Review of Top Ten Email Auto-Responders by Work at Home Grandma

In today’s marketplace it is almost mandatory that you have some sort of auto responder service if you wish to build your email list.  Recently I did a blog on building your list and how vital it is to your business.  In a recent survey done online there were several companies listed in the Top Ten for Auto Responders.    Of course there are many others out there and research via the internet will help you decide which one is best for you.

To lighten your load, I’ve done a brief overview of the top ten auto responder companies and a more in-depth review of the three for which I had had experience.

 

#1  Aweber –                     Best deliverability in the marketplace

AWeber Rated #1

AWeber Rated #1

#2 MailChimp –                 Simple to use and free under 2000 subscribers for basic service

MailChimp Rated #2

MailChimp Rated #2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#3  iContact –                     For small to medium business  who do not import outside list

iContact Rated #3

iContact Rated #3

 

#4 Constant Contact –   Geared for HTML advocates and larger lists

constant_contact_4

#5 Infusionsoft –              Serious marketers only – 50K lists and 6 figure incomes

InfusionSoft Rated #5

InfusionSoft Rated #5

#6 Get Response –          Great reputation in the small business arena of fewer than 10K 

Get Response Rated #6

Get Response Rated #6

#7 1ShoppingCard –        A low cost version of Infusionsoft  – payment processing /email

Shopping Cart Rated #7

Shopping Cart Rated #7

#8 AutoRespond Plus –      For buying leads and importing

AutoRepond Plus Rated #8

AutoRepond Plus Rate #8

#9 CampaignMonitor –    Email marketing for data driven companies

Campaign Monitor Rated #9

Campaign Monitor Rated #9

#10  Office AutoPilot –    Product purchase integration intricate sales funnel

Office Auto Pilot rated#10

Office Auto Pilot rated#10

 

I have chosen three of these to give more specifics. Two of them I work with every day.  One of them I tried briefly but found in wanting for my needs. 

#1 Aweber  

Tom K.  CEO and Founder

Sean C.  Chief Operating Officer

Gene K. Chief Financial Officer

I use this auto responder daily in my business to respond to sign up requests and also for follow up emails and broadcasts.

Affiliate Program – Yes

The first month cost is $1 and after that the rates are as follows:

< 500  $19 month

< 2500 $29 month

<10000 $69 month

< 25000  $149 month

Customized prices after this point.

Products available on AWeber include

Email Newsletters

Follow up responders

Sign up Forms and Integration to numerous lists

Broadcasts customized to one or more list

Optimization of data for review and maintenance

Html email templates

RSS feed directly from your blog

Seminars and training ongoing basis

One on one personal help with set up or training.  Available via phone 7 days a week

The one on one service provided by AWeber makes them stand out in the industry.  If you have any type of problem they will walk you through it and help you configure it.

The only downside I have found is that their online instructions lack detail needed by the novice, however, their one on one help is phenomenal and they are only a phone call away.

They are constantly coming up with new innovations to make your job easier and enhance your business.  If you are a beginner they are definitely your best bet.

#2 MailChimp

Ben Chestnut   Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Dan Kurzius     Co-Founder and Chief Customer Officer

Affiliate Program – Yes but not standard commissions

This is a tremendous tool for those just getting started and do not have any money to invest in an auto responder but would like to have the availability of a newsletter.

For those having a mailing of less than 2000 the cost is free for a monthly newsletter.  I use MailChimp for one of my clients in the non-profit area to send out their monthly newsletter.  If you are moderately adept on the computer this is a very easy program to follow for simple newsletters.

Unfortunately, the downside to MailChimp’s free service is that you get one opportunity for email support and no phone consultation is available.  If you are familiar with Html and drag and drop processing MailChimp is easy to use.

If you are a beginner, it is a very difficult learning process without any help.   Their newsletters turn out beautifully in most cases but again if you do not understand the process you will have difficulty with the free service.

The free service does not supply any auto responder email follow up program.

Rates on this one are:

Subscribers                              Emails Monthly

0 – 2,000                                              12,000                              Free mailing no auto email setup*

1,001  – 1500                                     unlimited                            $20.00

1,501 – 2,000                                     unlimited                            $25.00

2,001 – 2,500                                     unlimited                            $30.00

2,501 – 2,600                                     unlimited                            $35.00

As you can see they have a small email base but good options to choose from.  Larger databases are customized and they can handle up to $50,000 subscribers.

*A low cost option of $10 per month is available which provides some auto – responder emails with limited use and some customer service help via online chat.

#6 Get Response

Hanna Andrzejewska – Marketing Manager

I have used Get Response briefly with one of my affiliate marketers JVZoo.  I found them a bit cumbersome but I’m not sure if it was because I had been using AWeber for so long that I was just unfamiliar. Their website itself is sometimes difficult to maneuver.

Affiliate ProgramYes

Here is a breakdown of their plans and pricing.

Beginner Program                <1000 subscribers                $15.00 Monthly – Basic Email

 

Pro Program*                        <5000 subscribers              $49.00 Monthly – Add Landing Page/Webinar

Max Program                         <10000 subscribers            $165 Monthly -all Pro +custom domain

Enerprise Program               100K > subscribers              $999 -Large infrastructure only

 

The products are available with a quick check on Google by clicking on their link description. There you will find more  details on exactly what each one offers.

 

Thanks for tuning in for another review.  I hope to be able to provide these on a

regular basis as needs arise.  Have a great week.

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2 Comments

  1. Hi there, just read your post about auto-responders. I am new to the online marketing world and know that at some point I’m going to need one. I really appreciate your insights of what works and what doesn’t.

    I’m not gonna lie…I’m a little afraid of learning yet another software component. You seem to think that Aweber is the best way to go. You seem to say that their help desk is actually “helpful”. Do you think that Aweber is truly good for a newbie or should a person start with, say, Mail Chimp to start and then progress?

    Thanks!

    Cherie

    • Hi Cherie
      Thanks for checking in on this post. Here is my opinion on the auto-responders.

      First of all, you shouldn’t wait to put a sign in form on your website and in facebook. You’ll want to collect emails as soon as you can. Of course to do this you will need an email provider such as I outlined in my blog. I use AWeber and MailChimp regularly. I prefer AWeber for a real newbie as you can just pick up the phone and call them for free. They will walk you through the entire setup of your account. They do have some online instructions but those can be confusing I’ve found.

      As far as ease of use once your account has been set up I find MailChimp extremely easy for their drag and drop template use and placement within an email. AWeber templates can be confusing sometimes. The problem with MailChimp is that unless you pay $10 right out of the gate you do not get any help. Then the help is not a live person but a chat room. The free program offers you 1 message contact and that’s it. So if you really green about email providers they are not the way to go unless you select one of their paid programs.

      The reason I recommend AWeber is that you can try it out for one month for $1 and get all the set up help you need. Then if you don’t like it you can cancel and more to another carrier.
      Let me know if you have any other questions. I’d be glad to assist.
      Sandy

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