Anyone online for any length of time has been exposed to various types of autoresponder services. Any free newsletter "ezines" or site update announcements use a variety of different services to automate the task of sending out their emails.
I would never do business online without one.
The problem for someone considering one is trying to decide which one to use or what services they actually need.
A List Server ("Listserv") is automated program which allows you to send one email to a particular email address. An email reaching this special listserv address will then redistribute that email to everyone who has signed up to be on the list.
You can set up a listserv in a couple of different ways:
- only you can send a message to the entire list or
- everyone can send a message which goes out to the entire list
These have been around since I've been online in the late 1980's
Listserv's are pretty straight forward and can be sufficient for someone with pretty basic needs.
An example of a good listserv program is www.a-listhosting.com
Autoresponders take Listserv functions to a higher level.
In addition to sending out one email "broadcast" at a time like a listserv, an autoresponder can do quite a bit more. Many autoresponders let you:
- Send multiple preloaded messages in a sequence that you set up. Known as a sequential autoresponder, you can set up multiple messages to be delivered every x amount of days after the next
- Personalize the messages. Instead of saying "Dear friend," it will be "Dear Bill" (or whatever name they signed up for).
- Send HTML as well as plain text messages.
- Track clickthrough rates so you know how many people open and then click through the links in your emails.
When deciding on an autoresponder, you have a choice.
Do you want to own the software and have it installed on your site? Or would you rather pay monthly and have the autoresponder service handle all of the technical issues for you?
I initially considered buying the software outright for one of my sites. You can read about that experience in this article.
I then tried out a few different autoresponder services. Initially I used Aweber's autoresponder. They have an excellent service and I was very satisfied with them.
The issue I had at the time is that you needed to have a separate account for each new autoresponder "campaign" that you set up. They finally gave in and offered an unlimited number of campaigns for their one monthly fee. It came a little late for me however, because I had already switched to an unlimited campaign autoresponder.
My autoresponder of choice now is Pro-autoresponder.
They allow me an unlimited number of autoresponder campaigns. If I add a web site, I simply add another campaign with the click of a button. There is no extra fee involved.
Here is a screen shot of some of the campaigns I have for various web sites:
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Each campaign on Pro-autoresponder allows me to have an unlimited number of messages and subscribers in each.
What if you don't want to send out a sequential series of autoresponder messages?
You can simply use your autoresponder to announce or "broadcast" messages to your list when you want.
People subscribing will get a welcome message from you and then when you decide to send something out, you can do it at your discretion.
I do a combination of this with some of my lists. That is they will get some autoresponder messages that I preloaded and then I will "broadcast" new information at my discretion.
Yes there are free services which allow you to manage a listserv or autoresponder account.
As with most things in life, you get what you pay for.
Free services will tend to include advertising and poor (if any) customer support.
If you are serious about your online business, it is worth it to pay for a professional service.
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