Overview Benchmark Email Japan

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For many an evening in 2004, three people sat Around one desk in a small medical office — an office that served as the team’s conference room, breakfast area, and idea heart. Backed by a little programming group in India, the trio (consisting of Benchmark Internet Group founder Curt Keller, his wife Denise, and an search engine optimization expert) discussed ideas for how to implement a deceptively simple idea. Simple email advertising. Many of their ideas were beyond the means of the fledgling company, but that did not stop Keller from moving ahead.

The first Customers of Benchmark Mail were small companies located in close proximity to Benchmark’s one-room HQ in Long Beach, CA. Keller and his staff sold them on the usage of email marketing, while working hard to make a simple user interface that would be easy to operate. All the while, the business uses such innovative ideas as customizable templates and applications which adapted to consumer needs. They also made certain from the beginning that anyone who needed help would have rapid access to excellent customer support.

Benchmark Has continued to grow and advantagesper. Its current focus. Providing worldwide email marketing services to small and midsize companies while continuing to honor a commitment to assist kids in need. This does not mean that Benchmark is a little-guys-only service, however; it’s adhered to its core principle of adaptability and functions large organizations such as UNICEF and Kaiser-Permanente via its High Volume Business plans.

Today, Benchmark serves up of 73,000 users from across the planet, however, the company hasn’t forgotten its roots. Benchmark still keeps good relationships with small, locally-based businesses. In reality, the company offers a full page of testimonials from users of this app. You can read about Benchmark’s history and development here.

Characteristics

While most of the features Benchmark supplies Are on par with the rest of the industry, one of the standout characteristics of the ESP is the simple fact that nearly all its features come standard with each accounts — including the free ones. Here are a few of Benchmark’s most notable offerings.

· Hundreds of Industry-Specific, Themed Templates. Benchmark provides all customers access to its library of over 400 templates. These are organized into 19 classes, some of which are tailored to particular industries like education, entertainment, and retail. There is also a category for social media-specific templates.

· Video Emails. Perhaps the best-known advantage of Benchmark is its support for video emails. The company describes the advantages of this attribute here.

· Online Surveys. You can create professional-looking online polls using one of Benchmark’s 6 templates. Post your poll on your website or build it into an email.

· Dedicated Email Server. All Benchmark’s High Volume programs have a dedicated IP address to help increase deliverability rates. Users on other plans have the option of paying for this service ($30/month) to increase their particular delivery stats. Read more about the advantages of dedicated servers here.

· Email Delivery Direction . Benchmark’s email shipping management program is about getting customers’ mails into inboxes. The business is a part of the Email Sender and Provider Coalition and operates with ReturnPath, a top email delivery and delivery service. The company also communicates with ISPs on its customers’ behalf. Benchmark Email Japan

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· Mobile App. Benchmark’s mobile programs allow customers with an Apple device to access several purposes on the road. They can get and add contacts, read reportsand send videos through integration with a YouTube account, and even layout and send fast email blasts with one of 10 templates that are available. This is quite a bit more than many other companies offer in their mobile programs, which makes them considerably more functional.

· Photo Editing. If the photos you plan to use on your email campaign are not perfectly sized or want some colour adjustment, you may use Benchmark’s integrated picture editor. This is a fairly handy feature if you don’t have photoshop accessible.

· Code Editor. If you’ve got the know-how to work magic with HTML, Benchmark provides this ultra-customization option with which you can build your mails from scratch.

· Autoresponder. Each Benchmark client has the power to design around eight custom autoresponder messages. These could be scheduled as a string or occasion lead-up, or designed as annual messages such as anniversary or birthday mails.

· Sign-Up Forms. The only way to be successful in email marketing is through growing your list, and Benchmark really promotes doing this through sign-up forms. The company bases its Free For Life account completely around site and Facebook sign-ups and supplies an easy-to-use tool to create custom templates for every medium.

