Letterman Newsletter 
Version
1.2.3 (last update on Sep 10, 2008)
Rating
Compatibility
Votes
Favoured
64
License
GPLv2 or later
Non-Commercial
Type
Views
406780
Date Added
5 March 2006
NOTE: As at 14/06/2007 a security release of the module has been made available. All users are advised to use mod_lettermansubscribe 1.2.5.
Okay I've used letterman for a while now and my main concern are the visual aspects of the component.
The biggest problem is the list of newsletters. There is absolutely nothing you can configer. You can't decide which fields are shown and which fields are not show. I don't want my users to see how hits a newsletter has, and i want to use the Joomla! default pagenavigation (and weather its enabled or not).
Then you have the Subscribe above the newsletter list... Alle and all, its not to default on the layout so, that means hacking it yourself.
Futhermore registration and Subscribe /Unsubscribe is very slow. If your server does not send mail, a javaerror will tell you that but the Letterman message is that the user is registered.
So it needs some tweaking and some work.
The biggest problem is the list of newsletters. There is absolutely nothing you can configer. You can't decide which fields are shown and which fields are not show. I don't want my users to see how hits a newsletter has, and i want to use the Joomla! default pagenavigation (and weather its enabled or not).
Then you have the Subscribe above the newsletter list... Alle and all, its not to default on the layout so, that means hacking it yourself.
Futhermore registration and Subscribe /Unsubscribe is very slow. If your server does not send mail, a javaerror will tell you that but the Letterman message is that the user is registered.
So it needs some tweaking and some work.
Pros
Simple clean interface makes this email component easy to use. Contains most of the core features you would need in an email newsletter. Imports CSV and XML.
Cons
Some key features missing such as multiple lists and bounce handling.
Features: 3 stars
Interface: 4 stars
Overall: 3 stars
Letterman is very easy to set up, consisting of a single component file and a subscribe module. In under 2 minutes you are installed and working on your email template. The interface is equally as simple. There are three main sections: configuration, subscriber management and newsletter management.
Reliable sending mechanism
There don't seem to be any known issues related to sending emails from Letterman. 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. There does not seem to be any way to vary the time period between these groups.
Unsubscribe mechanism
All emails have an unsubscribe automatically added to the email as a footer. Following the link sends you to a page where the subscriber has to enter their name and email. This does mean that if they can't remember it, they cannot easily unsubscribe.
Subscribe form
The subscribe form/module sends a viewer to a page that shows all recent newsletters and a link to subscribe to our newsletter. Testing this process it seems that the module doesn't actually subscribe you, but sends you to this page where you need to re-enter your information. This seems a redundant step.
Double opt in
Letterman has a simple, but effective double opt in process. It also allows you to send emails to people that have yet to confirm (one should not do this though)
Multiple lists
Letterman does not support multiple lists
Bounce handling
Letterman does not have any bounce processing.
HTML templating
Emails
can be created with html and a text only version provided. There is no way to store a template, but it is possible to open up a previous email and copy and paste.
Import/Export subscribers
Letterman allows importing from xml and csv files, and allows exporting to xml. There is no process to handle duplicates (though it will skip duplicates on sending). There is a handy "validate" tool that allows you to validate emails. I was not able to get this to work out of the box.
Integration into Joomla user database
The integration with the Joomla user db is one way. It is relatively easy to add users with a single click. However, there is no integration from Letterman to the user db. This means that if someone unsubscribe's 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
Letterman does not offer any sort of statistics tracking.
For full comparison of reviews see http://www.compassdesigns.net/joomla-blog/joomla-reviews/joomla-email-newsletter-review.html
Simple clean interface makes this email component easy to use. Contains most of the core features you would need in an email newsletter. Imports CSV and XML.
Cons
Some key features missing such as multiple lists and bounce handling.
