I need to get an email program such as Constant Contact to send and track email newsletters. I have used Aweber and they have a great reputation. I just think the usability and user experience is so poor. I don’t like using it, so I don’t send as much email.

For example, when I type an email in Aweber, it’s unclear that when I save it that means it’s going to be sent. They have tutorials and documents but I don’t want to have to spend that much effort to learn it better. I’d much rather go with a seemless solution that is intuitive to use.

Does anyone use an email program to send emails to maybe around 500-1000 subscribers that you recommend and like using? I need to be able to segment lists and see where people click (not just open rates).

Backcountry’s deal web site SteepandCheap.com reports in Internet Retailer that they have doubled their revenue since August. They also have a social networking part so people can discuss the deals. Activity on the forum has tripled in the past month as has traffic.

SteepandCheap has outdoor gear at discounted rates. The deal started at midnight and when it was gone it was gone.

How did they do it?

• Rather than post one deal a day and having nothing when inventory runs out they now always have a deal.
• Social networking builds a community and loyalty and keeps people on the site longer. In general the longer people spend on your site the more they buy (like in offline stores).
• Email marketing, sign up for the deals to be emailed to you (another chance to sell and drive traffic.

Backcountry.com is #150 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide to Retail Web Sites. That’s great news from a Utah business.

I want to learn more about co-registration…so when someone signs up for a newsletter they can sign up for yours too. It’s a way to leverage each other’s lists.