MailX [review]
Today I’m doing a review of a new software called MailX I don’t think at this point I need to do a big less on on how important email is to anyone looking to make money online. It sounds melodramatic to say it but: Email really is the ‘life blood’ of almost any online business. […]
Today I’m doing a review of a new software called MailX
I don’t think at this point I need to do a big less on on how important email is to anyone looking to make money online. It sounds melodramatic to say it but: Email really is the ‘life blood’ of almost any online business. But it’s not just the list that is important. Sure having a list is a big thing, but you also need a reliable and consistent way to send out mass mails to those lists.
I personally have used several services. I started with MailChimp and loved them, until one day for no reason at all they just canceled my account without any explanation. Then I moved over to GetResponse, who took my money for the first payment, but refused to let me upload my list, then only after all of that informed me of their no refund policy. Finally I ended up with Aweber, mostly because they let me up load my email list (though they filtered out some of the subscribers). However after around a year of using them I have to say they are not so great. Frequent site issues, deliver-ability issues, and interface issues are all to common.
Because of these things I’m always looking for an alternative way to send out emails. So when I became aware of MailX I wanted to test it not only for my readers, but also for myself. After testing there where some things that I liked, as well as some things that I really did not like at all. In this review I’m going to go over all of these things, both the good and the bad.
As soon as I logged into the system I noticed the first two things that I don’t like about it. There is no tutorials or docs built into it. Sure there are tool tips that you can hover over that give very useful information when setting things up. But there are no videos or anything. This surprised me. Everything should have tutorials, especially a SaaS (software as a service). Also there is no link to a support desk or even a support email that I could see. This is just silly. Sure you can look at your receipt email from JVZoo and get the support email from that, but there really should be an easy way to get support built into the software. Im not sure if it is an oversight or what, but either way, its pretty uncool to have no tutorials and no built in way to contact support.
In order to start using MailX your going to have set up your server. The server is the service that you use to do the actual sending. Emails are not sent from the MailX servers but are instead forwarded to one of the servers you set up for the actual delivery.
You have several options for your delivery server. It integrates with many of the bigger name 3rd party services. These will cost you money normally, though the costs will be much lower than using a service like Aweber. If you want a totally free option you can use the SMTP option and send the emails though your own web hosting. MailX has throttling built into it so you can limit the speed that the emails go out with, even if your own hosting is a shared hosting.
You can also have multiple delivery servers and set MailX to use all of them on a single send. For example you can have SMTP and Sendgrid and tell it to send out 20% of your emails using SMTP and 80% using Sendgrid (you can have more than two). Being totally honest though I think this could have been done better. Instead of setting up how the send gets divided as a percentage it would have made more sense to divide it by a number of emails. For example it would make more sense to say: Send the first 500 using my hosts SMTP (since that’s the hourly limit for my shared hosting) and then use Sendgrid for any emails on my list that are over that. It’s still cool that they have this delivery server rotation, I just think it could have been done better.
After you create set up your delivery servers you need to create your list.
There are several settings you need to fill out when creating your list. Most of these are pretty basic though and straight forward. Also as I said even though they don’t have any tutorial videos built into it they have very helpful tool tips that explain what each setting is if you need assistance. Though it looks kind of intimidating when you see all the input fields and options its really pretty painless to set it up and anyone should be able to do so in about a minute.
Now that you have you list set, your going to want to get subscribers on your list. There are two ways to do this, you can import your list or you can use the optin form that they provide for each list. Finding the optin form is a bit of a pain though (especially since there was no help in the software for me when I tested) but I spoke to the vendors and they showed me where it is. The forms are nothing fancy and have no real optins so its not like its a full featured optin builder, but it does provide you with a form you can put into your site, or into any other pop up service etc, which accepts custom form code.
After your servers are setup, you list is created, and your subscribers are imported, you can then start sending emails.
There are three screens to set up an email, the first two screens can be largely skipped though since it just allows you to edit the default settings in your list. The email itself is written with the WYSIWYG editor that is on the final, third screen.
The editor is easy to use and works well. It also allows you to add in tags such as [name] which are replaced with the subscribers name. As you can see in the screenshot it also automatically adds in a unsubscribe link (just make sure you dont delete it) and a tag for your company email so that you are can spam compliant.
After your email is completed you can send your email right away or schedule it for late. In my tests I used one of my servers SMTP to send emails to my Yahoo address. The emails where delivered without issue to my inbox and the unsubscribe link worked well. MailX will track opens and clicks as well as bounces.
So what do I think of this over all?
Well the lack of tutorials, while annoying is not the end of the world because the tool tips are very helpful. There is no excuse for a lack of support link in the system though. If you have your own web site (and you should if your working online) you can send emails for free, if you don’t you can use a mail relay and send emails at a super low cost.
Because it’s low cost and a one time fee its going to be a good option for people just getting started, who can then move to some other service once they start making money with their list.