· Inbox Checker. Since every email program is different and each internet browser has a signature style, making sure your emails look good across the board is important. You can use Inbox Checker to look at the way that your email screens in Gmail using Explorer and Outlook 3. Employing the entire app (which assesses everything from AOL to Yahoo, Explorer into Safari, mobile to PC) is a paid add-on provider, available for $14 per 100 checks.

· RSS-to-Email. Regular bloggers can create newsletters out of their sites mechanically through the RSS-to-Email feature, which works with any site which handles an RSS-feed. Users simply need to establish a template and campaign within Benchmark once.

· API Integration. An API (Application Program Interface) allows different software programs to communicate with one another with no formal plug-in link. Benchmark’s API Integration feature allows users with XML-RPC, HTTP POST, or HTTP GET skills to recover data from some other programs that use JSON, XML, XML-RPC, or PHP serialization strings. In a nutshell, this permits them to play three purposes. Manage contact lists, manage campaigns and effort sending, and assess data. The company explains this role in more detail .

· Advanced Metrics. Benchmark provides both Listing Segmentation and AB Split Testing.

· Multiple-Language Interface. Benchmark is available in seven languages. Chinese, English, German, Japanese, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Ease Of Use

Signing up for a Benchmark accounts is fairly straightforward. After entering your name, email, phone number, and business name, you need to confirm your email address. This was a five-minute process for me. Upon logging in to my account (using the free plan) I was greeted by an attractive UI that gave me a clear path on how best to create my first email campaign. Great start!

Email Campaign Creation

On its dashboard, Benchmark provides users five main choices. Emails, Automations, Contacts, Surveys, and Reports. To make a new effort, go into the Emails segment, then hit on the big blue”Create New Email” button in the top right-hand corner. Benchmark Email Japan

From there, you have to decide if you want an RSS Or classic email message. It is possible to use Benchmark’s drag-and-drop editor, or go for more customization using the built-in code editor. If you are someone who codes their own email, then my hat is off to you, but I am not personally gifted that way, so I went with the drag-and-drop alternative.

I had been prompted to enter a subject line for my Email and setup how much tracking I wanted on the message, in addition to when I wanted an automatic tweet when the campaign went out. The next task was to select which contacts I wanted to receive the campaign. With that, I was eventually able to begin building the email . If you want to, you can construct your own email designs using a very intuitive editor. On the other hand, you can modify one of Benchmark’s templates, that are great, and better than I managed to do in my.

Sending the Email Campaign

If you are just Starting out, you can do as I did and manually input contacts one at a time. However, for people who already have a list, there are several ways to import it. You are able to upload a CSV, xls, or txt file right from your computer; import contacts directly from Salesforce.com, Hotmail, or Gmail accounts; or copy and paste large lists of contacts to a text form. When you make your Benchmark lists, then they’ll show up on your dash, along with a Master Unsubscribe List.

The actual sending of the email is quite simple. When you’ve completed all of your tweaks, you can save the email as a draft, send it immediately, or schedule a date and time for delivery. If you want to check everything is well before distributing your email about the planet, you can send it to your self to preview it as many as 10 times/day. I opted to schedule my email for shipping to view how timely the automatic system would actually be. I scheduled my email for 2.45 and obtained it in 2.50, therefore while the timing was not exactly ideal, it was probably within tolerance levels for most users. If you are one of the more infrequent users who demand on-the-minute email sending, you might need to look elsewhere. More worryingly, my email did not go to my main inbox but was mechanically sorted into my”promotions” folder. Definitely not ideal.

Email Campaign Reporting

First thing I Noticed about Benchmark email reports was something I’d read about in a couple of reviews. They are really, really quickly. I mean lightning fast. Opens enroll in the Benchmark system almost immediately. I have worked with a lot of different programs where these reports take hours or even days to look.

