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Comparing two commercial newsletter plug-ins for WordPress CMS

By, Scott Frangos - Managing Editor, WebHelperMagazine.com

How do you stay in contact with your website customers and fans when you’re using WordPress as your blog or CMS? A newsletter, when used properly, is a great way to touch base. Yes, even in the era of RSS subscriptions, newsletters are still needed. If you wait for your contacts to check their RSS reader, or return to your website, it’s anyone’s guess when they’ll do that. So, using a newsletter program, can be key in delivering important and time sensitive information — and there are a a couple of good plugin options for WordPress BlogMasters.

What features do you need in a Newsletter application? We’ll look at the answer to that question by examining Tribulant’s Wordpress Mailing List plugin (Current version is 2.0.5.6) which sells for $24.99, and the Shift-This WP Newsletter plugin (current version is 2.1.8) which sells for $30 US.

Pick a newsletter plugin, upload it to your plugin directory, activate it and start sending key messages. Of course, some of your mail might not get there for a variety of reasons, and that’s why I’ve added “bounce management” to the list of features I’d like to see, below — one program has limited managment for bouncing emails, and the other doesn’t.

Can that SPAM: You need to comply with email protocol and just plain common decency. The whole uproar over SPAM came about in the first place as a result of scammers sending too many unwanted emails. Both newsletter programs reviewed here offer the ability to include an “opt-out” link — use one in every email. Clearly identify the newsletter/mailing, and your company in the Subject and opening headlines. Never use misleading subjects to trick people into opening your newsletter. Common sense, and decency… right?

Here is a feature comparison table for the two Newsletter programs reviewed here:

* Using Tribulant’s program, you simply create your own HTML or plain text template and save it in the Admin section, while Shift-This template system is more complex, and requires editing and uploading of template files.
** Each program allows you to instruct it to mail newsletters/messages at set intervals, and in set numbers (50 at a time, for example). Shift-This WP Newsletter allows you to set a precise time between batches, while Tribulant WordPress Mailing List only gives you the option of scheduling sends every hour.

Both programs can help you send newsletters, and manage subscribers. We have installed both on our client sites (using WordPress driven custom CMS solutions), and I think they each have their own strengths. At this point in their development cycles, Tribulant comes across as easier to use, and more streamlined (AJAX based interface), while Shift-This has a larger feature set, but comes off a bit clunky.

Let’s look at the actual newsletter writing/editing function for both programs:

The interface for WP Mailing List to create a newsletter is simpler than than WP Newsletter, so it’s easier to dive right in and use either the HTML editor, or the simple editing program (no HTML knowledge required) to create your mail. When finished, you select your Mailing List, and send it right in the same admin. area using intuitive AJAX driven controls. I’d like to see a larger editing screen, or a way to drag the editing window larger, and a reorganization to place the editing window at top — placing options in two columns instead of one (small column for options, large for editing) would make working a lot easier.

Above, the interface for creating a Mailing list (under “Create”) in Shift-This WP Newsletter offers a larger, fully featured editing window, a list of some Dynamic tags which you may add to the newsletter, and Date, Category (the newsletter may be set to show up as a post on your website) and a number of other controls on the right sidebar. One of the choices you make in the sidebar is what “template” to use. The template files are loaded with the plugin and use a structure similar to WordPress themes. You can tinker with them, but I would really like to see an easy, one-click option to allow you to create all the code/do the editing yourself, and not be locked into a template. A strength of the template structure, however, is that you can add any existing post(s) to your newsletter and they will be emailed in the body of it. If you’re wondering about that tan column at the left above, it is from the template, and there is no easy way to get rid of it, that I have discovered.

Features I’d Like to See (in both newsletter plugin programs):

• Bounce Management to help you know how many emails were returned. Shift-this offers a way to send bouncing emails to a special email box you can create on your web hosting service, but I would like to see bounce reporting built into the plugin. Then, it would be great to easily delete those emails that consistantly bounce, since they are probably blocking your newsletter, or perhaps email boxes abandoned by their owner.
• Ability to add posts to newsletter. Shift This WP Newsletter already has this.
• Ability to send a simple HTML, or plain text email. Tribulant Mailing List makes this easy.
• Store & Autosend most recent newsletter on Subscription (a new subscriber would automatically receive the most recent newsletter edition)
• Ability to send a series of Newsletters/Messages to a list. This would function like a “sequential autoresponder”, and the messages could be sales follow-ups, training course materials, chapters of an eBook, etc.
• Tracking of Newsletters — A way to track what email was sent, and whena
• Offer Paid Subscription — This is a big one for the correspondence course publishers, and also newsletter publishers who wish to offer unique newsletters by subscription.
• Easier way to import from another CSV file - both programs attempt to facilitate this with notes, but the problem is in cleaning and reformating the first CSV file (using a spreadsheet program, usually) to get it to match for import into the database structure for the newsletter programs

Bottom Line: Choose the Shift-This plugin if you want more features, while Tribulant’s program is simpler to use, thanks to a streamlined interface and AJAX interface. Shift-This really needs to make creating a simple, non-templated, HTML newsletter easier. Shift-this needs to beef up on its features, and reorganize the page for creating a newsletter to at least make the editing field larger and resizeable. But, even now, either newsletter plugin will get the job done.

About the Author: Scott Frangos is a web developer, college instructor and graphic designer. He is Managing Partner at WebFadds.com, a web development firm specializing in WordPress Content Management Websites. He lives in Portland, Oregon with wife and partner, Pepper, and their three dogs: Wisdom, Spirit, & Steggman.