When it comes to building and mailing to an online list of subscribers, is a piece of software suitable or should you consider using one of the email marketing servces such as Aweber?

If you google auto responder software you will be overwhelmed by the number of results you get. However the chances are that most of these will not save you much time and will certainly not protect you against can-it spam legislation for which any breaches carry a serious punishment.

The time taken in setting up a piece of software is time that is wasted when a cheap professional service would mean that with a few clicks of a mouse would mean that you website is set up to collect all the subscribers you can send to it.

When I first went into online marketing I tried what seemed the cheaper option of using auto responder software. However I felt this to be a false economy due to the time I lost setting the thing running.

If you have several websites or mailing lists then services such as aweber or get response will allow you to manage them all from a single log in. Whereas auto responder software would need to be installed on each individual website making life a lot more complicated for you.

The most important thing any auto responder software can do is to be able to prove that you do not send unrequested junk mail – ie it needs to prove you only send messages to those that requested it = otherwise you could be prosecuted for sending spam.

The various services are so cheap and easy to use that I would never bother with auto responder software. I prefer to use my time on other more productive activities such as getting new visitors to my website.

The autoresponder market is absolutely huge with both paid for services and codes that are given. THere are autoresponders that you control from your pc and others that you need to log into online. Here I review the key things that you ought to look for when choosing your email marketing service.

There is no easier way to build up a list of people that you can send your email updates and advertisements to than using an auto responder services.

If a visitor comes to your site once you can sell to them once. If they join your list then you can sell to them over and over again.

So that brings us nicely to the first key point. And that is when you choose your autoresponder, it needs to be one that makes it simple for anyone to join your email list (and to be able unsubscribe later if they so wish). You must give your customer confidence that they will not be bombarded with junk mail.

The major email marketing programs do this as a matter of course. And to stop accusations that you sent unrequested junk mail they also record when and how the person joined your list.

As well as making things easy for your prospects it also needs to be quick and simple for you. Everything ought to be on autopilot after the initial set up yet to your list it should appear that this is a personal conversation. You ought to be able to send out instant emails if needed yet also pre-schedule emails too. It needs to be as simple as possible for you but feel extremely professional to the customer.

Whilst there are so many email marketing services out there that you can use, I would advise that you stay away from the free ones and plump for one of the market leaders – they are inexpensive and are market leaders for a reason.

When it comes to building and mailing to an online list of subscribers, is a piece of software suitable or should you consider using one of the email marketing servces such as Aweber?

The idea of auto responder software is that it is automatic, however having to set it up yourself my take a great deal of time. The software itself may not carry the protection you need in the event that you get a serious spamming complaint made against you.

In using one of the email marketing services you can free up so much time – their point and click set up means that in no time at all you form can be online. I have found that the prices are nowhere near as prohibitive as you might expect for a service that does almost everything for you.

As a beginner it is easy to be seduced by a low one off payment and all the promises in the world. The reality is that sometimes you get what you pay for. However by paying comparatively a little more a quick and easy pre-set up service could be at your disposal.

If you have several websites or mailing lists then services such as aweber or get response will allow you to manage them all from a single log in. Whereas auto responder software would need to be installed on each individual website making life a lot more complicated for you.

The most important thing any auto responder software can do is to be able to prove that you do not send unrequested junk mail – ie it needs to prove you only send messages to those that requested it = otherwise you could be prosecuted for sending spam.

The various services are so cheap and easy to use that I would never bother with auto responder software. I prefer to use my time on other more productive activities such as getting new visitors to my website.

Autoresponder freeware is certainly cheaper than the best auto responder services but when it comes to email marketing sometimes you do actually get what you pay for. Here I consider some of the areas where it may not come up to scratch.

You dont usually get anything for nothing although sometimes generous programmers are prepared to give way programs they have written for their own use. The trouble is the program may not do everything you need it to do. Alternatively it will be a test program which may allow you limited use for free but in order to wrok properly you will usually have to pay.

There are numerous functionality requirements which you need to consider. The sign up form should be easy to set up and it should be easy for people to join and leave your list. You should be able to write store and schedule emails so that you do not have to manually send them. Your autoresponder freeware should be able to track open and click rates so you can track how successful your campaign is and amend if necessary and finally you should be able to split test: ie test different emails and see which are more successful

It is incredibly important to consider legal requirements. As soon as you take somebody’s personal information you are responsible for its storage and security. Whether you choose autoresponder freeware or not the service you use should be secure so the data cannot be stolen and you need to be able to prove that the person signed up to your list and you are not spamming them otherwise you may fall foul of anti-spam legislation.

Autoresponder freeware will usually keep the personal data either on your webserver or on your computer – so no guessing who is responsible for keeping it secure.

It is clear that autoresponder freeware does not cost what the full programs do and as such they usually dont do what the full programs do. It’s essential you ensure your software is fully functional.

Even if you decide the autoresponder freeware is not up to scratch, its not a problem because the top services such as Aweber and Get Response are extremely good value.

Autoresponder freeware is by far the cheapest option when it comes to email marketing, however sometimes cheap isnt always best. Lets take a look at some factors where it may not meet the standards you require.

You dont usually get anything for nothing although sometimes generous programmers are prepared to give way programs they have written for their own use. The trouble is the program may not do everything you need it to do. Alternatively it will be a test program which may allow you limited use for free but in order to wrok properly you will usually have to pay.

There are numerous functionality requirements which you need to consider. The sign up form should be easy to set up and it should be easy for people to join and leave your list. You should be able to write store and schedule emails so that you do not have to manually send them. Your autoresponder freeware should be able to track open and click rates so you can track how successful your campaign is and amend if necessary and finally you should be able to split test: ie test different emails and see which are more successful

It is crucial to comply with legislation. You are responsible for holding the data of every single person who joins your list. Whether you choose autoresponder freeware or a proper program you must be sure data is held securely and that they use the double opt in method of sign up so that you stay within the law.

The main risk with autoresponder freeware is that the email addresses are usually stored on your server or PC which make you personally responsible for its security.

It is clear that autoresponder freeware does not cost what the full programs do and as such they usually dont do what the full programs do. It’s essential you ensure your software is fully functional.

At least you can be reassured that should the autoresponder freeware not meet your standards then it isnt too expensive to upgrade to the popular email marketing services.

Autoresponder freeware doesn’t hit you in the pocket like some email responder services, however this doesnt mean that it will do the job you need it to do. Lets consider some of the points where a free responder service may not do what you need it to do.

With any program that you can download for free it will usually fall into one of two categories. It will either be something that somebody has designed to meet their own needs but does not meet yours or it will be a trial version which will require a payment to get the full working version.

It is imperative that the autoresponder program can carry out certain tasks. Your clients need to be able to join your list easily and so they form needs to be easily added to your website. Equally they need to be able to leave your list simply too. Your messages should be set to be able to be sent out over a certain period. You need to understand the read rate of your emails and the number of people that click on your links. And to improve your success you need to conduct split tests on your emails.

It is crucial to comply with legislation. You are responsible for holding the data of every single person who joins your list. Whether you choose autoresponder freeware or a proper program you must be sure data is held securely and that they use the double opt in method of sign up so that you stay within the law.

Autoresponder freeware does not keep the sign up information elsewhere, it is held by your pc or on your websites server. So you are 100% responsible for data security.

Although autoresponder freeware is free, it may well have limits as we have seen above and you need to be entirely confident that it does everything you need it to do before you use it.

Even if you decide the autoresponder freeware is not up to scratch, its not a problem because the top services such as Aweber and Get Response are extremely good value.