One of the highest cost-to-benefit ratios for a business comes from email marketing. For relatively low cost and effort, you can get your business right in front of interested customers.

Email marketing is also an excellent tool to develop and maintain customer relations – but to achieve that, you’ll need support. Automated services take the time and trouble off your hands. A trusted program can help you craft emails, create conditions for them to be sent, manage your contact list, and assist you with all aspects of your email marketing campaigns.

There are so many modern options for email marketing companies that it can be difficult to choose. Such an important part of your business’ marketing strategy needs to be carefully considered, depending on the outcome you would like to achieve, and what type of business you’re promoting.

Comparing Heavyweights

Looking at some of the best in the business, let’s start with comparing GetResponse vs ActiveCampaign – they are two of the best known and most widely utilised options for small to medium sized businesses to manage their email marketing campaigns.

Both very popular options, they include an excellent range of tools and functionalities to support businesses, from automation systems and broadcasts to email templates. However, they do have different emphases that make them appeal to slightly different audiences.

GetResponse is a broader tool that most people find slightly easier to use. Made to function as an all-in-one platform, it supplements its email features with webinars, landing pages, email templates, and many other tools.

ActiveCampaign can be considered a more targeted and focused tool, with a higher emphasis on automation. It’s less suitable for absolute beginners but offers increased options for those who are looking for a higher level of customisation. It features a CRM tool to help with collaboration and follow-up on prospects, and includes features such as SMS marketing that GetResponse only includes by integrating other tools.

Let’s take a brief look at these two options.

GetResponse

What is GetResponse?

GetResponse is an industry leader which has been around since 1998 – which makes it one of the longest running email marketing options. The award-winning company self-describes as one of the most user-friendly options to send out email marketing such as newsletters, campaigns, online surveys, and autoresponders.

The landing page creator and a number of other unique features make it the first choice for thousands of businesses across the world and over a billion monthly subscribers. They use an easy “drag and drop” email editor, a wide range of templates, and many other features to help support a successful email campaign.

They offer a range of plans called Email, Pro, Max and Enterprise. Prices increase with the number of subscribers that you have on your contact list. Businesses can choose to pay ahead for a year or two years, or access the service on a monthly subscription. 

ActiveCampaign

What is ActiveCampaign?

With tens of thousands of happy customers, ActiveCampaign are another big player in email marketing solutions. Their goal is to get businesses to send fewer emails, but get better results. One of the biggest drawcards for ActiveCampaign is the high level of services that provide automation.

They combine marketing automation, email marketing tools, and sales CRM in a single platform.  The tools assist businesses to create emails, target customers based on their behaviour with the business, and then the CRM keeps track of leads and other details to gather and interpret the data.

ActiveCampaign integrates with more than 700 other apps and services, which expands its functionality and creates an all-in-one system that is designed to help businesses to grow.

Let’s have a look at how these two marketing companies stack up against each other.

Number of contacts

ActiveCampaign offer plans that start with 500 contacts, but options are available that can accommodate lists of over 100,000 contacts. The number of contacts allowed increases depending on the plan’s level, and costs more as the allowance goes up.

GetResponse offer up to 1,000 contacts on their lowest plan, which starts from $15 a month. They then offer plans for different tiers, including up to 5,000, 10,000, 25,000, 50,000, or 100,000+ subscribed contacts.

Emails

Email volume isn’t a deciding factor between ActiveCampaign vs GetResponse, as both offer unlimited emails on all their offered plans. Both also offer unlimited autoresponder series for all their plan options, and make A/B email split testing available.

Their email course builders differ, however. ActiveCampaign offers a drag-and-drop style email builder that includes data-driven segmentation and provides helpful insights into the user’s email campaign.

GetResponse focus on providing an easy-to-use Email Creator that provides both time- and action-based autoresponders. GetResponse have an advertised deliverability of over 99%, meaning that your emails are extremely unlikely to be marked as spam, so have a much higher chance of reaching your customer.

Both offer a wide range of responsive email templates. ActiveCampaign has design customisation that is available free of charge for Plus and Enterprise level users, while GetResponse has more than 500 templates.

Design and Customisation

GetResponse offers 500+ email templates, along with 1,000 stock photos and the ability to design and customise many other types of email marketing-related products. Their landing page templates are a big drawcard for users, and the unique editor can help generate more leads.

Messages can be customised with a “perfect timing” tool, which helps users control when they are sent out so they get received at the optimum time. Emails are automatically scaled to fit all devices, with a further mobile editor to allow users to customise it to their needs.

