An autoresponder is a software service that allows you to capture and follow-up with your leads. It is one of the main cores tools used by each and every network marketer. Because once you get a lead, it often takes seven or more touch-points with that person before they convert to a customer; and of course many never become customers at all, and simply unsubscribe from your list.
iContact.
iContact is one of the most popular autoresponder service providers in the world. The popularity
of their service comes from the fact that they offer excellent customer service and they also give a free trial service. iContact uses templates that match your brand making it resourceful in terms of brand marketing. Using the various templates, all you have to do is create your personalized message.
The down side of iContact is the interface because it is not easy to use and you might find yourself struggling with navigation and use.
Mailchimp.
Mailchimp is the ideal autoresponder for a small business working with a limited budget. If you plan to grow your business think of other options because transferring your customer to another service provider is never a good idea. Customer interaction and friendly interface is a plus benefit in mailchimp and users enjoy a very friendly and very interactive interface. A plus benefit is also integration with social media sites like Facebook and twitter.
Mailchimp may lack brand identity because there are fewer templates to choose from that you have to struggle to fit into your brand. E-mails send to customers have a mailchimp logo and customers may not know what exactly you represent. Your brand is lost in between the mailchimp logo and brand.
OntraPort (formerly Office Autopilot).
Office Autopilot is not just an autoresponder but it is also a marketing tool. It is expensive compared to other autoresponders although it still offers similar services to Infusionsoft. Just like Infusionsoft, OntraPort is able to offer unique customized responses to customer based on their needs. This will depend on the click customer makes on the sent e-mail. Customer support is quite known to be excellent with OntraPort. They have a live chat where customers can ask questions and there are also video tutorials to guide users.
The promise office autopilot makes about a full internet solution is not true considering that it is quite expensive. This is not an inclusive service as the creators say and this means that you have to look for extra software to supplement the service offered by this site.
Aweber.
Aweber is a leader in e-mail marketing according to user reviews. The reason why many people prefer Aweber is quite simple. Aweber offers the convenience of a user friendly and easy to use interface but unlike mailchimp, it is quite organized. Using Aweber, you can easily integrate social media sites like Facebook and twitter. Mail scheduling is an important feature of Aweber because it is able to send mail to customers at specific time intervals. New subscribers are also covered by this service. Good customer service and various templates to choose from is another feature by Aweber which is similar to iContact and mailchimp.
The only disadvantage of Aweber is that you can’t directly upload photos using e-mails but instead you have to use another website to upload files that will be send to your subscribers.
Infusionsoft.
This autoresponder is designed for business with a higher customer base that need to send e-mails more frequently. Business that concentrate on sales may find infusionsoft a very reliable service provider for giving clients regular updates. A business that has at least 1500 clients in their database is encouraged to use infusionsoft just like office autopilot. The best thing about infusionsoft is that it is multifunctional apart from being an autoresponder. You can make use of services like e-mail marketing, e-commerce and CRM. Automation offered by infusionsoft makes it easy to use without constant monitoring of activities. The customer support at infusionsoft is very helpful and supportive.
This service is quite expensive so starters may find it hard to sustain considering that the
business returns may fail to pay for it.
Constant contact.
This is seen as a blend of mailchimp and Aweber although it offers a very appealing interface that makes it very attractive to customers. Apart from the normal templates that come together with this autoresponder, users can create their unique templates that will give their mails a unique look. This is a fair choice for people who want to enjoy a decent service without having to face challenges of mailchimp.
Constant contact does not provide an integration service which is very unfortunate in this social media age. The interface is not user friendly and this means you have to face challenges of trying to navigate around. With constant contact, it becomes difficult to make your mails unique and so it means you have to stay with the package offered to you.
GetResponse.
This is seen as the most contemporary autoresponder that incorporates all modern an upcoming features that a client may need. Social media sites are integrated and this makes it easy to link mails. Using GetResponse, you are not stuck to the old way of doing things because you can create visual representation and you can easily make changes. The interface is easy to use compared to other
autoresponders like constant contact. GetResponse gives you an opportunity to manage mails sending mails to only people who need mails. You will also receive mail which you only need and this avoids receiving junk mail. Additionally, it has formatting and editing features. They have a good customer care team to assist you in all problems you might experience.
Benchmark mail.
Benchmark mail, just like the name suggests gives a benchmark or monitors your mails accordingly. For instance benchmark mail will give you an account of the number of mails opened, number of mails clicked and number of mails that were not successfully sent to recipients. Using benchmark mail, you can upload a maximum of 8 mails and later choose the ones that you want to be sent. This is a very
effective autoresponder for e-mail marketing because it provides clients with data that can be used for marketing. The statistics received from the send mails will give users a clear picture of success or failures of a particular marketing campaign.
Unfortunately, benchmark mail does not split testing and this means that you cannot compare
mails. However this service has other interesting features which surpass split
testing.
Based on people I’ve worked with GetResponse and Aweber seem to be the most popular of these services.
