Name: AWeber
URL: www.aweber.com
Purpose: Email autoresponding, list management
Overall Rating 8/10
Over the past few years one thing I kept hearing was the "Money is in the list" and to be hnmest I thought this was just another internet ploy to part me from my money, However, I have learnt that this is the case the money is in the list and it pays to keep in touch with your list whether you are sending out a newsletter, recommending a product or providing a free gift.
When i started .list building i used the mail list facility that came with the hosting, however, i soon learnt that because this is not a closed loop system and leaves you open for spam cmplaints as theybhave not opted in to receive information. Also the lists themselves are oopen top abuse so i decided this was not an option for me.
Before reading on if you have no idea what an email autoresponder is or why you would need one or how you would use one please read a very good article i foiund introducing email autoresponders
Once I decided I needed a professional autorespoinder I was blown away by Marketers Choice (aka 1shoppingcart). What excited me was how all-inclusive the service was. It includes a shopping cart, autoresponder, affiliate manager, a click-tracker and much more, all linked together. It’s basically the best all-in-one online marketer solution. As you would expect there is a hefty monthly subscription fee broken down into different tiers.
My problem was that I really only needed the autoresponder but I didn’t let that discourage me and figured eventually as my online business empire grew I would make use of all the extra tools. I signed up for the cheapest plan at $29 USD per month and used that for about a year.
A Mini Review Of Marketer’s Choice
I know this is slightly off topic but it should still be relevant for you if you are deciding on which autoresponder to go with because Marketers Choice should be a major contender. There is really only once question you need to ask yourself (and no, it’s not “do you feel lucky, punk!” - sorry I always a Client Eastwood fan) ) -
Do you need just an autoresponder or all the other modules that Marketers Choice comes with?
If you have products you can affiliate sell, if you need an online shopping cart and an autoresponder and you want it all nicely linked together under the one system using the one database then Marketers Choice is for you. It’s a good system, used by some of the top online marketers
However if you break each module down individually they do have issues. It’s not the most intuitive system to use, although there is extensive documentation and instructional videos when you need help, and I found it a bit “clunky”. As a whole you can’t compare it but when you break it down module by module there are better options out there. This is one of the reasons I eventually decided to switch to AWeber.com.
Why I use AWeber Autoresponders
In a nutshell there were three reasons why I choose to move away from Marketers Choice.
- I wasn’t using all the extra features.
- Therefore I was being overcharged so I wanted a cheaper option.
- I heard good things about another autoresponder called AWeber and I noticed many of the newsletters I signed up for from professional Internet marketers seem to be using AWeber mailing lists.
- I recently saw some videos about Aweber unleashed and discovered it was more powerful than I thought
Having been bitten many times over the years and waited thousands of dollars on quite frankly crap systems I got my Columbo rain coat out and started to do some due dilligence (I also used tow ork for a Private detetcive company before I went behind the I M Curtain called "No hiding placre" no don't laugh that was the name of the company just google it). Ffirst and looked around forums to see what people were saying about AWeber and it was very hard to find a negative comment. Most of it was glaringly positive, in fact it felt in most cases that AWeber was the de facto standard email autoresponder, which only happens when a product keeps its customers very happy.
Email Deliverability
I have no way of proving this, but since I read it in many places from different sources, I’ll mention it here. There is a big concern in email marketing circles about mail deliverability, which refers to whether emails sent (broadcast) to your lists make it through. The problem is a lot of mail servers block mass emails sent out and unless the email responder service provider has pre-arranged to be whitelisted your mail won’t get through. That’s pretty detrimental to any online company.
AWeber has the enviable record of the highest percentage of email deliverability, which means AWeber is doing a pretty good job to make sure your emails make it to your customers and from experience they seem to get through as lonmg as you keep the spam score low.. This fact alone is enough of a reason to choose AWeber.com.
Functions
I won’t lie to you, there is a learning curve to using an email autoresponder, but you will find that with any system and you just have to learn your way through. I find AWeber’s system a lot less clunky than Marketers Choice. It’s simple in design with all the core features available through tabs at the top. It took me about an hour of playing with the system to get the hang of it.
One of the best features is when someone unsubscribe's for one of your lists. What, I hear you cry why is that a good feature. Although no-one wants people to unsubscribe from their list it WILL happen and aweber allows the person the opportunity to leave a comment telling you why they choose to leave your list. As a business owner I’m sure you know how valuable feedback like this can be. It’s so nice to know why someone does’t find what you do satisfactory and often leads to some big improvements in what you do simply because you didn't’t realize there was a problem t.
How I Use AWeber
Currently I use AWeber for all my online promotions and it controls all my email lists. I use it to distribute Money master online on a monthly basis as well as once-off broadcasts when i need to with special offers. Aweber is also used for people that are interested in my software sites and health sites by given them a free gift which i can then use to follow up when new products are added or special offers etc
A feature AWeber recently implemented is an RSS-to-email service. This service is very helpful because I can create an email mailing list for people who want to stay up to date with my blogs via email. I just plug in my RSS feed, tell AWeber how many blog articles to send out in each broadcast and it will automatically control the mailing list. The service is not branded either and I have complete control over the presentation of the broadcast emails which makes it superior to almost all the other RSS to email services out there.
I also have various other small lists to keep in touch with certain groups. It makes it a lot easier to control your email contacts. From a sales point of view it’s a very powerful resource because it keeps you connected with your prospects and clients.
