MailChimp Review - Pros & Cons, Pricing, and Integrations

SMSBump Review—Pricing, Features, Integrations and More!

It is estimated that a whopping 86% of the worlds population owns or uses a smartphone with usage having increased by approximately 50% since 2017. This means there is a whole lot of web surfing going on so if you're an e-commerce merchant, the world, or in this case the web is your oyster providing endless opportunities for marketing campaigns to help grow your business. As the name suggests, SMSBump: SMS Marketing & E-mail is an SMS automation marketing tool for e-commerce platforms. The tool assists online businesses in developing highly targeted SMS and e-mail campaigns while also tracking performance, facilitating campaign scheduling, sending customer retention prompts, keeping track of subscribed members, and a heap more. What Is SMSBump Best Used For? SMSBump is best for customer engagement and retention. By using SMSBump's segmentation and targeting features, users can send personalized messages to specific customer groups which may include sending automated birthday wishes, exclusive offers to loyal customers, or requesting feedback and reviews. On top of this, the app can also help with recovering potential lost sales by sending personalized reminder alerts to customers who have abandoned their shopping carts and send other time-sensitive offers for discounts and promotions. Overall, the app excels at one thing in particular and that is helping customers identify with your brand by constantly staying in touch but in such a way that is not annoying or repetitive. If raising brand awareness is your goal then SMSBump might just be the app you're looking for. Overview of Features SMSBump possesses a ton of super handy features that many e-commerce and online stores will find great for customer acquisition and retention. Key features of the app include: SMS Campaigns: Users can create and send targeted SMS campaigns to their customers. These campaigns can be used for various purposes, such as sending promotions, discounts, order updates, abandoned cart reminders, and personalized messages. Segmentation and Targeting: Allows users to segment their customer base and target specific groups of customers with relevant messages. Segmentation can be based on factors such as location, purchase history, and customer behavior. Automated Flows: Pre-built automation workflows that allow users to set up automated messages triggered by specific events or actions. For example, sending a welcome message to new subscribers or a series of reminders for abandoned carts. Abandoned Cart Recovery: One of the primary features of SMSBump is helping businesses recover potentially lost sales by sending personalized text messages to customers who have abandoned their shopping carts. These messages are customizable and can include discounts or incentives to encourage customers to complete their purchases. Mobile Keyword Campaigns: Allows businesses to create keyword-based campaigns, where customers can text a specific keyword to a designated number to receive offers, updates, or opt-in to a subscription list. Analytics and Reporting: Analytics and reporting features to track the performance of SMS campaigns. Businesses can monitor open rates, click-through rates, conversions, and overall ROI (Return on Investment) to assess the effectiveness of their SMS marketing strategies. Other useful features we liked include: Growth tools, including mobile-first pop-ups, floating buttons, and customizable sign-up forms.Collecting detailed user analytics on orders, link clicks, and spending metrics.Storing customer time zones so that no middle-of-the-night text messages occur.Enabling users to set cost thresholds to prevent overspending. ProsSmooth integration and setupBoosts investment returnsOffers a library of SMS templatesIncreases click-through rateOffers excellent customer serviceConsOccasional bugs and hiccupsTest SMSs are charged to the customerLower-priced plans can feel limiting SMSBump Plans & Pricing The app offers customers many different pricing plans to choose from, featuring a cancel-at-any-time subscription with no hidden fees, as follows: Integrations Initially, SMSBump was designed to be a Shopify excusive, although, the development team has recently been working on integrating the tool into other major e-commerce CMS platforms. There is now a beta version of SMSBump available for BigCommerce, and there's talk of a WooCommerce integration that is set to be released in the not-too-distant future. Aside from platforms, SMSBump also integrates with a wide variety of other e-commerce apps. Some of the most widely used include: MailChimpRecartSlackReConvertKlaviyoReCharge Usability SMSBump app is easy to set up and use with a clean and intuitive user interface that simplifies the process of creating and managing marketing campaigns. Navigating the app is straightforward with access to key features and functionalities without much hassle. It also offers templates and pre-built automation tools making it easy set up automated flows, schedule campaigns, and define triggers for specific events. Support The SMSBump team is well known for its exceptional customer service with a range of support systems such as: Help Center: Containing documentation, guides, tutorials, and frequently asked questions (FAQs). The Help Center covers various topics, ranging from getting started with the app to advanced features and troubleshooting. Users can search for specific topics or browse through the available resources to find answers to their queries.Live Chat Support: Allows users to directly communicate with the support team in real-time. This feature enables users to ask questions, seek clarification, and receive prompt assistance.Email Support: By sending an email to the provided support address, users can describe their issues or concerns and expect a response from the support team within a reasonable timeframe.Community and Forums: SMSBump maintains a community forum or a user community where users can interact with each other, share experiences, and seek advice. This can be a valuable resource to connect with other users, learn best practices, and find solutions to common challenges. Boost the Value of Each Customer Interaction With up to a 98 percent open rate, SMS marketing is a seriously potent marketing channel that every e-commerce merchant should at least consider. With its wide range of features and ease of use, rolling out a marketing campaign with SMSBump has never been easier. The app will increase customer engagement on its own by automating many of the marketing workflows and processes, saving users time and money. It is a great option for both startups and larger online businesses with different pricing tiers and scaling features to suit just about every brand's marketing requirements.

