How to Choose Your Email Service Provider or Autoresponder
Building your list is one of the vital things to do and having an excellent service for this is something to get right from the start. There are many options to choose from and I’ve used most of them. For the business owner who is starting out or in the first few years of operations, there are now two services I recommend depending on what you need and your budget.
The advantages of MailChimp are: it starts out free and is easy to use. Until your list reaches 2000 people or you need autoresponders, there is no charge for the service and many of my clients have found it easy to navigate and use on their own (if they want to.) You can have multiple lists and opt-in forms (one per list,) import contacts, send out messages and it integrates with other services such as Paypal, some shopping carts, CRMs and more. If you do a lot of affiliate marketing, you should not choose MailChimp.
The cost grows as your list grows or when you need autoresponders, which eventually you will want. (Autoresponders are pre-written messages that go out automatically on a pre-determined schedule. For example, you could create an ecourse which is a series of emails containing each lesson. No matter when someone purchases your ecourse, every purchaser gets the same sequence of emails.)
This is my number one recommendation for the small business. AWeber’s opt-in forms are gorgeous and you can also create your own with custom graphics. You can have multiple lists and forms, autoresponders are included and it integrates with many services. There are also tons of email templates to choose from or design your own from scratch. The interface takes a little bit to learn but once you do, it is easy to navigate. If you run into a challenge, AWeber’s support department is fast, helpful and one of the best I’ve encountered in any industry.
The only real issue I’ve run into with AWeber is when a client wants to move their list from another provider: this can be tricky with AWeber since the people on your list will have to opt-in again. It can be done if you warn your list in advance and explain the steps in detail. You will lose people who don’t sign up with you on the new service but the ones who fall away probably weren’t potential clients or customers anyway (if they were then they’d have stayed with you.)
AWeber isn’t free but you can start with a $1 trial and then it’s less than $20 a month until your list grows over 500 people. Considering that email marketing averages a 4000% return on investment, the fee for AWeber is minimal for such a vital part of your business.
What email service do you use? I’d love to hear which one and why you like it!
Get started with your email marketing now. Sign up with AWeber and then contact me to help you set it up, create your opt-in form and gift, email template and on-going management. Packages from starter to a full done-for-you service are available.
To your success,
Note: Links in this post are affiliate links.