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Selfhosted Autoresponder

by NobleSavage
16 replies
So I'm looking into building a list for the first time in my life. From what I've gathered you can expect a 1-3% response rate (I'm sure that varies greatly depending on your list). "Direct" USPS mail back in the '90 got the same response rate.

The first thing I looked into was awebber because it's recommend so often on this forum. I was completely horrified to find out you don't control the DB. Sorry, but if it's my business I want complete control of the DB. I have no intentions of spamming, I will following all laws, and have double opt-in, etc. I absolutely hate email marketing in my inbox (which is why I have 2 email addresses) but I'm guessing it does work for some people. I HATE HTML email, but again I'm guessing AB testing has proven HTML more effective?

Any suggestions on self hosting? I'd probably set up a VPS with a clean IP and then CNAME it to my domain.
#autoresponder #selfhosted
  • Profile picture of the author DavidGregory
    I've used Interspire in the past mate.

    Check them out here Email Marketing | Email Marketing Software | Interspire Email Marketer

    I'm curious why you are horrified that you dont have control of the DB?
    On Aweber you can download your list and back it up etc. Also when you stop subscriptions with Aweber you can gather your lists too . Are you afraid they might be sold on or something along those lines?
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    • Profile picture of the author BeechHill
      Check out MyMail if you're using WordPress over at Codecanyon. I'd use it with SendGrid which is free to send 200 emails a day, or subscribe for less than $10/mo for upto 40K emails a month.
      • Track Opens, Clicks, Unsubscriptions and Bounces
      • Track Countries and Cities
      • Schedule your Campaigns
      • Auto responders
      • Use dynamic and custom Tags (placeholders)
      • Webversion for each Newsletter
      • embed Newsletter with Shortcodes
      • Forward via email
      • Share with Social Media services
      • Unlimited subscription forms
      • Sidebar Widgets
      • Single or Double-Opt-in support
      • WYSIWYG Editor with code view
      • Unlimited Color Variations
      • Background Image support
      • Quick Preview
      • Email test with IsNotSpam.com support
      • Revisions support (native)
      • Multi language Support (English and German included)
      • SMTP support
      • Gmail support
      • DomainKeys Identified Mail Support
      • Import and Export for Subscribers
      • Retina support
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      • Profile picture of the author NobleSavage
        Originally Posted by BeechHill View Post

        Check out MyMail if you're using WordPress over at Codecanyon. I'd use it with SendGrid which is free to send 200 emails a day, or subscribe for less than $10/mo for upto 40K emails a month.
        • Track Opens, Clicks, Unsubscriptions and Bounces
        • Track Countries and Cities
        • Schedule your Campaigns
        • Auto responders
        • Use dynamic and custom Tags (placeholders)
        • Webversion for each Newsletter
        • embed Newsletter with Shortcodes
        • Forward via email
        • Share with Social Media services
        • Unlimited subscription forms
        • Sidebar Widgets
        • Single or Double-Opt-in support
        • WYSIWYG Editor with code view
        • Unlimited Color Variations
        • Background Image support
        • Quick Preview
        • Email test with IsNotSpam.com support
        • Revisions support (native)
        • Multi language Support (English and German included)
        • SMTP support
        • Gmail support
        • DomainKeys Identified Mail Support
        • Import and Export for Subscribers
        • Retina support
        Not so interested in WP, but SendGrid looks very promising. They have an API and that is the way I like to do things. Are there any downsides to SendGrid?
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        • Profile picture of the author BeechHill
          Originally Posted by NobleSavage View Post

          Not so interested in WP, but SendGrid looks very promising. They have an API and that is the way I like to do things. Are there any downsides to SendGrid?
          I'd suggest just going ahead and trying it. You get 200 emails a day at no charge and no credit card required.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dennis Ray
    I know at one time there were a few of my students using Mailjet. They told me their system was pretty user friendly once you got past the initial setup woes.
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  • Profile picture of the author borsaronero
    You have control over the DB in Aweber, you can download it and perform all the operation you need. Which kind of control do you need more?

    Also you are more safe to not hit the spam folder.
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  • Profile picture of the author jasondinner
    If you do self-hosted, your biggest issue will be deliverability.

