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Newspack Newsletters

By Automattic

Marketing & Advertising / Email Marketing & Campaigns

Reviewed by Omar Dabbas

Trusted WordPress expert with 20+ years of experience evaluating plugins for the WP ecosystem.

Newspack Newsletters Review - In-Depth Analysis

Create and distribute email newsletters using the block editor. Connect with ActiveCampaign, Constant Contact, or Mailchimp.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.85/10

User Rating

0/5 (based on 0+ reviews)

Active Installations

1,000+

Update Frequency

Outstanding It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

5 / 10 (Medium Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

Create email newsletters with the block editor and send them via ActiveCampaign, Constant Contact, or Mailchimp, all without leaving WP Admin! Newspack Newsletters lets you build eye-catching newsletters using the WordPress editing tools you’re already familiar with, and lets you save drafts, create reusable layouts, send to your existing mailing list, and also publish them to your website.

Newspack Newsletters comes with four default layouts to help you start building newsletters quickly. You can use an existing layout, or start fresh with a blank page. You can also create and save your own layouts, or alter the ones that come bundled with the plugin and save the settings, and use them for future campaigns.

Newspack Newsletters supports most core blocks and configurations, letting you use blocks like Group, Button, Columns, and more, to create dynamic layouts. The plugin will warn you when a block will not display as expected in an email.

You can customize your newsletters further by changing the header and body fonts, or picking a background color.

Newspack Newsletters comes bundled with the Newspack Post Inserter block. This block lets you insert excerpts from live posts on your site, and, once inserted, will turn those posts into static content using the Header and Paragraph blocks, linking back to your site.

Monetize your newsletters by including advertising. The Newspack Newsletters plugin lets you create ads, which are stored as a custom post type. Ads are automatically inserted into your newsletters, and can also be toggled off on a newsletter-by-newsletter basis.

Newspack Newsletters connects to your ActiveCampaign, Constant Contact, or Mailchimp accounts to send emails using the mailing lists you’ve collected there, all without leaving the WordPress Admin.

Before sending your campaign, you can send test emails to one or more email addresses at a time from the newsletter editor, to make sure everything is pixel perfect before sharing with the world.

The Newspack Newletters plugin is part of Newspack, a suite of tools to help small to mid-sized news organizations publish and generate revenue with WordPress. Newspack is a collaborative project by WordPress.com and the Google News Initiative.

Comparing to Alternatives

Newspack Newsletters operates in a competitive space with several well-established newsletter plugins available. Users looking for alternatives have many options to consider, each with unique features and strengths.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Integrates with the Newspack platform, tailored for news publishers.
Offers newsletter management features within a familiar environment.
Open source with community support.
Regular updates addressing security issues.
Designed specifically for news-related content distribution.

Weaknesses

Has a history of medium-level security vulnerabilities.
Lacks a pro version with advanced features.
No user reviews available to gauge satisfaction.
Smaller user base compared to top alternatives.

User Sentiment Analysis

Currently, there are no user reviews or ratings available for Newspack Newsletters, making it difficult to assess user satisfaction or common issues from direct feedback.

Positive highlights

Common complaints

Weaknesses

No user feedback to confirm usability or feature effectiveness.
Security vulnerabilities have been identified and fixed, indicating past risks.

Who Should Use This?

Best for

News organizations and publishers using the Newspack platform who want an integrated newsletter solution tailored to their content needs.

Not ideal for

Users seeking a widely adopted, extensively reviewed newsletter plugin or those concerned about past security vulnerabilities and requiring a plugin with a strong track record of user feedback.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The plugin is free to use and includes basic newsletter management features integrated with the Newspack platform.

Final Verdict

Newspack Newsletters offers a specialized newsletter solution for news publishers within the Newspack ecosystem, but it currently lacks user reviews and has a history of medium-level security vulnerabilities that have been addressed in updates. Its free offering may appeal to those already invested in Newspack, but the absence of a pro version limits advanced functionality.

Given the competitive alternatives with larger user bases and more extensive feature sets, potential users should carefully consider their needs and security concerns before choosing Newspack Newsletters. Those prioritizing security and community feedback might prefer exploring other established newsletter plugins.