Satollo’s Newsletter comes in two flavors, free and pro. The free version can be directly downloaded from WordPress.org and it has a very good user rating.
The pro is an extension of the free version. It has some important features that I think any newsletter power-user would eventually need. In this review I cover both versions.
Ease of Use and Installation
Installation of the free version of the plugin is simple and can be done from the admin dashboard. And the pro version isn’t any more complicated. You can use the upload feature of the admin dashboard to install it. There is no DRM or BS like that.
Satollo’s Newsletter is an extensive plugin. It’s not going to be easy to use it without reading the documentation and squeezing your brain a little bit.
Technical Support and Documentation
Luckily, Satollo’s Newsletter has sufficient documentation. First, there’s a lengthy user guide that’s built into the plugin and there are blue textboxes near almost all option fields to give you a description, instructions, and tips on the purpose of the field and how to use it.
The only problem with the documentation is it difficult to follow sometimes because of its bad grammar and many spelling errors.
While Satollo’s Newsletter provides several public channels for support, such as this discussion page and the WordPress.org forum, the author doesn’t attend to most of the questions and requests posted there.
Managing Subscribers and Mailing Lists
Satollo’s Newsletter handling of subscribers doesn’t seem as robust as WordPress built-in user management capabilities. For example, you cannot select multiple subscribers and edit them in bulk. And the only way to see a list of all of your subscribers is by exporting them onto a CSV file.
You can export all of your subscribers out of Satollo’s Newsletter. You can also import subscribers into the plugin by pasting a text of comma separated values into the designated textbox in the plugin.
The profiles for individual subscribers look a bit crude. Labels for the 19 different custom profile fields and the lists to which you can assign subscribers are displayed only after they have been configured on the “Subscription Form” page. Before setting the labels, all you’re going to see is a numbered list of custom profile fields and email lists.
- Screenshot: Satollo’s Newsletter “Subscribers Management”
- Screenshot: Satollo’s Newsletter “Subscribers Edit”
Opt-in Form Features
Satollo’s Newsletter plugin provides only one type of form: the sidebar widget. However, it allows the user to create a custom form that the user can insert any where. There is also good documentation for creating custom forms.
Unfortunately, it is not easy to use 3rd party form plugins with Satollo’s Newsletter.
Scheduling Autoresponders
While Satollo’s Newsletter has the ability to send an autoresponder sequence, the way this is implemented is hardcoded and very restrictive. You can only have one autoresponder. And that single autoresponder can only have a maximum of 9 messages And you cannot schedule messages individually. All you can do is specify a single “Interval between steps” in hours. If you set that to 48, for example, the system will send one message from your autoresponder every 48 hours. That’s it.
Sending Site Content Updates as Newsletters
Satollo’s Newsletter calls this feature “Feed by Mail”. Take a look at the screenshot below to get an idea of the settings and options that the plugin makes available to you:
HTML Emails, Themes, and Attachments
Satollo’s Newsletter supports HTML email, but it doesn’t have the ability to fallback on plain text for those subscribers who don’t support HTML emails. You can either send HTML or plain, not both. And you cannot send attachments along with the email.
Satollo’s Newsletter comes with 2 built-in themes. They are minimalist and clean themes, but I would have liked to see more options.
There are no themes or templates for the sidebar opt-in form. Though, someone with graphic design knowledge can easily style the opt-in form.
But, designing a newsletter theme isn’t as easy. And unfortunately, the developer doesn’t provide sufficient documentation for that.
Email Newsletter Analytics
Satollo’s Newsletter provide some basic analytics. The statistics provided are organized by total clicks, by individual profiles, and by users. Take a look at this screenshot to see what’s available:
Money Matters
Satollo’s Newsletter comes in two versions a free version and a pro version that costs one time payment of $20. The Pro version has: feed by email, analytics, autoresponder, custom subscription forms, and advanced SMTP configurations. Buying the Pro version entitles you to one full year of free updates. You’re only supposed to install the plugin on websites that you own. If you want to be able to install it on client sites, you can buy the Consultants license of the plugin for $97.
For all purchases there is a 60-day unconditional money back guarantee.
