GroupMail V5.2.0.082 from Infacta Ltd
By Howard Berenbon
I can’t believe it’s now 2010 and I’ve reviewed GroupMail over the years beginning in April 2000. It started out as a great Windows-based bulk mail program called Aureate Group mail, and now with several incarnations, it continues to be the number one program for anyone, personal or business. Infacta continues to support the free edition, but also offers three more GroupMail versions with added features priced from $139.95. For personal use, the free version works fine, but you’re limited in sending e-mail to a maximum of 100 recipients at one time with only one e-mail connection. If you operate a business, or manage large groups, it’s wise to buy either the Personal or Business Edition for more features and capabilities and faster e-mail delivery speeds. If you compare these two versions, the Business Edition uses 256 delivery connections making it about 100 times faster than the Personal Edition.
Free Edition Features
- Easily Create and Send HTML and/or Plain Text Newsletters
- Single Connection Sending Only
- 12 HTML Email Newsletter Templates
- Group Export
- No Add-on support
- Send to a maximum of 100 recipients at a time
Personal Edition Features -- $139.95
With their Personal Edition you can manage mailing lists of any size and send using multiple connections. You can also send messages direct, without the need for an SMTP server. Includes add-ons to help manage and maintain your group lists.
- Send using up to 3 delivery connections
- Direct Sending - no need to use your ISPs mail server
- No Group/Send Size limitations
- Preview message before sending
- Import Outlook Express, Eudora, Opera, AOL, Netscape address books and distribution lists
- Automate processing of opt-in, opt-out and bounced emails
- Exclusion list Import and Export
- 38 HTML Email Newsletter Templates
- Free Add-ons
Business Edition Features -- $349.95
The business edition is designed for higher volume lists, from small business to corporate use. It can send almost 100 times faster than the Personal Edition using up to 256 simultaneous e-mail connections. It also includes Database Direct linking & Importing (ADO/OLEDB/ODBC), Scheduling, Queuing, Background sending, MS Outlook Integration, routing, XML document support, and more.
- All the features in GroupMail Personal Edition
- Schedule messages for sending at a later date
- Send large email campaigns fast using up to 256 delivery connections
- Import Microsoft Outlook, Group Wise, Lotus Notes, Exchange and PINE address books and distribution lists
- Integrates into the Microsoft Outlook Toolbar (Outlook 2002 or above)
- Link directly to or import from databases such as SQL Server, MySQL & Microsoft Access
- Import mailing lists from Microsoft Excel spreadsheets
- Share groups with multiple users
- Send Mobile SMS Text Messages
- Transform XML Documents using XSL stylesheets into Group Mail messages
- Over 70 HTML Email Newsletter Templates
- Free Add-ons
Newest Edition: Marketing Pack - $699.95
Designed for mass marketing lists and opt-in newsletters. Will send to large mailing lists, manage email subscriptions, track open and click-through rates and help create online surveys and collect and analyze responses. Also includes the Business Edition license with a 1 year subscription to GroupMetrics Business package and a Premium Group Surveys account.
- Includes a GroupMail Business Edition license
- 1 year subscription to GroupMetrics Business account
- 1 year subscription to GroupSurveys Premium account
- Open and Click-through reports for your campaigns
- Track who opened your emails and what links they clicked on
- Export recipients that opened and clicked on your campaigns
- Create surveys to get feedback from your audience
- Unlimited number of survey questions and collect unlimited responses
- Customize your survey with your own color scheme and logo
- Export all tracking/survey data for analysis
After you install and run the program you’ll see their familiar Main Menu with features available to that edition. I’m running their Business Edition and the menus are Messages, Groups Scheduler, Tools and About. Under Messages you can Create a New Message, Review Sent Items, and Use a Template. Under Groups you can Create a New Group, Search Groups and Import Recipients. The Scheduler will allow you to manage scheduled events. Under the Tools menu you can access Accounts, Exclusion List, Database Connections, Web Services, Add-ons and Message Related Options. Under About, you can get help and check for program updates. And there’s one more important screen called the Delivery Console which displays the status of your current mailing. So, anything you need to do is accessible from the main menu screen.
To begin, you’ll create your group by entering the group name, and then either begin typing your records one by one, or importing your current list through their Import Recipients menu using one of three methods: Address Book Import, File Import or Database Import. Once your list is in, you can easily design your message using the built-in editor and then send it to your group, at the highest speeds available (depending on the edition you’re using). If you have any problems or questions, they offer an excellent indexed and searchable help file. At their Website, you’ll find lots of helpful information including a separate support section with articles, tutorials, and resources plus software and books. You can also subscribe to their GroupMail and GroupSurvey blogs.
GroupMail V5.2.0.082 is an excellent full-featured, professionally written, group mail program with a number of versions and features. You can merge information into any message, send personalized messages to each of your recipients, check your spelling, import and export information and even add plug-ins that will automate functions like subscribing and unsubscribing recipients and processing bounced mail. You can also copy, move, merge and purge recipients between Groups, send HTML (rich) formatted messages and images, filter your groups and more. It's fast and easy to import records from a number of sources. Just specify the criteria, and it quickly imports the type of records you’re looking for. For more information Click to visit Infacta.
Howard Berenbon
Software Companies Mentioned
Infacta, North America
1313 E. Maple Street
Bellingham
WA 98225
USA
1-866-641-8281
Email: info@infacta.com
URL infacta.com