    It's not as easy as just getting an interspire account set up.

    Lots of daily dealign with ESPs, managing bounces and complaints yourself, warming up and/or burning through mailserver IPs, etc.
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  • Profile picture of the author malcsimm
    [DELETED]
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    • Profile picture of the author NobleSavage
      My apologies to Aweber. I don't know if I dreamt it or went to the wrong site but for some reason I was under the impression that they would not let you import or export lists.
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      • Profile picture of the author nicheblogger75
        Originally Posted by NobleSavage View Post

        My apologies to Aweber. I don't know if I dreamt it or went to the wrong site but for some reason I was under the impression that they would not let you import or export lists.
        They will allow you to import lists but if the list you want to import was built using single opt-in Aweber will require your subscribers to confirm once again before they are added to your account. If you can prove the list was built using double opt-in they may allow you to import as is. I'm not 100% sure on that though. They may require all of your subs to re-confirm. I wouldn't really look at that as a bad thing, though. Might be a good way to trim the fat.
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    • Profile picture of the author NobleSavage
      Originally Posted by malcsimm View Post

      Jasondinner is right - the big problem with self hosted is deliverability rates. ISPs deliver mail that they trust. If you are delivering it from your own self hosted auto responder they will trust you as a very low level. Aweber, Getresponse, Mailchimp, Infusionsoft, Ontraport, work really hard to get there deliverability rates up. You just won't be able to do that. Your deliverability rate - and hence your open rate - will be down.

      Don't mess around hosting your own auto responder.

      I deserted Aweber and GetResponse 2-3 years ago. I now use Ontraport (which used to be Office Autopilot) because it's so much easier to use and has a lot more features than the others. And deliverability is excellent.

      Today, someone (who knows their stuff) told me there GetResponse deliverability rate was poor. That's what I heard - you have to check it out for yourself.

      I've got a post on why Ontraport is so good here, if anyone is interested.

      But I advise you don't use self-hosted. Dig into your pocket and get a decent auto responder - from a company who is dedicated to getting maximum deliverability. You haven't got the time or resources to ensure that with your own solution on your own servers.

      Malc
      Ontraport looks very nice, but I'm not spending $300 a month until I know what I'm doing. When I'm more comfortable I'll consider migrating and use your aff link.

      Question about Awebber and other services... will they let me have multiple campaigns (not sure if that is the correct word). Can I have multiple domains and multiple lists i.e. a women's lingerie, precast concrete, and FPS video games all with a multitude of domains?
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      • Profile picture of the author CASHsystems
        Originally Posted by NobleSavage View Post

        Question about Awebber and other services... will they let me have multiple campaigns (not sure if that is the correct word). Can I have multiple domains and multiple lists i.e. a women's lingerie, precast concrete, and FPS video games all with a multitude of domains?
        Aweber and most other hosted autoresponder services do allow you to have multiple campaigns, list, domains, etc. Aweber offers a first month for only $1. You could try it and see if it meets your needs before you decide to use it. Get Response offers a 30 day trial for free.
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  • Profile picture of the author spearce000
    I use parabots Parabots Autoresponder System (free, not an affiliate link) on a separate domain, hosted on a different server to my other sites. I've been doing this for years, and would never go back to using Aweber et. al.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Rogers
    If you do decide to go with self-hosted, take a look at arpReach - autoresponder and email marketing software (formerly AutoResponse Plus).

    Be very, very careful about who you host with, read their email policies closely, and ask questions before opening an account. I would definitely stay away from EIG owned hosting companies (HostGator, Bluehost, iPage, A Small Orange, etc.)
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  • Profile picture of the author Path Theory
    ArpReach is def a powerful and useful self hosted option. I've used it for quite some time managing 7k+ new subscribers each week. It gives you the versatility and customization options that are most important.
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  • Profile picture of the author naviown
    Right now I am using arpReach it's not expensive, easy to use and instal. Give it a try.
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  • Profile picture of the author anupamrekha
    i am a fan of interspire still..it is installed over dedicated or vps there are some professionals who can set it up for you for say $ 100. PM me for more details.
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    Satyam Hosting (India) - Powerful VPS & Dedicated Servers
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