ActiveCampaign features a simple to use email designer that allows users to design and customise emails to fit their requirements. They allow for excellent automation, with features available for customisation such as abandoned cart reminders.

Targeting Customers

ActiveCampaign supports granular audience segmentation, which provides an easy-to-use system that is able to send a specific email to a targeted audience. Other marketing platforms are also supported, including tools for SMS and Facebook marketing.

GetResponse has a range of reports and analysis, such as open rate, engagement, segmentation reports and ROI, which can help businesses to understand how their service is being received and to customise it to meet the needs of their customer base.

Automation

ActiveCampaign specialise in automation, and offer unlimited options on all plans. They have automated SMS and support SMS subscriptions as well. The automation workflow builder is relatively simple to use, although absolute beginner users might struggle with some features.

GetResponse add basic automation options to their lowest tiered Email plan, with more complex marketing automation for the higher tiers. They don’t offer SMS marketing options, but there are integrations available to add those features if necessary. They offer automation workflow builder, which includes visited URL and tracking of purchases.

Both options provide lead scoring, which tracks user behaviour to help businesses customise their approach.

Users

Some absolute beginners can find the ActiveCampaign system a little overwhelming, although they do offer step-by-step instructions. The GetResponse system is simple to use at all ability levels, which makes it an appealing option for those who are just starting out.

ActiveCampaign allow up to three users on their smallest plan, all the way up to unlimited users for their Enterprise plan. GetResponse only offer support for from one to ten users depending on the plan.

Landing Page and Forms

ActiveCampaign has a form builder but no landing page builder. The form builder has an inline, floating box and bar display. Their software allows integrations to provide a landing page builder if required.

The GetResponse landing page and web form builder is one of the company’s big drawcards. They offer a web form builder that is a complete package in one, able to create many different types of forms. The landing page editor provides drag-and-drop creation, along with over 100 different templates.

Outside Extras

WordPress Plugin is supported by both companies, which allows you to add forms to pages. ActiveCampaign also offers tracking for your WordPress website. Both also support Zapier integration.

ActiveCampaign has a slightly higher number of apps and integrations that can work with the packages, with more than 150 available. GetResponse offers over 133 different options. The tools include landing page software, CMSs, scheduling tools, CRM tools and more.

Pricing

It’s slightly cheaper to start with ActiveCampaign vs GetResponse, as the former starts at $9 per month and the latter at $15 per month. However, the affordability varies depending on the subscription level.

There are plenty of options, including monthly subscriptions and annual subscriptions at different levels. ActiveCampaign has a free 14 trial, while GetResponse offers 30 days free.

Neither have a lock-in contract term, so they go from month to month, unless the annual plans are chosen. There are no joining fees for either, and neither one offer any refunds after that free trial period.

ActiveCampaign offer phone, email and chat support. Other support options include video walkthroughs, one-on-one training and access to the user community. GetResponse have similar options available, including the GetResponse learning centre.

Pros and Cons

ActiveCampaign

Pros

• Automated workflows are easy to create
• Affordable and good value for money
• Flexible price points
• Able to provide A/B testing
• CRM options, including the ability to expand to full CRM

Cons

• Limited ability to customise the dashboard
• No inbuilt landing page builder
• Can be initially overwhelming for beginners

GetResponse

Pros

• High-quality landing pages
• 500+ professionally designed email templates
• Webinar marketing
• Deliverability of 99%

Cons

• Any duplicate contacts will count towards monthly limit
• Limited CRM tools 

ActiveCampaign vs GetResponse – which should you choose?

Both tools are very highly rated email marketing options. They are generally easy to use, although ActiveCampaign can take a little more getting used to and GetResponse tends to be more user friendly.

Both offer email automation, although ActiveCampaign has the slight edge in that department. They are also better able to support CRM functions.

GetResponse is the most compelling option for businesses who use a landing page and/or wish to host webinars, with creative templates and assistance available for both. With over 500 templates and 1,000 stock images, they’re an all-in-one solution for businesses who want to create compelling content and make sure it’s sent to the right people at the right time.

For a business that focuses more on B2B sales, the CRM focus from ActiveCampaign might make their option more appealing, as is their targeted focus on identifying and keeping higher value clients. For businesses that prefer to deal directly with their customers, GetResponse have slightly better functions for creating and managing campaigns.

Choosing for your business

The choice between ActiveCampaign vs GetResponse is highly dependent on your business’s priorities.

