Aweber  vs  GetResponse Review

(Simon Grabowski)

Rating:   4.5 stars

Intro:
First off, there's more subscription autoresponder companies out
there than just Aweber and GetResponse.  However, these two
are far and away the most popular.  Their companies have been
around longer than most others and they have more features than
every other company out there as of now...

Their services are tweaked and polished more than the rest.  So, like
other categories of products and services reviewed here at
HonestySellsBest.com, I'm not going to even cover the 'lesser'
companies.  Because the idea--especially if you're brand-new to this--
is to stick with proven products and services; don't reinvent the wheel. 
But, as stated on the "Reviews: Read This First" page, I'll be more than
happy to review any product or service you request a review for.

(By the way, if you're not really familiar with autoresponders,
check out the little tutorial here on HonestySellsBest.com entitled,
"Autoresponders:  What You Need To Know."  Just be sure to close it
out when you're done and return here so that you stay focused.)

        O.K., on to the review of Aweber vs. GetResponse:

If you've been following the forums about autoresponders, you
couldn't help but notice that Tom Kulzer and Simon Grabowski--
founders of Aweber and GetResponse, respectively--have been
engaged in a boxing match of words over the last few years. 

I don't know how it started (and, apparently, neither to they) but
they're both claiming that the other is grossly exaggerating email
delivery percentages.  In particular, Tom is claiming a 99.34%
delivery rate whereas Simon is claiming 99.48%.  (Actually, Tom
accused Simon of claiming 99.48%, but Simon refuted this, saying
he never said that and, furthermore, it would be impossible for
any autoresponder service to see delivery rates over 95%.)

            In any case, as of their latest exchange, they've 
                                    agreed to disagree.

Because it depends on how the percentages are arrived at:

For example, do you count bulk mail folders as delivered?  And what
about different webhosts?--some allow GetResponse's emails thru
more easily than Awebers and vice versa.  What's the type of
message that's being blasted out?--content plays a huge role in
what gets past SPAM filters or not. 

Other big factors that affect email deliverability include time of
delivery, messages being sent from IP addresses that were
temporarily blacklisted but now slide thru, etc...

                But we latch onto anything with numbers

...especially if the number goes out to the second decimal point. 
Because the expectation is that a number that precise must be true! 
Especially in the world of internet marketing where hype is rampant,
any numbers your company can hawk like 99.34% carries with it an
air of scientific exactness; it's believable.

But don't buy it.  Even Tom and Simon now both admit it depends on
who's doing the testing and the factors I just listed above...

So, the table I created for you below has a few other things in
in attempt to separate the two heavy-hitters of the game.  The
features I listed are not the only ones that both offer, but the
ones I thought important from a marketing standpoint and ease of
use. 

Note:  Do not even consider "price" as a reason to go with either
of these services.  Reason is that after you get beyond a few
thousand subscribers and emailings, the pricing structure starts to
get complex and you'll be scratching your head trying to figure out
which service is cheaper.  At first I wasn't going to even include
price in the table, but then I decided to just put in the 'basic package'
prices for both...but place no weight on them.  As far as I can tell,
both services are about the same in pricing, but differ in far more
important areas.

¹ As of now, only GetResponse has incorporated a list building service
into their program.  Marketed as "GetPowerLeads" and "GetSubscribers"
(both are variations of the same thing) you buy leads at the prices
in the table shown below.  The way it works is you submit an ad to
GetResponse--45 character max title and 145 character max ad
(spaces count as characters)--and GetResponse "displays your ad on
many websites on the internet."  (These will be very short ads, not
much longer than an Adwords Ad.)

Included with the ad is a signup form that deposits your subscribers'
info directly onto your GetResponse list...

This is where it gets interesting:  These subscribers don't have to
opt-in twice; no "verified opt-in" (to use Aweber's lingo).  Why? 
Because they already have:  They've already opted in to someone
else's GetResponse list, so basically you are "borrowing" other people's
GetResponse subscribers.

In any case, if the leads turn out to be pretty well targeted, then
the prices may be justified and a good deal.  Of course, if you
want to use their lead system, only buy the minimum to start with.
And remember that the only split-testing you can do is with your
ad copy and not where the ads are run.    

200 leads for $89.95 / 45¢ each
500 leads for $189.95 / 38¢ each
1000 leads for $359.95 / 36¢ each
2000 leads for $649.95 / 32¢ each

• account@GetResponse.com
• account@AnySecond.com
• account@ThisSecond.com
• account@SendNow.net
• account@SubscribeMeNow.com
• account@GO-Subscribe.com
• account@GoldenReports.com
• account@ReportsNetwork.com
• account@HyperInfo.net
• account@ActiveInfo.net
• account@GetMoreInfo.net
• account@EvenMoreInfo.com
• account@DetailsInstantly.com
• account@ITbizinfo.com
• account@eBiz-Info.com
• account@AutoRespond.info
• account@AutoSend.info
• account@DeliverMore.info

Personally:
I tried GetResponse for a while, but hated it compared to Aweber.  So
I canceled my GetResponse account.

Here's what I disliked about GetResponse:  Although it looks friendly
(with more colorful icons than Aweber's), it's interface is very bulky
and hard to use.  Aweber's interface is so easy to use in comparison.

Now, if you're used to using one or the other, this won't matter.  But
to me, the Aweber interface is much more intuitive.
 
Here's the link to Aweber's main site if you want to look into it more.

Here's the link to GetResponse, if you want to check it out.