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email marketing - can't afford aweber

by gearmonkey
33 replies
My site was dependant on Google.com for traffic and revenue. Since google farmer, my site was one of the good ones that got hit hard. I am expecting (hoping) that it returns back to normal.

In the mean time, I have started working harder on marketing, rather than SEOing. I have added some twitter buttons, facebook likes/shares/comments options to my Wordpress blog.

I have 500 feedburner subscribers who get automatically emailed when I submit new content. And I have about 1,900 emails that got from a manufacture because I did a giveaway for them. So that's about 2,400 emails I have.

I have another opportunity to get some emails, but don't know how to collect them. Is there a way to get an opt-in form so I can upload these emails to my hotmail account, which in return can send out a facebook friends request?

I need find the best software that captures emails. Any suggestions?
#afford #aweber #email #marketing
  • Profile picture of the author DanielleLynnCopy
    If you can't afford aweber, there are free solutions and cheaper providers...

    However- as many other marketers have warned -don't go cheap when it comes to list building. I've heard enough horror stories about lists that disappeared literally overnight.

    If I were you, I'd find a way to raise some quick investment money, get aweber, and immediately start building up a rapport with my list. Treat them right and they'll treat you right.

    If you truly can't get the money and you're on the brink of starvation, then you may want to rethink your strategy. Get a job, save money, get aweber, and then continue.

    Whatever you decide to do - good luck!
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    • Profile picture of the author Gregg
      Originally Posted by DanielleLynnCopy View Post

      If you can't afford aweber, there are free solutions and cheaper providers...

      However- as many other marketers have warned -don't go cheap when it comes to list building. I've heard enough horror stories about lists that disappeared literally overnight.

      If I were you, I'd find a way to raise some quick investment money, get aweber, and immediately start building up a rapport with my list. Treat them right and they'll treat you right.

      If you truly can't get the money and you're on the brink of starvation, then you may want to rethink your strategy. Get a job, save money, get aweber, and then continue.

      Whatever you decide to do - good luck!
      I agree with Danielle.... email list is important and get the opt-in the proper way cause they will be your income.
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    • Profile picture of the author financialintelligent
      i'm a newbie,i can't understand what u mean by email-marketing and aweber.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by gearmonkey View Post

    I have 500 feedburner subscribers who get automatically emailed when I submit new content. And I have about 1,900 emails that got from a manufacture because I did a giveaway for them. So that's about 2,400 emails I have.
    I think you may have to use a self-hosted solution for these, anyway? They haven't opted in to be on your list, so I can't see a commercial autoresponder service (even a free one) allowing you to import this "list"?

    Good luck with them, though.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kevin Williams
    Like Alexa said, if you wanted to switch to an autoresponder service you would probably need to email your list asking them re-sub. Which would only get active member, but you would lose half your list or so more than likely.

    Aweber isn't really expensive and it should pay itself back with even 100 members in most cases...
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    • Profile picture of the author gearmonkey
      Originally Posted by Kevin Williams View Post

      Like Alexa said, if you wanted to switch to an autoresponder service you would probably need to email your list asking them re-sub. Which would only get active member, but you would lose half your list or so more than likely.

      Aweber isn't really expensive and it should pay itself back with even 100 members in most cases...
      If I can send a note in the activation email like "Subscribe to our iPad Giveaway"... Then I am sure they will subscribe. Not sure if you can do that with aWeber though...

      I had aWeber once before, but it was just so overwhelming trying to juggle all these things. Plus I didn't know what to email people without sounding spammy.

      I would just do manual emails with aWeber, I didn't set up an autoresponder that sent out scheduled emails. Guess I could just email industry news with affiliate links?
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        Originally Posted by gearmonkey View Post

        If I can send a note in the activation email like "Subscribe to our iPad Giveaway"... Then I am sure they will subscribe. Not sure if you can do that with aWeber though...
        Regarding your existing list, I think Aweber may be entirely "academic" because they won't let you import your list, anyway. They have to be people who've opted in to be on your list, for them to allow an import. I think. But you need to ask them this and not take it second-hand from me or anyone else here.

        Originally Posted by gearmonkey View Post

        Plus I didn't know what to email people without sounding spammy.
        Well, this problem applies equally whether you use a commercial autoresponder or a self-hosted one.

        Originally Posted by gearmonkey View Post

        I would just do manual emails with aWeber
        You mean "broadcasts" only, rather than a timed series? Well ... it's a strange way to use an autoresponder ...

        Originally Posted by gearmonkey View Post

        Guess I could just email industry news with affiliate links?
        Maybe.

        Deriving income from a list is about building trust, first and foremost. The idea is to get people to take your recommendations seriously because you're the person making them. So you need to build relationships and credibility with them - and keep them opening your email and not unsubscribing.
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        • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
          Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

          You mean "broadcasts" only, rather than a timed series? Well ... it's a strange way to use an autoresponder ...
          Works well for me. I'm leaning in the direction of never doing another AR series... they simply don't convert for me at all. Broadcast emails do much better.