Also for the more experienced / established marketer its useful when you want to import a specific list. This is something that I often want to do but cant. A good example of this kind of situation is a few months ago where I wanted to email only the people who bought the FE version of one of my products. There where about 1600 people I wanted to email. I download their addresses from JVZoo and tried to import them to Aweber. However Aweber for some unknown reason would only allow 1250 or so of them to be imported. The others where filtered out. This kind of thing happens all the time and is the result of using a service like Aweber where they have control over your email and in essence your business. With MailX your in total control. They don’t tell you what you can do or what you can sent.
While MailX is not a prefect system, (but lets be fair everything can be improved on), it is a system that serves its primary function. It allows you to send emails to any list you like, without restriction and without some other company looking over you shoulder telling you what you can and cant do. In my tests it did this quite well also.
Given its extremely low one time price I think its going to be a good investment for people looking to get started, and not ready to commit to an expensive service or to established marketers who want to have a backup plan for when their normal mail service is being jerky (which unfortunately happens quite often).
UPDATE: One of the vendors (Han) spoke to me last night after reading my review, and agreed that tutorials and support links should be right inside the software. So he had their developer add them. Very cool Han!
UPDATE 2: Several of my readers noted that this appears to be a script that is sold on Code Canyon. I removed my review for a while and did some investigating. This is indeed based on a script being sold on CodeCanyon. Normally I would NOT like this one bit, however the vendors do have an extended license to the original script. This license allows them to use the code to build a single product. That is just what they did, they built a SaaS out of it. Had they been selling the code, like some vendors have tried to do with themes or plugins, that would be an issue. However they are not selling the code, so I believe they are withing their rights as per the extended license they purchased.
I do want to make it VERY clear though, that the CodeCanyon license agreement is SUPER confusing, even for me, and this is just my interpretation of it, and I am not a legal expert. Each reader will have to decide for themselves what they are comfortable with.
UPDATE 3: These guys are making improvements fast! I just got a message that they finished the autoresonder integration which was going to be a part of the first upgrade and it is available right now! Nice, especially considering they are in the middle of the launch!
NO LONGER FOR SALE
A quick note about the reviews I do on this site. The product vendors give me access to their products for free in order for me to do my review. However I make no promises to them regarding the results of my tests or what I will write in my review. Should you click a link that takes you to a sales page for a paid product for sale this link will be an affiliate link and I will be paid a percentage of the sales price should you decide to invest in it.
About the Author
Hi Brett, is this very similar to your email program you are building?
No its not ‘very similar’ though they both happen to be email software.
As someone who is beta testing Brett’s upcoming email program, I have to agree with Brett that’s it not very similar. Brett’s is installed on your WordPress site, which is nice, because it gives you ultimate control of the handling of your email list.
However, I am still going to be buying MailX even with access to Brett’s software because while I like the fact that MailX is a one off payment for unlimited emails and sends, Brett’s software integrates with his SqueezeMatic and Profit Canvas nicely, plus Brett’s software is just so simple to use.
Hey Steve,
I assume you’re talking about Mailit? I found a sales page for this product, but don’t see it listed on this site as one of Brett’s products.
Does Mailit work with Affiliate Trax?
Yes it does .. and it will be listed shortly 🙂
That’s good news Brett. I’m actually looking at both of those programs (Affiliate Trax & Mailit) along with your “Brett’s Circle” offering.
I’ve have what I think is a pretty good idea for a consulting continuity program, but I need to get it off the ground first by attracting my target audience with existing affiliate products that would have value to them. That way I can build up trust and authority first like you’re doing with this site BrettRutecky.com. I’m thinking your three programs listed above combined would be quite powerful and help me to get past phase 1.
Do you have a rough timeline for when you’ll list Mailit on this site Brett?
Thanks,
Stephen
As soon as the launch crazyness ends Ill put it in the Bretts Products section. But it can be had now at mailitplugin.com
You do know that this is actually MailWizz from CodeCanyon: {link removed}
No actual changes to the original script hasn´t been done ,except just renaming it
and hosting on their own server.
I did some investigation, and yes its a modified Code Canyon script, this is acceptable actually though since they have an extended license and they are NOT selling the code, they built a single SaaS with it. So they are fine.
Amanda, have a look here for clarification {link removed}
No autoresponder?? So let’s say we get lots of subscribers opting in for a free gift or want to set up a funnel, then we have to manually re-email them each time – sounds like a real pain
Sounds like work, but then running a business is a job and all 🙂 (Im just teasing you) Yes this is not ideal for people running funnels, its more for affiliate marketing / emailing existing customers etc.
My inbox has been flooded this morning with solicitations for this product that refer to the product as something that will cure your autoresponder problems. I am glad your review points out that it is a mass mailer and not an autoresponder as the only reason I was thinking of buying was for the non-existent autoresponder function.
I am happy with Aweber even though it cost me $69 a month due to the size of my non IM email subscriber list. But due to the size of my list (almost 10,000) the stakes are alot higher if something goes wrong on a mass mail so I like the comfort of having a big company like Aweber that I can seek recourse from (or blame) if something goes wrong.
When is your program coming out, Brett? I like Steve’s comment (and yours’ of course) so I’ll grab MailX and yours when it comes out. I’ve been using Mail Chimp but would like to have more control.
About 7 weeks.
