Campaigner

Pros

As with any software you buy, the 'sell-in' always goes well, it always sounds exciting and any barrier seems insignificant. The difference with campaigner, was that all these statements were actually true. Not only did they help us with the onboarding but they've also given us dedicated time and training to help bring some more of our 'outlandish' automations to life. They've really helped modernise our Service and provide us with the capability worthy of our incredible donors.

Cons

Only suggestion would be to build into the software translation capability, although we have overcome this quite easily.

Pros

When Campaigner updated the software to utilize the drag and drop editor it was a game-changer! So easy to design templates for simple or more detailed email campaigns. Campaigner has been the best email marketing software that we've used so far and helps us to automate communications to our patients quickly and effectively. We also have to shout-out Campaigner's responsive customer service and support teams. Whenever we have had any issues with our account, the team is quick to respond and resolve any issue that we are experiencing. Speedy support is hard to come by in the software industry.

Cons

We do experience a lot of issues with the SMTP email relay function, which isn't Campaigner's email software directly but within its portfolio that we pay Campaigner for.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Campaigner

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to Campaigner

Pros

There is nothing I liked about Campaigner as we were never able to use our account

Cons

Nothing - we never got access to the account

Pros

Campaigner is easy to use, and doesn't require a lot of technical knowledge to get started (although it certainly helps). Their technical support team is fantastic, though, unlike most other SAAS. They actually have people you can talk to - and they are consistently awesome.

We use it mostly for email marketing. The reporting is great, and everything (except for the 'cons' below) is pretty intuitive.

Cons

Campaigner is missing some critical functionalities that are becoming deal-breakers. Fairly simple things like integrations with Wordpress. One of the biggest gaps is the complete inability to easily create attractive sign-up forms for websites or popups. They have some templates - which are just, well, horrible.

Pros

Ease of managing lists, importing from other sources, handling unsubscribes and reporting. Terrific customer support via chat and telephone.

Cons

Creation WYSIWYG tool can be a little frustrating, as the interface sometimes makes editing difficult (size of the working box inhibits cut-and-paste, moving elements up and down, etc.)

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Campaigner

Reasons for Switching to Campaigner

Pros

The interface is very user friendly allowing for drag and drop editiong or html editor features make Campaigner a breeze to work with. In addition, being able to automate an email to go out weekly, or every two weeks, three weeks or four weeks is a great feature.

Cons

Sometimes Campaigner is caps sensitive with linked documents, which will sever links if you're not careful and unless you pull it into html editor you may not be able to see the severed link in the drag and drop editor to apply changes.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Campaigner

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to Campaigner

Pros

Very straight-forward managing multiple mailing lists; useful and detailed analytics for email campaigns; very helpful and quick customer service (I suppose that the reason customer service reps are available so quickly is because they are not needed often, which speaks to the high quality of the software).

Cons

Because I do very time-sensitive campaigns, sometimes the test email doesn't arrive as quick as it should.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Campaigner

Pros

easy to use.
Cover most function that we need.
Drag and drop save a lot of time.

Cons

RWD.
UI of administer.
The report after importing contacts is terrible. There is only the row number on the report and then i have to check the original mailing list to find the email myself.
Sales is difficult to find and inefficient.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Campaigner

Pros

I haven’t used Campaigner for long, but it allows me to automate email marketing.

Cons

It lack email marketing capabilities for global enterprise organizations.

Pros

The product's reliability is what I like most. Campaigns have always been successful and productive. No spam folder problems. Customer service is always available.The product is easy to set up and use, the dashboard is great. Features split testing and automation.

Cons

The product lacks a free version or trial. Templates are more static and less customizable.

Alternatives Considered

Switched From

Pros

The templates were relatively simple and easy to use. You receive an email send delivery notification and are notified if the email is unable to send. Manual lists are easy to upload from Excel files.

Cons

It's difficult to use dynamic content, experiment with A/B testing and manage segments using our complex membership database. Several times, the site was down and the customer service reps could not provide ETAs for resolving the issue. The code has inline styles, limiting the degree of customization. It's difficult to drag and drop elements. Inserting photos is very difficult.