If you’d prefer an all-in-one solution with a user-friendly design, a wide variety of templates and the option to design and utilise landing pages and webinars, then GetResponse is likely to be the best option. If you’d prefer a more focused tool with granular functionality that allows you to build from scratch as well as integrated CRM functions, ActiveCampaign will meet your needs.

With both offering similar price points and the ability to integrate other tools to use with these platforms in case you need a functionality not native to them, the best option is likely to utilise their free trial periods and see for yourself. Either is a great choice if you would like an affordable, comprehensive email marketing solution that is customisable and provides real results.

The post GetResponse vs Active Campaign: Which Is Better? appeared first on EmailEdgar.

In the past, a match-up between GetResponse vs Mailchimp would have been an uneven competition, as GetResponse was mostly geared towards providing an all-in-one solution, with Mailchimp offering simpler email marketing solutions.

However, in recent times Mailchimp have stepped up their game and have emerged as a real contender against GetResponse. While they still mostly cater towards a slightly different group of people, it’s worth considering which company offer a product that will best suit your needs.

Let’s take a closer look at GetResponse Vs Mailchimp – who they are, what they offer, and which one you should choose to handle your email marketing.

Mailchimp

What is Mailchimp?

Founded in 2001, Mailchimp are an extremely popular email marketing company that offer a range of plans, including a free plan for people who are just starting out. For this reason, most people begin their first foray into email marketing using Mailchimp. After all, with a free plan – what do you have to lose?

While in the past, Mailchimp kept things fairly basic, they have recently upgraded their offerings and therefore updated their prices. While they still offer value for money, some of their options have become pricier to reflect the many additional features on offer.

GetResponse

What is GetResponse?

GetResponse is an industry leader which has been around since 1998 – which makes it one of the longest running email marketing options. The award-winning company self-describes as one of the most user-friendly options to send out email marketing such as newsletters, campaigns, online surveys, and autoresponders.

The landing page creator and a number of other unique features make it the first choice for thousands of businesses across the world and over a billion monthly subscribers. They use an easy “drag and drop” email editor, a wide range of templates, and many other features to help support a successful email campaign.

Let’s have a look at how the two marketing companies stack up against each other.

Number of contacts

The main differentiating factor between GetResponse’s pricing structures is the number of contacts – for the most part you get the same service, regardless of the pricing level you’re on.

On the other hand, Mailchimp restricts certain features to specific tiers. The number of contacts is one of the differentiating factors that determine the level of their pricing structure.

However, the way Mailchimp calculates the contact list you’ll be charged for is different – they include both subscribed and unsubscribed contacts as part of your total. So for example, if you have a list of 1,000 subscribers and 100 unsubscribe, you’re still charged as if you have 1,000. GetResponse would consider that to be a list of 900.

Emails

Mailchimp also introduced monthly limits on the number of emails that can be sent to your contacts. The limits range from 10,000 to 3 million, depending on the plan that the business purchases.

The limits are relatively generous and it’s unlikely that many people would need to breach the maximum amount, but it’s another factor that many business owners would rather not have to consider.

Like most other email marketing companies, GetResponse doesn’t have a limit to the number of emails you can send, even on their entry level plan.

Design and Customisation

Both GetResponse and Mailchimp offer design and customisation options, including a wide range of templates and stock photos to choose from to make your email campaign stand out.

GetResponse have traditionally offered over 500 email templates and have recently introduced 60 new templates that have been modernised, as a common criticism of their past templates was their slightly outdated style. They are mostly responsive, meaning they can be successfully viewed on a range of devices.

Mailchimp offers 100 different email templates in a range of contemporary styles. They have two main types – drag and drop, and classic templates, and only the drag and drop templates are responsive.

With both companies, you are not actually restricted to using one of their pre-set templates. It’s possible to purchase templates from an outside supplier to use within the system. If you’re really tech savvy there is also always the option to use your own HTML code – although this isn’t a feature for Mailchimp until you’re purchasing at least the ‘standard’ plan.

Automation

Automation is hugely important for email marketing, but the “set and forget” nature of automation is only as good as the program you use. Setting parameters for email and newsletters to be deployed means that you can follow up on customers automatically and keep them engaged and connected.

There’s not much to choose between GetResponse vs Mailchimp – they both have excellent and extensive autoresponder functionality.

For both platforms, you can choose different triggers to autosend an email, such as a new subscriber, an email open, click-throughs, completed purchases, visits to websites and user data changes. If a customer deploys one of these triggers, the system can be set up to send an email in response.

