looking emails. Many reviewers mention that these templates are fantastic and simple to use.

Effective Contact Management and Sales Opportunities: iContact's platform effectively manages contacts and sales opportunities, providing a faster experience for customers. Users find it easy to do marketing campaigns and share information between multiple sources using iContact. The individual person management feature allows for effective addressal of specific account details. Several users mentioned that they find managing email lists and the automatic payment system intuitive and affordable.

Confusing User Interface: Many users have expressed frustration with the confusing and difficult-to-navigate user interface of iContact. They find it challenging to locate specific features and perform tasks efficiently. The overall layout and organization of the interface can be improved to enhance user experience.

Limited Image Storage Space: Users have reported a lack of sufficient storage space for images in iContact, which hampers their efficiency in managing and using visuals for email campaigns. This limitation forces users to constantly delete or replace existing images, resulting in extra effort and time consumption.

Performance Issues: A common complaint among users is the slow loading speed and performance issues experienced while using iContact. Slow loading times not only hinder productivity but also create frustration among users who rely on prompt access to their email marketing tools. Improving the software's performance would greatly enhance user satisfaction and workflow efficiency.

Users recommend iContact for various purposes, including PR needs, non-profit organizations, and growing businesses. They appreciate the ease of use and effectiveness of iContact. Customers also praise the reliable customer service provided by iContact and its ability to track results. Users find iContact competitively priced and easy to learn. They highly recommend iContact for email marketing and its seamless integration with Salesforce. The platform is also praised for its contact management capabilities, convenient templates, and pricing options. Users find it beneficial for quickly sending contact emails. It is advisable to try a demo before fully committing to iContact. However, caution is advised when sending mass emails to leads. Overall, users believe that iContact is an excellent tool for tying in with Salesforce and meeting email marketing needs.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-4 of 4)
Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
Zeenath Haniff | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • Customer service is beyond expectations. Every representative has full knowledge of every aspect of the program and provides detailed instructions including links. They are prompt and courteous each time as well as patient, staying online to chat until the entire issue is resolved.
  • iContact is easy to use by providing building blocks in the form of modules. It is rather simple to move blocks of text or add new text boxes.
  • Linking directly to social media is an intelligent way of instantly extending the reach of an email marketing piece. Having all major social media platforms through iContact also makes it easier to track.
  • Tracking reports does the work for you, making iContact a one-stop shop for email marketing purposes. It is easy to see if the email marketing piece is truly reaching the target audience.
  • Copying and pasting text can only be done using keyboard functions. The right-click drop-down menu exists but does not work, rendering the menu useless.
  • Readjusting the size of boxes isn't easy and requires manipulating the program to get exactly the right look, which takes up an unnecessary amount of time.
  • Lack of space for image storage reduces efficiency.
iContact provides easy-to-use templates for those who are not familiar with HTML coding or advanced users can utilize the Message Coder to truly customize email marketing campaigns. Things to consider are certainly the purpose of the email marketing piece, target audience (contacts can be categorized in iContact), level of customer service (instant messaging with an actual representative is quick and painless), storage capacity (better to upgrade if in need of many images) and marketing needs (tracking reports can narrow down the number of emails clicked, opened, bounced, etc.).
  • The scheduling tool allows employees to work ahead, which frees up valuable time and increases internal productivity.
  • Consistency in delivering allows readers (and potential customers) to get news when they expect, which keeps the business relevant and on the forefront of their minds.
  • Being able to forward the email campaign to others has helped increase the number of subscribers.
I have not yet tried ConstantContact, but iContact has served our company well thus far. Although ConstantContact seems more popular in our circles, iContact has been trustworthy and reliable with very minor issues, if any. The one thing that really makes iContact stand apart from other programs is the excellent customer service.
3
The entire editorial staff for our trade publication uses iContact to build weekly newsblasts sent to a variety of national and international readers. We also use the program to make special announcements relating to corporate spotlights, previews of our publication and new companies. Once an email has been drafted and scheduled, my staff can be sure that the email will reach the right people at the right time.
3
Those using iContact must have basic knowledge of any CMS program to understand and properly utilize iContact. It is helpful to also have a working knowledge of other skills, such as creating hyperlinks and anchors, resizing images and copywriting to create eye-catching headlines and text. All other functions are clearly marked on the toolbar and made easy to understand.
  • Weekly newsblasts.
  • Special announcements - new company, print preview, corporate profiles/spotlights.
  • Breaking news.
  • To create and distribute calendars listing industry shows.
  • In the future, the program may be used as a way to conduct surveys or to gain feedback from readers/clients.
iContact has been a quick and easy way to send any announcements and news directly to email and social media subscribers. Its tracking and reporting capabilities turn a simple email into a marketing campaign that can be used as a tool to efficiently gauge reader response and customer satisfaction, and ultimately to reach potential customers. The consistency and excellent customer service is what makes this program a pleasant experience.
Not Sure
  • Price
  • Product Features
  • Product Usability
iContact provides both the necessary tools and technical support required to create, deliver and track email campaigns while maintaining a large database of email subscribers. It's proven efficient and effective with a multitude of features, and its ease of use allows for multiple employees to be easily trained in the program.
If possible, a preview of how the program actually works would have been helpful in determining its quality and ease of use, and whether its available functions would have been a good fit for the business' needs. A list of features alone can capture one's attention, but a hands-on demonstration can be even more impressive.
  • Implemented in-house
The program was implemented before I began with the company, but the renewal process was rather simple.
No
Paying for any kind of technical or customer support should not be necessary if the program is easy to use and questions can be answered directly on the website. Paid premium support isn't even necessary with the helpful and knowledgeable support team available at iContact, who are quick, efficient and friendly.
