NightWriter

Hi!

I have had a difficult time deciding what kind of autoresponder to use.

At the gut level, I knew I needed a system I had control over that runs off my own server. I tried GetResponse.com - I'm very unhappy with them to put it mildly. And, I can see some fundamental problems with such services, in general.

I have installed a nice little script on my site - wasn't easy and I can see why most people wouldn't do it. But, I'm convinced that this is the only way for me to go after having given one of the most recommended services a try.

I know this has been hashed and re-hashed and I've researched some old threads on the topic, yet, I found no definitive answers.

Two questions:

1) What is the best bargain autoresponder software?

2) What is the best regardless of the price tag?

Thanks!

I look forward to the informative answers I know I'm sure to receive.

AK

rondo

Follow Up Autoresponder and Mailing List Software - AutoResponse Plus is used by lots of Warriors, and is also owned by a Warrior (Neil).

Why don't you like Getresponse? Have you tried Aweber or others?

Andrew

NightWriter

Thanks for that recommendation.

I have not tried Aweber. I only tried GetResponse.com.

I have two issues as a new IMer: One is money and the other is lack of confidence (I'm getting over that last one, though.) The lack of confidence is simply not knowing what you're really capable of until you start seeing it happen. You never know for sure what you're capable of until you really see the results.

So, I tried GetResponse.com because such services are so highly recommended by most of the people here at WF. GetResponse supposedly allows you to have 10 subscribers before you need to upgrade. They do not send a notice or make it obvious when you visit their site that they want you to upgrade to keep your service going.

My main problem with GetResponse.com was the difficulty in communication. (I understand that Aweber is better at providing support, but, of course you pay the price.) If you have an e-mail query, it takes more than 24 hours for a response. I wish they had notified me that I had subscribers instead of just shutting the service off without notice. I was extremely upset that they did not send any kind of prompt, threat - or anything! - to let me know what was going on. I didn't even have 7 subscribers when they apparently shut things down. (Maybe I misunderstood something in the terms?) But, that was their explanation for why no one could sign up. I got this information after spending over half an hour waiting for tech support on the phone.

One major problem I see with GetResponse (maybe this changes after you have a paid subscription with them, I don't know) is that when someone subscribes they are taken to a very confusing page with a bunch of ads on it. I can see losing a lot of prospective subscribers this way. A lot of people are just plain confused when they're surfing the 'net. These ads and the fact that they can't bother to send communications (this from a company that specializes in sending e-mail communications!!!!) made me feel that they had no respect for me as a customer or any respect for any of my customers.

I think some of my dissatisfaction has to do with my personality - I don't like things out of my control. And with this service (maybe any service) I can't keep track of what is going on. A software program seems to give me much more control, although, I can see where it is some work. But, if something is wrong I have the ability to fix it myself and I don't have to wait on hold for half an hour.

For me the software seems like a better choice. I can't explain the just plain *discomfort* I felt using GetResponse.

This is a really subjective experience I'm describing here. But, I think that's why there is so much controversy about autoresponders. There doesn't seem to be a one-size fits all answer.

rondo

Those ads at Getresponse go away when you upgrade.

There is also a $1 trial at Aweber (Google it) so you can try them out - full version.

Also imnicamail.com has a 2 week free trial - full version.

If you're new at this I recommend using one of these services rather than running your own script. The main benefit is they provide a better delivery rate than you could achieve on your own at this stage. You'd also need an expensive hosting plan to run a script properly.


Andrew

grumpyjacksa

any decent autoresponder service will allow you to create and dictate your success and confirmation pages.

and allow u to set for subscriber alert notifications on any campaign

and allow u to export yr list if u r unhappy

the one mentioned in my sig has a 30 day free trial

hope this helps

pj

Rob Maggs

I use Aweber, but also use PHPAutoresponder (costs about 47 bucks, just Google it). PHPAutoresponder is great, never had any problems with it, validates users and sends notifications of subscribe. PHP Autoresponder definitely puts you in control and you don't have recurring monthly fees...I'd recommend it to anyone.

NightWriter

Thanks for the great info. I'm checking out every software I can find...

Thank you for the reminder that the list at a service can be exported... I think that's an important point.

So far, the script I'm using is doing its job, I'm just looking toward the (near) future.

diamondseeker

Hi

I personally use Aweber and highly recommend it to all my customers and subscribers. The training and support at Aweber are second to none, at least in my mind.

I understand that there are very real situations in which having a autoresponder script set up on a server may be the best solution, but for most people a service such as Aweber will serve them just fine.