          Of course, my list never goes on "autopilot," but I think they like it better that way.
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        • Profile picture of the author gearmonkey
          Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

          Well, this problem applies equally whether you use a commercial autoresponder or a self-hosted one.
          I know, I'll need to find some resources on 'how to connect with your email subscribers', which is an entirely different thread. I have have 20+ questions about that. Like how to email, should I just email blurbs to full article, email them special coupon codes for online stores that I'm an affiliate with, and etc...
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          • Profile picture of the author lesterlim85
            Originally Posted by gearmonkey View Post

            I know, I'll need to find some resources on 'how to connect with your email subscribers', which is an entirely different thread. I have have 20+ questions about that. Like how to email, should I just email blurbs to full article, email them special coupon codes for online stores that I'm an affiliate with, and etc...
            You won't know until you have done your testing. Just think through the things you are thinking of doing - Will you like it or think of it being spam when you are the one receiving that email?

            The bottomline is, you must provide value, build up trust with your subscribers. Relationship building is the key.

            Just my 2 cents.

            Cheers,
            Lester
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  • Profile picture of the author steve m
    Email Aces is cheaper then aweber, but to be honest with you I'd always stick with aweber. Also you can pay with paypal with EmailAces too if I remember rightly.

    Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author Alan Ashwood
      Originally Posted by steve m View Post

      Email Aces is cheaper then aweber, but to be honest with you I'd always stick with aweber. Also you can pay with paypal with EmailAces too if I remember rightly.

      Steve
      Hi Steve, I think you'll find that email Aces is no longer supported by Gary. However, he still owns ListWire, which is waht I'm switching to.

      ListWire seems to be getting a bigger and bigger following - and it's totally free

      Alan
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  • Profile picture of the author JasonGrimes
    You could look into MailChimp as free alternative but I'm not 100% sure if it's decent or not.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by JasonGrimes View Post

      You could look into MailChimp as free alternative but I'm not 100% sure if it's decent or not.
      Not.

      This thread, and this thread, and this thread will explain why.

      Also, if you do any affiliate marketing (or any of the many other things they don't like), even if you don't do it/them at Mailchimp, you can still lose your account there, as explained here.

      And they surely wouldn't allow this "list" to be imported there anyway? :confused:
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    • Profile picture of the author benbro
      Originally Posted by JasonGrimes View Post

      You could look into MailChimp as free alternative but I'm not 100% sure if it's decent or not.
      I agree Mail Chimp is a great alternative. I use it as well as aweber and they're both awesome. But my recollection is that mailchimp is only free up to 2000 email addresses.

      Outside of that its hard to beat mail chimp. Hope that helps.
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  • Profile picture of the author Web Junkie
    I know that there are so much negative talk about "Mail Chimp" but I've used it without any problems. I prefer aweber, but I've set up mail chimp accts for a few of my offline clients because they found it easier to manage.

    Also, contrary to what it says above - They DO let you import databases without double opt-in. I know this, because I've done it several times for reactivation campaigns (something aweber is a real pain about).

    In regards to the "AFFILIATE MARKETING" thing - That is true. It violates the tos. But, I've never had a problem with this. Of course, that doesn't mean that YOU won't. I guess it depends on how risk tolerant you are!
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    • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
      Originally Posted by Web Junkie View Post

      It violates the tos. But, I've never had a problem with this.
      The "problem" that people have with this, if and when they do, is to have their account and all their lists deleted.

      And since most of us happen to think a list is the single greatest asset of any online business, that's kind of like risking an arrival at your office one morning only to find a large crater where the bomb went off.
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  • Profile picture of the author Coby
    Imnica Mail - Email Marketing Service - Email Marketing Solved is a more affordable alternative to Aweber plus they just released a new free option (up to 1,000 subs) with the only limitation being a "powered by Imnica" footer.

    I use Imnica and they are getting better and better every day. They recently did a big upgrade that made them even better!
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    • Profile picture of the author gearmonkey
      I'll see if I can't figure a budget for aweber. I don't expect to make money from it for the first 3 months. However if I can send a message to my current subscribers say "enter for a chance to win a free iPad, just click subscribe", then I might be able to get many of emails I already have activated.
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        Originally Posted by gearmonkey View Post

        I'll see if I can't figure a budget for aweber. I don't expect to make money from it for the first 3 months.
        You're only looking at $39 for three months: $1 + $19 + $19.

        I may be wrong, but I'll be surprised if Aweber (or any other reputable service) allows you to import this list at all, though, because they're not people who opted in to be on your list.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexis Kenne
    MailChimp is the best alternative. I do not recommend a self hosted autoresponder because most of the emails sent will go to spams.
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  • Profile picture of the author gearmonkey
    I'm tempted to go for the free stuff just to see how effective it is in my niche
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by gearmonkey View Post

      I'm tempted to go for the free stuff just to see how effective it is in my niche
      Which niche you're in has nothing to do with how effective the autoresponder you choose will be. :confused:

      Using a free autoresponder also doesn't change the problem of not being able to import this list into anyone's service because they're not people who opted in to be on your list.

