Category: Reviews

Find the best and honest reviews on various tools and products related to blogging, Internet Marketing, social media, SEO, WordPress plugins and themes.

  • Thrive Themes Membership Review 2018

    Thrive Themes Membership Review 2018

    If you have been following my blog, you will notice that I actually talks quite a lot about Thrive Themes and all its core products. But I have left out one of the most important factor that will affect your decision making — Thrive Themes Membership.

    Thrive Themes membership or Thrive membership is a subscription modal where paying subscribers will be given unlimited access to all the Thrive plugins and themes.

    Here’s the thing. I get it — not one loves commitment and the subscription model. If possible, you are looking for the pay once for lifetime membership. Me too!

    But you know that life doesn’t always come this way. Membership or subscription model is always a great option especially in technology and WordPress. With monthly subscription, you are guaranteed to have constant updates and support. For both advanced and beginners, both of these are often the deal maker.

    Before starting this Thrive Themes Memberhsip review, I want to stress that Thrive Membership may and may not be the best for you. Here are some reasons why.

    You Shouldn’t Get Thrive Themes Membership If …

    Make no mistake. Thrive Themes Membership isn’t for everyone. Sure, the products are made for most people and certainly doesn’t fit into the shoes of everyone.

    WordPress plugin

    The first reason is simple. You only need one Thrive plugin and not everything under the hood. In this case, you will save MORE money by just buying the product for a year and you are pretty much all set.

    The second reason is probably because your website had been custom-made previously. Therefore, there many be some codes installed by the previous developer which may clash with Thrive Themes products. While the odds for this to happen is very slim, who knows, right?

    save money

    Lastly, the third reason I could think of is that you want to save money (and getting your hands dirty with coding). Don’t get me wrong. Thrive Themes Membership can help you get a lot of thing done and fast, minus the hassle. But if you are a web developer or know coding skills, you don’t need Thrive Themes Membership. You can start coding and putting your skills at work. Of course, you may need to spend sometime here but at the end of the day, you are going to save quite a lot of money (imagine recurring fees per month multiple with three years).

    You Should Get Thrive Themes Membership if …

    Thrive Themes Membership features

    Thrive Membership is one of the best that I have seen in the market. The first reason to kick start this Thrive Themes Membership review is the features offered by Thrive Themes Membership. A pyaing member of Thrive Themes Membership will have unlimited usage to all the current. previous and future Thrive products. This means that you can use as many times as you want, whenever you want without spending a single dime.

    The second most important for you to get Thrive Themes Membership is to save MORE money. Do you know that you save around $700 a year when you purchase Thrive Themes Membership? Instead of buying different plugins at a time, Thrive Themes Membership comes with over 10 different products which you can leverage for your blogging business.

    Thrive Membership Support Review

    The third reason why Thrive Themes Membership is so impactful is simply because the products and support are awesome. Creating a product is always one part of the equation — having excellent customer service and support is another. You may be using the best product but if there is zero or subpar support, you are going to feel frustrated and start focusing on other products that have better customer support.

    Thrive Themes Membership Review — Going Under The Hood

    I know, you are curious of Thrive Themes Membership and is still at the crossroad in buying it. I get it and I promise this article is going to help you solve that!

    What you will get when subscribing to the Thrive Themes Membership are:

    • Full suite of Thrive Themes WordPress plugins
    • Unretricted and unlimited access to new Thrive plugins
    • Members-only courses, special templates and content
    • check-square-oUnlimited, 24 hours a day and whole year round of support

    This Thrive Themes Membership review is all about my experience using the plugins. Therefore, here are several reasons why I recommend you to go for Thrive Themes Membership (it only costs $19 per month).

    Reason #1: Thrive Themes — The Golden Opportunity

    Premium WordPress Themes 2018

    Thrive Themes is really an opportunity for bloggers and website owners to showcase their work. Regardless it is photography or content, Thrive Themes is a great addon to any website. As a matter of fact, Thrive Themes is popular that it is often considered one the top 5 premium WordPress themes.

    When you subscribe to Thrive Themes Membership, you will automatically entitle to unlimited usage of all the Thrive Themes.

    Thrive Themes Premium Themes

    With Thrive Themes, you can go from WordPress install to a functioning site in just minutes, with a wide selection of custom WordPress themes designed to suit your business and blogging needs.

    Reason #2: Thrive Architect — The Best Drag And Drop Visual Builder

    Thrive Architect Review

    I have used many visual builders and Thrive Architect is one of the best you can find in the market.

    With Thrive Architect, you see exactly how your website looks like in real time, making website building super easy and effective.

    Instead of spending weeks trying to build a homepage or a landing page, you can just create one under 30 minutes with Thrive Architect.

    You can also read my Thrive Architect review to understand how it works and why it is revolutionizing the drag and drop visual builder industry.

    With over 207 fill-in templates for every purpose imaginable, you can easily create professional looking pages with a fraction of the cost and time needed!

    The Thrive Architect standalone plugin costs $67 for one website and a full year support, but you will get it all free (included) when you are a paying member of the Thrive Themes Membership.

    Reason #3: Thrive Leads — Advanced Lead Generation Tools

    Thrive Leads Review

    Generating lead is already a tough process and it should not get even more complicated. With Thrive Leads plugin, you can start build your email list or even grow it multiple folds in just a few clicks.

    For starters, there is a huge selection of opt-in form templates that you can choose from. You can even do A/B testing to see which form performs the best and so much more.

    Unlike other lead generation plugin, Thrive Leads comes with powerful drag and drop builder that will help you build higher conversion forms in just minutes. Yes, no coding is required which is absolutely mindblowing to say the very least!

    Thrive Leads is able to integrate with top email marking software including AWeber, ConvertKit and Drip.

    The Thrive Leads standalone plugin is also priced at $67 for one website and a full year support. Thrive Leads is included for free (unlimited usage) in the Thrive Themes Membership.

    Reason #4: Thrive Headline Optimizer — Crafting The Right Headline Is Easy

    Thrive Headlines Optimizer

    Do you know that creating clickable headlines requires some skills and more importantly, hours of testing?

    Thrive Headline Optimizer takes away all your hardwork by allowing you to test different headlines for all your blog posts, product titles and sales page hooks in just a few clicks. The best part?

    You can set Thrive Headline Optimizer to run on autopilot and the plugin will automatically select a winner once it has fulfilled your pre-set requirements.

    Again, this standalone plugin costs $67 a year for a website but members of the Thrive Themes Membership will able to use this plugin for free (minus all the limitation).

    Reason #5: Thrive Quiz Builder — Entertaining And Converting Readers Into Customers

    Thrive Quiz Builder Review 2018

    Being an affiliate marketer, the competition is huge in the market space. Everyday new content pops up and it is really hard to get sales. Seriously.

    I was at the brink of pulling my hair with all these competition until I came across Thrive Quiz Builder.

    Here’s the truth: Great content isn’t going to make the cut in today’s world. You need to think out of the box and that’s what Thrive Quiz Builder is all about.

    With Thrive Quiz Builder, you can use this to entertain your audience and at the same time, getting opt-ins and better insights.

    Thrive Quiz Builder allows you to build quizzes based on your needs (and not others). This means these quizzes are created to help you engage your audience, spike social shares and getting more subscribers.

    Plus, giving you important information about your audience and their thoughts.

    Thrive Quiz Builder is included in the Thrive Themes Membership and the standalone plugin is priced at $67 for a single site.

    Want more savings? Go for Thrive Membership at only $19 per month!

    Reason #6: Thrive Ultimatum — Making Fear Of Missing Out Your Best Buddy

    fear of missing out

    Do you know that using the “fear of missing out” can boost your sales triple fold?

    Thrive Ultimatum allows you to:

    • Add dynamic countdown timers
    • Automatic discount for new subscribers or existing ones
    • Creating automated, recurring promotions
    • check-square-oLeverage the true power of scarcity

    Take a moment to think about this. Nearly every big business uses this strategy because it works.

    Here’s how a simple countdown timer on your blog or website can trigger the fear of missing out and help you improve your overall conversion.

