Did you know you're paying aweber for your unsubscribes?

[Brad Callen]

I didn't... I just found out that aweber charges customers for people that are in the "unsubscribed status". By contacting aweber and having them permanently delete our unsubscribes, we just saved $160 a month!

I love aweber's service and have nothing against them. Just thought I'd let you guys know, since I'm assuming there are others that have no idea they're paying for unsubscribes whom you'll never actually mail to again.

Brad

[garyv]

I've recently found this out too. When my account was charged for the next level of subscribers amount. I knew I didn't have the amount of subscribers that they said I had. They were charging me for the extra 5k of subscribers that had unsubscribed. They keep them on the list, but don't send to them. Don't ask me why. I like them as well, but this is shady business. Hopefully they'll realize how this looks and remedy it.

edit - you can delete them yourself from the subscribers tab, but 5k takes forever. And unsubscribed is the opposite of subscribe, so you shouldn't be charged as if these were subscribers.

[jasondinner]

There argument will be that they are charging you for "storage" of the leads
whether they are active or not.

I pay $59.95 per month mostly for the same reason when I easily can be
paying $39.95 instead.

For some reason though, I don't want to get rid of those unsubscribes
in case any of them cry spam or anything like that.

Maybe I'll download all my unsubscribed leads just to have records of
them, then ask aweber to purge them.

Good lookin' out Brad

Jason

[Brad Callen]

Yeah, good point Jason. I think it's probably smart to keep unsubscribes in there for a period of time, but after like 2 years, I think it's safe to purge. Probably way sooner than that.

Brad

[Desmond Ong]

Thanks for letting me know as I will sign up with Aweber pretty soon.

[sam520]

Thanks - this is good to know. It seems to make sense though to back up this info just in case.

[garyv]

I have a feeling that aweber keeps the list anyway, because any cries of spam will end up hurting them as well.

[ashleybaker]

Thanks for the info - Started using Aweber a while back and I wasn't aware of this!

Cheers

EDIT: Hey Gary ^^ I made my first 5 sales on your xbox product! Big up!

[garyv]

Originally Posted by ashleybaker

EDIT: Hey Gary ^^ I made my first 5 sales on your xbox product! Big up!

Sweet! - I've got some new stuff coming out soon. I'll be giving it to my list first.


- Jasondinner is right, I looked at the email again, and the charge is for storage of leads. I guess I can understand that. Just wish it was spelled out a little better before they start charging you for it.

I'm not going to raise a big fuss about it though. Aweber is well worth what I pay them.

[CmdrStidd]

This might sound like a stupid question but if you are going to pay eweber for their service then why not just invest in the software and run it on your own website/server? This way you are not getting charged for any storage of names and you have all the features you want while saving money in the long run.

Here is one that costs about as much as some of you are paying monthly fees on and you only pay one time and own it.

myautoresponderpro.com

[Brad Callen]

Originally Posted by CmdrStidd

This might sound like a stupid question but if you are going to pay eweber for their service then why not just invest in the software and run it on your own website/server? This way you are not getting charged for any storage of names and you have all the features you want while saving money in the long run.

Here is one that costs about as much as some of you are paying monthly fees on and you only pay one time and own it.

myautoresponderpro.com

Because eventually your IP will be blocked by all major email service providers and your deliverability rate will be 0%.

Brad

[IMChick]

I noticed this stockpiling of unsubs, too. I let them ride for a few months and then download onto a list and purge the aweber data.

I keep a master list for spam complaints and to cross-reference problem email addresses, but there's no reason to pay for unsub storage that I can see-aweber has the ability to tell when an email un/subscribed to a list and any re-subs need a re-double opt-in anyway.

Thanks for the heads up on this--I'll keep a closer eye on it when the unsubs grow and push me to the next level.

[Nightengale]

Originally Posted by jasondinner

There argument will be that they are charging you for "storage" of the leads whether they are active or not.Jason

Yeah, they did this to me even when my account was inactive for a while.

Originally Posted by jasondinner

For some reason though, I don't want to get rid of those unsubscribes in case any of them cry spam or anything like that.

Jason

Why would they cry spam? Because they get a final "You've been unsubscribed" message?

I will be keeping a sharp eye on my unscubscribes and periodically deleting them. It's ridiculous to pay for dead weight like that.

Michelle

[CmdrStidd]

Originally Posted by Brad Callen

Because eventually your IP will be blocked by all major email service providers and your deliverability rate will be 0%.

Brad

You face the same problem with eweber so what is the difference? eweber only has so many IP addresses that they can shift through and then they have to repeat. Besides, If you are truly not spamming anyone then you should not have any problems. I have no problems listing the emails I really did request info from in my friends list while blacklisting the sites trying to sell me viagra or cialis or some other bs.

[52.ct]

Originally Posted by CmdrStidd

You face the same problem with eweber so what is the difference? eweber only has so many IP addresses that they can shift through and then they have to repeat. Besides, If you are truly not spamming anyone then you should not have any problems. I have no problems listing the emails I really did request info from in my friends list while blacklisting the sites trying to sell me viagra or cialis or some other bs.

