Can this be done to replace autoresponder services?

by Qamar
29 replies
Hi warriors,

I need your opinion regarding this little 'idea' of mine. Here it goes...
I have this plan to place an email account on my website offering advice and tips with regards to the niche of my website. This email account is solely for the purpose of this website so I have no issue if they choose to spam it.

So if there is anyone who really need my advice and ask me questions, of course I will give my best answer to them ( sort like yahoo answer...). Hopefully this will help them solve whatever problems that they have.

Ok in return I will have their email address right?
The question is can I use this email address as my "list of subscribers" that I can have future contact with?

Is it wrong to do this? or is this method going against any law?
Thanks in advance.




Qamar
#autoresponder #replace #services
  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    If you make it clear they will receive further emails from you then it is ok. If not, then they are not really giving you permission to do this. They are under the understanding they are just asking you a question so unless you tell them otherwise, I'd imagine you will get a few complaints.

    As for using a proper auto-responder service, one of the best advantages to using one like aweber, besides all the features they have, is their email deliverability rate. You will be hard pressed to get as many of your emails delivered if you are going it on your own in this fashion.
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    • Profile picture of the author Qamar
      Hi Willr,
      I think upon answering the very first email respond to the enquirer, i would ask their permission for future corresponding. if their answer is ok then I might proceed doing it. if their answer is no then it's ok. I think if this method is viable then it is even easier than using 3rd party autoresponder services. Just my thought.



      Qamar
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  • Profile picture of the author mikemcmillan
    I understand what you're trying to do, but you're not getting any data on open rates, and you can't do any split testing. I mean, if you only had a list of 20 people it might work, but trust me if you get many subscribers (and they aren't really subscribers) it sounds like a lot of work.

    And--without a double opt-in mechanism in place, if you get many spam complaints your ISP could head-slap you hard. Good luck though... --Mike
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    • Profile picture of the author Qamar
      Originally Posted by mikemcmillan View Post

      I understand what you're trying to do, but you're not getting any data on open rates, and you can't do any split testing. I mean, if you only had a list of 20 people it might work, but trust me if you get many subscribers (and they aren't really subscribers) it sounds like a lot of work.

      And--without a double opt-in mechanism in place, if you get many spam complaints your ISP could head-slap you hard. Good luck though... --Mike
      Hi Mike,
      Thanks for the advise but I was thinking of genuinely build a good rapport with them. Sort of facebook fanpage tehniques whereby we provide valuable infos to them and over time recommend paid products to solve their problems. But they have to agree with this first otherwise, I am not going to proceed.

      I noticed that many people especially new Internet marketers asking for free autoresponder services to build their list, why not try this method BUT at their OWN RISK?

      Qamar
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    I agree with the above poster. If you are planning on building a decent sized list, you are much better off starting with a 3rd party auto-responder. You are required by law to have an opt-out link in each email, regardless of whether they have given you permission or not. You would also need to keep all those emails where people have given their permission incase anyone ever accussed you of spamming them.

    This is a very messy way of doing things

    It's much easier to handle all this with a 3rd party auto-responder. You also have the proper records and ips people used when signing up to your list. And if you decide to migrate over to one at a later stage, people will have to reconfirm they want to be on your list and you will lose subscribers by doing this.

    And at only $19.95 per month for a list of up to 10,000 subscribers on aweber, you could make that money back easily if you have a decent size list. If it was cheaper and easier to do it yourself, everyone would be doing it.
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    • Profile picture of the author Qamar
      Originally Posted by WillR View Post

      I agree with the above poster. If you are planning on building a decent sized list, you are much better off starting with a 3rd party auto-responder. You are required by law to have an opt-out link in each email, regardless of whether they have given you permission or not. You would also need to keep all those emails where people have given their permission incase anyone ever accussed you of spamming them.

      This is a very messy way of doing things

      It's much easier to handle all this with a 3rd party auto-responder. You also have the proper records and ips people used when signing up to your list. And if you decide to migrate over to one at a later stage, people will have to reconfirm they want to be on your list and you will lose subscribers by doing this.

