Some tribes in Internet marketing seem to think that the bigger their list, the more successful they are. As a result, they use all types of tactics to prevent you from unsubscribing to their emails. One such example I came across recently is by Keith Wellman, a “my-way-or-the-highway” type of business person.

For some reason, Keith Wellman decides to pressure you from opting out by masking his opt-out link with a warning message:

“Do not use this link unless you do NOT want product updates and upgrades”.

Yet, Keith has never emailed me about any update or upgrade, just more nonsense offers from his buddies. Putting obstacles in your subscriber’s path to opt-out paints a rather negative picture. Does it mean if I choose not to get Keith’s emails that I will not qualify for updates of a product that I have paid for?

That’s what the message seems to imply!

If you do not make it clear and easy for subscribers to opt-out, they can just click the “Spam” button on their Gmail account and they will never hear from you again anyway.

Email marketing is about building a list of relevant subscribers who still want to hear from you. It’s not about the size. 100 happy subscribers is always better than 10,000 pissed-off ones.

But the point is this: There is now an additional barrier between you and your potential subscribers.

Unless you’re willing to go the extra mile and overcome this barrier, you’ll be losing out on lots of potential subscribers. Every time someone subscribes to your Aweber autoresponder for example, they will most probably get a confirmation email. Unless they click on the confirmation link within that email, they will never be added to your list. That’s basically how double-optin works.

But with SpamArrest for example, your subscribers will never even receive the initial confirmation email. Instead, SpamArrest will determine that your email address is not yet “whitelisted”, and will send you a confirmation message which leads to a page like this:

You need to manually enter the verification code and click on “Verify” so that your subscriber will receive your email. Too much of a hassle?

That’s what I thought initially, but I’ve come to accept email protection as part of email marketing. Although SpamArrest may seem like an email marketer’s enemy, they do serve some beautifully valid purposes:

1. Your subscribers get less SPAM – Which means, they will likely be more responsive to your emails. Other email marketers don’t bother with this additional verification and thus never gain access to the subscriber’s inbox.
2. Forces valid email addresses – Both parties have to use valid email addresses that they check regularly. As the sender, if you use a non-existant or fake email address then you will never receive the SpamArrest verification emails
3. Promotes better email marketing – Your subscribers have a right to ask you to verify YOUR email address too. Services like this actually makes your email marketing better, more responsive and transparent

So is SpamArrest your friend or enemy? I prefer to think of it as my friend. What’s your opinion?

Just install it to your PC or laptop, and start managing your list and email campaigns. You can get the free version and use it for 7 days. Upgrade later for about $100 if you really like it.

SendBlaster Software Review

SendBlaster Screenshots

The first screenshot shows the general user interface when managing lists and sending emails.

Download free version – Send up to 100 emails, manage two lists. Free version expires in 7 days.

Research has shown that you need to follow-up at least seven times with an average prospect before a sale is made. Yeah, that’s right – SEVEN times!

That’s why you’ll find that most successful online companies (and some offline ones) always focus on getting your contact details first before making a full product pitch.

However, the problem with traditional follow up is that its difficult to keep up with individual prospects along the sales process.

Let me give you an example..

You’re following up with three people simultaneously, all three of them are in different stages of the buying process. Let’s call them John, Alex and Paul.

John is willing to buy right now. Alex is unsure and probably needs a little more information and convincing. Paul however has decided that he’s not interested, and would be happy if you would just leave him alone.

But you may end up spending too much time trying to win over Paul, that you completely neglect Alex and John, the two people who are most likely to buy from you. The fact is, traditional follow-up techniques are messy and unorganized.

Follow-up Emails Using Autoresponder Software

However, with automatic follow-up emails using email auto responder software, this vital sales process becomes so much easier. You can literally follow-up with thousands of prospects, at different stages of the sales process, on autopilot. You can set as many follow-up emails as you want, each answering a different question or selling your product from a different angle.

You can also predetermine the exact days between each follow-up email, as you can see from the example below taken from my Aweber account:

I this particular example, I collect names and email address by offering free blogging advice in the form of a PDF report. Here’s how my follow-up process looks like:

• Autoresponse (immediate) – In the very first email, I just give them the PDF download link. Sometimes I will introduce myself or my company, if required, but not much else.
• Follow-up 1 – In a friendly tone, I recommend what I think is the product they are probably most interested in, our blog web hosting package. This product is unique but generic, perfect for a first offer.
• Follow-up 2 – Two days after the first follow-up email (which is three days after they subscribe) I present them with another offer. This will be my best-selling product, and usually a low-priced item.
• All other follow-ups – You can see that the intervals between each email increase on the third, fourth and fifth follow-up email as I don’t want to overload the prospect with too many unread emails

I follow-up with different offers because the main product is a free download, so there’s nothing for them to buy. On the sales page for the individual products however, I also have an optin form. If the prospect fills in that form, I’ll only send follow-up messages related to the that particular product.

