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Is it worth it to invest in ARP Reach vs Other Auto responder services?

by jay5x
8 replies
Hi

I have searched the forum and have not found much information on ARP Reach. I am really interested in trying it out but I would like to hear from Warriors using this service, if its worth the cost compared to Aweber, Getresponce etc. I would also like to know if there are any other costs involved besides the once of fee you pay for the software. I would appreciate the feedback, thanks!
#arp #arp reach #arpreach #auto #auto responder #autoresponder #invest #reach #responder #services #worth
  • Profile picture of the author Jesus Perez
    I'm an expert on this topic. If you want easy, mindless email marketing software that already integrates with tons of WP plugins, get Aweber, GetResponse or something similar.

    If you want full control of your list and the technical challenges that come with it, get ARPReach. A lot of solo providers are being pushed to self-hosted because of shady emailing practices. I expect this to become more and more common.

    To answer your question, there's a lot of "behind the scenes" work and costs that go into creating a mail server that mails out directly to the internet. If you use a 3rd party SMTP service like Mandrill, Amazon SES or SMTP.com, the costs can go up significantly.

    1) Buy ARPReach for $199-$299 or Interspire for $495
    2) Competent VPS/Dedicated hosting that will let you mail like a madman and provides reverse DNS. ($24.95/mth minimum...shared hosting will fail miserably).
    3) Setting up SPF, DKIM and Feedback Loops.
    4) Managing SCOMPS, bounces, complaints and maintain list hygiene daily.
    5) Monitor your reputation and Senderscore. Pray you aren't blacklisted or you'll need a new IP and $$$ to get off the list.
    6) (Optional) Power MTA ($10k) or other MTA software to send out email in large quantities (lists of 50k+).
    7) If you're using GoDaddy and someone complains to them directly, you'll need around $500 to get your domain back. It might have gone up.

    So the hidden cost is "time" and the tools to get email delivered faster. Then there's the cost of learning the new world of email marketing. A lot of people won't pull this off unless they're very comfortable with technology.

    So I don't get bombarded with PM's...here's the cost to run a list of 10k subscribers.
    • Software $39-$495
    • Host: $24.95/mth for 20k emails per day at HitDirector.com.
    • Note: It takes 5 hours to email a list of 10k using your hosts EXIM software. So forget about "instant email" without an MTA agent and powerful hosting.
    As you can see...it ain't easy, but it can be done. And once it's done right, you're set with a business that can only be taken down by poor mailing practices. Software is critical to making your life easier. That why the good email systems cost so much.
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    • Profile picture of the author jay5x
      Originally Posted by Jesus Perez View Post

      I'm an expert on this topic. If you want easy, mindless email marketing software that already integrates with tons of WP plugins, get Aweber, GetResponse or something similar.

      If you want full control of your list and the technical challenges that come with it, get ARPReach. A lot of solo providers are being pushed to self-hosted because of shady emailing practices. I expect this to become more and more common.

      To answer your question, there's a lot of "behind the scenes" work and costs that go into creating a mail server that mails out directly to the internet. If you use a 3rd party SMTP service like Mandrill, Amazon SES or SMTP.com, the costs can go up significantly.

      1) Buy ARPReach for $199-$299 or Interspire for $495
      2) Competent VPS/Dedicated hosting that will let you mail like a madman and provides reverse DNS. ($24.95/mth minimum...shared hosting will fail miserably).
      3) Setting up SPF, DKIM and Feedback Loops.
      4) Managing SCOMPS, bounces, complaints and maintain list hygiene daily.
      5) Monitor your reputation and Senderscore. Pray you aren't blacklisted or you'll need a new IP and $$$ to get off the list.
      6) (Optional) Power MTA ($10k) or other MTA software to send out email in large quantities (lists of 50k+).
      7) If you're using GoDaddy and someone complains to them directly, you'll need around $500 to get your domain back. It might have gone up.

      So the hidden cost is "time" and the tools to get email delivered faster. Then there's the cost of learning the new world of email marketing. A lot of people won't pull this off unless they're very comfortable with technology.

      So I don't get bombarded with PM's...here's the cost to run a list of 10k subscribers.
      • Software $39-$495
      • Host: $24.95/mth for 20k emails per day at HitDirector.com.
      • Note: It takes 5 hours to email a list of 10k using your hosts EXIM software. So forget about "instant email" without an MTA agent and powerful hosting.
      As you can see...it ain't easy, but it can be done. And once it's done right, you're set with a business that can only be taken down by poor mailing practices. Software is critical to making your life easier. That why the good email systems cost so much.
      Thanks Jesus! You have 90% persuaded me to stay away from self-hosting! And this is mainly because I am not this most tech savvy person. Really appreciate the info!
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      • Profile picture of the author unclederek
        Jesus took the words right out of my mouth!
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        • Profile picture of the author Jesus Perez
          Originally Posted by experthero101 View Post

          Jesus took the words right out of my mouth!
          Thanks! One thing I didn't clarify...

          With ARP Reach, you can mail out directly from your server like I mentioned above or you can use a 3rd party SMTP provider. Using the 3rd party will eliminate steps 3-6 in my list above...but it will cost you in various ways.

          • Amazon SES is cheap, but they shut down dirty accounts quickly. They also start you with lower volume and ramp you up as you gain trust with them. Importing an old list into Amazon SES will likely lead to failure unless you've previously cleaned it via BriteVerify or similar.
          • Mandrill is run by MailChimp and it's slightly more expensive but just as strict.
          • SMTP.com gets very expensive but there's more freedom.
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          • Profile picture of the author jay5x
            Originally Posted by Jesus Perez View Post

            Thanks! One thing I didn't clarify...

            With ARP Reach, you can mail out directly from your server like I mentioned above or you can use a 3rd party SMTP provider. Using the 3rd party will eliminate steps 3-6 in my list above...but it will cost you in various ways.

            • Amazon SES is cheap, but they shut down dirty accounts quickly. They also start you with lower volume and ramp you up as you gain trust with them. Importing an old list into Amazon SES will likely lead to failure unless you've previously cleaned it via BriteVerify or similar.
            • Mandrill is run by MailChimp and it's slightly more expensive but just as strict.
            • SMTP.com gets very expensive but there's more freedom.
            I am being educated today! Will all this apply with that WP plugin that has been advertised all over the place recently, IMSC Rapid Mailer?
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            • Profile picture of the author Jesus Perez
              Originally Posted by jay5x View Post

              I am being educated today! Will all this apply with that WP plugin that has been advertised all over the place recently, IMSC Rapid Mailer?
              It will, except RapidMailer was getting some pretty bad reviews on the Warrior Forum. I'm not sure if the product creator cleared up the issues yet. There's also MailPoet or MyMail WordPress plugins. I've tested both of them and they work great.
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              • Profile picture of the author brentb
                Amazon SES and Mandrill will shut you down like nobodies business over spam and things like that. SMTP and Sendgrid will let you slide a bit. I have tons of experience with Sendgrid SMTP (not sendgrid marketing), two thumbs up.
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    • Profile picture of the author Ravikanth
      Originally Posted by Jesus Perez View Post

      2) Competent VPS/Dedicated hosting that will let you mail like a madman and provides reverse DNS. ($24.95/mth minimum...shared hosting will fail miserably).

      .
      Will shared hosting fail even if we use an external mailing service like Amazon SES? The FAQ page of Arp Reach mentions that we can use shared hosting if we use an external mailing service.
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