The GetResponse system manages automation in a flow chart type system, or you can choose to implement a drip-style campaign. Mailchimp has similar options, but generally has a template-based approach where you can adjust pre-arranged email systems to suit your subscriber base.

Keep in mind that while sophisticated, Mailchimp’s autoresponders are not available on the entry level plans.

When organising how the automation will work for you, GetResponse offer a visual representation of connections and triggers, making it easy to decide how to set up your autoresponders. Mailchimp simply has a list of triggers, which doesn’t adequately convey a good sense of how it will all work.

Interface

Function is more important than appearance, but it’s still good to have an easy interface to work with. The two email marketing tools opt for a different approach.

Mailchimp has a more minimalistic design, with large fonts and lots of space. However, GetResponse utilises more drop-down menus and a more traditional interface design.  Both offer good usability, are easy to navigate, and have good design and logical menu structures.

Split testing

Split testing allows you to try out different techniques on your customer base to see how they respond. You can select a portion of your customer base to test a few versions on, and send the best performing option to your wider list of subscribers.

It’s a useful tool for any email marketing campaign, which allows you to keep your targeted emails fresh and relevant. GetResponse allows you to test up to 5 versions as well as other variables, no matter what plan you’re on.

Mailchimp will allow you to split-test three versions, unless you’re on the most expensive plans where the number jumps to eight different versions. Mailchimp also offers social media reporting, which GetResponse does not natively offer.

Both Mailchimp and GetResponse offer extensive reporting options to track how your campaign is going. You can keep an eye on click throughs, unsubscribes, ecommerce tracking options, and open rates, and have extended insight into your subscribers to help you understand your audience.

Landing Page and Forms

Both Mailchimp and GetResponse have the option to design forms, and then embed the forms on your website. But each is better in different areas.

Getresponse has more design options, and there are plenty of templates to choose from in a wide range of styles. Mailchimp is slightly better at catering to mobile devices, featuring pop-up forms that are responsive to the type of device being used.

One of the things GetResponse are most known for is their landing pages. They offer comprehensive landing page functionality, including many templates, split testing, timers and even stock photographs available with any package.

Mailchimp do offer landing pages on all plans as a relatively recent development, but it’s not as comprehensive as GetResponse – they don’t offer A/B testing and only include a small number of templates.

If you’d like to create a simple web page, Mailchimp has a web design tool that can give you something to work with. It probably won’t be enough for most businesses, but it’s a great start and included on all plans.

Outside Extras

It’s important to be able to customise your service as much as possible, and what these companies don’t offer themselves, they can provide by way of integration.

Mailchimp and GetResponse both offer integration with a massive number of other services both small and large, with the option to integrate smaller functions or massive services like PayPal and Facebook. While Mailchimp seems to be less innovative with their options, GetResponse relies heavily on a tool called Zapier to set up a lot of their integrations.

However, that doesn’t affect functionality. With the help of integrations, you can turn your account with GetResponse or Mailchimp into a custom service that meets your needs and increases your customer engagement.

Pricing

The issue of pricing isn’t as straightforward as it might otherwise seem. If you’re looking for a free service, then that decision is easy – Mailchimp is the only provider that offers a free plan, although GetResponse does have a 30 day trial if you’re just interested in checking it out.

However, for the other options, there’s no clear answer as to which is the better value. In general, Mailchimp offers better value on the lower end of the pricing scale, while GetResponse tend to be better value as the subscription level increases.

That being said, there are other factors that can influence pricing. For example, Mailchimp’s policy of including unsubscribed customers as part of your list could mean as time passes, you get less value out of what was initially a cheaper plan.

However, the basic pricing is as follows:             

Mailchimp, offers four pricing plans

• Free — a cut-down version of the product, which includes a mandatory ad for Mailchimp at the bottom of e-newsletters
• Essential — starting at $9.99 per month, up to 1,500 subscribers
• Standard — starting at $14.99 per month, up to 2,500 subscribers
• Premium — starting at $299 per month, up to 10,000 subscribers

Getresponse also have four plans:

• Basic — starting at $15 per month to send an unlimited number of emails to up to 1,000 subscribers
• Plus — starting at $49 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers
• Professional — starting at $99 per month for up to 1,000 subscribers
• Enterprise — negotiable pricing (when lists exceed 100,000 subscribers).

GetResponse also offer discounts for paying a years’ subscription in advance, but there is no refund if you change your mind.

No comparable discounts are available for Mailchimp.

Pros and Cons

Mailchimp

Pros

• Generous free plan for those starting out.
• Good range of templates and customisation.
• Sleek design.
• Cheaper for small lists
• Two-factor authentication available
• Basic web tool included.