    146Days23Hours47Minutes00Seconds

    Thrive Ultimatum is the only workable plugin that allows you to create evergreen timer which is great to lure new customers.

    Reason #7: Thrive Ovation — Creating Perfectly Suited Testimonials In Just A Few Clicks

    Thrive Ovation Thrive Membership Review

    If you are business owner or consultant, one of the biggest challenge is to have your testimonial page setup correctly.

    What is Thrive Ovation?

    It is a plugin that allows you to set and forget testimonial collection and management system makes publishing quality testimonials all over your site automatically.

    What does this means to you?

    Simple. You can now place any testimonials on any page without rewriting them all over again. With Thrive Ovation, you can just click, set and forget which the plugin will run automatically on the backend.

    The best part? You can control all your testimonials under one roof!

    Reason #8: Thrive Clever Widgets — Optimize Your Site To New Heights

    Thrive Clever Widgets

    Have you ever tried to code your side bar so that it only shows the right content to the right readers?

    I know, it’s tough as hell!

    With Clever Widgets, you can now display targeted sidebar content based on different blog post categories. This means that you will now display the right content to the right people, maximizing the visitor interaction and engagement with your site.

    Why is Clever Widgets so powerful?

    There are many plugins out there which provide pretty similar features. However, Clever Widget doesn’t require you to do coding and it is upfront simple. Instead of creating different sidebars (offered by most of the other plugins), you can stick to one sidebar and set different triggers instead.

    Clever Widgets is a great plugin and it is definitely one of my top favorites in the Thrive Themes Membership package!

    How Much Is Thrive Themes Membership?

    The Thrive Membership comes in several forms; quarterly and annual subscription.

    Annual subscription starts at $19 per month and it is best for individuals, marketers and entrepreneurs. If you are running an agency, it starts at $49 per month which will give you complete whitelabel feature.

    If you decide to pay quarterly, Thrive Membership for individuals starts at $30 per month and Agency costs $69 per month.

    Note: Paying annually gives you at least 24% saving instantly.

    Is Thrive Themes Membership Worth It?

    I get this question all the time. The answer is it depends.

    Yes if you are like me. I hate not being able to create the blog that I like. You know, my style, taste and everything in between. Thrive Themes Membership is best for you if you want to have complete control of your blog. Using Thrive plugins, I was able to transform my blog from a normal blog to a professional and highly engaging blog in just a few weeks. Plus, I love the fact that I am able to save more money through Thrive Themes Membership.

    No if you are just looking for a single tool or plugin. Seriously, if you don’t find more than ONE Thrive plugins that are importantly for you, you are better off buying the plugins seperately.

    Try Now With 30-Days Money Back Guarantee!

  • What Is The Best WordPress Hosting Site?

    What Is The Best WordPress Hosting Site?

    Best WordPress hosting site. I’m sure the answer varies and it is highly dependable to individuals. For me, I have my fair share of experiences using shared hosting, managed WordPress hosting and even virtual private servers (VPS). In this post, I’m going to share with you the best WordPress hosting sites based on price and more importantly, server performance.

    The Best WordPress Hosting Site

    Top choice: WP Engine – Excellent performance and customer support

    Plans: As low as $35 per month (25,000 visits)

    Advantages using WP Engine

    • VPS environment for speed and performance
    • Inbuilt cache feature
    • One-click automated migration
    • Bulletproof security
    • 24/7 chat support
    • Staging environment
    • Transferable installs
    • PHP 7 ready
    • LargeFS
    • Automated SSL certificates
    • Content Delivery Network (CDN) (optional and higher plans)
    • GeoTarget (higher plans)
    • Content performance (higher plans)
    • Launch readiness assessment (higher plans)
    • Multisite ready (higher plans)

    Limited Time Offer – 2 Months Free

    Disadvantages using WP Engine

    • Pricing is higher than traditional shared hosting

     

    Secondary choice: FlyWheel – Affordable pricing and unique billing feature

    Pricing: As low as $14 per month (5,000 visits)

    Advantages using FlyWheel

    • No overage charges (only automatic upgrade to next plan)
    • Free site migration
    • Free SSL certificate
    • Free staging sites
    • Transferable billing to clients
    • Content Delivery Network (CDN) (optional and higher plans only)
    • Multisite (higher plans only)
    • 24/7 support via email only

    Try FlyWheel today!

    Disadvantages using FlyWheel

    • Smallest plan only suits for really small websites
    • Pricing is higher than traditional shared hosting
    • Lack of live chat feature is a game changer

     

    Third choice: SiteGround – Excellent pricing with a scaled down performance

    Pricing: As low as $3.95 per month

    Advantages using SiteGround

    • 24/7 live chat
    • Super affordable web hosting plans
    • Scalability

    Try affordable WordPress hosting with SiteGround.

    Disadvantages using SiteGround

    • All plans are based on shared hosting
    • Server performance is based on plans you had signed up
    • Advanced support is considered ad-hoc services and chargeable

     

    New entry: Kinsta Hosting – Blazing fast servers powered with Google Cloud Platform

    Pricing: As low as $30 per month

    Advantages using Kinsta

    • Powered by Google Cloud Platform (VPS)
    • Blazing website speed
    • Scalability and powerful web hosting for both small and enterprise websites
    • Staging area
    • Inbuilt cache system
    • 24/7 live chat

    Click here to see all the benefits using Kinsta!

    Disadvantages using Kinsta hosting

    • Pricing is steep for small website owners/beginners

     

    What is the best WordPress hosting site?

    Personally, I would choose for WP Engine as my first choice. For the price of $35 a month, I can rest assured that my sites are always protected and secured. More importantly, downtime is never a problem and the support team over at WP Engine is willing to go beyond simply because they could. For me, this is definitely a deal breaker as I do not want to be charged for every support I require. Take a look at this post and you will understand why.

    If you are a web developer, FlyWheel (or GetFlyWheel) is a great choice for you because it provides easy billing features. In other words, you can transfer the charges over to your client through FlyWheel’s dashboard. There is no more mess and you can focus on the thing that you are best in … which is designing the site. The downside of FlyWheel is the plans are pretty much similar to WP Engine and therefore, you will get a better deal when using WP Engine instead. The Tiny plan from FlyWheel allows up to 5,000 visits in a month and let’s be real honest — that is really insufficient for most bloggers.

    SiteGround is the lowest in the comparison tier. While the low plans are great for starters and beginners, the servers are optimized for WordPress hosting but they are still shared web hosting. This means that it is NOT managed WordPress hosting and you will get lower performance servers when compared to WP Engine and FlyWheel.

    Last but not least, the newest entry is Kinsta hosting. Kinsta offers a simple solution for both entry level websites and business websites. With pricing starts at $30 per month, Kinsta offers top notch VPS performance (thanks to Google Cloud Platform) and inbuilt cache plugin that makes your website loads insanely fast. Plus, the support team is available 24/7 via live chat to answer all your doubts and challenges you may face in web hosting.

    What do you think? Leave a comment below and tell me which web host you are currently using!

  • Thrive Leads vs OptinMonster – Which Plugin Is The Best Plugin For Building An Email List?

    Thrive Leads vs OptinMonster – Which Plugin Is The Best Plugin For Building An Email List?

    Thrive Leads vs OptinMonster.

    There are many plugins for email list building but nothing comes close to what Thrive Leads and OptinMonster can provide.

    Let me share with you a simple fact:

    Email has 2.6 billion unique users worldwide. Moreover, that number is expected to exceed 2.9 billion by the end of 2019. 

    ExactTarget had quoted, “Email is not only alive – it’s the number one direct channel in terms of daily use and consumer preference for both personal and marketing communications.”

    Building an email list is no longer an option. It is a necessity for business survival. Regardless it is for affiliate marketing, blogging or business, email marketing is a very powerful tool if you use it right.

    The first step in building an email list is to select an email marketing service provider, which I’m sure you already had.

