Compass Designs .net

Yanc

http://www.joomla-addons.org/yanc.html

Pros
A very strong feature set with multiple lists, integration of content and HTML templating.
Cons
No attempt at integration with the Joomla user database. Interface and installation can be difficult to manage.

Features: 3 stars
Interface: 3 stars
Overall: 3 stars

Yanc has a difficult installation process. There are numerous files to install beyond the basic component. Its interface is sometimes confusing, but it has a solid feature set and a good track record for reliability.

• Reliable sending mechanism
  There don't seem to be any known issues related to sending emails from Yanc. There does not seem to be anyway to resume a failed sending. Once you send, there is no progress monitor.
• Ability to throttle sending
  When you send an email, you can set how many you need to send out at once as well as set a time delay to pause between batches.
• Unsubscribe mechanism
  All emails have an unsubscribe automatically added to the email as a footer.
• Subscribe form
  The subscribe form module works well, its a one step process. This is always better as more steps lead to abandonment.
• Double opt in
  Yanc has a simple, but effective double opt in process.
• Multiple lists
  You can have as many lists as you need with Yanc. Each one can be subscribed to individually. You can even customize subscribe/opt in messages for each list.
• Bounce handling
  Yanc does not have any bounce processing.
• HTML templating
  Emails can be created with html and a text only version provided.
• Import/Export subscribers
  Yanc allows importing from CSV files and XML files, and allows exporting to XML. There is no visible process to handle duplicates.
• Integration into Joomla user database
  There is not method to integrate into the Joomla user database. The only possible way to achieve this is to export users from the MySQL tables and them import them into Yanc. Apart from being technically difficult, this means that if someone unsubscribes from your list, you might re-add them as they would still be part of the user database. This can quickly lead to conflicts with the CAN-SPAM act.
• Email Statistics
  Yanc allows you to track simple statistics about how many emails were opened and how many subscribes/unsubscribes you have had.