The Good:

• Lots of professional-looking, ready-to-go Email templates to choose from.
• Affordable!  Our favorite aspect of VerticalResponse is their flexible payment options.  Monthly plans start at only $10 per month. But what we really like is the Pay-As-You Go option, which starts at only $.015 (yes, that’s a penny and a half) per email.  So you can send 200 emails for just $3!  Since most of our customers are small and seasonal, they do not send emails out year-round.  So no need to pay for months you don’t use with the Pay-As-You Go option.
• We also like the option to start with a template, but them customize it further with a bit of HTML.  It’s a nice middle-ground.
• Easy to segment email lists. For example, you can send your email only to people living in a certain state or only to people who have pets.  The possibilities are endless.  And it really helps to target the message to your recipient, thus resulting in higher conversions.
• Good reporting.  The Dashboard gives an at-a-glance look at how the email performed and compares it to past email campaigns.  Or you can drill down deeper to look at the details.  By downloading results to a spreadsheet, you can slice and dice the data any way you like.
• Easy contact management.  Very simple to add subscribers to the list one at a time, using a bulk upload, or by adding a signup to your website.
• Free Trials. VerticalResponse is very good about letting you try before you buy.  The always offer 100 free email credits to use within 30 days.  And often times, they run specials with even more free email credits.  The functionality is not at all limited, so you can really test drive the product to make sure it meets your needs.  And they don’t require a credit card or any money down.

The Not-So-Good

• VerticalResponse requires a mandatory double opt-in.  While this is good to enforce that people really intended to signup for your list, there are times when we wish we did not have to use it.  But it keeps you walking the straight and narrow.

How To Get Started

It’s very simple to give VerticalResponse a try.  Just Click Here to visit their website. Then:

• Complete the signup form
• They will email you a confirmation.  Click the link in that email to activate your free trial membership.
• Manually enter your contact list, or upload it from a spreadsheet.
• Create your first test email from the many different templates available.
• Proof your email by sending a test to yourself.
• And send it out!

That’s really all there is to it.  Give it a try today.  What have you got to lose?

Top 10 Reasons for Using Email Marketing Software

1. Email Marketing Software keeps you CAN-SPAM compliant
Stay out of trouble and avoid stiff fines by systematically following the rules.

2. Protects the Privacy of Your Subscribers
Email systems make sure that the email is addressed to only a single recipient and does not include the names or email addresses of all the other subscribers on your email list.

3. Automates the Subscribe / Unsubscribe Process
An Email System just makes things easier for you… It automatically subscribes people to your list who sign up from the website. And it automatically unsubscribes people who ask to be removed.

4. Improves Deliverability
With personal email applications, emails sent to long lists of senders often won’t even receive your message because it gets flagged as spam and goes straight into their junk email.  Email systems can’t guarantee that won’t happen; but they constantly work to improve and make sure it is less likely.

5. No Maximum to the Number of People You Can Email
If you have ever tried to email to a whole bunch of people from your personal email account, you probably discovered that there is a maximum number of peopel that can be included in your. So you either have to limit the number of people you send to or send multiple messages (which is a pain).

6. Keeps Your List “Clean”
Email systems automatically remove “bounced” emails from your list – so your list stays “cleaner.”

7. Detailed Reporting & Feedback
Email systems provide a wide variety of reports to help you understand the effectiveness of messages, and help you make informed decisions to improve future mailings.

8. It’s Affordable
Email Marketing Software starts as low as $10 per month for unlimited sending or $.015 (that’s a penny-and-a-half) per email sent. It’s still the most economical form of marketing in existence today.

9. It’s Easy – No Technical Skills Necessary
Many software programs offer pre-designed layouts, so it’s just a matter of uploading your list, plugging in your content and off you go!  No techincal skills necessary…

10. It Just Looks Better
Email Marketing Software lets you create professional-looking messages with the click of a button.  If you are going to go to the toruble, you may as well make your emails look good.

Some highlights of the CAN-SPAM Act include:

• Using accurate “From,” “To,” and routing information
• Prohibits deceptive subject lines
• Using an opt-out / unsubscribe method
• Removing unsubscribers from the list within 10 days
• Including sender’s physical address

Each violation is subject up to $16,000 per offense (yes, that’s for each email address!) So make sure you educate yourself before starting up a mass email marketing campaign.

For detailed information, visit the FTC Website