    The second and most crucial step is to find a WordPress plugin that will drive your subscription rate off the roof. After all, having the best email marketing service provider isn’t going to give you much assistance if you aren’t converting visitors into subscribers.

    To help you on this step, I’ve compared two of the best list building plugins on the market so that you can build your list in the most efficient way possible.

     

    Thrive Leads

    Introduction: Thrive Leads is the complete list building plugin for WordPress. It has every type of opt-in form including Sticky Ribbon, Popup Lightbox, Slide-In, Opt-in Widget, and Screen Filler.

    Summary: Thrive Leads is a good choice if you want to have complete control on how the plugin works. It allows you to tweak everything under the roof, without any coding skills.

    Thrive Leads is one of the most popular list building plugins for bloggers nowadays because there is just so much hype around this plugin. What I love about Thrive Leads are:

    • Multiple opt-in forms which can be set to trigger and appear in multiple places
    • Perform numerous A/B testing (split test)
    • Availability of shortcodes
    • One click sign up links
    • Sign up subscribers directly to webinar
    • Ready made templates and boxes to choose from

    What makes Thrive Leads an awesome plugin for list building is the ability to do anything with just one plugin. As for the record, ThriveBoxes is one feature that no other list building plugin had ever integrated and it works like LeadPages’s Leadboxes feature (sorry LeadPages).

    For the record, Thrive Leads is included in the Thrive Membership and no separate purchase is required.

    1. Configuring Thrive Leads

    Love the basic setup? No worries. Here’s the common setup you can choose with Thrive Leads:

    opt in types thrive leads vs optinmonster

    There are many ready-made templates you can choose from when you use Thrive Leads. Here are some examples:

    Thrive Leads ready made templates

    Now, that’s really a lot of templates, right?

    The guys over at Thrive Leads understand the challenges faced by bloggers and marketers. Not many of us are design-driven and therefore, having different types of ready-made templates and drag and drop builder helps us to create better forms to build an email list.

    Disclaimer: My favorite is still ‘Scroll Mat’. Just saying 🙂

     

    2. A/B testing with Thrive Leads

    Apart from that, Thrive Leads comes with the awesome A/B testing which is godly. With this feature, you can literally any testing such as:

    • Different Form Types: A lightbox popup vs. a slide-in form or a widget vs. a ribbon.
    • Different Triggers: Show a popup after 3 seconds, once the visitor scrolls 50% down the page or when the visitor is about to exit your site.
    • Different Design & Content: Change the headline, add a new image or switch colors.
    • Different Offers: Download a checklist vs. Participate in a webinar

    You can start and stop the A/B testing at any time, as well as the ability to select the winner (either manually or automatically).

    split testing feature with thrive leads

     

    3. Precise targeting using Thrive Leads

    Advancement of technology allows us to do a lot of things and one of them is to show relevant popups to the right type of audience. With Thrive Leads, you can display specific forms with just a few clicks:

    customizing thrive leads

    4. Powerful features that made Thrive Leads super powerful

    Want to know why Thrive Leads is powerful? Here are four things you should know (if you are dead serious in list building using Thrive Leads):

    • Exit Trigger: Show your opt-in the moment a visitor is thinking about leaving your website.
    • Time Trigger: Choose between showing your opt-in form instantly or after a certain amount of time (in seconds) has passed.
    • Scroll Trigger: Choose between showing your opt-in form when a user scrolls to a specific part of the content, after passing a defined percentage of the content, or after reaching the end of your content.
    • Click Trigger: Show your opt-in when a user clicks an element (like a button or link) in your content.

     

    5. What didn’t I like about Thrive Leads?

    Apart of all the goodies that Thrive Leads can offer, there are still things I wished they could be improved.

    Thrive Leads doesn’t play well with CloudFlare: I use CloudFlare to speed up my website and I have specific Page Rules to make my website blazing fast. The problem is Thrive Leads visual builder (WYSIWYG) doesn’t work well when those options are turned on. Of course, there isn’t much Thrive Leads could do but if you want to use Thrive Leads with CloudFlare, make sure you turn off the ‘Rocket Loader‘ on CloudFlare (temporary) while setting up forms using Thrive Leads.

    What is Rocket Loader?

    Rocket Loader improves page load times by:

    • Decreasing the number of network requests by bundling JavaScript files, even third party resources, to avoid slowing down page rendering
    • Asynchronously loading scripts, including third party scripts, so that they do not block the content of your page from loading immediately
    • Caching scripts locally (using LocalStorage, available on most browsers and smart phones) so they aren’t refetched unless necessary

    Just too many customizations and made it confusing: Thrive Leads comes with so many customizations which it is really tricky for beginners. Sure, they have videos but let’s be honest. Who views the videos unless you are desperate, right? The options aren’t really direct and idiot-proof if you know what I mean.

     

    6. How much is Thrive Leads?

    There are three different pricing structures you can choose from (each comes with one year support):

    • 1 Site: $67
    • 5 Sites: $97
    • 15 Sites: $147

    Alternatively, you can choose Thrive Membership which costs $19 per month (with all plugins included for unlimited sites) when you pay annually.

    When it comes to pricing, I would say that it is definitely worth the money because of the features that Thrive Leads provide.

     

    7. Is Thrive Leads worth it?

    Here’s the biggest question. I’ve been using Thrive Leads since the beta stage and I would say that it is pretty well done. If I would comment, I would say that their finishing isn’t as smooth as OptinMonster but apart from that, they are pretty much awesome to say the very least.

     

    8. My verdict for Thrive Leads

    Thrive Leads is best for advanced users who want to double their email list in just a short period of time. Plus, it is also a great tool because you get everything you need under one roof.

    With the amount of features that comes packing with Thrive Leads, this is definitely one of the best list building plugins I had used for a long time. Highly recommend anyone to use this!

    Click here to try Thrive Leads today!

     

    OptinMonster

    Introduction: OptinMonster is not just a WordPress plugin. It’s a complete web-based app that’s available for different platforms including WordPress.

    Summary: OptinMonster is very smooth and easy to use. An absolutely beast that helps you build an email list fast, minus all the challenging configuration and hassle.

    Just like Thrive Leads, OptinMonster had evolved a lot … from a humble beginning to a massive email list building for WordPress users.

    OptinMonster comes packing with a huge list of features which include:

    • Lightbox
    • Sidebar
    • Floating Bar
    • After post / In-Line
    • Slide-in
    • Mobile
    • Full Screen

    The best part? Each of these forms can be customized according to your liking through drag and drop.

     

    1. Display rules on OptinMonster

    OptinMonster display rules

    Anyone who is serious about email list building knows that display rules feature is critical. For the record, OptinMonster is the first WordPress email list building plugin that offers Exit-Intent feature.

    Let me give you a quick example.

    If you configure your campaign to load after a 7-second delay and set a 50% scroll value, then your visitors will have to be on your site for 7 seconds AND scroll the page 50% or more to trigger the campaign.

    The next step is to choose your intended audience who will see the form.

    OptinMonster comparison versus Thrive Leads

    Note: You can easily setup more display rules to further customize your forms on OptinMonster. This gives you more control on what your forms can and cannot do, thus giving you more precise audience targeting.

     

    2. MonsterLinks

    What is MonsterLinks?

    MonsterLinks is the name of the 2-Step Opt-in technology from OptinMonster. MonsterLinks can turn any link or image into a 2-step opt-in process. When a user clicks on the link or an image, a popup opens up asking them to subscribe.

    Brian Dean from Backlink uses MonsterLinks on the site to boost email subscriptions. Here’s how it looks like in action.

    Monsterlinks

    The concept of Content Upgrades is based on a psychology principle known as the Zeigarnik Effect, which states that those who initiate are more likely to finish the process.

     

    3. OptinMonster’s Success Themes

    In short, OptinMonster comes with a list of ready-made templates for you to choose from. Wonder why they use the name “success themes?”

    OptinMonsters success themes

    Well, these are templates which had been tested out and prove to be extremely effective for your success.

    I love OptinMonster’s success themes because I have zero knowledge in design. Yup, no joke.

