I\’m leaving Aweber but it\’s not them, it\’s me. For the time I\’ve been with them they have actually been a great company to work with. If that\’s the case then why am I leaving?
It\’s really because I want a little more freedom. For $19 a month, I can build an email list of up to 500 addresses. The thing is I\’m just now starting to build my list and don\’t have anywhere close to that many addresses–yet. But each month I\’m paying that whether I mail or not.
For close to the past year my hosting was so unstable I didn\’t dare try to do anything because I had so much downtime. Fortunately, I\’ve finally gotten that resolved and in the interim discovered an alternative to the monthly charge: Amazon SES.
This is an outbound emailing service that is priced, as of this writing, at 0.10 cents per thousand emails. Even better is you only pay for what you use.
By coupling Amazon SES with Rapid Mailer (https://rdee.us/rapidmailer) I now can control my mailings in a similar fashion as Aweber.
So what about you? Which mailing service/autoresponder are you using? Why?
Let me know in the comments.
Did you like this? Then 'like and share' it with others.
Reg Ervin
Great post Reg. I used to use Rapid Mailer, but returned it because it was a load on my dedicated server and it wiped out my post editor on some of my sites. I now use Insty.me, which includes Amazon SES for free. I recommended using Amazon SES with Insty.me because it’s such a complete package and it makes setting up your autoresponder and optin forms a breeze. Thanks!
Like Scott, I use instyme too. I know some people have trouble setting up the Amazon SES, but if they just watch each instructional video and complete each step as they see it, the process is pretty painless.
I think the hardest part was figuring out the difference between the brand, campaign and autoresponder to set up a list. It was the first time I had worked with any autresponder service.
I really like Amazon SES not just because it is cheap to use, but because their mails are bounced a lot less than other services.
Combine that with a great web service that has Amazon SES integrated at an affordable price, and many potential headaches disappear.
I took a look at insty.me. Although it seems to be a complete package, for me I think the services are overpriced. But it is package that I can see myself potentially recommending to someone who’s new to Internet or email marketing.
Over the years I have come to use several different autoresponders. I got burned once having all of my eggs in one basket, so now I use two regularly. I agree with Dawn and Scott that Insty.me is a great way to go. There is a bit of a learning curve, but it is inexpensive and reliable.
Thanks for your comment Norene. I started out with Vertical Response, then Aweber, went to TrafficWave, and back to Aweber (I also tried GVO for a short stint). I’m getting settled into Rapid Mailer/SES now and I’m pretty excited.
Hi Reg,
A useful post, thanks.
I started with Mailchimp as they offered the “up to 2000 subscribers and 12000 emails a month for free” service. But, this of course means that you do not get Autoresponders. So, on the recommendation of a friend, I swapped to getResonse, which has been fine, but like you I am paying over the odds.
I am hoping to launch my first product next month, and the service I use could be a real factor in my success. So, would be interested in anyone’s thoughts on paid services.
Thanks again Reg, you’ve got me thinking…. a real rarity! 🙂
WYS
Dave H
Hi Dave… I’m glad it was helpful. I’ve been a part of open source/free software since the mid-nineties and just really like having control of my systems as much as possible.
Wow Reg! I have been a loyal customer of Aweber for years and years and years now and I could not imagine leaving them! Well done, that’s really brave of you! We sometimes get so comfortable within out comfort zone that we forget to look for other opportunities. I will give it a though and see.
You I have too. I also am always looking for ways to be independent of third-parties when possible. I wind up going back at some point but for now it’s a itch I have to scratch…