This is something I have thought about for quite sometime. I think the argument in Awebers's favor is that since they are a well known brand in the email business, they have networked and made friends with hosting providers so as to have their IPs whitelisted. Also, if Aweber's IP was IP was blacklisted would they not be in a better position to deal with it then you own your own IP.

Lastly, Aweber probably does a better job of keeping up with email/spam laws and making sure their customers are in complinace.

[Louis Raven]

I think the reason is if they unsubscribe it's YOUR duty not to ever send them mail again. By purging them It allows them to sign up again and further cry spam if they have before.

Don't quote me on the above though, it's just I remember reading something along those lines.

Still, if you're 30 subs over the new payment threshhold this advice is golden.

Louis

[Alan Petersen]

Originally Posted by Louis Raven

I think the reason is if they unsubscribe it's YOUR duty not to ever send them mail again. By purging them It allows them to sign up again and further cry spam if they have before.

Don't quote me on the above though, it's just I remember reading something along those lines.

Still, if you're 30 subs over the new payment threshhold this advice is golden.

Louis

I'm confused about what you wrote. If a lead unsubscribes then subscribes again they'll start getting emails again. I don't think they unsubscribe for life--if they re-optin then you they're back in your queue for messages. Am I off-base?

Thanks for the info Brad. I had no clue. Can we purge them ourselves or do we have to contact Aweber to delete the unsubs?

[GB2008]

For me - using Aweber to manage the email lists is worth it to stay on the right side of any Spam problems. It's their job to manage spam laws, email certification (did you know each ISP has their own "standard" for identifying known email senders, and certificates to match??) and to handle / prove invalid any spam complaints. If you try to set up your own email server, you'll fall foul of the "unapproved email sender" list before you get through your first run, not to mention the time and aggro setting everything up. Let the pros handle it - then you can get on with running your business!

[Louis Raven]

Originally Posted by Alan Petersen

I'm confused about what you wrote. If a lead unsubscribes then subscribes again they'll start getting emails again. I don't think they unsubscribe for life--if they re-optin then you they're back in your queue for messages. Am I off-base?

Thanks for the info Brad. I had no clue. Can we purge them ourselves or do we have to contact Aweber to delete the unsubs?

If someone unsubscribes, it's your responsibility to never send them mail until they again subscribe to a further list. By keeping them on the database they can't subscribe to the same list as the one they unsubscribed from previously.

I remember GetResponse saying it's my responsibility not to send them further emails and if caught will remove my membership (not me personally but somewhere in the FAQ or forum).

I'm assuming it's to keep an eye on the spam cryers?

Again, It's just something I remember vaguely and was posted to maybe offer an insight as to the reason they're kept on the server.

Louis

[Corena]

You know. This sounds like an opportunity for someone to make a new service or software.

Hold old opt- out emails for you and document the dates for less then having them held at Aweber. Plus other features. Just saying, sounds like a niche that could be filled.

[Akin Alabi]

Is there something I'm not getting here? Why would I want to
keep unsubscribed lists?

If they opt in again, that should not be a problem. I've unsubscribed
from my own lists and then opted in later (after purging the unsubscribed
list) without problems.

[Corena]

Originally Posted by Akin Alabi

Is there something I'm not getting here? Why would I want to
keep unsubscribed lists?

If they opt in again, that should not be a problem. I've unsubscribed
from my own lists and then opted in later (after purging the unsubscribed
list) without problems.

"Congress passed the CAN-SPAM Act to address the rapid growth in unwanted commercial electronic mail messages.

The CAN-SPAM Act requires the Federal Communications Commission to issue rules with regard to commercial e-mail and some text messages sent to wireless devices such as cell phones—not e-mail in general."~fcc.gov


There is no charge for filing a complaint with the FCC about spam emails. So people do it and sometimes they are sloppy in who they report. Even if they unsubscribed and you have never emailed again.. you may end up being reported to the FCC.

Keeping data that protects you will help fight an unlawful complaint. When a web host or service provider gets spam reports on someone using their services, they will typically cancel first and ask questions later so you should always be on guard and watch your own back.. rarely anyone else will.

[Brad Callen]

Originally Posted by GB2008

For me - using Aweber to manage the email lists is worth it to stay on the right side of any Spam problems. It's their job to manage spam laws, email certification (did you know each ISP has their own "standard" for identifying known email senders, and certificates to match??) and to handle / prove invalid any spam complaints. If you try to set up your own email server, you'll fall foul of the "unapproved email sender" list before you get through your first run, not to mention the time and aggro setting everything up. Let the pros handle it - then you can get on with running your business!

Exactly. Managing and maintaining relationships with all the major email service providers is more than a full-time job, so I'll gladly pay aweber to do this for me.

Brad

[Mike Hill]

YOu can go into your account and delete them yourself. Its a cumbersome job if you have a lot of different lists like I do.

I go to a list then use the search function to search for unsubscribes and then click all and delete... It takes a day or so to reflect the account.

That's how I've been doing it anyway... Almost need to hire a person part time just to do that task

Mike Hill

[lollieamp]

Aweber is the best and much better than Getresponse