We compared iContract vs Constant Contract with our AR Appraisal Rankings® method

Our Choice: iContract

       1.  iContract

       2.  Constant Contract

Why?: iContract offers better support and reporting and best value for your money across all tiers.

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As ecommerce has exploded on the scene, so has the need for better marketing. Email marketing is one of the most powerful solutions for any online business, regardless of that business’ size or scope. However, finding the right email marketing solution can be quite time consuming. What makes a good program? What sets one option apart from another one?

To be a worthy contender, an email marketing program should offer you a simple way to build a contact list, as well as the ability to store a large number of contacts. In addition, you should look for email client integration (Outlook, and Outlook Express for example), as well as with other common tools like Excel. You should also be able to customize your contact list by demographics, or by any other criteria that you might need to use. Lastly, any email marketing program should give you the ability to increase deliverability while simultaneously reducing lost messages.

Out of the vast industry that has grown up, there are two top contenders – iContact and Constant Contact®. Both are email marketing programs that offer a full baseline of features. However, they are not created equal. iContact offers both better functionality and more advanced tools.

iContact

iContact is more than efficient and effective – it’s powerful and simple to use, as well. One of the most impressive things the program is capable of is the ability to create surveys. It can also help you manage the results of those surveys, which increases your ability to create two-way communication with your contacts.

iContact also offers a Spam Test feature that helps you reduce the number of lost messages and increase the deliverability of your emails. In this day of stringent spam guards, it is essential to your marketing that your emails not be perceived as spam.

Another high point to iContact is the easy ability to create new email campaigns. The program offers a systematic approach to doing this that takes the time, hassle and headache out of it. It offers HTML, plain text, webpage, template and other options for your consideration, as well as allowing you to preview the message before sending it out.

Pros:

• Simple and easy to use

• Powerful, class-leading features

• Autoresponder support

• Low price

Cons:

• Only .5 MB of image hosting is included

• Extremely advanced users may want more functions

Constant Contact

Constant Contact® is another prevailing email marketing solution for your needs. The program offers a good set of features, though not as many as iContact. In addition, it provides a good help system if you encounter problems while using the system.

Constant Contact® offers a very simple approach to email list creation, allowing you to import them from any email client. In addition, it offers you the ability to create different email lists through a systematic process. Email campaign creation is also solid, with the ability to edit and change templates as you wish.

However, Constant Contact® does not let you create web forms and their image hosting capacity is virtually nil. It also does not offer the same comprehensive reporting solutions found with iContact.

Pros:

• A solid, reliable program

• Offers a decent number of features

Cons:

• More expensive than other options

• Does not feature robust reporting

• Cannot create web forms

• Almost no image hosting (limit of 5 images)

And the Winner Is – iContact

As you might imagine, iContact<;/a> is the winner in this contest. The program offers better support, better reporting and all at a lower prices across all tiers. It also offers you numerous tools in the email campaign creation process. It's important to try both to see which will suite your needs, but given our research, we select iContact as the clear winner.

What others say about iContact:

TopTenReviews.com – “With a complete lineup of tools, easy to use interface, and several innovative features, iContact is the best email marketing service we’ve seen.”

EmailHQ.org – “Manufactured by Broadwick Corporation, the iContact email marketing service provides uncomplicated and clear-cut features designed for today’s modern growing businesses.”

CompareCRM.com – “iContact allows businesses, non-profit organizations, and associations to easily create, publish, and track email newsletters, surveys, blogs, autoresponders, and RSS feeds.”

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