     

    4. What didn’t I like about OptinMonster?

    I often compare both OptinMonster and Thrive Leads (Thrive Leads vs OptinMonster in my mind) and one thing I wished I had more are the ready-made templates.

    OptinMonster doesn’t come with that many ready-made templates compared to Thrive Leads.

    Another thing I didn’t like about OptinMonster is the campaign setup. Coming from Thrive Leads, OptinMonster seems to be very specific when it comes to campaign creation. While there is nothing wrong with it (generally speaking), it certainly felt like each campaign is dictated by opt-in type. And yes, in some ways that felt very annoying 🙁

     

    5. How much does OptinMonster cost?

    The pricing for OptinMoster is slightly different. For starters, each pricing plan comes with very different features.

    Basic: $19/month or $108/year (save 25%)

    • Unlimited Optin Forms
    • A/B Split Testing
    • Page Level Targeting
    • User-friendly Reporting 1 site

    Plus: $29/month or $228/year (save 25%)

    • Everything in Basic, and:
    • Floating Bar
    • Sidebar Forms
    • After Post / Inline Forms
    • Content Locking
    • 3 sites

    Pro: $39/month or $348/year (save 25%)

    • Everything in Plus, and:
    • Exit-Intent Technology
    • Referral Detection
    • Mobile Specific Forms
    • Yes / No Forms
    • Slide-in Scroll Trigger Boxes
    • Smart Canvas Forms
    • Full Screen Takeovers
    • Campaign Scheduling
    • Unlimited Sites
    • Priority Support

     

    6. Is OptinMonster worth it?

    I know, you are not pretty much undecided if OptinMonster is worth it. Here’s what I think.

    OptinMonster is good and very intuitive. It is prior in the market and what makes it really good is that it is co-founded by Syed Balkhi, founder of WP Beginner. Now, this means that plugins created by him and his team are always very good and able to integrate to any WordPress themes without issue.

     

    7. My personal verdict on OptinMonster

    I love beautiful things (and plugins). Personally, I would say that OptinMonster is well created and deserve all the credits in the email list building industry. Being an active OptinMonster user, I would say that there is no doubt in my mind that OptinMonster is good and worth the money.

    See OptinMonster demo here!

     

    OptinMonster vs Thrive Leads

    The real comparison for OptinMonster vs Thrive Leads is probably the pricing factor.

    • $348 – OptinMonster (Pro’s package with all features included)
    • $228 – Thrive Themes (10 themes and 6 plugins including Thrive leads)

    Both OptinMonster and Thrive Leads are available as subscription-based service, which means that you’ll always have to pay either a monthly or annual fee to use them.

    Comparing OptinMonster vs Thrive Leads on the smallest plan, here’s how it looks like:

    • $108 – OptinMonster (single site with selected features)
    • $67 – Thrive Leads (single site with all features)

    Now, as you can see, it is actually more worth it (and you get more savings too) when you opt for Thrive Leads. Even when using Thrive Leads with the smallest plan of $67, you save $41 per year and on top of that, you are not limited to the features as of what OptinMonster offers for its smallest plan.

    Overall, it is important to understand that while both offers very similar features, Thrive Leads is seen to be the best option since it doesn’t limit you for any of its features.

    When it comes to email list building, you certainly wouldn’t want to be bolted down with restrictions, right?

    I hope you like this OptinMonster vs Thrive Leads comparison. Which is your favorite email list building plugin?

  • Convertkit vs Drip vs MailChimp: The Best Email Marketing Automation

    Convertkit vs Drip vs MailChimp: The Best Email Marketing Automation

    The introduction to email marketing automation (before we compare MailChimp vs ConvertKit vs Drip)

    Email marketing automation is the thing right now. It doesn’t matter if you are selling a course or simply trying to create a more engaged subscriber.

    According to Hubspot, success in email marketing automation comes down to two parts:

    • Recognizing that marketing automation does not do marketing and lead generation for you but it can help you scale your business
    • Centering your marketing messages around the real and live person at the receiving end of your campaigns

    It makes all the sense if you think about it.

    The first step is to start creating content that attracts the right type of audience and when they show up at your doorsteps, you need to bribe them with a powerful call to action (I use Thrive Leads for that matter).

    The second part is to understand your audience before you are able to send emails that resonate closely with them. Hubspot said about “treating them like a real person” and that’s what you should be doing!

    Using advanced tagging tools, you will be able to send timely and powerful email contents to them and in return, you will get better click-through rates and engagement. Plus, you may even see a drop in people unsubscribing as well!

    BONUS: For a limited time only, I’m opening up an exclusive 7-days course to help you with affiliate marketing. Want in? Click here for more info!

    MailChimp, ConvertKit, and Drip are three of the most powerful email marketing automation software in the market today. I was searching for MailChimp vs ConvertKit vs Drip the past few days and sadly, I can’t find one. Therefore, I did mine and I hope you like it!

    What made it worse is that most of the comparisons out there don’t compare or even include MailChimp. So, I hope this comparison between MailChimp, ConvertKit, and Drip will give you a great idea on which email marketing automation you should be using for your business.

    This post would be pretty long since I’m giving a detailed explanation on all the three email marketing automation. Therefore, here’s a quick drive down on the overall summary for them.

    I recommend you to read the full article to get the complete information which will certainly be useful for your decision making between MailChimp vs ConvertKit vs Drip.

     

    If you are a complete beginner or running with very limited funds for email marketing

    Then your best choice is MailChimp.

    Sure, MailChimp has several weaknesses (highlighted here) but it is still the best value for money. I have seen MailChimp grow a lot since two years back and now, I’m proud to say that it has evolved into an excellent email marketing automation system.

    Here are the reasons why you need to be using MailChimp for email marketing:

    • Absolutely free to use (up to 12,000 emails a month and 2,000 subscribers)
    • Comes with email marketing automation for all accounts
    • Easy to setup and start for beginners
    • Comes with an array of beautiful templates (for newsletters)
    • Excellent delivery rates
    • Easy integration with third party apps and e-Commerce stores
    • Advanced tagging for paid accounts

     

    How much does MailChimp cost?

    • New Business plan (forever free) > Free for life up to 12,000 email per month and 2,000 subscribers
    • Growing Business plan > Starts from $10 per month for 500 email subscribers and unlimited email delivery
    • Pro Marketer plan > Starts from $199 per month

     

    Who uses MailChimp?

    • Yoast SEO
    • Leadfeeder
    • Viral Loops
    • Breezy HR
    • Captive Media

    >> Try MailChimp Today <<

     

    If you are a blogger or marketer trying to better manage your subscribers for better click-through rates and engagement

    Then your best choice is ConvertKit.

    ConvertKit is built for bloggers and marketers who want more than just email marketing. As a matter of fact, ConvertKit is was built directly against what MailChimp is doing and ConvertKit is a great alternative to MailChimp.

    Here are the reasons why ConvertKit is best for you:

    • Easy to use, plain templates that are proven to increase clicks and engagement rate
    • ConvertKit is subscriber centric (ability to manage your subscribers with just a few clicks)
    • Send targeted emails based on your subscriber’s interest
    • Easily track subscriber’s actions based on clicks tracking
    • Easy to use email automation system
    • Comes with unlimited landing pages

     

    How much does ConvertKit cost?

    • 1 to 1,000 subscribers > $29 per month
    • 1,001 to 3,000 subscribers > $49 per month
    • 3,001 to 5,000 subscribers > $79 per month

    There are also custom plans for those who have a huge list of email subscribers.

     

    Who uses ConverKit?

    • CopyHackers
    • Bare Metrics
    • Smart Passive Income by Pat Flynn
    • Tara Gentile
    • Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss

    >> Try ConvertKit today! <<

     

    If you are trying to sell eBooks, courses, and other paid media

    Then Drip is your best choice.

    Drip is just like ConvertKit, but with many other functions in it. What makes Drip different from the rest of the email marketing automation systems is the ability to tag each subscriber with extreme details.