Final Word on Follow-Up Emails

Not everyone will receive all my follow-up emails. Some will unsubscribe after the first or second follow-up. That’s normal – it just means that they are not interested in hearing from you.

Others will receive all your follow up emails and still not buy anything in the end. These people are not interested in your current offer, but as long as they remain subscribed you can always present them with a different offer later.

When done correctly, email follow-ups can help you remove doubts, answer questions, and convert a prospect into a paying customer. With the correct autoresponder software (see the autoresponder comparison tables), following up with a prospect is not only easy, but fun too.

However, with GetResponse 6 the stakes were leveled and they are now more similar than ever before.

That’s why I hope this simple Aweber vs GetResponse chart helps you:

	Aweber	GetResponse
Overall Comparison
Pricing
Features
Usability
Reliability
Support
Pricing Comparison
500	$19.00	$18.00
1,000	$29.00	$28.00
5,000	$49.00	$45.00
10,000	$49.00	$65.00
15,000	$149.00	$145.00
25,000	$149.00	$145.00
35,000	Quote	Quote
50,000	Quote	Quote
75,000	Quote	Quote
100,000	Quote	Quote
	Aweber Review	GetResponse Review
	Visit Website	Visit Website

Aweber vs GetResponse Verdict

Aweber is your choice. GetResponse does everything Aweber does, just a little less better. Since the pricing is almost identical, go with Aweber. If you cannot afford Aweber, go with iContact.

Here is the complete iContact VS Aweber chart:

	Aweber	iContact
Overall Comparison
Pricing
Features
Usability
Reliability
Support
Pricing Comparison
250	$19.00	$8.45
500	$19.00	$11.90
1,000	$29.00	$16.15
2,500	$29.00	$24.65
5,000	$49.00	$39.95
10,000	$49.00	$62.90
15,000	$149.00	$92.65
25,000	$149.00	$126.65
35,000	Quote	$203.15
50,000	Quote	$322.15
75,000	Quote	$449.65
100,000	Quote	$594.15
	Aweber Review	iContact Review
	Visit Website	Visit Website

Aweber vs iContact Conclusion

Aweber is the most high-tech, perfect for those who demand the best in their email marketing tool. iContact is definitely the more affordable choice, while having a moderate set of features and tools.

In their rolodex you’ll find awesome tools like the Website Publisher, Knowledge Manager, Shopping Cart and the tool we reviewed here, the Interspire Email Marketer.

Previously known as Send Studio, Interspire Email Marketer is a client based autoresponder script – which means you install it on your own server. A bit of technical knowledge is requires if you plan to do it yourself, or you can choose to leave it to the experts.

Interspire Email Marketer Review

This review only compares Interspire Email Marketer to it’s direct alternatives, which are other server-based autoresponder scripts like Autoresponse Plus. It does not compare the software to web-based services like iContact or Aweber.

Interspire Email Marketer Cost

The pricing is based on the number of users, maintenance and support contracts and additional help like installation or customization.

• You’ll pay $495 for a single user license with the free one year support, plus an optional $49 for installation.
• The price scales up as you add more users and select a longer support contract – although you can always expand your service later
• There is a 60-day money back guarantee period, and Interspire is a reputable company so they’re not going to disappear with your money.

Interspire is obviously targeting larger organizations with it’s products and pricing.

If you’re a home based Internet marketer (or on a budget) you’ll find Autoresponse Plus much more affordable and yet with the features you’ll need.

If you don’t mind spending a little extra however, you should get Interspire Email Marketer will help you save time and cut the learning curve.

Interspire Email Marketer Screenshots

The first screenshot shows you the general user interface, which looks great. The second screenshot shows the user / subscriber management page. If you go to the home page you can try the online demo to test it out yourself.

Although the pricing may be on the higher side, Interspire Email Marketer is worth it’s weight in gold just for it’s usability, aesthetics and functionality. Although Autoresponse Plus is cheaper, it’s not as user-friendly as Interspire and quite frankly, you always get what you paid for.

Click here to test drive / buy Interspire Email Marketer

Autoresponse Plus is a web based autoresponder software created by Neil Morgan, and has all the features you can dream of in your own autoresponder software.

In fact, ARP is just as good as Aweber, iContact or any other hosted autoresponder service in terms of functionality and capability.