Cons

• Pay for unsubscribed contacts
• No landing page testing
• Not all features available on all plans

GetResponse

Pros

• High-quality landing pages with A/B testing
• 500+ professionally designed email templates
• Webinar marketing
• Advertised email deliverability of 99%
• Access to most features across every level of plan
• Only charged for active subscribers
• No send limits
• Host webinars
• Excellent marketing automation interface
• Discounts for paying annually

Cons

• Any duplicate contacts will count towards monthly limit
• Limited CRM tools
• Some dated designs 

GetResponse vs Mailchimp – which should you choose?

Mailchimp and GetResponse roughly cater to different needs. While Mailchimp has changed their service to include a much wider range of options, in many areas they still fall short of the functionality that GetResponse offers.

For customers with a small client base who are looking for a lower cost (or free) option, arguably Mailchimp is the less expensive option, while still offering a great service.

At this level, it probably comes down to personal preference, and potential interest in a specific feature (like a web page builder) might tip the decision either way. To find out, both offer free options to trial the two and see which best meets your business’s needs.

However in general, the comparison between GetResponse vs Mailchimp has a clearer winner. As Mailchimp have introduced the email limits, don’t deduct unsubscribed customers from their list, and don’t include important features on their lower level plans, GetResponse have the edge.

However, both include great features for a reasonable price, and using either is likely to support your email marketing strategies and boost customer engagement and connection. The best way to find out is to give them a go! Make use of the free trial, and start making email marketing work for you.

The post Getresponse vs Mailchimp: Who Comes Out On Top? appeared first on EmailEdgar.

Some things just work better when they’re automated. Email autoresponders can help you connect with clients, increase sales, and present your business the way you want.

Let’s look at what an autoresponder is, how it works, and how it can help your business.

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What is an email autoresponder?

An email autoresponder is a way to automate communication with customers, which keeps them informed and engaged. Once set up, your autoresponder sends an email based on parameters that you put in place – you define the rules or intervals that will trigger an email being sent out.

For example, it’s common to set up an email to go out once a customer signs up or makes their first purchase, in the case of a special event like a birthday, or to send reminders to finish checking out.

The email only needs to be written once, the scheduling or parameters set up, and then the autoresponder can help you take care of your customers. It’s a relatively low-effort way to get big results.

Why should you use an autoresponder?

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An email autoresponder does save time, but there are many other reasons you should consider using one. It’s a great way to make targeted and immediate contact with your customers, in a way that benefits them and gets your business across in the best light possible.

It’s not a strategy that’s just for big businesses. There are plenty of options available to businesses of all sizes, for a range of budgets. Sending emails really needs to be high on the priority list, to establish a connection between customers and the business, and automation takes the hassle out of the job.

You can ensure that important communication is getting to your customers, without you needing to remember to send it. As your business grows, it becomes less likely that you’ll be able to handle all the contact yourself, and there’s no way you’ll be able to effectively remember things like sending birthday discounts – not to mention the amount of time it would take.

When to send an email autoresponder message:

Sign up

• Welcome emails. When a customer first makes contact with your business and leaves details, it’s vital that you establish a connection as soon as possible. A welcome email is the first step to creating that connection.
• Brand information. When you have been entrusted with a customer’s contact details, you have the opportunity to present your business in the best light possible. It’s an opportunity to greatly influence how they perceive your business, which in turn influences their engagement going forward.

Special events

• Discount codes. It’s almost impossible to manually track how customers are engaging with your business, but an automated email system can help. You have the option to set parameters that can offer discounts based on customer behaviour – for example, a discount code sent after checkout that allows them a reduced price on their next purchase.
  
• Birthday bonus. Sending a bonus on a birthday, holiday or other special event is another example of how to utilise an automated email system. Not only does it encourage purchases, it adds a personal touch to your business communication.

Reminders

• Abandoned cart. If a customer has begun shopping but left their cart, an automated email can drive them back to complete their purchase. If they’re on the fence, the reminder can be the push needed to get the sale.
• Reactivation emails. If there has been a long time since a customer last engaged with your business, an automated email can remind them and get them back on board.
• Sales reminders. When planning a sale, a series of automated emails can create hype and excitement leading up to the event.

Will I ever have to send another email?

An email autoresponder is a good “set and forget” option, but you’ll still need to craft emails. Special announcements, newsletters, and responding to customer enquiries will need to be done separately.

