Aweber is really starting to tick me off

[George Montagu Brown]

Man Aweber I'm getting mighty sick of you...

One: The huge issue with delivarability a few weeks back (almost half of aweber broadcasts going to the SPAM folder in gmail)

Two: The "setting up list" thing... why should all my lists only be "50% complete" - it's annoying and should only exist for the first one or two lists.

But the biggest of all:

Stop forcing me to use confirmed opt in. It's my god **** list. I'll do what I want.

And by force here's what I mean: Confirmed opt-in is CLEARLY off yet still they send out the stupid confirm message anyway. Even when I have marked it as OFF. Why is this? It's a massive fault and has cost me potentially thousands of dollars over the last few months.

When I turn confirmed opt in off... I want it off.

Seriously p*ssed off and seriously considering moving over to getresponse.

George

[radhika]

One: The huge issue with delivarability a few weeks back (almost half of aweber broadcasts going to the SPAM folder in gmail)

If you complain to them, they will fix it I guess.

Stop forcing me to use confirmed opt in. It's my god **** list. I'll do what I want.

Haven't you read their policy on Double opt-in before sign up?

There are some threads on WF saying that you can turn it off. Search for them.

.

[winebuddy]

I believe that the only way to use single optin is to initially set up your account that way - otherwise - once you use double optin, you're stuck with it.

As far as deliverability - I agree. I have one list with over 6,000 and I get maybe 600 opens. Tell me thats not a deliverability problem.

[Love2Blog]

I am using iContact for my newsletter, they are very good and everything gets delivered properly, they are cheaper than Aweber as well.

[scrofford]

Originally Posted by winebuddy

I believe that the only way to use single optin is to initially set up your account that way - otherwise - once you use double optin, you're stuck with it.

That's not true...I turned it "off" and it works for me just fine.

[George Montagu Brown]

Originally Posted by scrofford

That's not true...I turned it "off" and it works for me just fine.

I turn it off and literally it doesn't work. I have to sign up to everyone of my own lists and turn it on and off about 5 times before finally it stops trying to confirm emails.

Really is a royal pain the butt!

[Joe Giannetti]

I see double optin as a blessing.
At least you know ppl are really interested in your offers.

You are more likely to have BUYERS rather than freebie seekers who download your free gifts and unsubscribe.

[Trader54]

Originally Posted by scrofford

That's not true...I turned it "off" and it works for me just fine.

Thats part of the problem, some have the option to turn it off others don't.

On my account once I turned on double optin for one list I lost that option
forever. I was under the impression I had that option for each new list I
started.

[JayXtreme]

You could always try this:

Email Marketing Software, Autoresponder - GetResponse

or

Email Marketing & Surveying Software by iContact

or

Imnica Mail

You see, only YOU can allow AWeber to annoy you. I have accounts with most of the major autoresponder service providers... and they all work fantastically for me.

Because I use different services for different situations

Peace

Jay

[Bryan Zimmerman]

Originally Posted by Trader54

Thats part of the problem, some have the option to turn it off others don't.

On my account once I turned on double optin for one list I lost that option
forever. I was under the impression I had that option for each new list I
started.

Thats weird because I have about 10 lists and each time I start a new one the option to turn off double optin has always shown up. Maybe it has something to do with when you signed up for an account with them?

I signed up in september of last year I think.

[JayXtreme]

Originally Posted by Joe Giannetti

I see double optin as a blessing.
At least you know ppl are really interested in your offers.

You are more likely to have BUYERS rather than freebie seekers who download your free gifts and unsubscribe.

I understand your point here, Joe. For the majority of cases, I would agree with you

BUT

There are times, when single opt-in will completely out-weigh the benefits of double opt-in...

Some of the people who are really interested in your offer, might not get the double opt-in thing correct.. and you lose a lead, or many of them

Peace

Jay

[JayXtreme]

Originally Posted by Bryan Zimmerman

Thats weird because I have about 10 lists and each time I start a new one the option to turn off double optin has always shown up. Maybe it has something to do with when you signed up for an account with them?

I signed up in september of last year I think.

AWeber evaluate the spam complaints on each account, if you reach a certain limit on your account, they take away the privilege of choosing between single and double opt-in

Peace

Jay

[Trader54]

Originally Posted by Bryan Zimmerman

Thats weird because I have about 10 lists and each time I start a new one the option to turn off double optin has always shown up. Maybe it has something to do with when you signed up for an account with them?