Benchmark provides users with several key Bits of data about every campaign. The arguably most important statistic, the open speed, seems in both pie chart and numerical type. In addition, Benchmark provides users with stats for clicks, forwards, bounces, unsubscribes, and misuse. Every stat further breaks down to the exact email addresses related to a given activity. Users can export this information for additional analysis by means of a csv or xls file. There is also a social media place which reports shares through Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, in addition to a map which breaks down, by state, who opens your emails. Benchmark Email Japan

Though all of this information Is Excellent and Necessary, it isn’t sufficient to sustain increased level marketers who need more info such as conversions, which hyperlinks were clicked, and revenue analysis. Though Google Analytics provides a lot of this info with appropriate integration, there might come a time when serious entrepreneurs need more information than Benchmark provides. Whether a small company will reach that point varies, of course, dependent on the company.

Specific Size Of Business

Benchmark designed its 3-tiered pricing Structure with the goal of serving everyone from the tiniest kitchen-table startup to big email marketers. On the other hand, the company’s key focus is on small to medium businesses, especially those just starting out in email advertising. This is particularly reflected in the fact that customers subscribing to the medium plans get unlimited mails, while bigger plans have constraints.

Integrations and Add-Ons

Benchmark Offers approximately 20 plug-ins and integrations. If you do not observe the integration you need, there’s still hope. You’re able to use the API or request an integration by sending an email to [email protected]

· Benchmark Events — Benchmark Events is event marketing software designed to integrate fully with Benchmark Email. Launched in 2012, this app permits users to make and customize occasions, promote and sell tickets, and monitor the success of their events through their Benchmark Email account. A number of subscriptions are available, such as a free option.

· Salesforce.com — This integration allows users to import contacts into Benchmark and use Benchmark’s email system to keep Salesforce customers participated. Read our overview of Salesforce here.

· Twitter — Benchmark Email Lite is a WordPress plugin which allows users to easily build an email viewer through their subscribers. The plug-in can automatically produce email variations of blog posts and permits users to connect up to five Benchmark accounts.

· Highrise — Merges Highrise contacts with a Benchmark list. Read our overview of Highrisehere.

· Benchmark Power — This free plug-in allows you to supply pictures for your Benchmark emails from places throughout the net. Benchmark Power captures pictures you find and immediately uploads them to a Benchmark accounts for future usage.

· Flickr — Users with Flickr accounts may link Flickr for their own Benchmark image galleries.

· Shopify — You can link a Shopify accounts to Benchmark and automatically add Shopify customers to Benchmark lists. You may even add subscribers to different lists based on which products they purchased. Read our review of Shopify here.

· PayPal — Users may add any of their PayPal customers to their own Benchmark email lists bylinking the accounts. Read our review of Paypal here.

· Easy List — Learn more about this very simple list-making app and download it .

· WordPress — The ever-present site and website builder provides an integration with Benchmark. Use it to send mails of your blog articles and use the analytics to observe how your subscribers react to them. Learn more here.

· Zapier — Gain access to Zapier’s enormous integration library . Benchmark Email Japan

Social Media Integrations

Since Of the integral connection between social media and email marketing, it is very important to look at the social networking features included in Benchmark.

· Social Media Templates — One segment of Benchmark’s massive email template list is made of societal media-specific templates which directly promote your company’s involvement in social networking forums such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

· Facebook”Like” Button — Benchmark offers a simple function which permits you to bring a Facebook”Like” button to your emails.

· Facebook Sign-Up Form — Benchmark provides easy-to-create sign-up forms (see”Features” above) for both sites and Facebook enthusiast pages, so you can convert followers to readers.

· Social Links within Email — Once you link your Benchmark account together with your Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn account, you can add switches to each email that will direct your subscribers to each of your social media pages.

Safety

Benchmark Email is a TRUSTe accredited website. The company’s privacy policy can be viewed here. Benchmark may use the personal information which you provide in order to send you newsletters and for marketing purposes, however it doesn’t sell or share that information to other companies for their marketing purposes.

The company also fully Complies with all the U.S.-E.U. and U.S.-Swiss Safe Harbor Frameworks concerning the selection of personal data from citizens of these countries. When customers provide credit card numbers to Benchmark, the company utilizes secure socket layer (SSL) protection to encrypt the information. The entire system is encrypted to ensure the safety of customers’ personal information.