Pros

The reporting software is excellent. After analyzing the numbers after time, we have learned when is the best time to send, which formats work best, and it helped us optimize and improve the number of client opens, clicks, responses, and increase ticket sales. It works very well for that. We get more action from clients on a single email release then from all of our social media combined. It works well for us to increase our business.

Cons

1. We don't like nor use ANY of the stock templates supplied, so we write our own code in an external HTML compiler. Their stock HTML compiler is OK, but becomes tedious and lacks features. So we write our emails in an external HTML compiler, and then paste it into Campaigner. Sometimes, after a test email, we need to make changes in the external compiler. Then we repaste it into Campaigner, for reasons unknown sometimes the formatting becomes corrupted, esp when using tables. It tends to add information that we did not supply.
2. We find the 'Save' command - should be simple - very confusing. Sometimes if we worked on an email for hours, and we want to send - there is a message asking if we want to send this version or the prior version that was not saved? We never know how to respond to that. Occasionally we have unknowingly sent out the wrong version.
3. Our old email software had a 'read more' feature, which was very convenient and functional. Campaigner does not supply this function.
4. The image library is very confusing. If we use an image in our email, we would expect it to be saved in the Image Library for future use. But it is not saved. We have learned to upload all of our images to the library in advance, otherwise there are always problems.
3. The uploading of new contacts often has problems occasionally. We go through the process, and nothing happens. Then we connect with customer service, and end up sending them the files via email for uploading.

Pros

The price is probably why my company chose Campaigner.

Cons

Campaigner is not really set up for agencies to manage multiple client accounts. It has improved a bit over the past couple years but still clunky in that I, as the manager of multiple clients, cannot use my email address as the contact for multiple "sub-accounts." I also cannot set up new sub-accounts; I must request this from support and wait for them to do it. We need to move faster than that at times.

Pros

With the new block editor, Campaigner is light years ahead of what it was even a year ago. That said working with the block editor is not full proof. Fonts / spacing/bolding etc, may be different upon deployment that what is shown in the proof. TEST TEST TEST . And test on multiple devices because what you see on YOUR device(s) may not be what others see.

Cons

Customer support is unhelpful for bugs, and they do come up, but not as often as they used to with the introduction of the new block editor. I think the Constant Contact is the competition and offers way better flow and experience, however if you MUST use a tool whose data is stored in Canada, then this product is ok, but not the best.

Pros

It is appealing the easy email builder and the choice of email design

Cons

They take your card details and they carry on charging until you don’t change your card details. It’s not possible to cancel the subscription.

Pros

I am a self-taught user; the software is something that can be figured out

Cons

When asking specific questions to support, am directed to YouTube tutorials that are 1hr in length. I need quick direct answers. I also have questions on best practices and basics in segmentation etc... little advice or direction is provided.

Pros

I have used campaigner earlier for Email Marketing campaigns. Though it’s easy to use and set up but limited features. Workflow to send automated emails is one of the best features in this tool. You can create segments easily to send more targeted emails.

Cons

Customer service is not that good, sometimes we also found issues during login. It also never worked well in all browsers. Price is also comparatively high If you compare other tools with similar features.

Pros

I love the ease of adding leads
I love how I can save my emails in different categories with different themes, and find them super easy

Cons

THat if there is a problem, the only way I know is when my account is temporarily locked out, instead of giving me a heads up with some stuff that can easily be fixed.

Pros

more convenient than using internal email.

Cons

Biggest issue is trying to re-subscribe members using the subscription forms. Our members tell us they want to receive our newsletters, but sometimes they inadvertently unsubscribe to Campaigner even though they tell us they want to receive our communications. When we send them the re-subscribe form, all users reported being taken to a payment request page. I contact Customer Support and they created a form for me; however, it had the same result. I unsubscribed a staff member to test it and they were redirected to a payment page as well when trying to re-subscribe. In the end Campaigner Support had to re-subscribe people for me. Now I have a mounting list of people who need to be re-subscribed and I cannot do it and the form I given them does not work. We are now looking for an in-house software option to avoid these issues.

Also have issues with the mandatory Campaigner branded footer displaying in the newsletter body overlapping our content when viewed on mobile devices (mainly Apple).

