sweetlife

Hey warriors,

Does anyone know if there is a free alternative to Aweber?

It doesn't have to be as fancy as Aweber...

Thanks,

Vivek

King Louie

You can use Mailchimp. It's free to use for up to 2,000 subscribers. I'm using it right now since my website is new.

miroskala

I'm using Getresponse... It's free for start and affordable prices after upgrading...

ryantmalone

I'd also recommend Mail Chimp, they have pretty decent deliverability and are reasonably easy to use.

That said, your mailing list host is really something that you shouldn't be skimpy with. We're talking about deliverability here, which is everything about email marketing, plus stats integration and so on.

A general rule of thumb is that if you are getting valuable opt ins, you're looking at being able to make a dollar per subscriber per month with minimum effort, and by that, I mean that I can send a "BUY THIS NOW!" email, and that can break me even for the month.

So, ask yourself, how many subscribers will you need to cover the cost of an Aweber account? Trust me, its worth the investment, I'm glad that I chose them when I did.

paulie888

I'd say that Getresponse is probably the closest to Aweber in terms of quality and reputation, and it is free to use for up to 100 subscribers.

sweetlife

Thanks for the fast responses everyone!

Mailchimp looks good to me.

Is it always possible to step over at a later time to Aweber?

Devid Farah

Personally,i don't recommend Mailchimp.

As an alternative you can try these:

SendFree
Autoresponders Free Advertising

Responders
RESPONDERS.COM - FREE Form Processing for your Website. FREE autoresponders formmail feedback info request forms

You can try also these (not free):

GetResponse
Email Marketing Software, Autoresponder - GetResponse

ConstantContact
Email Marketing Solutions from Constant Contact

iContact
Email Marketing - iContact

Contactology
Email Marketing Software | Email Marketing API Integration | Email Autoresponders by Contactology

VerticalResponse
Email Marketing for Small Businesses | VerticalResponse

sweetlife

Why not Devid?

paulie888

Mailchimp has all kinds of restrictions (unlike Aweber), and they don't exactly approve of affiliate marketing. If you're going to do any kind of affiliate marketing, then I'd highly recommend you stay away from Mailchimp altogether.

Paul

vishalduggal

You can also choose iContact. It offers 30 day trial with up to 250 subscribers.

Devid Farah

Hi sweetlife,

i said that "as an affiliate marketer".

I mean,i have had many troubles with them because i discovered (too late) that they didn't allow affiliate marketing and caused me a complete mess because i also lost many lists.

If you want to use it,use it..everyone has different experiences,but sincerely there are best autoresponders around!

Take a look at the list i have provided.

I think the best alternative to Aweber is GetResponse.

And,like Paul says,since it is free for up to 100 subscribers,you can give them a try!

All the best,
Devid

paulie888

Thanks for chiming in, Devid. A "free" autoresponder is definitely going to cost you something in the long run, and is never truly "free". If you're planning on earning a long-term income from your internet business, your autoresponder is the one thing you should never skimp on, as it'll generate a lot of revenue for you if used properly - so don't jeopardize this by using some cut-rate autoresponder that has compromises built into it right from the beginning.

Paul

raylee1

hi,i'm using listwire at the moment,its totally free and tutorials are about to show how to use it.

Regional Warrior

For a good free service try listwire just google it , if you go here and scroll down to post 5 thats the owner he is a member of the Forum nice bloke too
Good luck with your decision

Jason

paulie888

It's free but it does have its drawbacks just like any of the free services, such as having to put up with ads.

Devid Farah

I'm with you Paul. Perfectly agreed.

If you think of starting an internet business you will need helpful tools that will make your daily business operation smooth and will also make your work lighter and painless.

The autoresponder is one of the most effective tools that an internet marketer can use.

I have tried many autoresponders and finally i can say that the best of the best,in my opinion, are Aweber and GetResponse.

All the best,
Devid

donsean

If you must use an entirely free autoresponder service then do so with the ones mentioned by the warriors above. However, I gotta agree Devid Farah. If you're going to be going at internet marketing for the long term and building one or several business then imho Aweber would be my first choice.