    Here are the reasons why you need to use Drip for email marketing automation:

    • Custom made email marketing automation that makes sense
    • Details workflow and email automation creation
    • Advanced tracking of email subscribers
    • Get more insights and more revenue with contact management tools
    • Drip integrates with just about everything
    • Comes with inbuilt widget without needing any plugin

     

    How much does Drip cost?

    • 1 to 100 subscribers > Starter plan (Free)
    • 101 to 2,500 subscribers > $49 per month
    • 2,501 to 5,000 subscribers > $99 per month

    There are also custom plans for those who have a huge list of email subscribers.

     

    Who uses Drip?

    • Help Scout
    • Ambassador
    • When I Work
    • Segment
    • Teamwork
    • Samcart

    >> Create a free Drip account here <<

     

    MailChimp vs ConvertKit vs Drip – Complete Comparison

    Now that you get a quick hang on what email marketing automation software and the importance of having the right tool, let’s dive into the main topic for today, MailChimp vs ConvertKit vs Drip.

     

    MailChimp Review

    MailChimp is one of the best email marketing automation for beginners and small businesses. As for the record, MailChimp doesn’t offer automation back then. But since May 2017, MailChimp had rolled out new email automation for every MailChimp user.

    And yes, you guessed it right! Even for the free accounts!

    Email marketing automation can be a challenging business. Lucky for you, MailChimp is one of those email marketing providers that made marketing automation really that easy (even for beginners) to master!

    https://youtu.be/qNvC75dt0jQ

    It totally makes sense since there is so much competition in the market where MailChimp can no longer keep their hands clean and not doing anything about it.

    For email marketing beginners, the MailChimp move is heavenly and timely.

    I still use MailChimp for some of my projects and they are good. I have absolutely no complaints about them and I believe you won’t have either, especially when you do not need advanced tagging on email subscribers.

     

    Advantages using MailChimp

    • Availability of free and premium plans
    • Email automation on all plans (including free ones)
    • Beautiful templates
    • Best in the market for drag and drop
    • Excellent delivery rates

     

    Disadvantages using MailChimp

    • The process of tagging a subscriber is not an easy task (coding required)
    • Ugly subscription forms
    • Many advanced features for email marketing are not available in the free plan
    • Very strict rules in email content (including affiliates and promotions)
    • Support is slow and available only for paid plans

     

    My personal recommendations for using MailChimp

    MailChimp is best when you do not require any advanced email marketing features. You can consider using MailChimp if you are just starting out in the blogging world or if you have a developer in-house to code your email for tagging reasons.

    You can’t go wrong using MailChimp and once you are comfortable enough with email marketing, there are better options such as ConvertKit and Drip to consider.

    Start here: You can start using MailChimp using this link.

     

    ConvertKit Review

    If you like the interface on MailChimp, you are going to love ConvertKit too. Being a ConvertKit user, the best way to describe ConvertKit is MailChimp on steroids.

    ConvertKit is powerful because it serves three main purposes that most email marketing automation software isn’t able to do:

    • Ability to tag each subscriber based on actions with ease
    • Inbuilt landing pages makes lead generation even more powerful
    • Easy email automation system with visual

    Another selling point using ConvertKit is the forms, tags, and segments which will help you to segment your subscribers (a little setup required). Hit play on the video below to get more information.

    Advantages using ConvertKit

    • The power of Infusionsoft, but easier to use than MailChimp
    • Integration with more than a dozen apps
    • Email automation made easy
    • Very supportive and active support team
    • ConvertKit is created mainly for bloggers and advanced marketers
    • Affordable pricing and plans to fit your needs

     

    Disadvantages using ConvertKit

    • Not able to manage multiple domains using one account
    • Landing pages are very simple and limited in choices
    • Plain text in most email templates
    • Pricing increases dramatically (more than others) at higher tiers
    • No free plan available

     

    My personal recommendations for using ConvertKit

    You should be using ConvertKit if you are serious about making money out of your email list. ConvertKit even published an article on the 5 reasons why you shouldn’t use ConvertKit and stick to MailChimp.

    In short, ConvertKit comes with a small price tag for some heavy duty email automation features.

    Is ConvertKit worth the money? Absolutely!

    Start here: Click here to check out ConvertKit now!

     

    Drip Review

    When I moved to Drip, I had my hat blown off. BIG TIME!

    I heard about Drip sometime back and when LeadPages acquired Drip, I knew Drip was something. It must be, right?

    Drip is like putting ConvertKit on steroids. Why?

    drip email automation

    I am totally blown away when I created my first account with Drip. What I love (not like) the most is the introductory part where you would need to answer a few questions. The answers collected from the Q&A will be used to customize your email marketing solution when you first start on Drip.

    In other words, you will start with many features turned on (which helped a lot with the whole process).

    I do a lot of things with my website; from consulting business to selling courses. So, it is a no-brainer to use Drip because of several advanced options under the hood.

     

    Advantages using Drip

    There are a lot of advantages using Drip (just like ConvertKit and MailChimp) and here is a list of them:

    • A best-in-class visual workflow builder
    • You can automate everything (18 triggers and 16 actions in the automation rule builder)
    • Tag your subscribers based on their actions
    • Identify your best leads (useful if you are selling a product or services)
    • Send targeted emails (drip campaigns, broadcasts and one-off emails)
    • Ability to track your email marketing performance
    • Effortlessly capture email addresses (instead of using plugins)
    • Drip natively integrates with dozens of applications and platforms
    • Availability of free plan (for 100 email subscribers)

    As you can see above, Drip does offer more advantages when compared to ConvertKit and MailChimp.

    But hey, Drip has its disadvantages too!

     

    Disadvantages using Drip

    • Overall pricing is more expensive when your list is small (price improves once your list grows)
    • Not suitable for beginners and newly started bloggers
    • Too many features which may lead to confusion for beginners
    • The free plan is only for 100 email subscribers

     

    My personal recommendations for using Drip

    Drip is not for everyone. As a matter of fact, the same goes for MailChimp and ConvertKit. Drip is the best email marketing automation software if you know exactly what you are selling.

    I use Drip for this website because I wanted to create powerful marketing automation funnels to deliver the right content to the right audience.

    The Goal: Create powerful marketing automation funnels

    Start here: Click here to see Drip in action now!

     

    MailChimp vs ConvertKit vs Drip – Summary

    Phew!

    This is a long comparison between the top three email marketing automation systems in the market today. What do you think?

    Would you go for:

    • MailChimp which is the best free email automation system?
    • ConvertKit if you are a blogger or marketer who wants to better manage your subscribers?
    • Or like me, going for Drip because you want to have powerful email marketing automation features to maximize revenue and engagement?

    Leave a comment below and I’m happy to hear your thoughts.

  • AWeber Review 2017: Why Email Marketing Consultants Are Recommending AWeber?

    AWeber Review 2017: Why Email Marketing Consultants Are Recommending AWeber?

    In this AWeber review 2017, we are going to take an in-depth look at one of the popular email marketing solution (that are even recommended by most email marketing consultants).

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    Latest Update: Like email marketing? Read my latest comparison between MailChimp, ConvertKit, and Drip for 2017! Read more.

    [/feature_box]

    We will go through everything you need to know about AWeber, including the advantages and disadvantages of using AWeber for business owners.

    aweber review 2017

    What is AWeber?

    Until date, AWeber is one of the most popular email marketing and autoresponder tools for business owners and bloggers alike.

    AWeber got its fame in the email marketing world because it offers excellent pricing, features, templates, interface and customer support.

     

    AWeber Review: What are the features of AWeber

    I’m planning to make this post as the best AWeber review, and therefore, I want this post to be as informative as possible. This post on AWeber review is more than 2,400 words and therefore, feel free to bookmark this for future reference!