The customer support at iContact is probably the best thing about the entire program. Even if the program were difficult to use, the support staff helps guide the user with clear and precise answers, and the representatives do not rush users who have questions. In fact, representatives continue asking if the user needs help until all questions are thoroughly answered.
Yes
Absolutely. When we had issues with hyperlinks, the support staff were patient and asked all the relevant questions to thoroughly investigate the issue, which did not even originate from the program itself. The program's minor shortcomings were overcome with the staff's innovative and creative solutions to ensure users can still rely on iContact for their email marketing needs.
When creating a brand new email marketing campaign, we wanted to create tables and learn how to add anchor links for the first time with very little working knowledge of HTML coding. The customer service representative not only guided us through the process, but also provided detailed explanations as to how each step works and why.
  • Scheduling emails ahead of time is easy and a great way to work ahead.
  • Adding hyperlinks does not require advanced knowledge.
  • The placement of text boxes is too rigid and does allow for much creativity.
  • It is sometimes easier to import one's own table than to create one from scratch on iContact.
Certain aspects could be easier or allow for more creativity when building a message. iContact tries to make it too easy for those who are unable to build their own messages from scratch or customize using more advanced HTML coding.
iContact stays the same with the number of users added or taken away. It certainly remains reliable despite increased usage, and so, can be considered scaleable in that aspect.
iContact is regularly up and running. Only once has it been unavailable for maintenance, which is to be expected and even desired for optimal performance when needed.
Malarie Knox | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • Segmenting Lists: iContact makes it very easy to segment contact lists into subsegments, so you can better target your audience with specific email communication.
  • Customer Service: All email service providers give the best customer service in the beginning of your contract. iContact provides excellent customer service for the entire extent of your contract.
  • Creating and Editing Email Templates: I've used a few ESPs in my experience, and iContact was the easiest to use when creating and editing emails in both visual and html modes.
  • Email Automation: iContact provides many options for setting up triggers that automatically add contacts to lists and allows you to email them a series of timed emails - minimal coding required.
  • Email Automation Customization - you can't dictate what time of day the emails go out. Also, once you automatically add users to a list, you can't automatically remove them (for example - you may want to remove contacts from a list after they have been converted).
  • Site Speed - My company used iContact extensively, and it was very slow at times, which was frustrating.
  • Deliverability Testing - iContact doesn't have the best deliverability testing, which can be harmful for your domain's reputation.
  • Increased Employee Efficiency - once a template is created, it is very easy to edit the content within the template with minimal or no assistance from developers.
  • Domain Reputation - if you aren't careful, it is very easy to hurt your domain reputation when using iContact. Make sure the person in charge of email marketing knows the risks of email marketing or is willing to closely work with iContact's customer service to follow best practices.
  • Increased Lead Conversion - through the use of automated email functionality, you can stay in the forefront of your customer's minds. This increases conversions by reminding customers that you are there to provide the goods or services that they may need periodically or in the future.
iContact is great for bloggers, events, and micro businesses, but if you are a small business that will be using email marketing extensively, you may want to consider other ESPs.
iContact is better than a lot of the other ESPs out there, but it's not the best, and I don't believe it's always the cheapest. The good thing about iContact is that they are committed to constant improvement of their product/service. When searching for an ESP you should have an estimate of how many contacts you expect to accumulate and how many emails you plan on sending because this will help you save a lot of money (different ESPs have different pricing structures) and time in the future (you don't want to have to switch ESPs if your business outgrows iContact).
No
I didn't have a say in the decision because I wasn't with the company at the time. I listed HubSpot here because I know we used it in conjunction with iContact for email automation, but HubSpot Email was only recently built-out to the point where it is today. Now, iContact and HubSpot are no longer integrated.
  • Price
  • Prior Experience with the Product
I didn't make the decision to purchase iContact, but I assume that price was most likely the largest factor when purchasing. Also, an early email marketing consultant may have been behind the decision to establish the company with iContact.
Look at companies that are comparable to your size and audience, or even better, look at companies that you want to follow in growth and business model. See what ESPs they are using, and weigh them heavily in your decision process. After all, those other companies already went through the selection process and selected that ESP for a good reason.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • HTML rich emails.
  • Sorting duplicates.
  • Creating groups.
  • The HTML panel where one could cut and paste their code needs to be in a particular format that iContact platform can read. This panel should take any kind of HTML. It took a lot of editing with both the front-end and back-end before completing a project.
  • More templates.
  • Eliminate iContact branding in the footers.
  • I think the CRM software is very user friendly and I high recommend it for all businesses looking to provide their customer list with rich media products via email.
  • I have specifically enjoyed being able to get an actual real person over the phone on customer service when I would get stumped on something.
I think it's an awesome product and haven't found another one quite like it. I tried MailChimp once and it was a nightmare. We use Salesforce to organize our leads and we can easily upload them into groups of the iContact platform.
Know a little bit about HTML
4
Marketing and product management
2
marketing and product management
  • customer relationship management
  • Using HTML to create rich media collaterals.
  • emails only
Yes
mailchimp
  • Adobe Connect,Basecamp
the user friendly interface
  • Price
  • Product Features
  • Product Usability
  • Product Reputation
  • Prior Experience with the Product
  • Vendor Reputation
  • Existing Relationship with the Vendor
  • Third-party Reviews
wouldn't change it
  • Implemented in-house
Change management was minimal
  • nothing - it was my decision
i wouldn't be using it if i wasn't satisfied. time is money
great customer service.
No
haven't used it.
  • everything
  • the HTML panel should take any and all code pasted inside.
would like to learn about the mobile if there is one.
November 21, 2013

