aweber alternatives?

It also has to do with deliverability and protection from complaints.

I was having lunch with a new client last Sunday. His basic thought process was, "I do what I do for a living. The last thing I want to do is try to figure out what YOU do for a living. I just want a system where I can set up my messages and have them sent out so that I can build MY business."

Makes perfect sense to me.

Companies that do Email Marketing and AutoResponders as their sole focus are going to be more tuned in to the requirements from a legal, technical, and cultural perspective.

When a contractor is building a house. He doesn't figure out how to build the tools he'll be using. The smart contractor buys the best tools he can afford to help him create a quality product.

That way, he doesn't have to worry about whether his tools will fail him somewhere along the line. He can focus on what he does for a living.

Srini,

most people go with a hosted solution for deliverability reasons. So few people realize what a massive, resource intensive effort is put forth daily by system admins around the world to block SPAM. To fight it many folks simply shoot first and ask questions later - which is basically their right, given its their systems and networks. There are no laws saying I have to pass through or deliver your emails( or web, IM, or video traffic).

And many of the large ISPs and NAPs in the world do just that - and in order to get your email delivered - you need to be talking to these folks constantly. My wife works from on service provider- iContact- and they have a whole staff whos duty is deliverability. These folks are on speed dial with the admins at places like HotMail, AOL, ComCast and RBLs like Spamhouse (ok - not them since nobody has their phone number, but these providers do have special email address they use to beg to be taken off blacklists etc).

These providers also use hundreds of servers to deliver email - a single email might not take a lot of time to deliver - but thousands? Even with a decent sized server, things take TIME (that thing the creator made so everything doesn't happen at once). And hundreds of IPs on different CIDR blocks so if one range gets blacklisted (and they all do - aweber, getresponse, iContact - its a never ending battle) their entire business isn't shut down.

If you're on a dedicated IP and someone accuses (rightly or wrongly - you'd be surprised how many AOL'er use the 'report spam' button as the un-subscribe button) you of sending spam - your hosting provider is going to kick you to the curb rather than risk having their IPs black listed as a spammer.

And if you're unlucky enough to use Godaddy - you might find your domain confiscated as well and completely out of business until you can prove beyond a doubt (and sometimes pay a nice big fee) that you're not a spammer.

If you're going to be sending out a few hundred emails a month to a warm list who knows and trusts you- then running your own server might make sense. I do this for several small lists using world merge (its a newsletter program rather than an AR).

I no longer use Autoresponse plus - not because its a bad program- its a great program - but because for my 4,000 user list iContact just makes better sense.

HTH,
--Jack

Between aweber and getresponse, it sounds like they are comparable services. But aweber is 5 times more expensive for a list of 10,000 subscribers.

Aweber:
0 - 500 $19
501 - 2,500 $29
2,501 - 5,000 $49
5,001 - 10,000 $69
10,001 - 25,000 $149

GetResponse:
Monthly $17.95 -
Quarterly $47.85 $6
Semi-Annually $87.70 $20
Annually $145.40 $70
The above plans include unlimited mailings to up to 10,000 subscribers. For every additional 5,000 subscribers, an extra $4.50 per month will be charged, in arrears, after 30 days.

So, considering a 10k mailing list, paid annually, Aweber is $69/month whereas getresponse will cost $12.15/month. For a 20K list, Aweber will cost $149/month whereas getresponse will cost $21.15/month.

In short, aweber usually costs up to 5-6 times more than getresponse. I've used aweber and its features are great. What about getresponse? Is aweber justified for the price difference?

Aweber is the industry standard and double optin is a must in these days. There are individual scripts that can do well. I use this php autoresponder for small lists and it comes at a affordable one time payment of 47.95$. Its a good option but you have to manually manage your list.

TurboAutoresponders.com is an option. They use the PLR of Aweber and so you get aweber standards at the old prices.

call me rude or whatever, but if with a 10k list you cant make $149/month then you might wanna go into another business.

Hi,

MailChimp is unique in that you can pay for just the emails you send - i.e no monthly fee. It apparently also has a nice API.

Cheers,

Steve