I also believe the reports that you can generate with a service like Aweber are so valuable that the fees are not a real issue. This information used properly can double your profits from your mailing list.

Maybe I am wrong but I cannot imagine any script having the advanced features that you find in a service like Aweber. Not to mention that with Aweber in particular you never have to be concerned with Spam complaints closing your Site down. As long as you use the double opt-in Aweber will handle any spam complaint.

Valeriu Popescu

Hi!

I'm just curious how you can send 5,000 emails with ARP since many hosts allow
only 500 emails per day, and most ISP's 100.

And what you do IF you have a BIGGER list, up to 20,000??!

Valeriu

Dean-MAS

I use Getresponse and have had no issues. Anything free or on a trial basis is going to be somewhat problematic as they (Getresponse, Aweber) must first devote resources to their paying customers.

When your lists are relatively small 500 to a few thousand, you can manage your tasks using your own set up but will still have ISP limitations unless a negotiated deal is reached, in which case you will pay more.

If you maintain a list of tens of thousands you will be very challenged to be as successful and Aweber and Getresponse. In fact, the fees relative to successful marketing of that many possibilities makes the email list upkeep fee insignificant.

Hilary

I'd also recommend ARP - assuming your host will support it, of course (they can help with finding one who does). Rock-solid software (had one problem since 2001, which was solved by restoring from backup), faster to use than Aweber and with features that Aweber lacks.

Matt Peters

I use a rebranded Aweber version (ninjaresponder). I'm very happy with it.

sidquill

I am brand new here I do not know if I can post a link or not so just google
Atomic Mail Sender check the site out it has some great products for my purpose but not what everybody needs like anything else.

Valeriu Popescu

Hi!

I'm curious what hosting company will approve sending more
than 500+ emails a day.

If you know one, pls let me know!

Valeriu

kendrickyi

Hey
I have a problem with sending emails.

I subscribed to my own autoresponder for testing purposes. It's supposed to send an email every week. However I havent gotten any email for 2 weeks.

On the subscriber list, I see my name and email address, and message # shows #9, when I havent received email #8 or #7 or #6...

I called my hosting company (because they also provided me with the autoresponder) and was told that either it's because I put too many links in one email (he told me to try and limit each email to 2 links) or the email is in HTML and not plain text. He said somethng about violating anti-spam laws (???)...

I'm confused. I received the 1st few emails in the schedule and those emails had like 3 or 4 links in them.

Yes, the emails are typed in HTML format
because I want the text to be taking up
about half the space on the page, like the
way I'm typing this,

rather than having the text go on and on and on until it reaches the other side of the page like i'm doing so in this paragraph.

and for some reason whenever I'm in plain text mode and add a line break in the email, the email which i receive in gmail does not show the break, but it shows the break in yahoo mail and hotmail...

btw i'm using monsterresponse.

alashton

You should check out mailchimp. It's very user friendly, lets you setup a list of 100 before deciding on paying and even offers a sort of pay as you go option. It's also great fun to use

JR Rich

Since I am a writer by trade, I try to avoid getting involved in anything that smacks of 'Techie Knowledge!' I outsource everything that doesn't directly involve wearing my fingers out on the keyboard.

So, I use Aweber to deliver my newsletters and to manage my lists. Sure, they cost money but it ain't all that much (20 bucks for 500 subscribers) and that small list provides more than enough income to cover Awebers' cost.

Unless you truly enjoy playing around with server software, I'd stay away from the do-it-yourself solutions and concentrate more on what's really important . . .

Making money!

Regards,
--JR

rondo

Most shared hosting plans only allow 500-1000 per day so you need to upgrade to a VPS hosting plan or a dedicated server. A managed VPS plan costs around $30-40 per month.

Andrew

showpage

I think the biggest problem with self-hosted solution is the fact that your IP can easily get blacklisted and all your emails end up in spam folder. And if you're on a shared hosting, that IP might already be blacklisted. Sending limits can be resolved by getting VPS or dedicated server, but getresponse, aweber, etc have contracts with ISPs to make sure your emails are delivered. That's their main selling point (besides being very convenient). At least that's the way I see it.

bluelambda

Mailchimp now has a free plan for up to 500 subscribers and 3000 emails a month. Worth checking it out.

JR Rich

Very true!

Aweber is the best AR solution because their deliverability history is so high. It's so very easy these days to get yourself seen as a spammer for the most innocent of transmission mistakes.

Aweber is respected by everybody in the server business and are highly unlikely to ever get blacklisted on a country-wide scale.