I have been told that this is CodeCanyon.net and get a mail script called MailWhiz, extended license for $240.
You can get regular license for MailWhiz for $47 for personal use but if you buy this and get Ito you will pay more.
Could you comment?
I just because aware of this. Im thinking on how to react to this now.
After doing some investigating, I came up with the following: They have an extended license, they are NOT selling the code, they built a single end use product out of it (a SaaS) so I believe that this is acceptable.
Wow… Brett … Wish rest of the affiliates are honest like you
We appreciate your transparency
Thanks Brett for another great review. In reading your review I was surprised to learn there is not an autoresponder included with MailX. To me that seems crucial for an email program, but maybe others don’t see it that way. If I get a new subscriber to my list, having that follow-up email go out automatically makes life a lot easier. Glad I read your review before making any purchase, but without an autoresponder I will have to pass on this one.
I personally only do autoresponses with one of my campaigns / lists. My main list has no autoresponse. I also know a lot of marketers who have no autoresponses to signups. Its not as important as some thing (depending on what your doing).
Great review. Will you review in future self hosted autoresponders?
Well Im building a self hosted mail program so probably not 🙂
Great to hear that 🙂 Maybe you will include autoresponder option 🙂
that would be great….Looking forward to it. .. It would be great to see one built by a marketer+develpper.
I actually like MailWhiz, I was thinking myself about such a solution. but time and cost of hosting on a dedicated server prevented me from going forward with that. It is actually good to see someone like Radu and Han do this for you and just pay the one time fee and start using it. With all my respects to Radu and Han, I would have liked the software ( MailWhiz) installed on your servers. I use many products hosted by you for a while now and the service was always excellent.
Well being a developer helps me when I do SaaS, because if there is an issue (with the software or the service) I dont have to try to get in touch with a tech team 1/2 way around the world. I just fix the issue myself. It also helps that I’m a huge nerd and am almost never more than 50 feet from a computer.
Of course it’s a good idea to implement this software, which has built-in SaaS features out of the box btw, and make it available to the “general public” to be used (well, you still need a quite good level of tech knowledge to connect the SMTPs services, and much more if you want to really reach maximum ED), for that I agree. However, making an offer to have MW installed on your own server to the mass, as they did for this simple approach offer, is another game 🙂 Installing, setting and implementing such platform is a lot of work and takes times and requires high level of tech knowledge that would cost at the very least in the 5 figures if you outsource it. Cost of the script is low but extremely powerful and you still have to make it work thereafter 😉
Brett, I think they are using MailWizz on their server. Have you checked this on codecaonyon? {link removed}
I removed the review for a while while I investigated further. They are ok, they have a extended license, which allows them to make one end use product out of it. They are fine, since they did just that, the built a single product with it, a SaaS. If they where selling the code that would be a HUGE no no, but they are not doing that, so I believe they are in compliance with their license.
I think it’s lack of actually being an auto-responder and just a mass mailer is a huge oversight on the creators part. Arpreach is also a one-time fee (well you can purchase yearly support) but you install it on your host instead of the cloud. It is a real auto-responder. So there are other options, but it’s more expensive. There is no way to know if they are planning on adding autoresponders features oo this is just a launch and dump product like so many launches these days.
Thanks for the review. At first I thought “wow”, this looks cool, but now….not so sure! I’ll wait to pick your mail program up, when it becomes available, it sounds very user friendly. Frankly, I’m in business, not school, I can’t stand it, when time is lost scratching around, wondering “how does this work/what do I do now”, I find your stuff well built, very well explained and supported and on every occasion I’ve bought it, to be ahead of the pack! Thanks again for the review.
Thanks for the review Brett…
I’ll pass…and wait 😉
Brett,
Just let your people know when your mailing system is ready. As far as I’m concerned I’ll be waiting for yours! Thanks for your awesome work!
It’s live!
You can get an early bird discount on MailX now from the links below:
Why does everyone insist this is an autoresponder? You say it’s not.
Glad I came here because I was pulling out my credit card when I saw this review. Thanks Brett!
MailX is a cloud-based autoresponder that makes emailing an unlimited number of leads as simple as clicking a button. You can import leads and forget about those double opt in requirements, all for just a low one-time fee.
People use the word autoresponder very liberally, Im just picky enough to make the distinction between autoresponder and mass mailer 🙂
Brett, To be clear…MailX is best used as a mass mailer? How certain is the delivery?
Well thats what it is, not what its best used as, though honestly thats what most people use things like Aweber for (to send mass mails). No one can comment on the deliverability, as no one knows if your list you import is going to be good people, that really want to get your emails, if your emails are going to be spammy junk etc .. in short, if you only mail people that have said they want your mails, and send out useful mails, your deliverability will be good. If you act like a spammer, your going to have issues.
Got it ! Thanks…. I will give it a try!
On another note I never received the beta version of your email program. I purchased another offer from you. I saw the plug in in JVzoo. Went back to install and it was gone.
Please advise Thanks
Well I cant leave it in there forever for anyone who buys after the special offer ends to get as well. I gave everyone a week to press the download button. Which I thought was reasonable. If you did not get it though, you can send me a support ticket with your receipt ID and I will forward it to you.