You’ll need to periodically review the auto-emails that you’re sending as well, to make sure that the information is still relevant and up-to-date. You should also periodically review how effective your communication is – could you send more emails? Are people being overloaded? Is the content conveying your message correctly?

So while an automated email service is a huge time saver and has the potential to boost sales, customer engagement and your brand image, you’ll still need to stay hands on to some degree. 

Getting your emails automated

Just because a process is automated, doesn’t mean it’s impersonal. An email autoresponder can be used to convey your brand image, to stay in contact with your customers and to support them to engage with your business. There are a range of different platforms that offer an email autoresponder function.

You’ll still need to personally engage with customers, but an autoresponder takes the tedious and otherwise impossible job of remembering customers and engaging them, and leaves you free to take care of the most important aspects of running your business.

Autoresponder email examples

What doe autoresonder emails look like> Here are four of the best autoresponder email example recently voted by Campaign Moniter.

1. The personal touch email

In a paper entitled, The Power of Personalization, thought leader Forrester Consulting determined that personal marketing is more effective.

“Personalization is more important today than ever before. The proliferation of devices and channels, such as mobile and social, has fundamentally changed the way that customers interact with companies and brands.

This has led to what Forrester calls the mobile mind shift: the expectation that you can get exactly what you want in your immediate context and at your immediate moment of need.”

In general, their analysis showed that:

• Marketers that want to increase engagement must use personalized marketing to be effective.
• The more pain points you have for your customers, the more challenges you’ll have personalizing your marketing.
• Many firms don’t use customer interaction to discover how to best personalize their campaigns.
• While you may—or may not—be on top of all those tasks, the first one is the most important. If you’re not already using personalized email marketing, it’s time to start.

Here’s an example of a brand that’s got it down to a science, Sephora.

This email is bright, bold, and personal, the perfect way to entice their customers back into the store.

While this email is only using the customer’s name that can be enough to move someone to purchase.

You can combine that with showing them similar products to the ones they’ve purchased in the past for further personalization. Add the special savings and it’s a formula that just can’t lose.

2. The confirmation email

More people than ever are ordering online. Numbers from Statista show that figures are going to skyrocket in the next few years—topping out at over 230 million people in 2020.

That’s a lot of customers and—if you’re a smart email marketer—that’s a lot of emails, too.

Nothing says you care more than an email letting your customer know that their order went through and is being shipped.

It’s instant relief and instant gratification all rolled up into one smartly-done email. And no one does this better than online shopping giant Amazon.

Here’s a look at one of their autoresponder confirmation emails, sent within 30 seconds of the order.

Notice what else they have built into their autoresponder series? A shipping confirmation. Another great idea for your email idea box. Here’s what theirs looks like:

Notice how simple and uncluttered this email is. Just the facts, but ones that will help your customers feel like you have their backs.

3. The welcome email

One of the most important emails in a series, your welcome email helps customers feel appreciated, showcases your brand, and prompts them to take the next steps in getting to know—and love—what you’re offering.

Look how art and craft supply giant Michaels wows new customers with their welcome email.

Notice the “crafty” way they nail their brand image with graphics and layout that makes the whole email look like a big project.

They not only express gratitude for their new customer, but they add a coupon as an enticement.

Once you know that their emails might hold this kind of value, you’ll be sure to open every single one.

4. The support email

The right support email can take that frown and turn it upside down for your frustrated or unhappy customers.

There are varying kinds of support emails, depending on where you and your customer are in the situation resolution pipeline.

These can range from:

• We’re working on it.
• We’re still working on it.
• We’ve resolved the issue.
• Did we do a good job?
• Here’s how you can fix the problem yourself.

For the purposes of this post, let’s focus on the most common, the “We’re working on it” email.

This email is critical because it lets your customer know that you’ve received their query and that you’re taking it seriously.

To make them even happier with your service, personalize this email. Here’s an example from Jet.com.

It’s clear, concise, and most importantly, personalized. Note that you’re also letting them know you appreciate their loyalty.

Notice in the above autoresponder email examples how these companies are speaking in a customer’s language to get their attention and deliver their message.

Usage of great images also pulls eyeballs to the email

Autoresponder free

Should you go for a free service or paid? Most autoresponder providers will give you a free trial period but eventually you’ll need to get their paid version. The paid version also opens up more options for the user.

Here’s what WPBeginner said about autroresponder free

1. Constant Contact

Constant Contact is the best email marketing service in the world. It’s our top pick for creating autoresponder sequences.