And, for $29, you can have 2,500 list members with unlimited emails. If you have that many targeted subscribers on your list and you aren't making enough to pay Aweber's monthly charge, you REALLY need to hire me to do your autoresponder sequences for you <BIG Grin>

Regards,
--JR Rich

Valeriu Popescu

Now that's very, VERY nice!

BTW, how much do you ask? I do not see a price on you site. Why??!

Val

Mark Collard

I'm with HostGator, and use ARP3 (still waiting for 4 to come out - like over a year), and I'm limited to no more than 500 emails an hour. I have one list of 10K, so it can take a day and half to send out any email blast!! Yet, for the price of a shared server ($3/month on average), it's hard to beat.

kenharthun

Yep, I use Aweber and am very happy with it. Deliverability is very high. I just broke the 500 subscriber barrier and am now paying $29.00/month.

In general, the rule is that each subscriber is worth $1/month in revenue. I haven't hit that yet because I haven't been actively pursuing the marketing to the list, but I can tell you that I get sales from affiliate links and donation links that I include in my emails that more than pay for Aweber.

On the other hand, I'm a Geek and have my own autoresponder software running on one of my sites. If you have a small list, there's no reason not to have your own AR.

I'll be happy to send the software to anyone interested. It's free. Simply send me an email: ken at kenharthun dot biz. I'll even help you with the installation if you need it.

Cheers!

Calvin Tan

anyone using Getresponse? I am happy with the product

Valeriu Popescu

Now this is VERY curious!!! I also used HostGator to email and cut me off after 5,000 emails
and almost shut down my account. I was very lucky they didn't cancel my account.

Val

mark z

Aweber.
I`m happy with it.
Double opt-in are doing quite well with spam related issues.
And that matters.

Michael Lewis

I have heard Ninja Responder is great. They will give you a 30 day free trial.

Valeriu Popescu

The same as AWeber!

Val

Richard Crooke

I used Aweber and have never heard anything negative on their services.

Richard

JR Rich

Val,

My web site is a project that I've been trying to finish for some time now. In fact, I'm still trying to get a few 'Contact Me' boxes set up on it so that people can contact me easier.

Currently, I charge $100 per autoresponder message but will probably have to bump that up a bit here shortly. Only so many hours in a day, ya know?

Regards,
--JR Rich

Steve Baker

I have used A Weber, then 1 shoppingcart, then Infusion. All have their benefits and downsides to them.

You need to decide what your needs are now and then allow for massive growth (we didn't envisage how massive our growth would be, hence the need for 3 different systems as we grew).
Don't even think about Infusion unless you have over $4000 in your pocket and a few hundred a month to drive it.

Rick Wagoner

What's the verdict on Imnica Mail? Their prices are very appealing. I am debating between them and Aweber. Your comments will be appreciated.

Rick Wagoner

Valeriu Popescu

Anyone using MonsterResponse? Any review? Sounds interesting
but I have some doubts they are as good as Aweber at the delivery rate...
unless they also use an Aweber platform!

Val

Richelo Killian

May I politely ask why everyone believes that ONLY Aweber has outstanding deliverability?

Is it not possible for another company to have the same, or even better deliverability?

GetResponse, iContact, Constant Contact, Traffic Wave, and MANY other have been around for a long time. They have thousands of HAPPY customers.

Why do people insist on spewing the Aweber coolaid whenever the question of deliverability is raised? Yes, maybe 5 years ago it was THE AutoResponder company, but, in the past few years MANY companies have come around offering the same features, if not more, and the same, if not better deliverability!

Do your research into the companies available and make an INFORMED decision, and stop mindlessly saying Aweber. They are NOT the only game in town with super deliverability!

Kind Regards,
Richelo Killian

Valeriu Popescu

Just because the report of price/features/deliverability is better for me NOW. But
I always look at alternatives.

Val

aboutalhah

I like icontact.com and aweber.com, I have both.

Franck

aboutalhah

Infusion soft is now $199 monthly, and it's a wise investment for serious business owner.

Franck

weegie

Hi Brayn


What is the delivery rate like. Does the service handle spam filters OK


W

veracruz

I am hosting on Host Gator and they allow me to send 750 per hour...
on Host Monster they allow me 500 per hour...

Hope this help.

J-P
"The Cool Canuck"

RevShareNow

I like GetResponse because you can integrate it into your system. They have a nice API and with a little php programming you can make them totally invisible. If you want to see an example you are welcome to check out TalkShowTips.com. You'll see that you get added to the autoresponder list and then you automatically go to the next page. You can do that with other systems too, but I like that GetResponse has a single opt in option.

lochsloyca

Has anyone tried Premium Responce?