Awesome Thanks
Hello Brett! Thanks for the awesome review on the product MailX, I have made it a decision based on your review and also by reading the comments, and I came to a conclusion that I should wait to pick your mail program up, when it becomes available. Two question, is it going to be a WP Plugin or a Cloud Based product? Is it going to be a Mass Mailer or a Autoresponder or a combination of the two?
My mail program is going to be a WP plugin, I did it that way so you have total control. As of now its going to be a mass mailer, as that is the main function that people need.
Thank you Brett for calling what it is ,a mailer.
Autoresponder:it automatically sends a response ,the meaning is in its title,and I had noticed that this product did not do this so why call it one ? Answer to mislead people into buying it. I am just off to unsubscribe from all those that omitted to tell the truth about this but were more interested in telling me about their “fantastic” bonus package.
I am not saying that there is not a good legitimate use for this but lets have more transparency ,Brett cannot review everything,unfortunately.
Well I dont think people where trying to be deceptive. I think that the word ‘autoresponder’ is just used very liberally sometimes to reference any email software.
Will MailIt be an actual autoresponder?
It want when I tested it, or when I finished my review last night, the AR functionality was not integrated, but I gave Han a link to my review before I published it , and It seems they completed and integrated the autoresponder functionality early and its now available. Those guys have been working since last night to make improvements it seems 🙂
Hosts such as Hostgator, Liquid Web and I believe many? most? others insist that if you mass-mail through their SMTP then it has to be to a double-opt-in list and you have to be able to prove it.
Does this TOS mean MailX should only be used to send single-opt-in lists via Sendgrid, etc … or is the “host” not an issue with the MailX service?
Have you had any problems with your Mailit on this topic?
I really appreciated this review, thank you. Very informative.
They have a double optin option. Just a FYI though, most hosts are only going to ask you to prove something, if you get complaints, and if you get complaints you have bigger issues 🙂
Thank you. By the way, your scrolling title on Browser tabs is evil and effective. Twice I was distracted, opened new tabs, twice it brought me back with an “Oh yes, THAT’S what I was doing ,,,”
Im testing a plugin that is launching next week. The only way to test its effectiveness is to put it on my site for a while and see how it goes 🙂
Yes, it annoyed me but it still brought me back to your page. What can I say?….
Thank you Brett,
I will wait for your solution. Radu and Han are no coder and will have outsourced their product at maybe Odesk.
Thanks Brett!
It’s good to get autoresponder that you don’t have to pay every month.
Thanks for your honest review Brett! I will also wait for your mail product to come out. Radu is one of the marketers that I don’t really trust buying from due to my past experience. I love wordpress and I love the fact that your product is going to be a WP plugin.
Hi Brett, Thank you for all your input… I have bought the FE
(actually just to get your bonus plugin!!),
Hey Brett, thanks!
I will wait for your product also, I like MailWhizz but don’t want to spend too much time learning it – FYI, I offer DFY Services to my clients and would like to add a mass mailer (I like WP and will use Amazon SES so would be interested to find out more about what your solution will do).
All the best, keep up the great reviews!
Cheers, Asit
Would you advise in this case to also get the upgrade with list cleaner etc.,??
I did not test the OTO’s Amanda.
Hey Brett,
Can this work with Profit Canvas?
It has a form built into it that you should be able to use in PC with the HTML widget, or you can download your optins and import them to MailX
Brett,
got the mailX through your link, and thanks your bonus plugin.
One question, how to use the mailX with my WP site, if I need the post to mail function ?
For example, I have set up an affiliated store to promote Amazon products, when I posts Amazon products, possible to send out these new products (kind of posts) through mail X automatically ? For example, send out daily or weekly if there are new product posts.
thanks,
Well you need to get the peoples emails and then add them to your MailX account.
this doesn’t seem any different than InboxSumo or OneMail. And I agree with the comment about Radu. I’m a compulsive buyer and buy too much stuff, but I always seem to be able to find a reason not to buy his stuff.
They aren’t doing anything wrong from what I can see on code canyon……the extended license setup is for EXACTLY what they are doing and has everything built in for hosting clients like us , including payment gateways and everything, so they really did not have to do much in the way of any mods initially, (nor did they), though I hear they have integrated an auto responder now, kudos to them! Just an FYI, what they are doing is doable by almost everyone here, and Code Canyon is a vast repository of products like this, for doing SAAS. Projects.
Brett, how can we get access to your Comment Magic plugin? Is it avaliable for sale? Thank you.
I only use it as an exclusive bonus, if you pick up MailX through my link it will be inside of JVZoo for you.
Hi Brett, will I be able to use Mail X if I only purchase the Pro version? if yes, pls send me ur link. Thank you.
Why wouldn’t you?
Hi Brett, Great review, thanks.
Since they have now integrated an autoresponder in it, I’m thinking of getting it because of the high price I am now paying for my current Autoresponder packages.
Does this one off Lifetime price also come with lifetime updates and improvements for the software at no extra charge?
Also how long do you expect “lifetime” to last with Han & Radu? Any ideas?
