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Anyone recommend Autoresponse Plus over GetResponse or Aweber?

by msafi
14 replies
I would like to continue to use GetResponse as I don't mind the monthly payment. I'd rather pay subscription than deal with the issues associated with an in-house mailing solution.

However, I have 200 emails that I want to include in a mailing list (not a marketing list).

I know the nature of the people in that list; if I request a confirmation from them, 80% of them will not click on the link. That's why I need a solution that will not require a confirmed email. The best one I found after some research was Autoresponse Plus.

Should I go with it? Anyone recommend it or experienced any issues with it?

Thanks,
#autoresponse #aweber #getresponse #recommend
  • Profile picture of the author Jack Duncan
    You can actually do this in iContact. I managed to import my list yesterday without any troubles.

    Step 1: Create your list name. (Do NOT Import at this step)

    Step 2: Select the list, then click the "+" sign to add contacts.

    Step 3: Make sure the "Confirmation" checkbox is unselected.

    Step 4: Select "Copy/Paste" under the import options.


    I'm not sure how many emails can be imported this way...but I know it is much more than 200.

    Once you go to mail to that list, you will be required to input your initials stating that you have permission to email that list and these are legit emails. Of course, it would be illegal to import spam emails in the first place.

    Hope this helps,
    Jack
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  • Profile picture of the author msafi
    Hi Jack,

    I never knew about iContact. It looks good. I will give it a try if you recommend them?

    How much is their monthly subscription? What exactly differentiates them from the other players, GetResponse and Aweber?

    Thanks a lot man,
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    • Profile picture of the author Neil Morgan
      Anyone recommend it?
      Me!

      Sorry, couldn't help it

      Cheers,

      Neil
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      Easy email marketing automation without moving your lists.

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    • Profile picture of the author JordanFrancis
      Originally Posted by msafi View Post

      Hi Jack,

      I never knew about iContact. It looks good. I will give it a try if you recommend them?

      How much is their monthly subscription? What exactly differentiates them from the other players, GetResponse and Aweber?

      Thanks a lot man,
      I use iContact and I am happy with it. I don't know the various rates off the top of my head, but it starts at something like $9.99 a month. No idea how it compares with the others as your list gets bigger, but pretty sure it's competitive.

      What I like is that they don't get all strict and stop you from adding people manually without requiring them to confirm. Pretty handy for getting people in your list if you're providing offline services (collecting contacts in shops or over phone etc).

      Cheers,

      Jordan
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  • Profile picture of the author Paul Hartunian
    I've used AutoResponse Plus for years. I've been happy with both the software and the support.
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    • Profile picture of the author todd wetzelberger
      paul,
      great to see you're still active on forums. I've utilized your publicity course many times and used it recently for doing an online press release w/ some tweaks for keyword loading, etc.
      hope you're well, your experience brings a lot to this forum.

      fyi- AWeber is our responder of choice due to high delivery rates/ good relationship w/ ISP's, but have a tight "import" policy on contacts. Also, I turned my secondary confirmation setting to "off" as I build list. Most say you should turn it on but I'm experimenting w/ quality of list compared to quantity to see if there is serious drop of unconfirmeds when req. the 2nd step.

      hope this helps.
      todd
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  • Profile picture of the author MikeAmbrosio
    Autoresponse Plus is a great progam and used it for years. I also used to install it for my clients when I did script installs. REAL easy install.

    The only "down side" is the fact that it runs from your server. So, if you use a shared host you'd better be sure of 2 things...

    You don't spam
    Your install doesn't create issues with server resources.

    In either of those cases (and probably others) you'll get flagged and possibly asked to leave your hosting.

    Also FYI - check with your hosts T.O.S. - there are some that don't allow any type of autoresponders or mailing programs on thier servers.

    If you have a dedicated server you have way more lattitude, but still watch for spam complaints.

    Come to think of it - watch for spam complaints using A/R services too

    Mike
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  • Profile picture of the author AndreVas
    Autoresponse PLUS kicks Awebers, GetResponse or any other autoresponders ass, in the marketplace.

    Total control and filtering flexibility.

    So what's the problem?

    Nothing if you're happy with monitoring your servers IP on email ISP lists.

    And (2) intentionally whitelisting your IP with these ISP providers.


    Time to do this: Few hours to whitelist 1 time. And about 15 minutes each week to check that your IP is not on a blacklist.

    If it is: it's EASY to remove it off the blacklist. Fill in the form and you're off.

    Simple as that.

    TRUTH: There is absolutely NO advantage in delivery rates of 3rd Party over your own Autoresponder, as long as you've whitelisted and on your own IP.
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    "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." - W. Shakespeare

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    • Profile picture of the author MikeAmbrosio
      Originally Posted by AndreVas View Post

      Autoresponse PLUS kicks Awebers, GetResponse or any other autoresponders ass, in the marketplace.

      Total control and filtering flexibility.

      So what's the problem?

      Nothing if you're happy with monitoring your servers IP on email ISP lists.

      And (2) intentionally whitelisting your IP with these ISP providers.


      Time to do this: Few hours to whitelist 1 time. And about 15 minutes each week to check that your IP is not on a blacklist.

      If it is: it's EASY to remove it off the blacklist. Fill in the form and you're off.

      Simple as that.

      TRUTH: There is absolutely NO advantage in delivery rates of 3rd Party over your own Autoresponder, as long as you've whitelisted and on your own IP.
      On your own server, I agree - this is not difficult. Although the average person reading this thread won't have any idea how to do this (believe it or not).

      But again - if you're on a shared hosting account, there are too many things you can't control and you can be suspended before you even know there's an issue.

      Just keep that in mind.

      Mike
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      Are you protecting your on line business? If you have a website, blog, ecommerce store you NEED to back it up regularly. Your webhost will only protect you so much. Check out Quirkel. Protect yourself.

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      • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
        Mike's point about the difference between shared and dedicated servers is a good one. You also want to know your web host's reputation, as that can affect things.

        Aweber has great service, and Neil provides great service for AR Plus. I can't see you going wrong with either of those two.

        If you're just sending announcements and don't need actual follow-ups, you can even use phpList, which is free. It doesn't have anything like the features or ease of use of either of the other two mentioned here, but it does the job for just sending emails to a list occasionally.

        It's a matter of fitting the tool to the job, your preferences and your resources.

        No matter what you use, make sure your unsubscribe works and you remove bounces properly. Screwing either of those up for long is a ticket to email Hell.


        Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author geri1
    I have looked at iContact - it looks good
    as Jordan says only $9.99 per month for
    a list of 500 - which sounds great value
    when you think of the time it will save

    Gerry
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  • Profile picture of the author Paul Hartunian
    MikeAmbrosio and AndreVas,

    I'm one of those non-tech guys who has no idea how to whitelist the IP I'm using for ARP. I assume you're talking about Yahoo, AOL, MSN, Hotmail, gmail, etc. But are there others I should work with? Also, what's the best way to find if my IP has already been blocked as spam so I can have someone work on that.

    Thanks for the help.

    Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author Neil Morgan
    Hi Paul

    Sent you a PM.

    Cheers,

    Neil
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    Easy email marketing automation without moving your lists.

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    • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
      Paul,

      To check for presence in IP-based blocklists, feed your IP address in here: RBL Realtime Block List

      ... or here: Lookup Page

      A more robust checker, which also looks to see if your domain name is in any of the URIBLs (block lists that work based on the presence of a domain name in the body of an email), use SURBL+ Checker v1.1

      Those will give you most of the info you need.


      Paul
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