      And at only $19.95 per month for a list of up to 10,000 subscribers on aweber, you could make that money back easily if you have a decent size list. If it was cheaper and easier to do it yourself, everyone would be doing it.
      Yes what you said make sense. I might reconsider it.
      But I think Aweber charges 19.95 p/mth for first 500 subscribers and not 10,000?


      Qamar
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      • Profile picture of the author WillR
        Originally Posted by Qamar View Post

        Yes what you said make sense. I might reconsider it.
        But I think Aweber charges 19.95 p/mth for first 500 subscribers and not 10,000?
        Qamar
        I am on their old pricing because I signed up a long time ago. Here's a little tip for you though. If you use one of the private label versions of aweber such as Jeff Walkers ProFollow, you can still signup with the old pricing. $19.95 for the first 10,000 leads.

        Don't be confused by the name. This is still aweber, the exact same service we are all using. In fact I can go along to that website and login to my aweber account. They basically offer this to some top IM'ers who they know can send them a lot of leads. Jeff will get a commission from you signing up however you get to join Aweber at their old prices.

        Win win situation...
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        • Profile picture of the author Jeff Walker
          Originally Posted by WillR View Post

          I am on their old pricing because I signed up a long time ago. Here's a little tip for you though. If you use one of the private label versions of aweber such as Jeff Walkers ProFollow, you can still signup with the old pricing. $19.95 for the first 10,000 leads.

          Don't be confused by the name. This is still aweber, the exact same service we are all using. In fact I can go along to that website and login to my aweber account. They basically offer this to some top IM'ers who they know can send them a lot of leads. Jeff will get a commission from you signing up however you get to join Aweber at their old prices.

          Win win situation...
          Just a quick heads up... on December 13th we're switching over the pricing at profollow.com to match aweber's pricing.

          So if you want to get in on pricing where you get 10,000 leads for $19.95, you should sign up now. If you do so, you'll be grandfathered in at that pricing level.

          After December 13th, the pricing will be the same as aweber's.


          - Jeff
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          • Profile picture of the author learnmore
            Hi Jeff,
            Is there's any difference between Aweber and Profollow other than price? Asked another way, is there a down side to sign up with ProFollow and not Aweber?

            I esp. like the pricing of ProFollow.

            Thanks

            Originally Posted by Jeff Walker View Post

            Just a quick heads up... on December 13th we're switching over the pricing at profollow.com to match aweber's pricing.

            So if you want to get in on pricing where you get 10,000 leads for $19.95, you should sign up now. If you do so, you'll be grandfathered in at that pricing level.

            After December 13th, the pricing will be the same as aweber's.


            - Jeff
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            • Profile picture of the author Jeff Walker
              Originally Posted by learnmore View Post

              Hi Jeff,
              Is there's any difference between Aweber and Profollow other than price? Asked another way, is there a down side to sign up with ProFollow and not Aweber?

              I esp. like the pricing of ProFollow.

              Thanks

              Profollow.com doesn't have the advanced analytics that aweber has. Otherwise they're identical.

              After we move to the new pricing at profollow.com, then we'll have the new analytics features.

              People who sign up under the current pricing will have the decision to remain at the old pricing, or they can switch over to the new pricing and get the analytics features.

              So basically, if you sign up now you get a choice... if you don't sign up now, then the option to the the current pricing goes away in another week.


              - Jeff
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              • Profile picture of the author WillR
                Originally Posted by Jeff Walker View Post

                Profollow.com doesn't have the advanced analytics that aweber has. Otherwise they're identical.

                After we move to the new pricing at profollow.com, then we'll have the new analytics features.

                People who sign up under the current pricing will have the decision to remain at the old pricing, or they can switch over to the new pricing and get the analytics features.

                So basically, if you sign up now you get a choice... if you don't sign up now, then the option to the the current pricing goes away in another week.