I understand what your asking but can’t give a honest answer. With any service though you should always keep a backup of your list on your computer.
wow! that’s great!
Now we’re talking, with the autoresponder functionality, this product becomes a no brainer…Just got it….I’m sure Radu and Han will try and come up with better opt-in forms, otherwise, I suppose, it is just a matter of copying the code put it into an HTML editor and of you go…or anyone here has a better idea??
thank you, Brett, for the comment magic, but more importantly, thank you for all the suggested improvements.
Have a great weekend everyone.
Kami
If you take their form code and have a little HTML knowledge, you can edit it to make it look nicer.
Hi
Is it possible to make squeeze or landing pages with mailx?
No this is not a page builder, its a mailing / autoresponder software.
Hi Brett,
How does they protect your data? Does the system hash that email list?
Regards,
Ryan
Would you trust importing your list in their server? I hope you can make a point for this and try to tell their tech guys to add a script that will hash the list when importing.
They cant , nor can any other autoresponder / mail program, properly hash your email list in their database. Why? Because an expected feature of a hash function is that the hash is non-invertable, that is it cant easily or practically be restored to the original data. As such if they hashed the email addresses on your list, then they could never read them back to send emails to the addresses.
As for what they actually do its unrealistic to expect me or the developers to talk about the inner workings of their security on a public forum for everyone to see.
Just to let you guys know. I bought mail X through Bretts link. I am having problems getting my gmail and yahoo accounts working with mailX. I hope support can help me? Not sure no response yet, maybe takes over 24 hours because of time difference.
I just sent a campaign and still has not sent out the emails.
For the price this is a great deal, if all of the features worked.
FYI-I am a beginner.
Im not sure how posting that you are having an issue on a blog, when you have not even gotten a response from support yet is going to help you. All it is going to do is possibly make the vendors look bad, like there might be a problem with their software (when most likely its an error your SMTP settings that you entered). Im not really sure how this is fair to the vendors in any way to make a public post that might imply they have an issue when you did not even hear back from them yet.
From your last comment ‘if all the features worked’ it also seems like you have not even considered the distinct possibility (you did say your a beginner) that your issue is you not setting up things correctly.
As for a response time 24 hours is standard for an online business. Not counting weekends. Also you have to give a little extra time considering they are in the middle of the launch right now so they are likely extra busy.
I think that is fare. I just want to share my experience with everyone so everyone knows what they may experience. these guys know what happens during a launch, very crazy and very busy, this is not there first launch. They know they should have more support during the launch and then they can reduce support as they work out the bugs.
I made this public because if someone buys the product and experiences the same thing I have then they can make a decision to be patient and wait or get a refund. I will wait for support to respond because this is a great product at an amazing deal. Features are very powerful. I do not think you will find a hosted product with the same features for the same price, other products will be more money for sure.
So they should spend 2-3 weeks training extra support staff they don’t really need, so they can have extra help for 4-5 total days during the launch, so people wont have to wait a day or two over the weekend for a support ticket to be answered? Well I guess we can agree to disagree. Though I totally agree you are welcome to have your own opinion and I thank you for sharing. Something to think of, all of this costs money, people dont work for free. training support takes time (which isn’t free), and they dont train for free. You can have ‘super low cost’ without making some concessions yourself. I think ‘its going to take a little longer to get support on a weekend or during the launch’ is a fairly reasonable concession given how little they are charging and the fact that its less than one months cost of most services. That’s just my opinion though.
Hello Brett
Glad to hear about the updates to MailX.
I’m especially interested in the autoresponder integration.
Can you please explain what this feature does?
Is there a video demonstrating the use of their autoresponder functionality? If not, can you do a quick video of this?
What are the upsells and how much are they?
Can I really run my email marketing business on this platform? Would you trust your business to this tool? And to the two marketers behind it?
What is the email marketing product that you plan to release? What are its functionalities?
Thanks for your comments
Gifford
Thats a LOT of questions here.
1) Im a little confused, it does not have an autoresponder integration, it is an autoresponeder. Sorry if that was not clear.
2) Sorry no I cant do a video at this time, its a Saturday evening (I have kids), but it works like any autoresponder, you schedule a email to go out to a specific list, at specific intervals.
3) Upsells dont matter, and never should, either the product is a worth investing in value or it is not, what you will be or will not be offered later should not effect if the FE product is a good investment (or not)
4) Why couldn’t you? If I did not trust them I probably would not suggest people buy it 🙂
5) What I am releasing in the future is a bit off topic for this post, as this is post about MailX, also I tend to not like to make public the features of my products before I release them. I do have competitors.
Hi Brett Rutecky!
I am newbie and i not sure this software hosted all? I can host my landing pages on mailx or put landing pages on my shared hosting as stable host?
MailX is an autoresponder, it does not make or host landing pages. Its function is to send emails to the address’s you collect with your squeeze pages etc.
Hi Brett, thanks for another lucid and transparent review – it’s why I will always follow you.
What makes me nervous is the one time fee for using their server forever. I’m not seeing how they will be able to maintain the platform.