Pros

• Their free trial lasts a generous 60 days. That gives you two months to build up your email list and start making money from your blog.
• The free trial doesn’t require any credit card details, so you won’t be billed unless you actively choose to continue using Constant Contact.
• It’s fast and easy to set up your account. You just click a few options and Constant Contact shows you some useful resources based on your answers.
• If you already have a website, Constant Contact can set up your email design based on your website branding. It scans your website to find images and colors and creates several layout options to choose from.
• You can also pick from hundreds of other templates.
• The drag and drop interface is really easy to use. This is especially helpful if you’re new to email marketing.
• The Constant Contact support team is easy to reach through live chat, phone, and email.
• They also have a library of resources and online training. If you’re in the United States, you could even take advantage of their in-person live seminars.

Cons

• There’s no free forever plan available. After the 60-day free trial, you’ll need to pay if you want to keep using your email list. WPBeginner users do get 20% off with Constant Contact coupon.
• To use most of the automated features after your free trial, you’ll need to pay for the Email Plus plan.

Pricing

Constant Contact “Email” plan costs from $20/month which comes with basic automation features.

For advanced automation features, though, you’ll need the “Email Plus” plan which starts from $45/month.

2. Sendinblue

Sendinblue is a marketing automation platform that combines both email and SMS marketing. They are one of the fastest growing email autoresponder platforms in Europe.

Pros

• You can store as many email contacts as you want on the free plan. You’re just limited by how many emails you can send out each day.
• The majority of Sendinblue’s tools are available on their free plan. These include the automation tools.
• You get access to email support on the free plan, so you can contact the support team if you’re having any problems.
• You can use Sendinblue to send SMS messages as well as emails.
• The marketing automation tool, which is how you create automation sequences, has an easy drag and drop interface.
• There’s a wide range of different templates available, or you can drag and drop elements to create your own template. You can also upload an HTML template if you’ve already created one separately.

Cons

• Emails on the free plan (and on the “lite” plan) have Sendinblue’s branding on them. You can’t remove this.
• The 300 emails per day limit might seem like a lot when you’re just starting out, but this goes away quite fast, so don’t let the forever free plan be the only decision factor.

Pricing

Sendinblue’s free plan is completely free. If you want more features, you can upgrade to a paid plan. The cheapest plan, Lite, is $25/month.

Their plans are priced based on how many emails you send each month, not on the size of your list.

3. MailerLite

MailerLite has become a popular autoresponder tool over the past few years. They have a generous free plan and lots of great features.

Pros

• You can use autoresponders and advanced segmentation on the free plan, without any need to upgrade.
• Lots of other features are available on the free plan, such as landing pages, multi-user accounts, and A/B split testing of emails.
• The free plan doesn’t limit you to a set number of emails per day. Instead, there’s a monthly limit of 12,000 emails.
• Even the cheapest paid plan gives you access to all the “Premium Plans” features. These include A/B testing of landing pages, auto-resend, and delivery by timezone.
• There’s a drag and drop editor that you can use to create your emails. You can add and remove blocks easily, change fonts and styles, and more.

Cons

• There aren’t any email templates available on the free plan. When you use the drag and drop builder, though, it has a simple default template with space for a logo, header, image, etc.
• If your list grows beyond 1,000 people, you’ll need to upgrade to a $15 or more paid plan.
• Your emails will have the MailerLite logo on them. You can’t remove this while on the free plan.

Pricing

MailerLite has a free plan that you can use for as long as you like. The cheapest paid plan is $10/month, but if you want more than 1,000 subscribers on your list, you’ll need to pay $15/month or more.

All the paid plans have the same features available, so you’re simply paying as you increase your number of subscribers.

4. AWeber

AWeber offers a free trial, which gives you full access to all its features. It’s a popular email marketing service, with powerful autoresponder tools.

Pros

• AWeber has been around for a long time. It was founded in 1998 and is now one of the most established autoresponder tools out there.
• The free trial includes all the features you’d get on a paid plan
• AWeber has powerful automation and segmentation tools. You can use it to create some very detailed autoresponder series.
• AWeber can be integrated with a huge number of other services, including OptinMonster, Unbounce, PayPal and more.
• All the support materials, including master class sessions and live webinars, are available even when you’re on the free plan.
• AWeber brings out new features regularly, and all customers get access to these. That includes people on the free plan.

Cons

• The free trial is only 30 days. This doesn’t give you all that long to start making money from your email list.
• AWeber definitely isn’t the cheapest option out there. It has more features than some other email autoresponders, but these do come at a price.

Pricing

AWeber’s cheapest plan is $19/month and that only lets you have up to 500 subscribers.