Layer Slider: A No-Code Solution to Fresh Sliders for Shopify Stores

Keeping your website's content fresh and updated is crucial for engaging customers and driving sales. One tool that can help you achieve this is Layer Slider, a powerful plugin that lets you create eye-catching sliders quickly and easily without the need for coding experience. In this review, we'll take a closer look at the features of Layer Slider, its benefits, integrations, and pricing plans. Layer Slider's Features Layer Slider offers a range of features that make it easy to create stunning sliders that engage your customers. These include: Drag-and-Drop Customization The visual editor allows you to create sliders quickly and easily with no coding or prior experience needed. Your customization options are unlimited, with complete control over effects, transitions, and styles.Full Responsiveness Layer Slider automatically adapts to any resolution, working seamlessly across all devices, whether desktop, mobile, or tablet.No Coding Required Layer Slider's no-code technology makes it effortless to bring your ideas from concept to launch.Multiple Slider Types Layer Slider lets you create a variety of sliders, including image sliders, video sliders, content sliders, and more.CSS3 Transitions You can choose from a range of CSS3 transitions with JavaScript fallback to create dynamic and engaging effects. Benefits of Layer Slider Using Layer Slider can help you: Increase engagement: Layer Slider's eye-catching animations and transitions can capture your customers' attention and keep them engaged with your content.Improve user experience: Layer Slider's responsive design ensures that your sliders look great on any device, providing a seamless experience for your customers.Promote your products: Layer Slider lets you showcase your products with rotating images, unique CTAs, and promotional content, making it easy to market your products effectively.Build trust: Layer Slider's testimonial slider can help you build trust with customers by showcasing positive reviews and testimonials. » Improve your sliders' images with the best photo editing apps for Shopify Pricing Plans Layer Slider offers a 9-day free trial with three pricing plans available: Basic Plan ($6.99/month)Create up to one sliderTemplate libraryDrag-and-drop editorUnlimited layersFree supportStandard Plan ($9.99/month) This plan includes all the features of the previous plan, as well as:Create up to three slidesCreate multi-language slidersAdvanced Plan ($16.99/month) This plan includes all the features of the previous plans, as well as:Create unlimited sliders Integrations Layer Slider offers seamless integration with a variety of popular platforms, allowing you to easily incorporate the plugin into your existing workflows and maximize your productivity. Some of the key integrations include: Shogun page builder: Use Layer Slider in conjunction with Shogun's powerful page-building tools to create stunning, customized web pages that showcase your products and services.Social media: Connect Layer Slider to your social media accounts, including Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter, and Flickr, to easily share your content and engage with your followers. Our Verdict: Should You Use Layer Slider? Layer Slider is a great option for those looking to create custom sliders without any coding experience. With its drag-and-drop editor, custom effects, and responsive design, you can create professional-looking sliders with ease. Plus, with a 9-day free trial and live chat support available, it's easy to give Layer Slider a try and see if it's the right fit for your website.

Starstream Review—Automatic Event Ticketing for Shopify Sellers

Managing tickets to online events can be incredibly exhausting and confusing, especially as your Shopify store grows. Selling tickets to online webinars and livestreams always runs the risks of cross-sharing, users struggling to access the event, and more. Instead of struggling with managing your event tickets yourself, consider letting an automated service like Starstream by Livestream Labs handle it for you. Read on to learn more. Why You Should Use Starstream Aside from automatically handling the distribution of tickets to your online and physical events, Starstream can also offer you the following features: Reduced Cross-Sharing Chances Starstream will generate a secret link for your customers 24 hours before the event begins and control their access, which is a proven strategy for reducing the amount of unpaying customers attending your events. Compatibility With All Major Livestreaming Platforms You'll never have to worry about a platform not working for your event. Starstream is compatible with streaming services like YouTube and Facebook (among others) as well as webinar services like Zoom. Customized Ticket Capabilities The app will let you customize the look of your online and physical tickets to match your brand identity. QR Codes for Physical Events Even if you hold physical events, Starstream can automate the process with unique QR codes for each customer that you can validate and authorize with Starstream's built-in QR code scanner. Calendar Updates Not only can customers add your online and physical events to their event calendars on Google, Outlook, Yahoo, and more, but they will also receive updates about your event to ensure that they don't miss it. Event Replays Paying customers will have the option to receive replays of the events that they attended so that no information is lost along the way. Pricing Starstream is free to install and integrate into your Shopify store and comes with no additional monthly costs. Instead, Starstream will charge you a usage fee of $0.99 per ticket under $20, and $1.99 per ticket over $20. This ensures that you won't have to pay unnecessary fees if customers don't purchase enough tickets. Our Verdict: Should You Use Starstream? If your business ever holds events—both online and in-person—then an automatic ticketing service like Starstream by Livestream Labs is a necessity. Even if you only hold a single event per month—or fewer—Starstream won't charge you unless there are tickets being sold, and so there's really no harm in having it installed and ready to automate the ticket process so that you never have to worry. If you'd like to learn more, head to their Shopify store page to begin.