I tried sending them this question, but it has been unanswered. I imagine they are busy with their launch.
Do you have any insights on this?
Well they probably made enough from this launch to pay for their servers for the next 50 years if they want to.
I like hearing from you because I always hear the truth.
Thanks for your review and for forcing an update of their product.
I reviewed a demo video of MailX and it is clear that you need to integrate it with SMTP and that will require you to use a service like MailGun or SendGrid (both of which have monthly fees) if you plan on sending out alot of emails. While you could try to use the free GMAIL SMTP it is not recommended according to this article I found:
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is the industry standard for sending emails. Unlike PHP mail function, SMTP uses proper authentication which increases email deliverability. Gmail provides SMTP service that you can use to send out emails from your WordPress site. If you just want to send WordPress notification emails to yourself and few users on your site, then Gmail SMTP servers are the best option. However, if you are planning on sending newsletter emails using WordPress, then you should use a mass emailing service provider, like MailGun or SendGrid.
My conclusion is that this service only makes sense for those who have been having problems with Aweber or Get Response and are willing to also pay monthly fees (which may possibly be lower than Aweber or Get Response) to integrate MailX with SendGrid or MailGun. Since I am not familiar with either SendGrid or MailGun I am even more hesitant to purchase MailX.
You should not believe everything you read online, some people like to talk about things they don’t actually know a lot about 🙂 I have sent hundreds of emails from my own server using SMTP without issue. If you did however want to use a service like MailGun they are generally based on volume of send, and not monthly, these fees are also a fraction of what services like Aweber charge.Still though many people will be fine with just using their own SMTP server.
I would not suggest people send using gMail SMTP servers though, unless your only sending very few emails (less than 100, once or twice a week)
So what is the best solution for a 50K list size. MailX plus what?
For a list that size, you would need to use a SMTP relay (though depending on how much you mail, it might cost more than a standard autoresponder) , or a dedicated server of your own. I would actually suggest that you get a dedicated server, you can get a cheap one for around $75 a month if you prepay, which is a lot less than Aweber, GetResponse, etc will charge you for that size list, and you wont have to deal with them telling you what to do.
But with a dedicated server I would need to figure out how to do the setup dkim/spf etc correct?
I think reason most folks simply go the aweber/getresponse route is they don’t have to deal with any of this stuff.
I love the sound of cheapness who doesn’t..lol However its all the technical backend stuff that always holds me back.
If you use WHM when you add your main account / domain to your dedicated box, WHM will create correct DKIM / SPF DNS entries for you. Several versions ago WHM did not do this, but now it does. Most people think the tech stuff is harder than it actually is 🙂
Where’s the link to order MailX?
That would be the big green graphic at the end that says “APPROVED: CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE” at the end of the review.
This is the same product as InboxSUMO just a name change.
I dont thing so, but I never heard of InboxSUMO.
Brett, thanks for this.
I ve been dying to get an email software that wont charge me an arm and a leg for sending thousands of emails in my mailing list.
1- Can mailX do that?
2- Do you recommend a mail server company that can process my emails along with mailX?
3- Will mailX be reliable for sending a large number of campaign template emails to recipients (over 100,000) in my mailing list?
4- Does mailX provide any reports and statistics after sending those emails?
I am definitely ready to purchase this product if it can do the above. Many thanks
1) Yes, but I believe its a monthly fee now that the launch special is over.
2) I used my own SMTP server in the testing.
3) MailX does not deliver the mails, so it should be fine, if you use a good SMTP server
4) Yes, its very detailed
MailX is just a hosted version of MailWizz. Is there any benefit to using this service over just purchasing the product yourself for a one-time cost? Other, that is, then setting it up and managing it.
Well I think just dismissing (setting it up and managing it) is a mistake. Servers are costly, setting it up can be difficult if you don’t have tech experience, as can managing a server and managing a SaaS system of your own. Also given that they where doing all of this for you, at a price that is about 40% less than what the script costs itself, Id say it was quite advantageous to use their system. However I believe the launch special is over now and they are no longer selling MailX at a one time fee.
It seems the new price is $97/month. I wonder how this compares to other autoresponder services. I thought it was going to be a one-time fee service.
I’m happy I got in before the price changed. I knew it was a good deal. However, I wanted to sell it as an affiliate. It could be a harder sell now.
Thanks Brett
Well yea its not going to be practical to sell as an affiliate now at this price.
I will rather cancel don’t have a clue how to setup this system,now it is server issues to
They dont seem to be having server issues. I just logged into my account and sent myself an email with it.
As for wanting to cancel because you don’t know how to set it up. Well something to think about, and Im only saying this to try to help you so please don’t take it the wrong way. There are good tutorial videos in the help section. However honestly, if you would prefer to quit than to learn how to do things then perhaps the IM business is not for you. If its not, thats ok, its not for everyone, some people are just not meant to do this kind of thing. People unwilling to put in some effort are a good example.
You will need to ask yourself, am I really committed to running on online business? If you are then putting in the effort to learn how to do so should be no big deal. If your not then just do something else because you will never succeed without that commitment and devotion.
