User feedback is essential for any type of business. Running a newsletter is no exception to this. But I don’t think I need to tell you this, don’t I?
FeedLetter and Sparkloop Reactions are both tools that help you to get feedback from your newsletter readers. They look similar at first but are not. They have some essential differences we’ll cover in this post.
But before we dive into it, a quick decision guide for you.
If you want a free tool …
… then Reactions is the better choice for you. It is completely free but frankly very limited, and it comes with a catch.
Reactions is simply a lead generation tool for Sparkloop. It attracts users, helps with basic polls, and its only purpose is to help sell the main product, the referral tool.
That is fine, but you should be aware of this because lead gen tools are usually one-off tools. That means they won’t get any updates, new features, and quite often, especially when they don’t perform well, they get canceled or let die slowly.
If that is fine with you, nothing is stopping you.
FeedLetter, on the other hand, has a free plan, but at some point, you’ll reach its limits and have to upgrade. And this is intentional because it is not a lead gen tool but a full-fledged feedback tool and base pillar of my income.
But besides income for me, it also makes sure that the service will stick around for a long time, you get support from the founder, and your wishes will be heard.
If your newsletter is part of a business …
… then FeedLetter is the way to go for you. It helps you understand your readers, what they like and don’t like, and improve your business at the end of the line.
Of course, you can use it in almost any place, in your newsletter, on your website, your web apps, online courses, email courses, even ebooks, and more.
And that is still at a bargain price that even non-profits don’t sweat to invest.
Feature Comparison
Now, let’s look objectively at the features.
| Feature | FeedLetter | Sparkloop Reactions |
|---|---|---|
| Feedback Polls | ✓ | ✓ |
| # of Poll Options | 3 to 5 | up to 10 |
| Emoji Support | ✓ | ✓ |
| Works on all Email Platforms | ✓ | ✓ |
| Readers Can Comment (GOLDMINE!) | ✓ | × |
| Simple Thank You Page | ✓ | ✓ |
| Custom Thank You Page | ✓ | × |
| Newsletter Performance Analysis | ✓ | × |
| Wall of Love | ✓ | × |
| Web Widgets (Popup, inline, feedback button) | ✓ | × |
| Privacy Focused | ✓ | × |
| Customer Support by Founder | ✓ | × |
At the core, both work with simple links, and you can place those links anywhere where you can place links. However, simple votes usually don’t help much to improve your newsletter or other products you’re offering.
Engaged readers have the urge to tell you what they liked and disliked, and with FeedLetter, they can. Either by text or by leaving voice messages.
That’s a GOLDMINE of opportunities, and I’ve been using this myself successfully in newsletters, my websites and web apps, and even in ebooks.
Moreover, Reactions is made for the occasional poll and not for use in every of your newsletter emails. But FeedLetter is and even gives you time-based performance analysis on your emails. Plus, the whole process is streamlined for adding a new feedback survey in each and every email.
Besides the regular newsletter survey, FeedLetter offers one-time or one-off polls and web widgets to get feedback directly on your website without leaving it.
Learn more about newsletter feedback, web integrations and read the case studies.