I've found it to be the easiest to use and integrate into nearly any platform. I think it's safe to say it's the IM industry standard. The features I think that you can make with broadcasts and templates are nice too.

Regional Warrior

So what do the newbis do if they have no money? I agree that once you have some funds you can look around but if its working why change!

paulie888

Simple, Getresponse was mentioned above - it is completely free to use for up to 100 subscribers. By the time you exceed 100 subscribers, you should be making enough money to pay the measly $9.95 per month for the lowest tier in their subscription plan.

ryantmalone

If you want to transfer your subscribers to Aweber, you can, but they will need to opt in again, so there is a chance that you will lose most of them, depending on how good a relationship you build with them.

Hence why i dont recommend going cheap on your choice here, as you WILL regret it in the long run.

paulie888

Exactly, switching autoresponders can be a very costly move. It's definitely better to start off with a good autoresponder, and then just continue using them for as long as you can - this is why it's crucial that you select one that can grow with you for the long term!

Paul

tpw

Might I venture a different kind of suggestion.

I was stuck on free autoresponders for YEARS...

I did not want to take onboard an expense that I could not justify.

I finally pulled my head out in Oct of 2010 and got setup with Aweber.

5 months in, I still have fewer than 500 subscribers, so I pay $20 per month for the service.

I made $107 from my list yesterday when I sent out an affiliate offer.

I am averaging right at $90 per month revenue from 300 people, and I don't hammer people with offers...

If I had started this years ago, imagine how much more money I could be making now, because I could have had a list in the tens of thousands instead of the hundreds I have now...

erichammer

I'll chime in with the following:

Mailchimp makes me very nervous. I signed up for them but they have very severe restrictions and they can make your Email list go poof if they ever decide you are doing something you shouldn't be doing (while some have said they are allowed to do limited amounts of affiliate marketing, the idea that they have a list of restrictions as long as my arm was enough for me to not want to use them).

Listwire, the owner is a member here but I'm nervous about their business model and the fact that the owner doesn't want to reveal how he plans to monetize his business. Even though Email servers are much cheaper than they once were, offering it for free with no advertising means he has to make money somewhere else and I'm just not sure where.

Now here's the reason why I wouldn't suggest using one of these services just to get started and then switch over: any reputable service will require you to use a double opt in. This means that they click on a link in your site, fill in their info and then click a link in their email to accept. The catch is that most sites, while they let you port a list from elsewhere will require that your customer opts in a second time. However, most often, they simply choose not to bother and you lose a significant portion of the list you worked so hard to build.

I also looked into using something like the WP Autoresponder and newsletter plugin but the issue (as has been mentioned here) is deliverability. When you send from your own mail server, you have to worry about whether your host will let you send so many Emails at once. You also have to worry about getting blacklisted as spam (the big guys all work with major ISPs to get their IP addresses white listed to avoid this problem).

Personally, I decided to go with Imnica. There is a WSO available for it which gives you two months for around $6 and then the remainder of the year for around $60. The price was low enough that I'm not very worried about it and they seem to have good reviews.

Hope you're not too confused. I just finished looking into these things a couple of days ago myself...

Eric

tpw

I was thinking heavy on Imnica before I went for Aweber.

The reason I opted for Aweber over Imnica is that Aweber is integrated into almost all kinds of software, and Imnica is lightly covered.

For example, I use Warrior Plus for some of my products. And at the time, and I think is still true today, Warrior Plus is not configured to easy signup at Imnica.

While unnecessary, I felt the integration was a nice feature to have, and where integration is concerned, Aweber and GetResponse are the most widely covered programs.

sweetlife

Wow everyone,

So much great info given out! Many thanks!!!

I might start out manually till I build a good strong list and then go with Aweber..

I think I can setup my email with a nice autoresponse as soon as someone sign us for my newsletter and then send them the weekly or monthly one... and once I hit let's say 500 people I might go with Aweber..

so that means they all have to opt in again when I go with Aweber?

Shaun OReilly

You'll need to have everyone confirm their opt-in if you
want to import your list into AWeber later- unless you use
a reputable autoresponder service to build your initial list
and use confirmed opt-in for that too.

To be frank, your mindset is wrong IMO.