Anti-Spam Policy and Protection

Like All legitimate ESPs, Benchmark takes spam seriously and summarizes a clear zero-tolerance coverage for any of their users hoping to engage in spam actions. The company is entirely in compliance with all the U.S. CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. Benchmark additionally takes several steps to maintain its reputation as a spam-free supplier, among them membership in the Email Sender and Provider Coalition. The business uses the app SpamAssassin to filter messages delivered through its host.

To stop users from Unknowingly sending spam-like substances, Benchmark provides a spam check feature that looks for words commonly used in spam messages. It scores every email on a scale from 1 to 5; 5s are delegated to content that is very likely to be blocked. In case of a high score, the program suggests”less spammy” choices. Individualized IP addresses also help large-volume senders reduce their spam numbers.

Client Support and Service

Benchmark Offers its users a lot of support tools. Customer support is usually responsive, with minimal waiting times. The website offers good learning resources, but may be opaque at times. Key information is often buried and hard to locate, especially if you don’t know precisely what you’re searching for, especially in regards to minute details about plans. For instance. That the Free For Life plan includes Benchmark branding on every email, however you won’t see that mentioned on the Free For Life webpage, not even at the fine print. Nor are you going to see it mentioned when you sign up. The only place it is mentioned is at the FAQ, here.

Here are some of the resources Benchmark offers. Benchmark Email Japan

· Live Support and Email — Benchmark supplies live one-on-one support through these means.

· Email Service. Contact Benchmark at [email protected] or via the company’s contact form here. Available 24 hours Monday — Friday and limited hours on Saturday.

· Phone Support. You are able to reach Benchmark at 800-430-4095 (U.S.) or 001-562-252-3789 (all states ). Available weekdays from 6 am to 5 pm PT.

· Chat Support. Accessible nearly 24 hours per day Monday — Friday and limited hours on Saturday. Founded in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian.

· FAQ — Benchmark’s FAQ section is somewhat mislabeled because it’s closer to a QandA-format knowledge foundation than a typical FAQ. There are more than 900 entries, sorted into 18 topics ranging from”Getting Started” to”API.” Users can execute a keyword search of any subject (or sub-topic) or from their FAQ as a whole. One caveat. With such a comprehensive knowledge base, it’s pretty much inevitable that some entries are going to be out of date. A few of the QandAs provide advice that’s wholly inaccurate, so in some cases, you may want to contact support to hash things out.

· Video Tutorials and Webinars — Benchmark supplies about two dozen video tutorials that take users step by step through the features of the app. The company also supplies a webinar called”Benchmark Mail Crash Course.” You can see it live each Friday at 10.00 a.m. PST or see the recorded version at any moment. You can even request a particular webinar on quite a few other subjects. Live webinars include the opportunity to ask questions throughout the demonstration.

· Email Marketing Manuals and Articles — There are more in-depth details on email marketing in general, in addition to the Benchmark program specifically, at the Manuals Section. These downloadable documents also cover industry-specific troubles. Articles, very similar to sites, offer users advice beyond that found in the FAQ section, but in shorter, more digestible chunks than the guides provide.

· Glossary of Email Marketing Requirements — This can be a particularly valuable tool for those new to email marketing who feel consumed by all the jargon. Benchmark provides a glossarywith 50 of the most popular email advertising terms from”above-the-fold” into”whitelists.”

· Blog and Newsletter — For current information about email advertising trends, check out Benchmark’s monthly newsletter, in addition to its exceptionally active site. All readers automatically obtain access to current newsletters, and Benchmark also provides an archive of newsletter articles from November 2007-October 2012.

· Benchmark Community — Benchmark users may post their newest newsletters on message boards in the Benchmark Community. This forum allows users to discuss newsletter creation approaches, vote for their favorite newsletters, and gain inspiration from other Benchmark users.

Web-Based Or Locally-Installed

Benchmark is entirely web-based and doesn’t Require any installation on your computer.