Features: 3 stars
Interface: 4 stars
Overall: 3 stars
Letterman is very easy to set up, consisting of a single component file and a subscribe module. In under 2 minutes you are installed and working on your email template. The interface is equally as simple. There are three main sections: configuration, subscriber management and newsletter management.
Reliable sending mechanism
There don't seem to be any known issues related to sending emails from Letterman. 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. There does not seem to be any way to vary the time period between these groups.
Unsubscribe mechanism
All emails have an unsubscribe automatically added to the email as a footer. Following the link sends you to a page where the subscriber has to enter their name and email. This does mean that if they can't remember it, they cannot easily unsubscribe.
Subscribe form
The subscribe form/module sends a viewer to a page that shows all recent newsletters and a link to subscribe to our newsletter. Testing this process it seems that the module doesn't actually subscribe you, but sends you to this page where you need to re-enter your information. This seems a redundant step.
Double opt in
Letterman has a simple, but effective double opt in process. It also allows you to send emails to people that have yet to confirm (one should not do this though)
Multiple lists
Letterman does not support multiple lists
Bounce handling
Letterman does not have any bounce processing.
HTML templating
Emails
can be created with html and a text only version provided. There is no way to store a template, but it is possible to open up a previous email and copy and paste.
Import/Export subscribers
Letterman allows importing from xml and csv files, and allows exporting to xml. There is no process to handle duplicates (though it will skip duplicates on sending). There is a handy "validate" tool that allows you to validate emails. I was not able to get this to work out of the box.
Integration into Joomla user database
The integration with the Joomla user db is one way. It is relatively easy to add users with a single click. However, there is no integration from Letterman to the user db. This means that if someone unsubscribe's 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
Letterman does not offer any sort of statistics tracking.
For full comparison of reviews see http://www.compassdesigns.net/joomla-blog/joomla-reviews/joomla-email-newsletter-review.html
Works well. Very clean interface. Intuitive design. Simple to use.
Would be nice if it supported subscribing to multiple newsletters. It currently treats each issue as a newsletter based on the idea that a site would have only one newsletter. Otherwise great.
I also tried yanc. Nice features, but no longer supported and partially broken.
Would be nice if it supported subscribing to multiple newsletters. It currently treats each issue as a newsletter based on the idea that a site would have only one newsletter. Otherwise great.
I also tried yanc. Nice features, but no longer supported and partially broken.
Easy integration, easy installation. Immediately adopts the css used.
Little feature request:
- unsubscribe function uses username and email address without any security
- Anyone can delete any user from the list when the combination username and email address is known
For example a simple confirmation email, or demanding the user to login first would prevent abuse. An other way is to generate a hash-link, so every subscribed user receives a personal unsubscription link.
Beside this "security" issue, it's a great module/component!
Little feature request:
- unsubscribe function uses username and email address without any security
- Anyone can delete any user from the list when the combination username and email address is known
For example a simple confirmation email, or demanding the user to login first would prevent abuse. An other way is to generate a hash-link, so every subscribed user receives a personal unsubscription link.
Beside this "security" issue, it's a great module/component!
Letterman Newsletter is the simplest and working newsletter available for Joomla. I highly recommended for beginner who's looking for newsletter component. The drawback for this product, especially for intermediate and advance user, it didn't have much configuration and settings that allow site admin to tweak the newsletter based on site requirement.
Is aweful for importing users, takes a few hours to figure it out and to get your file setup right, otherwise it works great.
This component does it! It just do what you want with a newsletter. Two remarks:
1. I think after installation you must be able to add all users of your site and
2. If your site is updated with new content, you should be able to automail this in a newsletter.
Great component!
1. I think after installation you must be able to add all users of your site and
2. If your site is updated with new content, you should be able to automail this in a newsletter.
Great component!
This is an easy and very straightforward component! Only I'm missing an essential thing here. The possibility to import Joomla/mambo users into your subscriberlist. At this moment the users-databases are completely separated.
Page 3 of 3