Brattleboro, VT 6/12/2010 10:26:51 PM
News / Business

Email Autoresponder Review: The Top Three In The Game

By Josh Burns

Choosing the right email autoresponder could drastically change the future of your online business. Pick the best email autoresponder for your business and you could be watching as your email marketing strategy takes off like a rocket. Pick the wrong one and you
could watch it explode on the launch pad.

Depending on your business and your email marketing strategy, your email autoresponder needs could be very different from mine, so Iʼll lay out the top three email autoresponder services in my opinion and tell you WHY I think they rock - to aid you in your quest.

My personal favorite email autoresponder right now is iContact. While it can be quite pricey depending on the size of your list and your overall mail volume, iContact has proven to be worth the investment in three areas that I look for in an email autoresponder service:

a) Deliverability. With deliverability rates in the range of 91% - 98% I know that my messages are getting through. Thatʼs VITAL.

b) Ease of Use. Iʼve used some email autoresponder services that felt more like a math quiz than a mass email sender. Iʼm not a programmer, nor do I play one on TV, so the intuitive interface at iContact has been a godsend. Itʼs quick to send out an email, which means less stress and less wasted time.

c) They have an API, which means that you can seamlessly integrate iContact with other Internet services like a CRM, your fulfillment house, your shopping cart - heck, even your iPhone!

2) Now, donʼt overlook Ninjaresponder. If youʼve never come across this nifty little email
autoresponder then google it right now. They offer a very inexpensive alternative to iContact
and the other major players, but boast killer deliverability, seamless integrations with a number of other business solutions like ClickBank, Wordpress, Twitter, and more. If youʼre just getting started implementing your
email marketing strategy and havenʼt built a list yet,
theyʼre probably the best email autoresponder to start with.

Notice I said “Probably”...

3) Lest we forget MailChimp - which Iʼll be honest Iʼve never thoroughly vetted. (But I still love it thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much). MailChimp is an email autoresponder that actually sports a free level - so if email marketing is completely new to you and you have nothing to invest, itʼs a way you can get started quickly, for free.

All three of these email autoresponders offer fancy templates, great customer service, and overall a lot of “hidden benefits” that youʼll just have to experiment with to fully appreciate.
But donʼt get too sucked into the “cool” features of your email autoresponder without asking the most important question first: “How can this email autoresponder advance my email marketing strategy?”

Email marketing shouldnʼt be about doo-dads and widgets. It should be about hard numbers, solid facts, and a scientific email marketing strategy designed to literally allow you to make money with a push of the send button.

No matter what your niche, no matter what email autoresponder you choose, donʼt rob your own future by going into things half-cocked. Watch this free video to see whatʼs really possible with email marketing:

http://www.ListBuilding.com/autoresponder