                - Jeff
                FYI

                I signed up to Aweber years ago at the price of $19.95 for 10,000 leads so I don't have the new analytics feature either. I was offered to upgrade to the new pricing model but it didn't make sense for me to do it at the time.

                I would recommend only upgrading to the new analytics feature once you have a good list going and are making money from that list. It can be a fair bit more expensive when your list starts to grow.
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              • Profile picture of the author learnmore
                Thank you Jeff for replying here and being responsive to my question. I think it makes the decision easier.

                A couple more questions if I may?

                In terms of deliverability, would you say there are any differences between ProFollow and Aweber?

                If one wants to move their list from old pricing structure with Profollow to Aweber to take advantage of the advanced analytics, can this be done and will the subscribers have to opt in again?

                Take care and best regards.
                Originally Posted by Jeff Walker View Post

                Profollow.com doesn't have the advanced analytics that aweber has. Otherwise they're identical.

                After we move to the new pricing at profollow.com, then we'll have the new analytics features.

                People who sign up under the current pricing will have the decision to remain at the old pricing, or they can switch over to the new pricing and get the analytics features.

                So basically, if you sign up now you get a choice... if you don't sign up now, then the option to the the current pricing goes away in another week.


                - Jeff
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                • Profile picture of the author Jeff Walker
                  Originally Posted by learnmore View Post

                  Thank you Jeff for replying here and being responsive to my question. I think it makes the decision easier.

                  A couple more questions if I may?

                  In terms of deliverability, would you say there are any differences between ProFollow and Aweber?

                  If one wants to move their list from old pricing structure with Profollow to Aweber to take advantage of the advanced analytics, can this be done and will the subscribers have to opt in again?

                  Take care and best regards.

                  I haven't noticed any difference in deliverability between profollow.com and aweber (I have accounts at both).

                  And yes, you can move an account from profollow.com to aweber... AND from aweber to profollow.com - and your subscribers will NOT have to opt-in again.

                  HOWEVER, if you want the old pricing of $19.95 per month for up to 10,000 subscribers, then you need to sign up by December 15th.

                  Sometime on December 15th we're switching profollow.com over to the new pricing (with the new analytics features).

                  This isn't fake scarcity or anything like that. It's the last chance to get the old aweber pricing.


                  - Jeff
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                • Profile picture of the author ecdiscounts
                  Originally Posted by learnmore View Post

                  In terms of deliverability, would you say there are any differences between ProFollow and Aweber?
                  There shouldn't be any difference since they are the same except one is a reseller of aweber.

                  Scott
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      • Profile picture of the author paulie888
        Originally Posted by Qamar View Post

        Yes what you said make sense. I might reconsider it.
        But I think Aweber charges 19.95 p/mth for first 500 subscribers and not 10,000?


        Qamar
        If you're planning to build a list of subscribers for the long-term, it'll definitely behoove you to use an autoresponder from the very beginning as there are so many limitations that you'll run into with just a free email account, including how many emails you can send out per day. Granted, if you never grow your list beyond 100 people it might not make a huge difference, but I'm sure you are planning to build a list much bigger than that.

        I'm pretty happy with profollow as it is basically just aweber without the more advanced analytics features, just as Jeff Walker has described above. It works really well, and should more than pay for itself if you are building your list properly and treating your subscribers right.

        Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author Nickolie0990
    if you want to replace an autoresponder, I would use WP-Responders. It is a WordPress plug-in, does just about everything Aweber does, but it is 100% FREE. The plugin is great for someone who is just getting started and don't have any money to use to invest in.
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    • Profile picture of the author Qamar
      Originally Posted by Nickolie0990 View Post

      if you want to replace an autoresponder, I would use WP-Responders. It is a WordPress plug-in, does just about everything Aweber does, but it is 100% FREE. The plugin is great for someone who is just getting started and don't have any money to use to invest in.
      Thanks Nickolie!
      I will give it a try.



      Qamar
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  • Profile picture of the author redcell1
    Possibly check out mailchimp ? campaignmonitor ?
    Signature

    Just here to see the shenanigans.