Autoresponder Plus Review

Autoresponse Plus Pricing

Autoresponse Plus 3 will cost you one-time payment of $197 for a single domain license. However you also get these bonuses when you buy now:

• Free upgrade to 10 domains license
• Free installation of Autoresponse Plus
• Free upgrades for two years
• Free technical support for two years

There is a 30-day money back guarantee, so you can try ARP3 you and see if it’s what you’re looking for.

That’s extremely cheap for an autoresponder script that is packed with more features than you can think of. There is no monthly fees to pay, except those of the proper autoresponder web hosting (important) to use ARP3 to its maximum potential.

Perhaps this is why Autoresponse Plus 3 is so popular with email marketers, especially those with huge (more than 100,000) email subscribers.

Autoresponse Plus 3 Screenshots

Below are some screenshots of how Autoresponse Plus looks like. The first two screenshots show how you can view, search and add subscribers.

The third screenshot shows how to create new subscribers in ARP3. The forth shows how to create tracking links, which is important to gauge the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns.

Our final verdict on ARP3 is simple.

• If you have a mailing list of more than 100,000 and the proper web hosting, you’ll save thousands of dollars and get all the advanced features you need by choosing ARP3.
• If you’re just getting started with email marketing and have low technical knowledge, opt for something simpler and cheaper like iContact or Aweber.

Click here to signup for Autoresponse Plus 3 autoresponders.

But is iContact really that good, or are they just extremely good at marketing?

In this review, I’ll try to be as honest as possible about iContact, and how it compares to other alternatives like Aweber or GetResponse.

iContact Autoresponder Review

iContact Autoresponder Pricing

Similar to other hosted autoresponder services, iContact also has a tiered pricing plan according to the number of email subscribers in your account. The only difference is that it has more tiers , which makes it a bit difficult to compare with other autoresponders.

You can signup for a free trial right away to see if iContact is for you. Then, you pay about $9 for your initial 250 subscribers, and the monthly cost slowly increases as your contacts double in size. If you have 10,000 subscribers the cost is more or less $62.90 a month.

In terms of pricing alone, it’s cheaper than Aweber and GetResponse. Here’s a side-by-side comparison, which uses the iContact tiers as a base:

The iContact pricing above is the actual monthly rate. if you pay for one year in advance you get an additional 10% discount

You can clearly see that iContact is the cheapest solution no matter what your list size is. If cost is an important consideration (when is it not?) then you’ll definitely want to go with iContact.

Aweber and GetResponse don’t reveal how much it costs if you have more than 25,000 subscribers. You’ll need to contact them to get a quote, which usually means it’s going to cost you a bomb.

iContact Autoresponder Screenshots

Here’s how the iContact autoresponder contact management page looks like. It’s pretty easy for you to find your way around. I guess in this case, less is more!

iContact Autoresponder 15 Days Free Trial

The best way to try iContact is to signup for a free iContact trial account. You’ll be able to play around with the full range of features and you can store up to 250 subscribers.

Click here to get your iContact trial account.

MailLoop is rated as one of the best desktop autoresponder software, and is divided into three core functions:

• List Processor – Manage your entire mailing list, remove duplicates, and handle subscriptions
• Outgoing Email Processor – Send out solo-emails, newsletters and timed autoresponders
• Incoming Email Processor – Handles retrieval of emails and keyword based auto-response messages

When MailLoop was first launched, legitimate email marketing was a new thing and the software itself was considered revolutionary. Today however, there are tons of alternatives (some worth the money) to MailLoop. This review of MailLoop is as honest as any review can get

MailLoop Autoresponder Review

Although MailLoop is one of the best desktop-based autoresponders available, it’s no where as good as hosted autoresponders solutions. Unless you have a specific need for MailLoop, I would recommend that you go with Aweber. If you’re a corporate marketing manager and need professional assistance or an account manager, then try using iContact.

MailLoop Autorespoder Pricing

MailLoop 7 will cost you $379 one-time. Once you own the software however there is no monthly fees or other charges, since MailLoop runs 100% on your own computer or laptop.

You also get a lot of bonuses:

• FREE upgrade to MailLoop 7 “Professional” edition
• Email marketing tips and videos
• HTML templates you can use in your emails and newsletters

Click here for more information on MailLoop

MailLoop Autoresponder Technical Specifications

Before you invest in MailLoop, make sure you have a computer or laptop that meets the minimum requirements:

• Intel Pentium III/IV/ or AMD Athlon of at least 1GHz
• 512MB of memory
• Windows 2000, 2003, or XP (64-bit versions not currently supported)
• 20MB free hard drive space
• Internet Service Provider (ISP) for sending and receiving mail
• At least one e-mail account on a POP3 server (IMAP not supported)
• 56Kor faster Internet connection — (Cable or DSL broadband strongly recommended, or 802.11G Wireless)