I signed up in september of last year I think.

That's what I thought the deal was when I signed up to.

That I would have that option each time I started a new list, not that
it would include my whole account.

Its been a few years now that I been with Aweber.

If they still have accounts like that I wish they would switch me over
or give me that option back.

[Robyn8243]

One of the problems that can arise is this. Many people out there don't understand the whole opting out process. Most emails provide you with an option to mark an item as spam, and many non IM people believe that will stop future emails from coming.

If you get greater than a certain percentage of those when you send out your broadcasts, Aweber will start requiring you to use double opt ins.

Frankly, I think you are better off with a double opt in list. People who don't bother confirming are not likely to become your buyers. Better to have a smaller list of people with an interest in what you have to offer, than a big list of people who either ignore your emails or worse yet label you as a spammer every time you send a broadcast to your entire list.

Robyn

[mikeyman120]

Originally Posted by Trader54

Thats part of the problem, some have the option to turn it off others don't.

This sounds like me. I checked my account really good and don't see any option to turn off double opt in.

Mike

[Chris_Willow]

I was considering moving from getresponse to aweber due to lack of features, tracking and deliverability.

But it seems like aweber isn't that great either

Has someone actually tested these autoresponders to see who has the best deliverability?

[Trader54]

Originally Posted by JayXtreme

AWeber evaluate the spam complaints on each account, if you reach a certain limit on your account, they take away the privilege of choosing between single and double opt-in

Peace

Jay

I never had spam complaint problems so that wasn't my case.

[Robyn8243]

Originally Posted by JayXtreme

You could always try this:

Email Marketing Software, Autoresponder - GetResponse

or

Email Marketing & Surveying Software by iContact

or

Imnica Mail

You see, only YOU can allow AWeber to annoy you. I have accounts with most of the major autoresponder service providers... and they all work fantastically for me.

Because I use different services for different situations

Peace

Jay

Jay:

I must say you have peaked my curiousity: what are the reasons/circumstances that inspire you to use these different companies?

Thanks,
Robyn

[Trader54]

Originally Posted by JayXtreme

Imnica Mail

You see, only YOU can allow AWeber to annoy you. I have accounts with most of the major autoresponder service providers... and they all work fantastically for me.

This is a service I have looked at and considering. I believe it is run
by a fellow warrior.

How do you like this service?

[opportunites]

I'm just starting to use aweber... I'm always wondering what is the real difference between Aweber and Getresponse... it seems there are no major differences.It is hard, because when you use to a service (like autoresponse) it is a lot of trouble to move to a new one. The best think is to take your time and chose one and sitck with it!

[JayXtreme]

Originally Posted by Robyn8243

Jay:

I must say you have peaked my curiousity: what are the reasons/circumstances that inspire you to use these different companies?

Thanks,
Robyn

Hey Robyn...

I find that each one has it's own benefits..

AWeber has the advanced tracking and usability features, which is great for the "complicated" niches like make money online, internet marketing, SEO, dating, weight loss etc etc...

Also.. AWeber has the most accurate spam check in my experience, which is ideal for spam sensitive niches like some of the ones I mentioned above.

GetResponse is a little less on the functions, more on the a -> b -> c actions.

Broadcasts are quick, easy and I almost always use GR when targeting a small niche, that I won't be spending much time on. Although I don't use it exclusively for this.

The ability to import subscribers into GetResponse is a massive one for me.. I haven't used it so much lately, but myself and my business partners are always collecting names from a variety of places, so it is essential that we can import them into one place.

List segmentation is important to us, and we find that after building a list in AWeber, we can segment into various demographics and then import into GR.

These are just a few of the reasons behind my use of AWeber and GetResponse, but we also hold accounts with others and I would bore you with reasons for each...lol

Peace

Jay

[opportunites]

Thank you JayXtreme!

[rondo]

George are these subscribers opting in through a web form, or are they generated using a script?
Single opt-in only works with web form subscriptions.


Andrew

[JordanFrancis]

Originally Posted by Trader54

This is a service I have looked at and considering. I believe it is run
by a fellow warrior.

How do you like this service?

I know you directed your question to Jay, but as an Imnica Mail user I thought I'd pop in and give it my thumbs up. It's the new kid on the block and so has it all to prove. Only time will tell just how well they do, but my short time with them has been pleasant.