    AWeber is a full-fledged email marketing and automation tool and here are the complete (yes, C-O-M-P-L-E-T-E) features that it offers:

    [bullet_block style=”size-16″ small_icon=”1.png” width=”” alignment=”center”]

    • Campaigns
    • Autoresponder Follow Up
    • Expert Customer Service
    • Subscriber Segmenting
    • Sign Up Forms with Style
    • Email Newsletters
    • RSS to Email
    • Drag-And-Drop Editor
    • HTML Email Templates
    • App Showcase
    • Manage Subscribers
    • Email Delivery Rates
    • Email Marketing Tracking
    • AWeber Stats App
    • Atom App
    • Email Marketing API

    [/bullet_block]

    Phew, that’s a huge list of 16 email marketing and automation tools that will skyrocket your email marketing strategy.

    No wonder why email marketing consultants always recommend AWeber, right?

     

    1. Creating Campaigns Using AWeber

    [button_3 text=”get-started-its-free.png” align=”center” href=”https://www.reginaldchan.net/recommends/aweber/”/]

    What I love about AWeber is the ability to automate your emails.

    But wait! You probably heard that AWeber can’t do email automation like that.

    Yes, you are right, but that was AWeber back in 2016. AWeber is now able to perform email automation and do all the excellent tagging you always wished.

    The new AWeber sleek drag and drop editor will be the only thing you ever need when it comes to email automation.

    [feature_box style=”8″ only_advanced=”There%20are%20no%20title%20options%20for%20the%20choosen%20style” alignment=”center”]

    Through statistics, click through rates (CTR) for automated emails are up to 35% higher than broadcasts. So, segmenting and automating your emails will be an effective strategy in building long-lasting relationships with your email subscribers.

    [/feature_box]

    When you use AWeber, you are no longer creating normal, boring email campaigns. With the inbuilt email automation by AWeber, you can not only schedule emails sequence based on time, but you can also create powerful action-based segmenting!

    Here are three important email marketing strategies that you can use with AWeber (even though there are probably hundreds of them that you can build yourself):

    [bullet_block style=”size-16″ small_icon=”1.png” width=”” alignment=”center”]

    • Welcome campaign
    • Educational campaign
    • Linking one campaign to another

    [/bullet_block]

    NOTE: You can add elements like autoresponder emails and wait times, and set criteria for when someone starts a campaign.

     

    2. Autoresponder Follow Up

    Make no mistakes; AWeber email automation tool is powerful, and can skyrocket your email marketing to new heights.

    AWeber autoresponder follows up sequence, you can:

    [bullet_block style=”size-16″ small_icon=”1.png” width=”” alignment=”center”]

    • Save a lot of time
    • Build relationships that last
    • Increase engagements and more importantly
    • Making the great first impression

    [/bullet_block]

    Not only that, you can tag your email subscribers based on the actions they have taken. This ensures that you are growing your email lists and reduce the chances that your email goes into the spam folder and improve your unsubscribing rate as well!

     

    3. Customer Support

    AWeber customer support is good. At any point in time where you need help, you can fire up a question, and they are they to help out (unlike other AWeber competitors).

    Here’s what you need to know about AWeber customer support level:

    [bullet_block style=”size-16″ small_icon=”1.png” width=”” alignment=”center”]

    • Just a call or click away
    • Availability of knowledge base
    • Weekly and monthly email marketing guides
    • Constant updates on AWeber’s blog

    [/bullet_block]

    Current awards that AWeber had are:

    [bullet_block style=”size-16″ small_icon=”69.png” width=”” alignment=”center”]

    • 2017 Stevie (Bronze) Winner for Sales & Customer Service
    • 2016 Stevie (Gold) Winner for Sales & Customer Service
    • 2015 Service Team of the Year Runner-Up, NCSA All-Stars

    [/bullet_block]

    aweber testimonial

     

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    BONUS: Click here and try AWeber for 30-days free (no credit card required).

    [/feature_box]

     

    4. Subscriber Segmenting

    Segmenting is important because you want to send the right message to them, at the right time.

    Always remember that segmenting ensures they only receive content that is relevant to their needs. As a result, you have more engaged readers, better click-through rates, and more sales.

    Here are a few ways you can segment your email subscribers based on their activities:

    aweber segmenting

     

    5. Email Sign Up Forms

    Let’s face this. You want to attract more subscribers to your email lists with sign up forms that look great on any device.

    Need to grow your email list? AWeber can help!

    AWeber comes with over 700 ready-to-use templates which make it easy to create professional sign up forms for your online business in minutes.

    With AWeber, you can:

    [bullet_block style=”size-16″ small_icon=”1.png” width=”” alignment=”center”]

    • Add forms to your website, blog or Facebook with just a few clicks
    • Get more eyes on your emails
    • Easily use matching colour schemes and forms that look good on any device
    • Test your forms using AWeber inbuilt A/B testing

    [/bullet_block]

     

    6. State-Of-The-Art Email Newsletter Software

    Do you want to have an email newsletter software that connects you with your readers, and ultimately transforming them into die-hard fans?

    I bet you do!

    With AWeber, you can deliver the best email newsletters with just a few clicks.

    Want to know why I recommend AWeber for all my clients?

    [step_graphics style=”1″ color=””][step style=”1″ text=”1″ headline=”Segment%20Your%20List”]%3Cp%3ESegment%20your%20list%20based%20on%20people%20who%20read%20your%20last%20email%20or%20re-engage%20people%20who%20didn%E2%80%99t.%20It%E2%80%99s%20the%20simplest%20way%20to%20make%20sure%20the%20right%20people%20get%20the%20right%20messages.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A[/step][step style=”1″ text=”2″ headline=”Create%20Your%20Message”]%3Cp%3EDrag%2C%20drop%20and%20edit%20-%20with%20AWeber%E2%80%99s%20email%20newsletter%20software%2C%20there%20is%20no%20design%20or%20coding%20experience%20required.%20Need%20images%3F%20We%E2%80%99ve%20got%20more%20than%206%2C000%20to%20choose%20from.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A[/step][step style=”1″ text=”3″ headline=”Send%20AWesome%20Emails”]%3Cp%3EWe%20provide%20all%20the%20analytics%20you%20need%20to%20track%20your%20emails’%20success.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A[/step][step style=”1″ text=”4″ headline=”Use%20a%20Template”]%3Cp%3EChoose%20from%20over%20700%20free%20newsletter%20templates%2C%20plug%20in%20your%20content%20and%20go.%20Need%20something%20extra%20special%3F%20We%20can%20build%20you%20a%20custom%20template%20too.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A[/step][/step_graphics]

    Yes, you read it right. The benefits of using AWeber is very clear. You have INSTANT ACCESS to over 6,000 stock images and 700 free newsletter templates.

    And AWeber allows you to integrate easily with your social media accounts!

    email newsletter automation software

     

    7. RSS to Email

    Email marketing is a great way to boost readership but do you know why so many bloggers and business owners fail to achieve that?

    They are not using the right email marketing software! A good email marketing software allows you to email blog articles directly from your website.

    When you use AWeber, you can transform your most recent posts into a newsletter for your readers. And the best part, it is done automatically!

    All you need is to hook up your RSS link to AWeber, and the rest are all taken cared of!

    The technology that AWeber has allows you to broadcast email newsletter from all major blogs, regardless of the blog software you are using.

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    Do you know that the easiest way to keep your subscribers updated with blog content is through email automation? Sign up for free 30-days unlimited access to AWeber and skyrocket your blog traffic today!

    [/feature_box]

     

    8. Drag-And-Drop Editor

    Drag, drop and send. How easy can that be?

    Creating professional looking emails from scratch is easy. With the drag-and-drop editor, you no longer need to code and build your email templates.

    A task that would take a few hours to complete could not be completed in just a few clicks.

    Here is a few features of AWeber email marketing software:

    aweber review 2017

     

    9. HTML Email Templates

    We receive hundreds of emails a day, and one of the best ways to make your email stand out is by making it memorable.

    In this case, you wouldn’t want to send those plain text email. You want to send them using a standard email template that is customized specifically for you!

    But here’s the thing. It is expensive to do one (apart from nerve-wracking with all the coding works).

    When you use AWeber, you are going to benefit in terms of time saving and professional email template designs.

    For starters, there are over 700 HTML email templates that you can choose from, ranging from 1-column, 2-column and yes, even plain text you’re a die-hard fan of those.