After that, you’ll be paying $29/month. If you want more than 2,500 subscribers, you’ll be on the $49/month plan.

5. Mailchimp

Mailchimp is a very popular email marketing service with tons of features to automate your emails and a free plan.

Pros

• The free plan lets you use segmentation and simple autoresponders. It could be a great fit if you just want to use a bit of automation.
• Mailchimp integrates with over 300 apps, including Canva, SeedProd’s Maintenance Mode Pro, Help Scout, and many more.
• The drag and drop templates are easy to set up and modify.
• Mailchimp is becoming an all-in-one solution with a built-in CRM tool. If this is what you’re looking for, Mailchimp could be a good option for you.

Cons

• The free plan only includes email support for the first 30 days. After that, you’ll only have the knowledge base documents to help you.
• There’ll be MailChimp branding on your emails if you’re on the free plan.
• You can’t create multi-step autoresponder sequences on the “Free” or “Essentials” plans.
• MailChimp’s customer support, pricing structure, and features are definitely not the best out there. We no longer recommend them to our readers and suggest these MailChimp alternatives instead.
• MailChimp’s automation tools aren’t as powerful as those of their competitors. This is a particular problem if you’re mainly interested in using them as an autoresponder.

Pricing

MailChimp has several different pricing systems, which can be a bit confusing. You can either opt for a monthly plan (from $9.99/month for the “Essentials” plan) or you can use “pay as you go” pricing (from $150 for 5,000 emails).

Note: MailChimp’s pricing tires are based on your “contacts”. These include people who’ve unsubscribed and those who haven’t confirmed their email address, as well as your actual subscribers.

6. ConvertKit

ConvertKit has recently launched a free plan, which allows you to build unlimited landing pages and opt-in forms. It’s a good way to start building your email list.

You can also take a 14 day free trial of ConvertKit.

Pros

• If you’re using an optin incentive, ConvertKit has a great delivery mechanism for these. It’s particularly well geared up for professional bloggers.
• ConvertKit has lots of different ways you can segment your customers. You can also assign tags to customers.
• There’s a landing page builder that you can use to create attractive landing pages. There are 30 templates to pick from and you can customize the design.
• Setting up your free account is really quick. It takes just seconds and you can get started on building your landing page straight away.

Cons

• You’ll need to invite a friend if you want to unlock most of the features of the free plan, including the ability to actually send emails!
• You can’t use the automation functionality on the free plan. You’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan if you want to use this. You can try it out on the 14-day free trial, though.

Pricing

ConvertKit has a limited free plan. After this, the cheapest plan is $29/month, which covers you for up to 1,000 subscribers. The next tier is $49/month for up to 3,000 subscribers.

7. GetResponse

GetResponse is a popular and easy to use email marketing service aimed at small businesses. It doesn’t have a free plan, but there’s a 30 day free trial available.

Pros

• You can try any of their paid plans free for 30 days, including the Professional plan that lets you run free webinars. You don’t need to enter any credit card details.
• GetResponse can be integrated with OptinMonster, PayPal, Shopify, ClickBank, and many other tools.
• Support is available through phone, live chat, and email. There’s also a comprehensive help section.
• Once your free plan is over, you can still use autoresponders on the lowest-priced plan.

Cons

• There’s no free plan, just the 30-day free trial. This doesn’t give you very long to get your email list up and running.
• For some of the more advanced automation features, you’ll need to move up to the Plus plan. This also gives you things like webinars, but if you don’t want those, you may feel it’s quite expensive.

Pricing

The different plans offer different features. For instance, from the Plus plan up, you get webinars and an automation builder. The cheapest plan, Basic, is $15/month for up to 1,000 subscribers.

Start your autoresponder free trial for Getresponse

Read the comparison here Getresponse vs Mailchimp or Getresponse Vs Active Campaign

Autoresponder Gmail

Some people use Gmail to send autoresponder messages but it’s very limited as compared to the above service providers.

Amit Agarwal discusses autoresponder Gmail here in this short video

Conclusion

So what is an email autoresponder?

Emails sent to your list at set intervals. They remail evergreen. No matter when you get a new subscriber they can start at your first message and they’ll be sent further emails at set periods automatically.

In this article we outline how to write an email autoresponder, what are the best autoresponder email examples and which autorespnder free services including autoresponder Gmail you might consider.

While free sounds attractive eventually you’ll need to grab a paid email autoresponder. This is the service we’ve used for 15 years. (you can check it out with a free trial)

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