Mailchimp, we loved you until...

‍You sold out (and apparently broke a lot of promises made to your hardworking employees) — "we're not interested in merging with another firm; we are not going to sell; our mission is to help the smaller client manage their email marketing needs...(more here)"

Oh my. If you're a Mailchimp user, you got the same news we did this week: Intuit is purchasing Mailchimp for $12 billion; or, as the Sep 13 email from founder Ben Chestnut stated, "Today, I’m excited to share that we’re accelerating this evolution by joining forces with Intuit."  Twitter and Slack were full of angry responses, and we weren't very happy, either. But I can't say we didn't see something coming.

If you know us, you know that we embrace change — part of our job demands it. We test and review applications weekly. Change is good when it moves everything forward and, in the case of applications, when it adds features/functions that upgrade the customer experience and/or improves levels of support.

And therein lies the story — recent MailChimp changes (in our opinion) haven't favored the customer. The new campaign builder/editor is limiting (no html). For weeks, we've gone back and forth with it and we're left disappointed and frustrated. Then there's Intuit, the buyer of MailChimp. Intuit is a global financial services company; our customer support experience with Quickbooks (Intuit's product) has been less than optimal. This just feels and looks like selling out — one more step away from small-to-midsize businesses (our client base).

That's too bad, because we've been loyal customers and have recommended MailChimp to clients for years. That changes today.*

Our research has led us to Mailerlite for all the right reasons:

• Great customer support
• Beautiful user interface
• Awesome pricing
• Fantastic reviews from respected users

We're looking forward to our own great experience and we will keep you informed.

*Note to our clients: Please let us know if you'd like to discuss changing your email marketing process or application — and if you are happy with MailChimp, no worries. Your tasks will continue uninterrupted.

Email marketing software

What to look for:

Ease of use

How long does it take to create your newsletter? Ideally, you create a template, drag and drop the content.

Design

Readability is about making content clear and easy to understand. Good, clean design accomplishes this.

Customization

Keep your routine newsletter process simple. Editing and updates shouldn't be complex.

Support

If you need help, can you get it? Support options and quick response time are important considerations.

October 3 Working from the road

Stories and challenges while we took the office on the road (and in the air) this summer: what we packed; what worked, what didn't; making sure client projects weren't interrupted; hotel and rental car fails; and other travel/work/family do's and don'ts.

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