Newsletter plugins

Right then, which Newsletter plugin shall we use? I receive lots of Newsletters created by MailChimp, Aweber, ConstantContact and CampaignMonitor,  but none generated by native WordPress plugins. On my Drupal sites I’ve successfully combined the Simplenews module with the node embed module, and some hand coded template files to issue newsletters where the content comes directly from the site. That’s my objective for WordPress-pompey… so how do I do it? And if I am able to achieve it what are the pros and cons of this versus using a dedicated mailing solution? I mean, I’ve got a developers licence for GravityForms so wouldn’t it make sense to use the add-ons for MailChimp, AWeber or CampaignMonitor?

Plugin name and description	Plugin links	Version, total downloads, last update, tested
Newsletter Add a real newsletter system to your blog. For free. With unlimited newsletters and subscribers.	newsletter home	6.8.8 12,631,818 September 11, 2020 5.5.1
MailPress The WordPress mailing platform	mailpress home	7.2.1 324,195 June 2, 2020 5.4.2
ALO EasyMail Newsletter To send newsletters. Features: collect subscribers on registration or with an ajax widget, mailing lists,…	alo-easymail home	2.12.3 436,855 May 27, 2020 5.4.2

Notes:

I installed mailpress a while ago on a local install. I was rather bothered that it didn’t have an automatic update solution; would it lead to a fatal [fob] if I weren’t careful? I never found out what it could do. I’m going to try newsletter on www.wp-pompey.org.uk Question: Should I find out more about MailChimp before I find out what I can do with a WordPress only solution? There was a plugin called fes-wordpress-newsleter (where FES stands for Fast Email Sender), but it appears to have dissappeared from WordPress.org

Further reading:

http://tomuse.com/wordpress-newsletter-plugin/ http://www.constantcontact.com http://www.gravityforms.com/add-ons/   http://buildyourblog.net/email/comparison-wordpress-email-newsletter-subscription-plugins