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Free AutoresponderA free autoresponder is useful when you first start your business. They are simple, with few features and can often be obtained from your web hosting company. There are some obvious advantages but there are also some disadvantages in using this type of program for your business. You should weigh the consequences carefully before choosing this type of program. Paid services will sometimes give you a no cost trial for 30 days. You can also get services that will offer a restricted service at no cost to you. Here are some points to think about before you choose one of these programs. Disadvantages of a free autoresponder: 1. Limited lists: Only 1-2 lists can be made with a no cost account. This can seriously hamper your business as multiple lists are important for the development of your business. 2. Advertisements: These no cost programs will often show advertisements with each message that you send to your subscribers. This is very unprofessional and can cost you subscribers and sales. 3. Limited scheduled messages: You will find that your ability to send these types of messages (mailers) will be limited to one set and in many cases this will not be a feature you can use. This will definitely hinder your email marketing campaigns. 4. No HTML available: you will be unlikely to have this feature with a free autoresponder. This will make your messages less noticeable and to some people quite boring. The appearance of your messages can make an impact on your subscribers and make a difference in response rate. 5. No tracking: tracking is very important to your campaigns. It is usually not available with low cost programs and this will seriously hurt any email marketing campaign. You need to know open rates, and what links are being clicked on by your subscribers. This will allow you to tweak your campaigns and get the maximum response from them. As you can see there are quite a few disadvantages with a free autoresponder. However you will of course save money initially. If you get one of these no cost programs from your web hosting company it will not have advertisements. If you have a small list and only want to send one message at a time this program may work for you. However as your business needs grow you will probably have to upgrade to a paid one.
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