      Using a free autoresponder would also (in my opinion) be a mistake for many other reasons, explained here. But however you try this, you might not want to do so using your own internet connection and IP number, because typically it takes very few spam complaints to be jeopardising that.
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      • Profile picture of the author gearmonkey
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        Which niche you're in has nothing to do with how effective the autoresponder you choose will be. :confused:

        Using a free autoresponder also doesn't change the problem of not being able to import this list into anyone's service because they're not people who opted in to be on your list.

        Using a free autoresponder would also (in my opinion) be a mistake for many other reasons, explained here. But however you try this, you might not want to do so using your own internet connection and IP number, because typically it takes very few spam complaints to be jeopardising that.
        No I wouldn't install it on my server. I'd use ListWire or MailChimp as others have suggested. I know there are negative reviews, but for every neg reviews there are 100 positive reviews.
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        • Profile picture of the author Virginia M. Clemmons
          For free alternatives, here are two I recommend:

          MailChimp is free for the first 2,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month. However, they do not allow any affiliate marketing. If you're caught, you will lose your account.

          I believe iContact does allow for affiliate marketing, and their free account(not the free trial) allows for 500 subscribers and 2,000 emails per month. (if not please let me know)

          Hope this helps,
          Virginia Clemmons
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  • Profile picture of the author theimdude
    Get yourself Parabots Autoresponder System It is free and you can install it on your server

    You can import a list but be warned if you on shared hosting and you a lot of dead emails they will ban you or even fine you if there IP is blacklisted

    I use this myself but the enterprise version but have my own server.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alan Ashwood
      Originally Posted by KAB View Post

      MailChimp is the best alternative. I do not recommend a self hosted autoresponder because most of the emails sent will go to spams.
      Don't use Mailchimp if you're going to be affiliate marketing.

      Originally Posted by financialintelligent View Post

      i'm a newbie,i can't understand what u mean by email-marketing and aweber.
      You could look it up on Google.
      Simply explained, Aweber is the name of an autoresponder, or email list management company. An autoresponder enables you to collect names into specific lists (very important). You can then use these lists to contact and send offers to your subscribers. You Will Need One!

      Originally Posted by gearmonkey View Post

      I'm tempted to go for the free stuff just to see how effective it is in my niche
      ListWire is owned by an Internet Marketer (Gary Ambrose), and although free, has a high success rate for reaching customers.

      Originally Posted by theimdude View Post

      Get yourself Parabots Autoresponder System It is free and you can install it on your server

      You can import a list but be warned if you on shared hosting and you a lot of dead emails they will ban you or even fine you if there IP is blacklisted

      I use this myself but the enterprise version but have my own server.
      Don't know this, but as it's a self hosted AR system, you will need to be a bit techie. I would avoid.

      See Alexa Smith's comment below.

      There's a comparison of 4 AR services on my blog, if you're interested. May help your deliberations. See signature file below.

      Hope that helps

      Cheers

      Alan
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      • Profile picture of the author gearmonkey
        ListWire is owned by an Internet Marketer (Gary Ambrose), and although free, has a high success rate for reaching customers.

        Cheers

        Alan
        Never heard of Gary Ambrose. So is ListWire a good email autoresponder?
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        • Profile picture of the author Gary_The_Ace
          Originally Posted by gearmonkey View Post

          Never heard of Gary Ambrose. So is ListWire a good email autoresponder?
          I always love hearing stuff like this... after 13 years in this biz, it's good to know there are still tons of people out there who don't know who I am.

          As for it being a good autoresponder... I'd like to think so, but i'm a little biased.

          -G
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          • Profile picture of the author jasondinner
            Originally Posted by Gary_The_Ace View Post

            I always love hearing stuff like this... after 13 years in this biz, it's good to know there are still tons of people out there who don't know who I am.

            -G
            That can only mean more potential customers
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          • Profile picture of the author Alan Ashwood
            Originally Posted by Gary_The_Ace View Post

            I always love hearing stuff like this... after 13 years in this biz, it's good to know there are still tons of people out there who don't know who I am.

            As for it being a good autoresponder... I'd like to think so, but i'm a little biased.

            -G
            Sorry? . . . and who are you again? :confused:

            I'm a ListWire supporter, and user, even if I don't know who you are
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  • Profile picture of the author MacS09
    You could try ImnicaMail (imnicamail.com) - seem to be good, cheaper than Aweber.

    However (there is always a BUT), I read some warning somewhere that quite a few programs will allow Aweber optin code but not code by other providers unless you are a bit of a geeky nerd and able to construct a workaround. I am not, so I stick with Aweber.

    Max
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  • Profile picture of the author irwan mokh
    I'm also using ListWire and Mail Chimp..but most of my list is inside listwire....but if you would like to try a pay autoreponder with the capabilities like Aweber but much cheaper price you can try Trafficwave...
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