Close to 11 months ago, I was working on a new project that requires the use of a mailing platform. The first few requirements I expected out of a mailing platform was:

• Intuitive interface
• Provide in-depth analytics
• Scalable

The Initial Trial:

• iContact
• Aweber

Obviously there are a lot more mailing platforms out there but the 2 above were the ones that came to my mind first. I played around with them during the trial period and I wasn’t really entirely convinced of using the either service. The interface didn’t seem right for me.

The Stumble:

I continued sourcing the web for another mailing platform and while I cannot exactly remember how I chanced upon MailChimp, I was glad I did.

The WOW Factors:

The first that blew me off was the user interface of MailChimp. It was so simple and intuitive that I didn’t have to put much processing thoughts to use it.

Next up is the freemium model they offer and it really made it a no brainer to do a test with them. The best thing about MailChimp’s freemium model is that the service is forever free until you hit a certain number of subscribers. This is pure gold especially for someone who is starting a new project.

Zero upfront cost for a premium product that is easy to use, what more can one asks for?

As with any marketing campaigns, it’s imperative that I can run up the stats to do an in-depth analysis on the campaign performance and I really think that MailChimp has got an awesome analytics reporting system.

Other than the standard report for open rate and click-through rate, the platform also offers in-depth reporting on click performance (% of clicks for each link) and social stats. Imagine a doctor having an advance x-ray system to run diagnostics on his patients. You get to save time and cost by having a clear insights into the areas that needs tweaking.

Bonus Factor:

I would not have normally give much notion to customer support since I was on freemium mode but MailChimp’s support just rocked my world.  I never had to wait for more than 24 hours to get a respond and this is the sort of support you would have expected as a paying customer.

Summary:

Selecting a mailing platform is just like choosing a house because it’s not something you would want to change unnecessarily.

MailChimp is a progressive platform and you could almost see continuous updates with regards to mobile or social apps integrations. The best part about the platform is that it allows the user to scale according to their needs and it can be done without much hassle.

Will I pay to continue to use the platform if I exceed the freemium quota? Without a doubt.

MailChimp – Awesome Product is a post from: You Teck's Blog

I think most of us can personally relate to a situation where we were instantly sold on buying certain products because of a story.

Story delivers a very unique kind of informative experience in the way that a listener wouldn’t probably get turn off even if there is certain amount of hype hidden it.

As opposed to selling via the product itself, story brings a listener into an imaginary space where they are actively participating in the “selling” process as they can better relate to the characters/ideas/products within.

Take for the example of an antique, the higher value ones usually have a background story attached to it. For example:

This piece of antique was on its way to Europe where the merchant ship that was holding it got waylaid during the 16 century naval wars. It was found in a sunken ship somewhere in the south china sea.

Product features are kind of dead (Can still matter to the 5% of the crowd) but they transform into something real and alive when introduced through a story.

So, try using a story to introduce your product/service/idea and see if it makes a difference in getting your point across in the future.

Don’t Sell Us a Product, Tell Us a Story is a post from: You Teck's Blog