In particular, the Imnica support is fantastic. See, I made a few goofs with setting things up and unfortunately had to pester them. But as a result, I got to see first hand how well they delt with stupid customers like me

The interface threw me at first, but it's actually my favourite now that I adjusted to it. I am comparing this to Aweber and iContact. Mind you, the interface is changing shortly and will supposedly be even better / easier to use (I think this update is coming later this month).

I can't speak about deliverability just yet as I don't have sufficient data at this time. Other than that, the price is pretty well unbeatable, and there is integration available with Google Analytics so that you can track your clicks from your emails through to your site and beyond.

Well worth a look if you're after an alternative.

[Trader54]

Originally Posted by JordanFrancis

Well worth a look if you're after an alternative.

Thanks for your response. Was just looking for anybody's impression
of the service that had signed up.

I believe it is a fairly new service, so in that case no one would really
know about deliverability issues for the longer term.

Thanks

[NetMediaGeek]

If they're are pissing you off, give them the custard pie !!!

[Lance K]

If only the use of RSS feed readers would take off like Twitter, etc.

[JayXtreme]

Originally Posted by Lance K

If only the use of RSS feed readers would take off like Twitter, etc.

shhhhhh!

[Alex Taylor]

I use single opt-in with AWeber on one of my lists with no problem at all.

Are you using an opt-in form? I know they don't let you use single opt-in on auto sign ups, which you might be using with something like DLGuard. In those cases, it has to be double opt-in, even if you have that option turned off...

[George Montagu Brown]

Originally Posted by Joe Giannetti

I see double optin as a blessing.
At least you know ppl are really interested in your offers.

You are more likely to have BUYERS rather than freebie seekers who download your free gifts and unsubscribe.

Quite the opposite for me really... I'll take as many free leads as possible. After all, it's not costing me anything more.

As for why I prefer single opt in... I believe that if you're marketing correctly (build a relationship RIGHT AWAY... make sure you mention who you are and what URL you're from in the first email, and some sort of personal touch)...

That double opt in isn't neccesary to "avoid spam accusations". For my broadcasts anyway, it is rare that I'll get even one complaint from a list of thousands.

(P.S. still ticked off at Aweber!)

George

[dsmpublishing]

I would rather have double optin as least then i know that if people have gone to the effort to confirm my email addy they are likely to go to the effort and read my emails.

Also from time to time people do spell their email addy wrong and this will get read of your emails been sent to them and turn your list from unresponsive to responsive.

kind regards


sam
X

[George Montagu Brown]

Originally Posted by dsmpublishing

I would rather have double optin as least then i know that if people have gone to the effort to confirm my email addy they are likely to go to the effort and read my emails.

Also from time to time people do spell their email addy wrong and this will get read of your emails been sent to them and turn your list from unresponsive to responsive.

kind regards


sam
X

Ok, your "open rate" might be lower. But in reality you will ALWAYS make more money at the end of the day with single opt in. Because you will have more leads - whether 99% of the ones who didn't opt in where freebie seekers or not (unlikely anyway, most people just don't like to confirm, it's just like another pain in the A** step)

G

[Lance K]

Originally Posted by George Montagu Brown

Ok, your "open rate" might be lower. But in reality you will ALWAYS make more money at the end of the day with single opt in.

I can't remember who it was, but someone actually tested single opt in vs. double opt in recently. I believe they found the smaller confirmed opt in list to be more profitable. So "ALWAYS" may be a bit off the mark.

[PCRoger]

For me, the spam level, which had steadily been about 2.1, suddenly went to 0.

Support told me that 0 is probably correct; (yeah right).

Complained 6 months later, same response.

1 month later, it mysteriously and suddenly started working again.

What an idiotic response from them - twice no less

Regards,

PCRoger.

[Intrepreneur]

George you DO NOt HAVE TO Make it confirmed optins as long as you make it single optin right from the beginning of campaign creation.

Ask on live support on how to do it but there are also videos on youtube of people showing how to do it.


Good Luck

[die()]

I use ConstantContact successfully. I had a GetResponse account for a year, and it was terrible compared to ConstantContact. You don't hear their name mentioned much in this forum. Worth checking out.

[garyv]

I'm an aweber double opt in user, and I've been pretty happy with it.

However after thinking about it more, wouldn't the people that opt-in to your double opt in list, still be on your list if they only had to opt in once? So if single opt in is only adding more, how could you possibly make less money?

