In order to do email marketing, you’ll need to use an autoresponder. Now, you have two options when it comes to an autoresponder… you can go with an autoresponder service or a self-hosted autoresponder software.
Below you will find a list of several autoresponder services and a few autoresponder self-hosted solutions to help you build your email list. Please note that I have personally only ever used GetResponse and Aweber and can only really recommend those two services based on my experience with them.
Without further ado, here are some email marketing resources for you:
Autoresponder Services
- GetResponse – this is the autoresponder service that I am currently using (at the time of this post). I’ve been with them for some time now and am very happy with their service. They currently offer a free 30 day trial.
- Aweber – the only other autoresponder service I’ve ever used, Aweber is another excellent choice. I don’t currently have an account with them (again, at the time of this post) simply because I just find GetResponse to be a bit more user-friendly. They currently have an offer of $1 for your first month.
- Mail Chimp – with these guys, you can open a free account and have up to 2,000 subscribers and you can send up to 12,000 emails per month. While the free part may sound appealing, there is a catch. They advertise in every email you send out. Not good when you’re trying to promote your own products.
Jan. 12, 2013 Update: As pointed out by Ruth Martin, the Mail Chimp free account level does not include an autoresponder. For that, you would need to upgrade to the lowest $10 paid plan.
Jan. 29, 2013 Update: Mail Chimp is not an option for Internet Marketers and many others as pointed out by Adrian Jock. Check out their terms of use… more specifically #11 point “f” for more info.
- iContact – Another one of the bigger autoresponder services out there that has a good reputation. They also offer a 30 day free trial.
- Constant Contact – these guys have been around since 1998 and according to their website are “Trusted by more than 500,000 small businesses.” They, too, offer a free trial and while it’s for 60 days, you can only have 100 subscribers max before having to upgrade to a paid account.
And here are a few more services…
Autoresponder Self-Hosted Software
Below you’ll find autoresponder software that you’ll have to install (or outsource the installation) on your own site.
- arpReach
- Autoresponse Plus
- List Mail Pro
- [GWA] AutoResponder (WordPress plugin)
As you can see from the list above, you have a lot of options when it comes to autoresponders. If you’re just starting out with building your list, then I recommend going with GetResponse. Again, I think their interface is more user-friendly than Aweber and they’re slightly cheaper as well.
At the end of the day, it’s your choice on who you end up going with and which software of service you feel is right for your business. Please share who you went with and why in the comments section below.
I am familiar with Aweber and Mailchimp. While I like Aweber, I was not prepared to pay out so much in the beginning when I did not even have a list yet. So I switched over to MailChimp. They work fine for what I need them for. However, they do not offer an autoresponder on the free level. For that you need to pay, lowest level is $10 per month – subscribers 0 – 500. The next level is then $15… and so on.
Ruth Martin recently posted…Tips for Buying and Selling Successfully on Fiverr
Hi Ruth! I didn’t realize that about MailChimp. Thank you very much for pointing that out and thank you very much for stopping by and taking the time to comment
Kevin Ocasio recently posted…Email Marketing: The Best Way To Build Relationships That Earn You Money
Aweber is topping the Internet Marketing industry I think but they look quite expensive.
The real issue with self-hosted auto-responders are server limitations. With hostgator shared servers, you are not allowed to mail over 500 addresses per hour. That’s a big issue. You will need a VPS or dedicated server to eliminate this barrier.
I have heard Mail Chimp does not accept Internet Marketing stuffs. Is that true?
Enstine Muki recently posted…3 Rock Solid Ways To Make Money Online!
I like Aweber, but right now I prefer GetResponse because I find it more user friendly. You really can’t go wrong with either one though. Great point on the self-hosted autoresponders! Being limited to only 500 email addresses per hour can be a real issue for someone with even a decent sized list.
As for MailChimp, I believe they do not allow affiliate marketing. Here’s a great post in a thread started over at the Warrior Forum that is worth a read. Thanks for stopping by and commenting Enstine
Kevin Ocasio recently posted…Social Marketing Resources To Get You More Twitter Followers, Retweets, Likes And +1′s
Mail Chimp is one of the worst choice for IMers. Whether you get a free account or a paid one, the Terms of Use are the same, they don’t accept the following type of content: work from home, lead generation, make money online opportunities, MLM, affiliate offers.
Adrian Jock recently posted…List Building with Solo Ads from a Potential Subscriber’s Perspective
Hi Adrian, thanks for the info. I actually just went and read their terms of use and you’re correct! It actually lays it out in point 11, letter “f” titled “Prohibited Content and Industries.” Thank you for taking the time to comment
Kevin Ocasio recently posted…Your Go To List of Outsourcing Resources!
If you have a huge list like 10k+, you’ll want to look into Infusionsoft. A lot of Internet marketers with gigantic lists use them. Also with Aweber you get a lot of features than with most autoresponder services.
The question then becomes, “Are you going to really use all those services you’re paying for?”
I too have used Aweber in the past and have continually gone back to Get Response. It’s not perfect, but I’m so used to it that I just deal with the things that irk me about it.
Another good post Kevin!
Corrisa recently posted…Empower Network Bootcamp
Yea, there are a couple of things I wish GetResponse had that Aweber has, but it’s not a deal breaker for me. At least not at this point. Thanks for taking the time to comment Corrisa
Kevin Ocasio recently posted…A Link Building Strategy That Will Benefit You
Hi Kevin,
Well I had no idea about the MailChimp terms of service, I wanted to try them out but not going to do that anymore.
I think the best part of using Aweber is that a lot of people are already familiar to it, they’ve most likely subscribed to other email lists that use Aweber, so they already trust the service and know their email is protected.
Great post Kevin, a lot of information I had not known before, thanks for sharing this.
Enjoy your weekend, cheers.
~Philip
Philip recently posted…16 Top WordPress Plugins For Your New Blog
Glad you found it useful Philip… thanks for commenting
Kevin Ocasio recently posted…A Link Building Strategy That Will Benefit You