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Email is one of the most powerful tools out there for promoting your business. There are numerous email marketing tools from which to choose, so you will want to spend some time comparing features and prices (and reading our reviews) before you commit. Luckily, some (such as Campaigner, which begins at $19.95 per month) offer free trials. You can sign up for 30 days at no cost, though you'll still need to enter a credit card, which is a bit annoying. GetResponse does not require a credit card. However, Campaigner's 30-day trial offers full access to its features for up to 1,000 contacts, so that's what was used to test the service for this review. Campaigner is PCMag's Editors' Choice for advanced email marketing services. If you have more basic needs, then check out MailChimp, our Editors' Choice for basic email marketing tools.

Editors' Note: J2 Global, the company that owns Campaigner, also owns Ziff Davis and PCMag.com.

I calculated how much it would cost a small business with 2,500 contacts in its marketing database to get started with Campaigner. The price tag would be $29.95 per month, which is a little higher than GetResponse's $25 per month offering. Like iContact, Campaigner lets you send an unlimited number of messages per month.

Campaigner also boasts a handful of cool features including customer relationship management (CRM) and Salesforce.com contact uploads, auto-responders, email workflows, 24/7 live chat with support, and reporting capabilities (which include which email platform your contacts are using). You can also create email auto-responders that will send emails to your contacts based on their behavior (such as clicking a link in a newsletter) or for special promotions and events.

Take that a step further with email workflows, which let you communicate with your subscribers based on specified triggers. These can include a form submission or profile change, or can be employed to target highly engaged customers, draw inactive users, or reach out to those who have recently made or are ready to make a purchase. Other features include the ability to embed real-time display ads in newsletters, target your subscribers based on their locality, or find out where your subscribers live based on geolocation.

Pricing and Features

Campaigner offers plans designed to appeal to subscriber bases of all sizes. As mentioned, the cheapest plan is $19.95 per month, and that lets you contact up to 1,000 subscribers. Campaigner's own marketing materials highlight the company's options you can cancel at any time; there are no discounted annual plans but you're also not locked into a contract, which is handy.

Registration is straightforward. Once you verify your email address, you set a password and then provide the usual personal information and a credit card number. You can also invite additional users to your account if multiple people will be creating campaigns. The dashboard is attractive with bright action buttons, and I found it more appealing and easier to use than GetResponse's user interface (UI).

Creating a Subscriber List

There are a few ways to add contacts to Campaigner. You can copy and paste information into the service's UI, upload a file (CSV, VCF, XLS, XLSX), or import Gmail or Yahoo contacts. After your contacts have been loaded into the system, you receive a message in your Campaigner inbox. Unlike GetResponse, Campaigner accepted all of my disposable Mailinator addresses, which was helpful for my test but not so great for subscribers who wouldn't email such addresses. I also imported some contacts from my Gmail account which, of course, required giving

Campaigner automatically creates user segments based on when they were added to your account or when their profile was last updated. You can create additional segments based on email actions, form submissions, and any custom fields you have created.

You can also create auto-responders, which lets you send emails based on similar events. There are templates available (including the "win-back" template) that are designed to draw in inactive contacts that haven't opened an email or clicked in a while—in order to win them back.

Setting Up a Campaign

You have two tools at your disposal when it comes time to create a Campaigner newsletter: Smart Email Builder, which offers lots of templates and layouts to get you started, and Full Email Editor, which accepts HTML code. I went with the

Newsletters default to showing your full contact information in the footer, but you can change that. You can also create auto-reply messages and conduct A/B tests, changing not just the design of the newsletter but also the From address and subject line.

Once you're satisfied with your newsletter, you can send it right away or schedule it for later. I tried the scheduling option and it worked just fine. You can also choose to send it on a recurring schedule: daily, weekly, monthly, or annually. Unfortunately, I couldn't find an option to send campaigns at a specific local time based on a recipient's location, like you can do with GetResponse.

Tracking Campaigns

Once you have sent a newsletter, you can track its success by using the Reports tab. For each campaign, you can see the open and click rate as well as the number of replies and unsubscribes. A pie chart shows the ratio of desktop users to mobile users. You can also integrate Campaigner with Google Analytics for enhanced tracking.

The report has a handy Refresh button so you can see real-time results. When I opened emails and clicked the links, they were registered in my Campaigner report almost immediately. You can also export these reports; once the export is complete, you can find the file in your message center.

Customer Support

Campaigner is very easy to use but, if you do need help, it's available in many forms. If you're working on a specific task and click the Help button, you're automatically directed to the relevant Help section. Campaigner also has a Status page that alerts you to outages and other issues. So, if you're ever having trouble sending a campaign, that's the place to go. Phone and email support are available 24/7, which is optimal.

In addition, Campaigner sends out emails when you sign up with links to webinars that help you get started. I even received a phone call offering help. Most questions you might have can be found in Campaigner's thorough documentation, which includes an in-depth overview of CAN-SPAM regulation.

A Fine Email Marketing Tool

Campaigner offers a lot of helpful features, and its UI makes it easy to access basic and advanced features. Phone support is available 24/7, unlike GetResponse, which only offers it from 9AM to 5PM on weekdays. The free trial includes a full range of features, but it requires a credit card to sign up; GetResponse does not require one for its trial.

However, I would absolutely recommend giving Campaigner as it will likely meet most people's needs. Campaigner's rich features help stands out in a crowded market, making it PCMag's Editors' Choice for advanced email marketing tools.

Source: Campaigner Web Hosting