I purchased mailx (Pro edition) and set up an account with Sparkpost. I verified my sending domain and all inside SparkPost by inserting the correct SPF and DKIM records in my domain’s DNS. I put the API key in mailx and tried to validate the server.
BOOOOM…when i hit the “send server validation link” i didn’t receive any validation email….instead i received an email from SparkPost saying :
“Your SparkPost account has been terminated due to violation of our Messaging Policy and Terms of Use. You may find our policies here: {link removed}
If you wish to appeal, please respond to this email (leaving the subject line intact) describing your opt-in practices and content and our abuse team will review your account. If you do not receive a response within 2 business days, please contact our support team here for an escalation:
{link removed} …..”
Whaaaaat a heeeeck…?!!?!!? Reaaaally…. in 2 seconds LOL
So my question is this, should i try and open a new account with a different provider, let’s say Elastic Mail or not?
Has anyone tried it out successfully and if yes what provider did you use? Is mailx flagged or something? Any clues why this happened?
Anyways, your guidance would be mostly appreciated 🙂
George
Sounds to me like that have some weird TOS. For best results you might consider sending your mails through your own hosting SMTP, this way no one is telling you what you can and cant do.
So so you know, the same happened to me.
I just created an account with SparkPost for MailX. Then, just after sending the validation email, my account was terminated for the same reason.
I did reply to the email. And, after a couple of emails asking me about the kind of email marketing activity I plan to do, they restored my account.
And the, just after trying to validate my server again, my account was terminated again.
One might be a coincidence or mistake, but two times the same day -on a brand new, unused account- is too much for me. There’s something seriously wrong with their spam and/or abuse detection system.
Sadly, I can’t recommend a service like this, knowing they can suspend my account at anytime for no logical reason. Not at least they fix this issue.
Thanks for your review & time Brett, also thanks to all response info. I purchased MailX & when registering for access for use on their site, I read their TOS , specifically :
9. Your content: licence
9.1 In these terms and conditions, “your content” means all works and materials (including without limitation text, graphics, images, audio material, video material, audio-visual material, scripts, software and files) that you submit to us or our website for storage or publication on, processing by, or transmission via, our website.
9.2 You grant to us a [worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence] to [use, reproduce, store, adapt, publish, translate and distribute your content in any existing or future media] OR [reproduce, store and publish your content on and in relation to this website and any successor website] OR [reproduce, store and, with your specific consent, publish your content on and in relation to this website].
9.3 You grant to us the right to sub-license the rights licensed under Section 9.2.
9.4 You grant to us the right to bring an action for infringement of the rights licensed under Section 9.2.
9.5 You hereby waive all your moral rights in your content to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law; and you warrant and represent that all other moral rights in your content have been waived to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.
So am i to understand this to be normal legal terminology, for the operational purposes of providing this type of software service ( email ) content delivery, and that i am not setting
myself up for giving away the store so to speak ?
Im sorry I have no idea what your asking me here.
The TOS don’t seem to be available to read once you’ve signed up. At least I can’t find them. This section you’ve posted seems quite worrying.
Hi Brett,
I’ve bought Mailx over your link and now I need the HTML-Code for the Autoresponder Integration.
The Support from Mailx can’t help me at this time, because that, I want to ask you as Specialist, if you know a Programm, where I can get the HTML-Code so that I can integrate it.
Thank you very much.
Regards
Claus
They provide form code, in the list section.
Brett
Thanks for the review. However, I’ve had no success sending anything. The image loader won’t link to any images anywhere. The scheduling won’t set properly. It just keeps the send time the same as he “Time Added” time. Which of course means by the time you’ve saved the time is past and the email won’t send. I’ve had at least 5 issues including no confirmation email being sent when I set up the SMTP server. I’ve been getting plenty of emails form the vendor inviting me to their webinar, too bad they’re not so prolific with the support as they are with their webinars.
If your unhappy you should tell them and ask for help, if you dont get the help you need … request a refund.
Hi Brett,
I bought mailx but having a really hard time to find a embed/popup/slide-in optin wp plugin that can integrate with it. I have tested it with WP Opt in box pro, Easy Optin Pro, Optin Forms… none work. After multiple email exchange with Radu, this is the final answer i got… not sure what he mean by go default but have asked him on that. If anyone know how to create an easy popup optin, insert list to Mailx and redirect to thank you/original page, please shade some light. Thanks
“We have checked with our tech team and have found out that there are no plug ins for MailX. Should go default in that case.”
Hi,
I just accidentally came across youir review. Very good review btw 🙂
I have MailX and did run against a few bumps…
First off; This is for “talao”: I think he means that you just paste the html optin form code inside your page/post. I believe that is what he means by “go default” 😉
I see a few people mention that they don’t receive the mail server conformation when adding their own smtp server. I had the same problem, but i did find them in the spam folder aventually 😉 So check your spam folder 🙂
Ok, I do have some issues and I think perhaps they are good to mention here;
1. The AR’s don’t show the embedded images, only the broadcast mails do.
I have entered a support ticket, but I do think there is some language barriers when talking to Radu (“lost in translation?”). I just discoverd this AFTER adding 41 campaigns 🙁 so that’s a bummer…hope they’ll fix this.
