WordFly vs. Mail2

We have begun implementing Mail2 after using both TMS and Wordfly. I can give you more insight after 2-3 weeks as we are just now diving into Mail2. If anyone else is interested you can reach me at jencey.hirunrusme@attpac.org or 214-978-2847.

Jencey Hirunrusme

Digital Marketing Manager

AT&T Performing Arts Center

Thanks posting this Elizabeth.  I have also been wondering the same thing.  We are in the process of looking for a new email vendor as well.  I looked at presentations of both at the conference.

http://www.mail2.lynch2.com/contactus

Here is the Mail2 link and the main reason we decided to use Mail2. Although if you have a smaller list than we do it might be cheaper for you to use Word Fly. Let me know if you have any questions. It always helps to set up a demo with them. We switched because it was a fixed rate and much cheaper to use. It also has a custom screen so the Box Office can view the email while they are talking to the customer instead of trying to guess what they were sent..pretty nice!

http://www.mail2.lynch2.com/

FUNCTIONALITY BENEFITS

 List Segments with Saved Searches (Manage Subscriber Lists in Mail2 instead of Tessitura)

Create dynamic list segments that update on their own. For example, create a field to track your patrons' preferences by artist. You can create a saved search that builds a list segment with all contacts for that artist preference. The next time you upload new contacts, or a visitor signs up from your website, and enters that artist in field, they'll automatically be added into that saved search. It's that simple.

  Subscriber Sign-Up Center (Subscribers Can Opt Out Without Logging into Tessitura)

Your email subscribers can easily indicate preferences by visiting your customized subscription center. You can keep this dynamically created page simple, with just your logo, or pull your website graphics into the form with easy CSS integration. Subscribers can choose one or all of your email campaigns.

  Post Click Analytics with Google (Revenue Tracking)

mail2's Google Analytics integration allows you to track conversions from an email campaign inside your Google and mail2 accounts. To activate, simply give mail2 permission to access your Google account, and enable the Google Analytics check-box when creating an email campaign inside mail2. You'll be able to track conversions and revenue from each email campaign on your Google dashboard and inside your mail2 campaign reports.

  Compare Campaign Stats (Ability to Benchmark Campaigns)

How is this year's holiday campaign performing to last year? mail2's email message comparison tool empowers you to track historical trends.

  Create Multiple Page Surveys (Enhanced Way to Talk to Subscribers)

Design easy-to-navigate surveys that span multiple pages.

BOX OFFICE BENEFITS (Ability to View the Actual Email in the Constituent Account and Separate Tab for E-Subscriptions)

Custom Screen

Your mail2 installation is delivered with a custom screen on the constituent record that completely simplifies managing subscriptions from within Tessitura. No more re-purposing attributes or interests, or using mail purposes and marketing indicators. Managing e-subscriptions is handled where it needs to be handled: at the e-address level. Our custom screen provides three basic functions.

1. It allows you to subscribe, unsubscribe or globally unsubscribe an existing or new email address for a patron.
2. It allows you to view e-subscription preferences for each email address that the patron has on their record.
3. It allows you view the complete email campaign history for a patron, including the ability to see if each campaign was opened or clicked. You can also view each email campaign that the patron received via a link in the campaign history window.

PRICING BENEFITS

  Unlimited Means Unlimited

Send all the emails you want - 10,000, 100,000 or 1 million emails every day, week, month or year. No strings attached.

  Flat Monthly Fee: $840 (75,000 users) Cheaper than Word Fly

The marketing department is able to plan better with a fixed email-campaign budget. Say good-bye to the hassle of  hunting for additional marketing dollars to cover growing email needs.

Elizabeth -

Having just watched the mail2 webinar this AM and having been on Wordfly for a year and a half, here's my two cents in a very simplified manner.

Both have pros and cons - with WordFly releasing its new pricing structure if you are a smaller organization when it comes to sending out emails WordFly *might* be better for you. Our enews list is only 20k and we send that maybe twice a month + 10k in all the transactional emails which still puts us under the 'unlimited' price on a constitant basis.Larger organizations the cost has been taken out of the picture.

So mail2 vs wordfly-

From what I've seen (only in demos and webinar) the base product looks REALLY exciting. Some functionality has been made much easier than we have it in WordFly land. With monthly sprints, I can see this product being a real competitor, but just not quite yet.

The biggest things I see (and reasons I couldn't switch to mail2 right now) are automatic (scheduled) customizations and triggered campaigns. Neither are there in mail2. Yet.

So you'd have to look at your organization's needs and what you currently do in emails and what you want to do in the future. We have a series of emails that are totally personalized in content for a patron and are sent before the a show and another set that are sent after the show. With WordFly, I set it and forget it (although there is quite the upfront time overhead in the setup). With mail2 I'd have to be manually uploading on a daily basis which just makes me shudder.

If your organization doesn't do that (or doesn't plan on doing it until probably next year if Lynch comes through on its promises) then mail2 might be the perfect fit. The biggest thing is looking at what your organization does (or wants to do) and then ranking those items and seeing who meets them best. I think of it like buying a house - I may SAY I want 2 baths, but will I live with 1.5? 

Good luck, and feel free to contact me off-line if you want to!

Heather
Seattle Rep 

Picking up this thread from back in August. Now that additional time has passed, I'm wondering if anyone has new insight on the WordFly vs. Mail2 debate. I'm particularly interested in anyone's experiences with both products in recent weeks as each platform seems to be continuously responding to advancements by the other -- which is good for us! Thanks, and happy holidays!

Rebecca Curtiss
Communications Manager
Huntington Theatre Company