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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by redcell1 View Post

      Possibly check out mailchimp ?
      Not if you're doing affiliate marketing (which contravenes their terms of service, as some Warriors have found out "too late" when they've suddenly lost their lists!). :rolleyes:
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  • Profile picture of the author TheRazor55
    And thats what you get for saying jeff walker or any of his products out in public.
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    • Profile picture of the author rahasia
      Originally Posted by TheRazor55 View Post

      And thats what you get for saying jeff walker or any of his products out in public.
      He put his name on Google Alert
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  • Profile picture of the author Don Schenk
    Qamar, you are receiving some good advice here. I use Aweber, but I also know that a warrior owns imnicamail, and the prices are much better.

    The main problem with collecting a number of email addresses yourself is your ISP will think you are spamming when they see you send email message to several hundred or more folks at a time. They will probably shut you down.

    By using a reputable autorespondor company you won't run into that problem.

    BTW Do you have your website hosted with a different company than the one where you registered you domain name? If a host shuts you down, and you also have your domain registration through them, you will be stuck. If you use a different host and registrar, you can always move to a new host.

    :-Don
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    • Profile picture of the author ecdiscounts
      Originally Posted by Don Schenk View Post

      By using a reputable autorespondor company you won't run into that problem.

      BTW Do you have your website hosted with a different company than the one where you registered you domain name? If a host shuts you down, and you also have your domain registration through them, you will be stuck. If you use a different host and registrar, you can always move to a new host.

      :-Don
      Registrars can also shut you down, we have seen it happen to many marketers over the years. The best thing is a reputable autorespondor company which doesn't have to be the more expensive ones.

      Scott
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  • Profile picture of the author dean777
    Short answer - they MUST give you permission to receive future emails/offers from you AND have the option to UNSUBSCRIBE if they so wish
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  • Profile picture of the author kimberly Aita
    You should check out imnica. I so far think all autoresponders seem somewhat difficult but they have tutorials and I believe it is run by someone here on the forum. I tried to put a link but it just keeps going to some other imnica site. just type in imnicamail.com

    I have edited this 3 or 4 times now. I just realized you don't get the warrior discount if you go straight to the site. Try here for the wso offer... http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-...ure-added.html
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    • Profile picture of the author ecdiscounts
      Originally Posted by kimberly Aita View Post

      You should check out imnica. I so far think all autoresponders seem somewhat difficult but they have tutorials and I believe it is run by someone here on the forum.

      http://www.imnicamail.com/

      not an affiliate link!
      Which one's did you find to be difficult?

      Scott
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      • Profile picture of the author kimberly Aita
        I think it's just that I don't really use an autoresponder but Constant Contact I found to be hard to navigate.... I believe my problem is not having used them, so I don't really know how and just haven't found the time or patience to watch all the tutorials.....

        I did decide on imnica because of the trial and price point and so I watched enough to get a contact form that I kind of like. I don't like that the email is first and name second and haven't figured out how to change that but I also find it difficult to know what I am really sending and how to set up any email series but as I said it's because I need to watch the tutorials.

        All of them say pick a theme? I don't want a theme. I just want to send out messages or offers or whatever I want. Chances are if and when I do get it, it will be an aha moment and I'll realize I was making it more complicated than it needed to be:rolleyes:

        Originally Posted by ecdiscounts View Post

        Which one's did you find to be difficult?

        Scott
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        • Profile picture of the author ecdiscounts
          Originally Posted by kimberly Aita View Post

          All of them say pick a theme? I don't want a theme. I just want to send out messages or offers or whatever I want. Chances are if and when I do get it, it will be an aha moment and I'll realize I was making it more complicated than it needed to be:rolleyes:
          I do agree some are just confusing and there are others that are just not up to the job and most are over priced but then again they have to pay their affiliates so they charge more.

          Scott
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          • Profile picture of the author webco
            Damn it , missed out on the special $20-00 for 10k
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