subject: Starting an On-Line Business for newcomers - What choice of Autoresponder? [print this page] Starting an On-Line Business for newcomers - What choice of Autoresponder?
Signing up for an autoresponder service, is one the most important things if not the most important things you would want to spend some time considering before starting an on line business. The importance of an autoresponder cannot be underestimated.
But why?-I hear you ask. Autoresponders are an online marketer's secret weapon they have many useful functions namely -
Allows the easy creation of an 'opt in' form on your website
Collects email addresses of visitors to your website
Sends automatic messages to your prospects
Please note: a prospect is someone who has signed up to your site ie they have given you their email address.
It takes on average 7 messages before a prospect makes a purchase. An autoresponder is very important therefore because it allows you to build a relationship with your list.
Now the time has come to choose, do we go for the Free Autoresponder Service or hire the services of a paid Autoresponder Service.
I highly recommend that you do not go the free route when getting an autoresponder.
There are two reasons why:
Firstly, because of the rampant use of using free autoresponders for spam activities, many free autoresponders are blacklisted. What this means to you, is that your delivery rates will be very low. The only free autoresponder that I know of that still has decent delivery rates is Getresponse's free account.
Secondly, when you get tired of your low delivery rates and want to go to a paid autoresponder, you will have to get all of your current subscribers to double opt in AGAIN to your new list. And as many people who have done it have found out, you will lose a large percentage of your mailing list.
Again, I do not recommend going the free way, but if you are set on doing it anyway, at least do it with Getresponse. At least it has a higher delivery rates and because when you do decide to upgrade to a paid version with Getresponse, you won't have to your subscribers double opt in again, so you won't lose any subscribers needlessly.
However, remember that just like the free versions of other autoresponders, the free version of Getresponse also places advertisement in all of your messages. The free version allows you to create one list and send up to five follow up messages.
The other, highly ranked and praised Paid Autoresponder Service worth concerning yourself with is - Aweber.
Sometimes Aweber offer a FREE trial or discounted trails for a limited period, but that offer does come and go.
