AUTORESPONDERS & CRM’S

We are excited to talk autoresponders and CRM options with you all. The questions today came from the new social audio network, Anchor. If you are not familiar with Anchor, you can check out the video we did on it here. Whether you are just getting started, just thinking about it, or have been building a business for some time now, email marketing and customer management is a must have.  Gone are the days of paper letters and snail mail communications. So how are you supposed to know where to start or what to use? Dotto Tech is here to provide some feedback on this episode of Ask Dotto Tech. A cool feature of Anchor is the ability to embed the audio file right on the blog post, click the “play” buttons below to hear the recording of the questions for today’s Ask Dotto Tech. There is surely no lack of choices when it comes to choosing an email management software or a CRM for your business. Now, one thing we would like to make clear, there is not a perfect option for everyone nor will we try to recommend an option for you, we only want to share what we know and pass on the knowledge we have in regards to email management, allowing you to make an informed decision.

CRM & EMAIL MANAGEMENT ON A BUDGET

Zoho

A robust operational tool ideal for a traditional business that is not focused as much on email funnels but more on general communication with your customers and additional business management features. Features:

• Sales & marketing apps
• Email & collaboration
• Inventory
• Invoices
• Expenses
• Human resource apps
• Data Storage: 512MB – 1GB/user, 1GB/org

Drawbacks:

• Limited to the apps created by Zoho
• Limited in apps
• Would need to use a developer and API to create more powerful integrations

Pricing: Free / $12 per user / $20 per user / $35 per user / $50 per user

Constant Contact

Great service for church and social groups, template builder, user-friendly, easy to learn, great customer service, a bit expensive, customization limited Features:

• Customizable templates
• Set it and forget it functionality
• Contact management
• Analytics
• Trackable coupons, surveys & more
• Learning materials
• Event management tools

Drawbacks:

• No A/B testing
• Missing RSS to Email function

Price: Up to 500 subscribers: $20 / $45 501 to 2,500 subscribers: $35 / $60 2,501 to 5,000 subscribers: $55 / $80 5,001 to 10,000 subscribers: $85 / $110 They do offer a non-profit pricing reduction

Aweber

A popular choice for marketers for its ease of use and autoresponder series set up, an excellent choice for getting your email marketing up and running with ease. Features:

• Drag and drop editor
• Autoresponder followup
• Design sign-up forms for your site
• Newsletter templates
• Analytics
• Subscriber segmenting

Drawbacks:

• Limited data importing
• Confusing pricing

Make note that Aweber will count the same e-mail address multiple times if that same person subscribes to more than one of your email lists. So if you have the same person interested in two of your email lists, you will be paying for two people even though it is the same person. Pricing: Up to 500 subscribers: $19 per month 501 to 2,500 subscribers: $29 per month 2,501 to 5,000 subscribers: $49 per month 5,001 to 10,000 subscribers: $69 per month 10,001 to 25,000 subscribers: $149 per month

GetResponse

One of the most popular email management tools with many features and competitive pricing, a great option for the online marketer looking for an all-in-one tool. Features:

• Lead acquisition tools
• List management
• Design tools
• Analytics
• Landing page creation
• Ability to host webinars
• Responsive emails adjust to the device viewed on

Drawbacks:

• Pricing can be confusing
• Limited range of RSS-to-HTML templates
• Outdated designs

Pricing: Up to 1,000 subscribers: $15 / $49 / $165 1,001 to 2,500 subscribers: $25 / $49 / $165 2,501 to 5,000 subscribers: $45 / $49 / $165 5,001 to 10,000 subscribers: $65 / $75 / $ 165 10,001 to 25,000 subscribers: $145 / $165 / $255 25,001 to 50,000 subscribers: $250 / $280 / $370 50,001 to 100,000 subscribers: $450 / $490 / $580

Mailchimp

A good choice for a very small business starting up and looking for a quick and inexpensive option to manage email lists and sending messages. Features:

• Free plan for 2,000 or less subscribers
• Variety of 3rd party integrations
• Built-in templates
• Analytics on paid accounts
• Free learning resources

Drawbacks:

• No analytics on free accounts
• Reports are not real-time
• No autoresponder on free accounts

Pricing: Monthly Plans $10: Up to 500 subscribers $15: Up to 1,000 subscribers $30: Up to 2,500 subscribers $50: Up to 5,000 subscribers $75: Up to 10,000 subscribers $150: Up to 25,000 subscribers $240: Up to 50,000 subscribers $375: Up to 75,000 subscribers Annual Plans $120: Up to 500 subscribers $180: Up to 1,000 subscribers $360: Up to 2,500 subscribers $600: Up to 5,000 subscribers $900: Up to 10,000 subscribers $1,800: Up to 25,000 subscribers $2,880: Up to 50,000 subscribers $4,500: Up to 75,000 subscribers