'iContact' you made easy

Nicholas Blumenberg | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • Their sales team very helpful throughout my initial research into choosing this product. They were very insightful and detailed.
  • I like how easy it is to use this product versus other large comparable email services. I have yet to have a problem and I am sending a large number of messages.
  • When I do have questions about the capabilities, or features, the support team is very easy to reach. They have great training opportunities.
  • It is very easy to integrate social media into your messages and bring multiple campaigns together.
  • I enjoy seeing the metrics that they provide.
  • It would be slightly more affordable to have more contacts at a lower price point, as each tier is different.
  • It does seem that there are certain email platforms that either bounce or get marked as spam much more then others. It is difficult to find which ones until you conduct your own research.
  • When lists that are marked as spam exceed 0.01 percent, the list is added to a do not mail list. This is frustrating, however this is also a federally enforced metric.
  • It saves a lot of time by reaching out to many contacts at once, this allows me to concentrate on other important tasks.
  • I am able to get back to customers with questions quicker as I am not spending my time sending out multiple sets of messages.
  • It helps to protect your companies IP address to not get marked on do not message lists, which could render all emails useless.
Ease of use, I am able to keep the line of communication open at all times.
If you are sending out many thousands of messages, this is the way to go.
Yes
I was using Constant Contact and chose to move to IContact.
Better service, easier to use.
  • Price
  • Product Features
  • Product Usability
  • Product Reputation
  • Positive Sales Experience with the Vendor
  • Third-party Reviews
Very happy with my selection.
No
I do not believe it is needed.
Every question has been answered fully and promptly.
No
I had a bit of an indepth questions regarding the addition and removal of large lists. They answered the question fully and I knew the next steps that I needed to take. Great support team.
  • Combining with social media
  • Importing large Excel lists
  • Keeping track of multiple large lists can sometimes be difficult.
Very user friendly.
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