[spartanic]

Question is your list filled with people who wanted to join your email list or was it a list you purchased? Aweber requires double optin because your chances of getting higher quality people is much higher. Your chances of getting spam and fake emails is much higher with single opt in.

[Always-A-Warrior]

not to push a promotion here but as an former aweber client myself I changed over to eResponder with GVO. I like it better.

[jeff-em]

Hi George,

I came across your post while doing a search for forum discussions among AWeber, iContact, GetResponse, MailChimp, ConstantContact, and etc.

I used to be a pure web developer/designer as a freelancer. But since joining a QA/QC inspection equipment manufacturer, I have taken on the role of a Web Marketer and SEO Specialist.

It has been 12 months since we started using AWeber as our e-marketing solution. Being in a traditional industry, such as manufacturing, AWeber's policies have been very, very annoying. We have butted heads time and time again over the double opt-in requirement, the deliverability and other unfriendly factors.

It shouldn't be this unpleasant. Seriously, AWeber has made my job extremely frustrating and stressful. Outside of AWeber, my bosses love the new dimension that I bring to the company in terms of eCommerce, Social Media and etc.

We are currently considering alternatives, because it is really not feasible anymore to use AWeber. The management team at AWeber has gotten their ego inflated too far, mostly through bloggers and e-book sellers. The same was the case with Dreamhost, a rapidly successful webhost. When they start making life difficult for the customers, their demise will be just as instant as their rise to the top. Dreamhost and AWeber will be history when more and more people realize how unreliable, annoying and "un-customer-friendly" they are.

[Always-A-Warrior]

Welcome aboard jeff-em. I feel your pain and hope things gets better.

[seoFool]

People have mentioned iContact...does anyone have any experience with them?

[Jeffery]

I use Aweber. My business is different. People can subscribe to my list only if I let them and they all are paying clients. My rules are simple:

1. After payment clients have the option to subscribe or not to subscribe.

2. No subscription = No updates.

Plus, all updates are online in the member area, so if the mail is not delivered they have the opportunity to login and get updates.

Jeffery 100% :-)

[Paul Schlegel]

Originally Posted by JayXtreme

You could always try this:

Email Marketing Software, Autoresponder - GetResponse

or

Email Marketing & Surveying Software by iContact

or

Imnica Mail

You see, only YOU can allow AWeber to annoy you. I have accounts with most of the major autoresponder service providers... and they all work fantastically for me.

Because I use different services for different situations

Peace

Jay

This observation is great timing for me as I was just thinking today how nuts it is that I use the same autoresponder service (Aweber) for everything when clearly in certain situations it makes no sense to do so.

[brucekaushik]

i want to set an autoresponder for my website .... which one should i use ?

plz explain me the pro and cons if you can

thanks in advance friends

[alvinhuang]

Originally Posted by George Montagu Brown

I turn it off and literally it doesn't work. I have to sign up to everyone of my own lists and turn it on and off about 5 times before finally it stops trying to confirm emails.

Really is a royal pain the butt!

Hmm...its working fine for me George.

One thing to note, once you turn confirmed optin to off for 1 list. Never turn it back on. Because if you do just for 1 list. All future list cannot be turned to "confirmed optin off" any longer.

Alvin Huang

[Eric Lorence]

Originally Posted by George Montagu Brown

Stop forcing me to use confirmed opt in. It's my god **** list. I'll do what I want.

And by force here's what I mean: Confirmed opt-in is CLEARLY off yet still they send out the stupid confirm message anyway. Even when I have marked it as OFF. Why is this? It's a massive fault and has cost me potentially thousands of dollars over the last few months.

When I turn confirmed opt in off... I want it off.

Seriously p*ssed off and seriously considering moving over to getresponse.

George

It may be your list, but it's their servers sending the mail ...

They'll do what they want with them.

There are at least a dozen good companies to use, many marketers use more then one.

Like they say ... "have list - will travel".

[PCRoger]

So how easy is it to switch companies and take your lists with you?

PCRoger

[Eric Lorence]

Originally Posted by PCRoger

So how easy is it to switch companies and take your lists with you?

PCRoger

Just export and download the csv of your list, and import it to another company.

It's just a database.

[PCRoger]

When I took my list to aweber I had to upload the list, then contact them and explain where the names came from and whether they were double opt in.

After a few days, they gave it their blessing and released them for use.

All the other companies that way?

PCRoger.