2. I have implemented mailgun and elastic mail next to my smtp servers. They both work well, but I don’t believe the smpt servers aren’t working though even after I’ve confirmed the server mails. (btw the first 10.000 mails are free to send with mailgun, not bad huh? 😉 )
3. And this is REALLY troubling; after you have added AR’s and or broadcast mails, you CAN’T EDIT them anymore…as soon as you pause the AR and then hit edit…all of the content is gone…for ever! So you’ll have to start all over from scratch 🙁
That being said; I do like it a lot and I hope they’ll keep on improving MailX and get these issues ironed out. I am not that familiar with Radu and “Han the Internet Man” (what a name) but because of your review and looking at their earlier products/services, I think I can trust that they will improve their product.
Thank you for your review, hope my input helps anyone here. Just my two cents 🙂
Take care
Update: Concerning #1: it does embed the images, but not when combined with external images. Don’t know why that is.
I got this software when it first came out. Used it, set everything up. Imported my lists from other providers. Was ready to start putting it into use and suddenly my password doesn’t work. I asked for a new password, but I never receive one.
I wrote to Radu and he created a support ticket for me. That was May 9. Today is May 24. The ticket has never been reviewed. I have written back to Radu with no response. I have created a new ticket with no response.
Is this a legitimate product if you can be booted out of your account and you get no support? I have no other recourse.
I just sent Radu a Skype message on your behalf. If you dont hear from him soon please let me know,.
Hey Faithe,
We couldn’t your support ticket so it might have got lost, but I have personally went ahead and reset your logins and emailed you the new ones myself. Brett also has them in case it’s easier for you to reach out to him.
For your future information, our email support is support@raduh.zendesk.com
There was no email from you there so we didn’t know you had a problem. Thanks for reaching out this way though and happy to see it’s now solved!
Radu
Good luck trying to get through. I lost my password once and had to hijack my password with Inspect / default to text – because they never responded- way beyond REFUND time
i thought i’d chime in considering today it’s an internal 500 error all my website forms direct to their forms. lost a client that wanted to see a landing page directed to a form ( which just so happened to be his)
unfortunately due to the time zones? i would hope is the reason i haven’t received help – all day down. Will be looking for another version before the weekend is over to make sure my prospects don’t see this error, if they haven’t responded by then. Cant log in and form doesn’t go through- so it’s on their end
in all fairness they did have it up 5 minutes , which i was elated about – for it to go back down again
does anyone know of another email marketing system as good as theirs has the potential to be) Brett or Radu if you are reading this and can help my account is on this response email auriar123@yahoo
http://mailitplugin.com/
Hi, Brett can you tell us when your “email software” will be released. Very important. I am in need of it like seriously.
http://mailitplugin.com/
Is MailX no longer supported?
Well it looks like its for sale still. So I would say yes.
From my end of things – total scam. I bought the product, and the upsell. I watched the videos and set up the system. I pulled the trigger and…… nothing. No email sent, nothing. I have a campaign still sitting in que stating “campaign pending send – 12-13-2016 11:15”. I have restarted the campaign 3 times. nothing. I have sent an email, no – 3 emails to this Radu person 1 a day for the last 3 days. nothing. I sent an email to JvZoo and THEY contacted (via email) Radu. Nothing. The only advice JvZoo can give me is to go to Paypal and get a refund. Thanks. It’s okay for JvZoo people to provide no support? to ignore bad product? and Jv just lets them keep sticking it to us? That sucks. Shame on your Radu.
Thanks for the feedback and info, one thing I CANT test is customer support as that is something that does not happen until after a product is released. You should file a dispute. As for JVZoo not providing support for vendors products and ‘letting people stick it to us’ .. JVZoo has nothing to do with any product on their network. They dont control the vendors. In fact they work for the vendors. If you bought something in a store with a Visa card and it did not work well you would not contact Visa and ask them for support on the thing you bought would you? Of course not, thats silly. JVZoo is no different than Visa, they are a payment processor, they are also an affiliate network, but the point is they have no control over the vendors as they actually work for the vendors. The advise they gave you about filing a dispute was the proper response.
A nice review, but what you were unable to test was the support that was added during the launch. I have contacted the support team twice and here is what happened:
1. Earlier this year MailX suspended sending emails and although a support ticket was opened, I got no response from the support team other than an automated acknowledgement. However, the problem was fixed within a reasonable time.
2. Three days ago MailX stopped sending out emails. The support team have been contacted three times about this issue and apart from the automated acknowledgement, I have heard nothing from them. This has caused major inconvenience.
As you pointed out in your review, this is software as a service – a service for other businesses. The issue is that MailX is not providing the service as reliably as it should.
Im sorry you are having issues. I of course can only review a product .. I cant, at the time of writing a review, predict what will happen a year later. Thanks for letting everyone know though.
Hello Brett,
I am doing some due diligence on a possible replacement for MailX. I have been going through several reviews of your “mailit” plugin. Does your plugin now have the facility to schedule email broadcasts?
At this time it does not.