    There are also many color themes that you can use to match your website, and this is crucial. You want to brand your email marketing campaigns with the signup forms and even emails.

    With AWeber, all of the above are achievable at no cost to you!

    And if you are coming from another email marketing software or have your custom design in mind, you can upload it directly to AWeber.

    custom email templates AWeber

     

    10. App Showcase

    Do you have landing pages and shopping carts that you want to connect to your email marketing software?

    You can do it easily with AWeber.

    There are hundreds of different integration that you can use with AWeber, including:

    [bullet_block style=”size-16″ small_icon=”1.png” width=”” alignment=”center”]

    • Facebook
    • WordPress
    • LeadPages
    • PayPal
    • Launch Effect
    • Cyfe
    • Dasheroo
    • Drupal
    • Heyo
    • Short Stack
    • Rafflecopter
    • Gleam
    • Clickbank
    • Etsy
    • Shopify
    • Magento
    • 2Checkout
    • SumoMe
    • OptimizePress
    • aMember Pro
    • Member Mouse
    • Zendesk

    [/bullet_block]

     

    11. Manage Subscribers

    Do you wish to collect, manage and segmenting your subscribers with just a snap?

    With AWeber, everything you need to build a healthy email list is available at your disposal, under one roof.

    You can build your custom forms, tracking your subscriber’s activity and action, segmenting your list or even moving your list from other email marketing services to AWeber can be done easily.

    When I wanted to move my email list from GetResponse to AWeber, it took me under 15 minutes to completely import the lists. There was no need of support as it is just that simple!

    aweber review

     

    12. Email Delivery Rates

    Email delivery rates are vital and seriously, make no mistakes from this.

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    The ultimate goal is to get more eyes on your emails, and this can only be done when your email marketing software can deliver emails timely and accurately.

    [/feature_box]

    How good is AWeber delivery rates?

    I would say it is excellent, and probably as high as 99.99%. With a good and clean list, you are pretty much able to get perfect delivery rates with AWeber.

    And if you ever need help (which you certainly will somewhere down the road), AWeber regularly provide insider updates to ensure that you stay on top of the frequent changes that will affect your email marketing and delivery rates.

    Plus, easy to read analytics will make sure that you know what’s going on under the hood, any time of the day!

    AWeber Delivery Rates

     

    13. Email Tracking and Analytics

    Ask any email marketing consultants (not marketers), and they will tell you that the only way to grow your email marketing is by understanding the analyticsSeriously.

    Over the past decade, I’ve been helping business owners come in terms when email marketing; more specifically, helping them with email marketing consultancy.

    One of the biggest concerns for business owners, entrepreneurs and bloggers is to understand the analytics. Strong understanding of email analytics will help you to:

    [bullet_block style=”size-16″ small_icon=”28.png” width=”” alignment=”center”]

    • Send better emails (emails that get open and read)
    • Make more sales (raise your hands if you doesn’t like $$$)
    • Drive traffic to your website
    • Target (and understand) your audience based on their actions

    [/bullet_block]

    Sending emails is always the first part of email marketing. The second part is to analyze the results. Finally, you will know how you can maximize and make more sales!

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    Important tip: If you want to start getting your emails read and ultimately achieve your business goals, start analyzing your email marketing results. You should start analyzing the results of your email after a few days of sending the email.

    [/feature_box]

     

    14. Check stats via mobile (AWeber Stats App)

    According to statistics, we spend more time with mobile devices than anything else on the planet. Therefore, it makes all the sense that you are concerned about your email marketing strategy.

    When you use AWeber, you can easily download the AWeber app on Apple App Store and Google Play.

    What you’ll get would be:

    [bullet_block style=”size-16″ small_icon=”55.png” width=”” alignment=”center”]

    • Check scheduled broadcasts
    • View your subscribers stats
    • Watch email opens and clicks rate on real-time
    • Keep tabs on follow ups / messages

    [/bullet_block]

    With this feature, you can now gain a holistic view of your campaign that gives you up-to-the-minute stats on scheduled broadcasts, sent messages, subscriber activity and followed up messages.

     

    15. Atom App

    Now, hold on! AWeber also comes with Atom App which works as a mobile signup form that allows you to add new subscribers to your email list while you are on the go.

    The magic starts when you successfully add the email subscribers to a list. For starters, they will automatically receive your first follow-up message immediately. As a result, you are not going to (ever) leave a new subscriber hanging and instead, creating the opportunity to connect with them instantly!

     

    16. Email Marketing API

    This. Is. Geeky. Stuffs.

    When you use AWeber, you can easily integrate applications easily with AWeber’s API.

    As AWeber is one of the best email marketing software in the market, the company has created ‘AWeber Labs’ where you can set up and find apps to integrate with AWeber.

    For beginners, you will 100% enjoy it since it is free to create a developer account and right after that, you’ll have unrestricted access to all the information you need to start building your first app!

     

    AWeber Review: Features (Recap)

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    If I would sum it in one sentence, I would say that AWeber is a great email marketing software that provides flexibility and tons of features for its users.

    [/feature_box]

    When it comes to email marketing software features, AWeber is very much at the top of the crop because it provides features that are high in quality and more importantly, reliable.

     

    AWeber Review: How Much Does AWeber Costs?

    According to AWeber, anyone can succeed with email marketing for less than a few lattes a month. 

    AWeber costs $19 per month, for up to 500 subscribers and unlimited emails.

    For $19 a month, you’ll get:

    [bullet_block style=”size-16″ small_icon=”1.png” width=”” alignment=”center”]

    • Email experts who are available 24/7/365 to help you with email marketing
    • Easy-to-use tools to create high converting emails and sign up forms
    • Industry-leading deliverability
    • State-of-the-art email automation system

    [/bullet_block]

    Here are a full list of features, as well as the different email marketing plans to fit your needs:

    aweber pricing

    Even one of my close contact, John Corcoran has nothing but excellent AWeber review:

    how good is AWeber (Aweber review)

    AWeber plans are very flexible and if you are starting out, consider using the lowest plan for a trial run.

    And if you are looking for some AWeber discounts, going for quarterly and annual billing option will just do the trick!

     

    AWeber Review 2017: Why Email Marketing Consultants Are Recommending AWeber?

    When it comes to email marketing software, AWeber is one of the best in the market. Affordability and reliable, AWeber is one of the best I have ever used for both business and blogging. Email marketing consultants are recommending AWeber simply because it is really easy to use and extremely reliable.

    I totally understand that AWeber may/may not be the best fit for you. If you are having trouble deciding or committing on AWeber, AWeber is offering a free 30-days trial. All you need to do is to click on this link and start sending emails today!

    Try AWeber out and take it a spin for a full 30-days. If it doesn’t fit, just cancel the account at no cost to you.

    BONUS: AWeber 30-days free trial doesn’t limit you on email marketing. It comes with full access to all features, just like having a paid account.

  • Thrive Themes vs X Theme: The Best WordPress Theme Of The Year

    Thrive Themes vs X Theme: The Best WordPress Theme Of The Year

    Thrive Themes vs X Theme.

    I get it. You are undecided on two of the best premium WordPress themes on the market. Lucky for you, you will find the complete review on both Thrive Themes vs X Theme in this post.

    And if you wonder why I do so, it is simple. I’ve been in the same position as you in the past, and it is hard to decide. As for the record, I ended up buying both the themes!

    Being an avid WordPress user myself, I totally understand how it felt like when it comes to choosing the best WordPress theme for your blog. On the one hand, you have the popular Thrive Themes, and on another, you have the X Theme which was rated as the best WordPress theme in 2015 on CodeCanyon.

    Don’t worry. In this post, you will find the complete review of Thrive Themes vs X Theme — all under one roof.

    Of course, if you like this WordPress builder review, I would appreciate if you can share it with your friends!

    If you are looking for comparison between Thrive Themes and other WordPress builders instead, here are some links you should take a look at:

    thrive themes vs x theme review

    What is a WordPress builder theme?