Pros

Very easy to import and export from our main client database

Cons

experiencing many undelivered email due to one of the Campaigner servers having a "spam" label with several receiving client's servers... it should be taken off line or reassigned a new ip address....

Pros

It didn't take a ton of specialized knowledge to make a nice-looking email, building segments and sending emails was intuitive, glitches were rare.

Cons

Customer service in the rare event of glitches wasn't great.

Pros

The software is very easy to used once it is learned. There is some learning curve especially if your email blast content is anything other than a simple JPG. Along with the email marketing feature the ability to generate URL's is simple and quick. Customer support is very good and they respond quickly and efficiently.

Cons

The ability to use a pdf with function is not allowed. The software forces you to post a JPG an then assign further URL locations so that the receiver can view information selectively.

The software does provide a way around this and once you are familiar with the sequence of these functions its take only minutes to setup, define recipients, schedule when it is sent and then before actuating sending a test email to yourself.

Pros

Ease of use, price, and value for money! The setup, input, and reports are easy to use and very helpful.

Cons

The one thing that is bothersome is the "touchiness" of being locked out - but I totally get the reasoning

Pros

Campaigner is intuitive and easy to navigate. Our team primarily uses the platform for transactional emails and it does a good job meeting the demands.

Cons

Enhanced data reporting & exporting options would be an improvement. More robust support documentation would also be beneficial.

Alternatives Considered

Pros

No improvements since they purchased this from EZ Publishing

Cons

Its compatibility with Dreamwaever is not very good

Pros

It is relatively easy to use. The support has been good so far.

Cons

Was a long time Streamsend user. When we were forced to migrate to Campaigner, we were told that nothing would change which was not true. We pay more than double for the same volume.

Pros

I have used several systems during the past several years, and my favorite is Campaigner - it is very intuitive, user friendly and incredibly flexible as templates go.

Cons

Like many systems, the constraints of templates and other considerations sometimes make it desirable or necessary to use the actual code to best format newsletters. I found that to be the case with Campaigner - but, no more so than most other systems - and Campaigner is very accommodating to downloading code, updating offline, and reloading updated code for the final newsletter.

Pros

Ability to send 2,500 emails to our Contact base.

Cons

Using this software isn't intuitive. I have extensive MS Office experience but can't easily navigate this software. It is more like the WordPress software which is similarly frustrating.

Pros

In my industry, flashing graphics and complicated layouts lead to less engagement. I like the ability to create a largely text only message with specific links users can click to see more "full throated" descriptions and media.

Cons

Prices go up as the number of contacts you have goes up, and too much IMO. It seems to me the number of contacts a customer has doesn't significantly raise server needs or technology needs, so I don't get why the price increases 5 fold.

Alternatives Considered

Pros

I felt it was safe to store addresses here. Wasn't bad to use and I'm not real good with computers.

Cons

Some people had problems with e-mails going to their trash. I couldn't delete old templates even though it said I could.

Pros

Compared to my last company, this product is easy to use and I am reaching more people and it is working well for my business.

Cons

Using multiple rows does not allow for paragraphs to be close enough

Pros

The customer service is excellent. You'll get an English-speaking person who totally knows the product and will be able to help you the first time. They are typically not rushed, so if you need to have them stay on the line while you work something through, they will.

Cons

We're on a monthly plan, so we pay even if we don't send anything in a month. It's probably cheaper than paying as we go, but I hate to pay a bill when I know I didn't use the product that month.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Campaigner

Pros

The email campaign and forms setup are intuitive and flexible, allowing creativity while maintaining ease of use.

Cons

Slow response time and/or latency seems to occur at peak hours.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Campaigner

Pros

It makes creating nice campaigns very easy and adding new names has a number of good options for your distribution list.

Cons

It seemed less flexible than some in removing old users and adding new users with a waiting period.

Pros

We integrate with Campaigner using their API and it is easy to use and integrate with all tokens and cc list you can pass in the API

Cons

More features should be there like Subscription based notifications etc.

Pros

Have used Campaigner now for years. Switched from another email management program (and have used several). What we like most about Campaigner is that a higher percentage of our emails reach inboxes than with other major programs we've used. Plus, the support is responsive.