Positive Reviews and Reviews

Benchmark Has a four-out-of-five star rating on G2 Crowd, using a slightly better showing on GetApp and Capterra. 4.5 stars each. Benchmark Email Japan

Some common points of compliments.

· Top Notch Service . This is perhaps the most common observation concerning Benchmark, and some thing I discovered for myself too. People are inclined to find support prompt and helpful, and a few say it is actually the component that distinguishes Benchmark from its competitors. The business also receives praise for its website articles and videos.

· Feature Selection Across All Aims . Some users praise the addition of features like AB analyzing and surveys from all programs; many companies charge extra for these attributes or only include them into their pricier plans.

· Ease of Use. Users tend to find Benchmark’s interface incredibly user-friendly and intuitive. The program gathers praise from a wide assortment of demographics, from first-time ESP users to those who have tried many different programs before settling on Benchmark.

· Mobile Friendly Emails. Users were impressed with all the mobile-friendly email layout of Benchmark’s templates. Since an increasing number of people access their email from mobile devices, this is an increasingly important aspect to consider.

Negative Reviews and Complaints

I was Unable to find many people who loathed Their own Benchmark experience. However, I managed to discover a few complaints.

· Inconsistent Send-Times. Apparently some users experienced a problem with Benchmark in which their emails were sent hours after they were first scheduled. One customer theorized that the issue might arise from lengthy lists of recipients. Not all customers of all Benchmark will possess time-sensitive sending demands, but others will. If you want your mails to go out exactly whenever your program dictates, you might need to consider this situation.

· Buggy Social Media Integrations. I watched several consumer reviews that remarked the social media integrations in Benchmark aren’t up to par.

· “Spammy” Templates. Some users were concerned that Benchmark’s templates can feel like spam email, causing receivers to mark them as junk and not reading the contents. Since the whole point of an ESP would be to stop this from occurring, this might be an issue. On the other hand, I never felt this way while searching through the template list, so it may not be the most legitimate of complaints.

Pricing

Benchmark Provides a huge number of pricing plans, such as a free plan and a huge array of paid programs that can service anywhere between 600 and 7,140,000 subscribers.

Free Plan.

Benchmark’s free plans do not require charge Cards, which is always refreshing. The only grab. There will be a little Benchmark logo in the bottom of each email you send out. Of course, you can always choose to upgrade to a paid program in case you don’t want the Benchmark branding. The free program permits you to send up to 14000 emails to up to 2000 subscribers and gives you access to all but not all Benchmark’s features list. Notable absences into the features list for free account include email automation and sub-accounts (allowing multiple users to access one Benchmark accounts ).

Paid Strategies. Benchmark Email Japan

Users with little contacts lists and restricted Monthly messages have the choice of paying to get their email marketing depending on the number of emails that they send every month.

o Moderate Plans. 600-50,000 subscribers, $13.99-$254.99 per month

o Large Strategies. 55,000-100,000 subscribers, $285.99-$494.99 a month

o Extra Large Strategies. 125,000-1,000,000 subscribers, $659.99-$4,273.99 a month

o Enormous Plans. 1,070,000-7,140,000 subscribers, $4,500-$29,200 a month

Benchmark accepts all Major credit cards and also lets you pay through PayPal. They also offer you a 25% discount for nonprofits and teachers.

Conclusion

Benchmark is a good program. It’s easy to use, Open to innovation, and competitively priced. Its free alternatives may very well be the very best in the business for anybody who only wants to dive into email advertising (particularly small, local businesses). For that matter, any Benchmark plan can work nicely for a small business which views email as a little aspect of its marketing and has no desire to operate past the basics just yet.

If you are a small or even medium-sized Business trying to find a simple email marketing program using a multitude of amazing features, Benchmark is an exceptional choice. Though there might come a time when you outgrow the program, it provides a great deal for the money, provides excellent support, and the company appears to be sensitive to the requirements of its customers. You can’t ask for much more.

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