    WordPress builder allows you to do a heck lot of things, especially when it comes to customizing your WordPress theme. In most WordPress themes development, a single project can costs at least $200.

    If you are feeling adventurous (and tight on budget), getting yourself a WordPress builder theme such as Thrive Themes or X theme is a great alternative.

    Developing a WordPress theme is time-consuming and in most cases, you are required to have a certain expertise in coding. This is where WordPress builder theme comes into play.

    A good WordPress builder helps you to create awesome themes without any coding knowledge. In most cases, you are just required to drag and drop different columns to create the ultimate theme of your choice. And yes, all the above is done without any coding skills.

     

    What are the requirements of a good WordPress builder theme?

    The market is saturated with dozens of WordPress builders. Sadly, not many make the mark!

    So, here are some of the requirements of a good WordPress builder theme:

    • Mobile responsive
    • An array of typography
    • Search engine friendly (and optimized)
    • Fast loading speed
    • Affordability
    • All year round support (email or forum)
    • Integration with other important plugins
    • Low learning curve
    • Automation upgrading

    Lucky for you, both Thrive Themes and X Theme have pretty similar similarities with the above requirements (which we will dive deeper in this post).

     

    Thrive Themes review

    You can read my up-to-date Thrive Themes review, and I am firm with my stance; Thrive Themes is one of the best drag and drop builder in the market.

    But wait! What should you know about Thrive Themes?

    The theme doesn’t have tons of bloatware, and all the Thrive Themes are built with the focus on speed and converting visitors into paying customers (or email subscribers).

    As a blogger or marketer, you’ll understand how important getting leads through your blog. And that’s exactly what Thrive Themes can help you to achieve! Every part of the theme created is focused heavily on getting conversions; email subscribers, inquiries, etc.

    For one, I’m a huge fan of StudioPress themes and personally, I have used it for over ten years. When I decided to use Thrive Themes on one of my websites, I was worried and to be extremely honest, I was not convinced on Thrive Themes.

    However, I read many blog posts talking about the advantages of Thrive Themes, and I was tempted to try it. After all, what’s the worst case that can happen, right?

     

    My experience using Thrive Themes

    As an experienced WordPress user, I skipped the manual and went directly into installing the premium theme.

     

    (a) Installation of Thrive Themes

    My verdict for this part is that Thrive Themes is easy to use. It doesn’t take long to install, and it is very easy as well.

     

    (b) Using Thrive Themes

    A full copy of Thrive Themes comes with inbuilt Thrive Leads and Thrive Content Builder. With the combination of both plugins, you get a complete, all-in-one premium theme that takes away all the hard work and leave the nice results for you.

     

    (c) Thrive Leads integration

    Thrive Leads is pretty much the most advanced version for any lead generation plugin. As a huge fan of OptinMonster, Thrive Leads easily surpass what most common lead generation plugin could do.

    You can integrate custom lead forms or choose from the huge library of pre-made forms seamlessly into your blog or website.

    A huge plus point for Thrive Themes users is that Thrive Leads can integrate into dozens of email marketing providers. Seriously, you will be surprised on how many plugins who face multiple issues when it comes to integration!

    Side note: I use Convertkit for my email marketing, and there is absolutely no problem using it with Thrive Leads! You can also read my post on why I left MailChimp for Convertkit.

     

    (d) Thrive Content Builder

    Thrive Content Builder or TCB, in short, is a powerful plugin that comes along with Thrive Themes. Instead of the traditional blog writing, Thrive Content Builder allows you to create powerful and highly effective content through drag-and-drop option.

    You can easily add content, images, videos, maps and other interactive ‘˜materials’ within the blog post with using any codes. All you need to do is to select the option available and start writing!

     

    (e) Thrive Themes loading speed

    Makes no mistake. Thrive Themes is excellent when it comes to website loading speed. I am always keen on making my website load under 1 second, and that’s why I use WP Engine to host my websites.

    With StudioPress themes, I can load my website under 1 second, and when I use another theme builder, it usually takes a whole 2 seconds or more!

    When I use Thrive Themes with WP Engine, my website loads around 1.2 seconds which is superb!

     

    X Theme Review

    I came across X Theme two and a half years back. Back then, I was hunting for another premium theme apart from StudioPress. Adam Connell (founder of Blogging Wizard) introduced me to X Theme, and I was instantly ‘wow-ed.’

    At that time, X Theme was still new in the market, and it was okay. It provides tons of features and is probably one of the best I ever used.

    Fast forward to now, X Theme has come a long way. Now, it can integrate to dozens of plugins and add-ons, including Cornerstone which is awesome!

    For me, X Theme is a great choice for both beginners and experienced WordPress users simply because it offers a lot of features under its hood.

    For starters, X Theme can integrate to multiple plugins such as email opt-in forms, lead generation, under construction and social sharing. Instead of buying a truckload of plugins, you can find nearly everything with X Theme.

     

    My experience using X Theme

    Similar to the above, I installed the X Theme and here’s my honest review about X Theme.

     

    (a) Simplicity in using X Theme

    X Theme is way easier to use now than previously. After installing the theme, you can select to import designs or pre-made layouts from the option. Alternatively, you can create your theme from scratch.

    X Theme also comes with Expanded Demos which you can import directly into your WordPress website. Here’s a short video of it.

     

    (b) Using X Theme

    Do you want an honest answer? X Theme is great, and there’s a lot under its hood. However, it is not that straightforward (if you are comparing Thrive Themes vs X Theme).

    But it makes all the sense, though. X Theme offers more features and is often very ‘˜heavy.’ Compared to Thrive Themes, you can do more with X Theme.

    The downside? There’s a learning curve, and it can be annoying if you skip the manual altogether (like me).

     

    (c) X Theme integration with Cornerstone

    X Theme nearly lost the entire battle when it comes to the premium plugin, but thankfully for Cornerstone integration, it is now back on track.

    So, what is Cornerstone?

    Cornerstone is a drag and drop plugin that allows you to do pretty much anything with the X Theme. With it, you will get WYSIWYG, and you can easily customize your website in real time.

    Pretty awesome, right?

     

    (d) Multiple visual effects using X Theme

    If you are the type that loves powerful and engaging visual effects on your blog, you got to try on X Theme.

    Personally, X Theme is very good when it comes to creating 3D buttons and effects. In most cases, you will not be able to have such features easily on most premium WordPress themes. You would either need to have some serious coding work needed or installing a few more plugins to get the desired results.

    With X Theme, all you need is to select the option for 3D effect and you are good to go — all under 10 seconds, or less!

     

    Thrive Themes vs X Theme review

    Trust me, I put a lot of thought into this and to be honest, I can’t make a solid decision (literally speaking). Both are equally good and to make the decision much easier, carry on reading the below.

     

    Thrive Themes vs X Theme: Simplicity, ease of use and fast loading speed

    The winner got to be Thrive Themes. Sure, X Theme is good, but Thrive Themes excels much more in this category.

    It is easy to use, very straightforward and more importantly, it has a fast loading speed (around 1.2 seconds compared to X Theme at around 1.8 seconds).

    Want to see Thrive Themes in action? Click here for the complete demo!

     

    Thrive Themes vs X Theme: Design, features, and future integration/upgrades

    When it comes to design, I am an avid believer that X Theme still has the upper hand compared to Thrive Themes. The designs on X Theme is often more intuitive and flexible, while Thrive Themes is very much ‘˜by default.’

    Also, X Theme has always been adding new features and upgrades since day one. Therefore, X Theme may one day be the top player in the industry especially if they continue to add more integration into the theme.

    Click here to see what X Theme can do for your website!

     

    Summary: Thrive Themes vs X Theme review

    I don’t believe there is a clear winner when it comes to comparing Thrive Themes vs X Theme. It boils down to exactly what you need as a blogger/writer and how these themes can be used in your daily usage.

    If you are looking for a fast loading website with leads conversion focused, Thrive Themes is the one you should be using.

    If you are more towards custom theme and building a theme from scratch, consider using X Theme as it offers a wide range of features to help you customize your blog.

    What do you think? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.