Cons

Nothing really. Very happy with the software.

Pros

Functionality, emails, database, user friendly

Cons

Terrible Customer Service. Very Overpriced, billing department is garbage, alot of my mailing goes to spam even when marked as 'not spam', media library not good

Pros

Campaigner purchased the previous software company we used and we determined to stay with Campaigner. The transition was smooth and the software has been relatively easy to use. As with all new software programs there is a learning curve. Campaigner has offered some webinars that I personally have found helpful. We mostly use the drag and drop and have found it helpful to be able to create our own emails and change them as we need. The reports have also proven useful after a campaign has been sent.

Cons

There have been times when setting up a campaign that the software seems to run slow, but there could be any number of reasons for that.

Pros

I guess I like the flexibility of the drag and drop email construction... when it works.

Cons

There are SOOOO many glitches in the software. Sometimes images appear, sometimes they don't. Sometimes previews are sent, sometimes they are not. The constant duplication of effort is frustrating.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Campaigner

Reasons for Switching to Campaigner

Pros

It was easy to manage with templates that could be cloned and edited.

Cons

I found the navigation a bit small to read and a bit finiky at times.

Pros

The template I have switched to is much better looking and I am learning to use it as I go.

Cons

It would be nice to be able to wrap text around a photo.

Pros

Campaigner helped get my company off the spam list. I worked closely with their customer support team and talked to live people! It took us a few weeks but honestly our email campaigns aren't going straight into spam folders now and it was worth the time and investment. I dropped MailChimp for Campaigner because Mailchimp didn't have anyone to talk to or couldn't help our company with our technical issue. So speaking to a live tech support team was critical!

Cons

I think it needs alot of work with regards to increasing file sizes within the context of the email campaign (increased file size for gifs, email resolution looks pixelated) and the way the files have to be formatted specifically with no dashes or spaces inside the email campaign takes up alot of time for our company.

Pros

Campaigner gives us the ability to communicate with all of our loyalty club members through our email program.

Cons

Campaigner is complicated for us and the emails behave in odd ways at times. We use a custom template that we built which means when elements change, we must adjust the code which can be cumbersome at times. It isn't unexpected, it just isn't easy. We have used other services as a better, and easier, solution than Campaigner. The system is difficult to learn for our newer people, which takes longer to process our communications.

Pros

It supports key features we need like unsubscribe facility, reporting, etc.
It has supported our email communications and campaigns well.

Cons

Seems very slow to process any action submitted; and can be quirky sometimes...especially during edit mode

Pros

My business is only open to the public 3 months a year. They offer off season rates.

Cons

The new letter writing options are just okay.

Pros

Does the job of sending out mass emails. Provides detailed analytics on emails sent, including graphs.

Cons

The user interface is dated. Can be difficult to navigate. Switching between HTML and WYSIWYG email editing has not been improved. Can be slow.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Campaigner

Pros

Great feature set, easy to learn.

Pros

The things I like the most about campaigner are: the detailed analytics they provide, the ability to set up drip campaigns, and the customer service which is top notch.

Cons

There is very little to dislike about campaigner as a e-mail service - although if I did have to pick one thing it would be the stock templates are a little bit limited (I design it in dreamweaver and drop in custom html)

Pros

I love the many, many template options. As someone in marketing, it's important to me that my clients' emails aren't boring or repetitive. The customer service is responsive and helpful.

Cons

It's VERY glitchy. I'm constantly running into issues. For example, I'm comparing people who didn't open our emails in the past three months with the people who didn't open our emails with the company we (foolishly) used before Campaigner. Sometimes when I delete emails, it will put them out of order, and it won't put them back in order without a lot of work. I've been working on this for three weeks. Additionally, sometimes pictures won't load or it won't show that I have any files uploaded. I haven't yet found a way to add social media icons, though some templates offer them, but that could be user error.

Pros

We like the fact that we can send on behalf of our real estate agents and assign each contact to an owner. We have not found another product that can do that.

Cons

It is not the easiest tool to use and not as up to date with features and functionality as other tools out there. It is also frustrating that we cannot upgrade our own account - you have to ask support to do that. I believe live chat is the only way to talk to their support team. Wish you could call or email as well.