Sendster

What Sendster is

Sendster is self-hosted email marketing and automation software made by Teknikforce. You install it on your own hosting, connect Amazon SES or another SMTP service, and use it to capture leads, send newsletters and campaigns, and run autoresponder sequences. The home page calls it a "Complete Self Hosted Email Marketing Platform" built around five parts: lead forms, email campaigns, an autoresponder, an AI email writer and analytics. The company's blog describes it as a self-hosted platform that prioritizes simplicity and effectiveness and combines analytics, campaign management and automation in one interface.

The pitch is cost. Because the software runs on your server and sending goes through a service you choose, you pay for the license and for the mail you send rather than a monthly fee tied to your list. The FAQ says you can host Sendster "on a $2 hosting or your existing blog", and the home page headline claims you can "Send 10,000 Emails with Amazon SES + Sendster for only $1."

Writing and designing emails

The in-built AI writer drafts headlines, subject lines, calls to action and whole emails. You can write a rough paragraph and have the AI polish it, or ask for headline alternatives and pick one. For layout there is a WYSIWYG email designer that needs no coding and produces visual HTML emails that the feature list says are 100% responsive on mobile phones. Dozens of readymade templates cover multiple niches and occasions, and the page promises fresh templates every month. Ready-to-use mail snippets speed up repeated content.

Lists, forms and verification

Lead forms grab new sign-ups from your website. Lists import from CSV, and the site says Sendster cleans the list as it imports, so you do not wait for an import to be approved before mailing. Built-in email verification checks leads as they come in, and the page says it protects against spam traps, complainers and invalid addresses to keep your sender reputation intact. Bounced and unsubscribed addresses are removed automatically. You can create list segments and tags to target part of a list, and the software supports multiple users.

Campaigns, autoresponders and automation

Campaigns can be scheduled in advance, and you choose your own sending speed with a custom sending rate. Autoresponder sequences fire according to triggers. The automation section says you can automate your email marketing with triggers, webhooks and tags: set up email sequences and threads, send automated welcome emails and signup bonuses, use webhooks to connect with any CRM, and connect with Zapier to take your contacts elsewhere. The feature list names Webhooks, Zapier and Pabbly as the integrations.

Sending and deliverability tools

Sendster works with Amazon SES and what it calls all leading SMTP providers. The home page lists Amazon SES, SMTP2Go, Sendgrid, Mailjet, MailGun, Gmail, ElasticEmail, SparkPost, PepiPost, Postmark, MailerSend, TurboSMTP, Brevo and other SMTPs. It also suggests a setup by list size: 1-2,000 leads through Gmail, GSuite or a free SMTP; 2,000 to 50,000 leads through SMTPs or Amazon SES; and 50,000 to 500,000 leads through PowerMTA or a similar server.

Under the heading "Bypass Delivery Filters & Inbox More" the site describes a set of features meant to make each message look different to mailbox providers, which it says look for repeated subject lines, copy and links. Subject line spinning gives every email a unique subject, content spinning gives every email a unique body, and link or URL spinning makes every link look unique. SMTP round-robin spreads sending across several accounts, and sender round-robin spreads it across several senders. Analytics round this out: a delivery report shows reach, and open and click rates appear in graphs and charts.

Pricing

The pricing section offers monthly and yearly licenses. Each plan includes all features, free upgrades and 24/6 chat support.

Monthly:

• Elite Level, $27 a month: install on one site, a 5,000 subscriber limit, 10 SMTPs, 30 lists, 30 lead forms and a personal use license.
• Pro Level, $47 a month: install on 5 sites, with unlimited subscribers, SMTPs, lists and lead forms and a commercial license.
• Pro Max, $54 a month: install on 30 sites, with the same unlimited limits and a commercial license.

Yearly:

• Elite Yearly, $97 a year: the same limits as Elite Level.
• Pro Yearly, $127 a year: 5 sites, unlimited subscribers and a commercial license.
• Pro Extra Yearly, $197 a year: 30 sites, unlimited subscribers and a commercial license.

The page describes these as a special offer for a limited time, and the FAQ warns that if you upgrade later the price may be higher. Sending costs are separate and go to your SMTP or Amazon SES account.

Guarantee and trial

There is no free trial; the FAQ says the 30 day refund guarantee "is as good as a free trial." You can use Sendster for up to 30 days, and if it does not suit you, a support ticket, the live chat or an email to Teknikforce support within 30 days brings a full refund, which the FAQ says is paid within 2 business days.

Updates and support

Sendster has built-in auto updates: you are notified when a new version is out and can upgrade for free. Support comes through 24 x 6 live chat on the website, tickets with a guaranteed response within 1 working day, and live help from tech agents over Skype and TeamViewer or UltraViewer. The home page says Teknikforce is rated 4.9 stars over 158 reviews on Google and has over 100,000 users across the world; customer reviews quoted there praise its customer service and mention other Teknikforce products.

Hosting requirements

The blog lists the need to set up hosting as a con, alongside a smaller ecosystem than open source tools, and lists ease of setup even for beginners and a clean interface as pros. The home page says Sendster works on any domain and can run on any hosting or subdomain, and the Pro licenses let you install it on several websites, blogs or locations to market all your businesses from one license.

Who it suits

Sendster suits marketers, bloggers and small businesses who want to own their email software, send through Amazon SES or an SMTP they already use, and keep costs flat as the list grows. The Elite license fits one site with up to 5,000 subscribers; the Pro licenses fit people running several sites. The caveats are the ones that come with self-hosting: you set up and maintain the hosting, you manage your own sending accounts and their reputation, and the plugin ecosystem around it is smaller than that of larger open source tools.