Consider building your list from the get-go with someone
like AWeber - it's only $1 for a 30-day trial account. Then
focus like crazy on building your list and revenue so that
within 30-days you've got the cash to pay the next bill
($19 if you have less than 500 subscribers).

In business, being cheap can be really expensive.

Dedicated to mutual success,

Shaun

sweetlife

Thanks for the advice,

I have to think this through

erichammer

True enough. I know I have a bit more in the way of hoops to jump through for using Imnica, however once I have it set up, I don't expect any additional problems so I was willing to spend a little more time initially to save a significant amount in the long run. Still, I definitely hear what you're saying. Setting up a slider is easier with Aweber because it has plugins for Wordpress with built in sliders whereas with Imnica I have to do it manually.

echelon

I have been using mailchimp for some times now. They have increased the cap. I think that for a beginner it could be a free alternative.

Coby

I switched to Imnica and this is the only complaint I have, the lack of integration (because it is such a young company). If you buy the WSO you get the first three months for like $7 then it stays at $7 a month till you reach 5,000 subs.

Another good free AR is www.autosenders.com which is also owned by a warrior.

ChadOath

Mailchimp is very restrictive and anti-IM. I would stay far away from them.

rosetrees

I also use Imnica. Unlike Aweber it has the facility to allow you to use different from names and email addresses - so I can run campaigns for my clients.

Imnica keeps improving - I would guess that better integration is somewhere on their "to do" list.

Andrea Wilson

I have seen a couple of emails in my inbox from a listwire user. So i guess it is pretty popular? Mailchimp is a big no-no for affiliate marketing though. So better stay with some other options the folks above has mentioned. Or better yet just save up for your first 3 months in Aweber.

Andrea

somenathsen1

MailChimp is a best alternative of Aweber.....it's free for upto 2,000 subscribers......

emerica1184

Mailchimp and listwire

anthony2

Building your list is like the biggest assest you can have
for an online business.

If you are serious about creating a business than you won't
worry about a free autoresponder.

Aweber is only $19.00 a month. If you are looking to create
a hobby than go with free.

If you are looking to create a real business that will take care
of you for years to come then go with the $19.00 a month
package.

Mike McAleer

i use mailchimp and it is pretty good i guess...

Black Hat Cat

They get a job. If you don't have $1.00 for the first month of Aweber, the last thing you need to worry about is playing around on the interwebs for some extra cash.

O0o0O

Getresponse is a great one to start with because they offer it free for a while, and their rates are pretty affordable when you are ready to upgrade.

kevinw1

I can't believe the number of people still recommending Mailchimp when they are known to be so anti-IM, and it has been pointed out several times in this thread already. There are enough bumps in the road anyway, without setting yourself up with more.

sweetlife

Can anyone briefly explain what would be the major advantages of using a wervice like Aweber VS Doing it manually yourself?

SeanSupplee

Eh yeah if your skimping on the cost of your auto responder then you should not be building a list. If your serious about list building and marketing in that manner and doing it correctly then the price of aweber will not effect you.

Jake Gray

AWeber is not expensive at all.

$19 as an upfront investment can easily be made back
once your have an active list. Don't get me wrong, it
takes time to build a list, but once you have an active
list... You can easily make the $19 investment back.

Jake

Sumit Menon

MadMimi.com - Free until 100 subscribers. No credit cards. Used by Squidoo, Peek, GetSatisfaction etc.

Sumit.

masterjani

I want to thank all guys,really helpful info.Personally i only used mailchimp looking forward to use others soon.

Adie

The problem with aweber and other alternatives are, they don't accept paypal

Gayla

I had a couple of friends with sizable lists recommend MadMimi to me - I signed on with them several months ago through my primary blog and have no complaints.

I tried Aweber before - did like them - but I back then, I just couldn't justify the expense.

paulie888

I'm not sure why this is an issue (it isn't for me) - could you please elaborate on why you'd need to use Paypal for your Aweber subscription, since I've seen this issue mentioned at least a couple of times in different threads?

Adie

Why not an issue? People without credit cards can't use them.

Themeplated

MailChimp offers a free account, and they've just upgraded it from a 1,000 to 2,000 people allowance. However, they do include a small affiliate link at the bottom of each email that's sent out.