E-Mail Marketing

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"I plan to build my e-mail list to 300,000 to 500,000 subscribers. Currently I have 115,000 on my opt-in list and am using AutoResponse Plus software to e-mail to them. However, my web hosting service only allows me to send out 300 e-mails per hour and caps the daily limit at 3,000. I am considering of the following options: (1) Purchase a desktop program and use "direct send." (2) Lease a dedicated server to send out my e-mail. (3) Sign up with GetResponse, but it will not let me import my list without approval, and having GetResponse send out e-mail costs a lot when you have a big list like mine. Please note that I am not talking about spam, but about real subscribers and co-registration list with IP and date/time stamps." -- Vincent Leo

The issues you express are (a) sending caps, (b) price, and (c) hassle importing a list. A fourth unspoken issue is "inbox" deliverability. While desktop mailers and licensed programs hosted on your server are relatively inexpensive, unless you are a trusted, whitelisted mailer with relationships with the major Internet Service Providers (ISPs), it's difficult to get past the spam filters enough to reach a high level of deliverability -- that is, as high as ASP hosted e-mail services can usually achieve. For that reason, I encourage you to consider using an e-mail service.

Desktop E-Mailing Programs

Having said that, to e-mail with desktop software, such as the great Gammadyne Mailer, will be frustrating for a list your size, though I use Gammadyne for small lists. You're likely run into the same kinds of e-mail sending limits with your ISP that you did with your hosting service. The "direct send" feature is substantially slower and ISPs increasingly block you from using direct send at all.

Licensed E-Mailing Software

AutoResponse Plus is excellent software and about to come out with a major version upgrade, but to take full advantage for your size list, you'll need to get a dedicated server with its own "clean" IP address, from an IP block that has no taint of spamming in its past. As you observe, not all web hosts are comfortable with heavy e-mailing. And you certainly don't want a host that caters to spammers, since that is likely to get your IP address on a blacklist, even though you're a responsible mailer. In addition, your server needs special optimization to get top sending speed from AutoResponse Plus. Hosts that specialize in AutoResponse Plus can sometimes get it to send out e-mails two or three times faster than on an unoptimized server. With a small list, that doesn't matter much, but with a list of 100,000, sending speed is crucial. Currently I am paying $169 per month for a dedicated server tuned to send out e-mails rapidly.

E-Mailing Services

You mention that with GetResponse e-mailing "costs a lot," but when you compare its prices with its competitors, it comes off pretty well for large lists like yours. Let's compare the monthly costs of several e-mail service companies that cater to small businesses, figuring a weekly (four e-mails per month) newsletter for subscriber lists of various sizes.

Notes: (1) Price based on number of subscribers on the list. (2) Price based on the number of e-mails sent per month. (3) Price obtained by phone. (4) An additional premium list service fee is assessed for lists over 25K. (5) Charges an initial application fee.

Please understand that the above chart compares only price, not features. The more expensive services tend to offer important features that the less expensive companies don't. My E-Mail Marketing Handbook (second edition, 2005) compares features and costs for scores of e-mailing programs and services (www.wilsonweb.com/ebooks/handbook.htm).

Incidentally, any e-mail service worth its salt will question the source of the e-mail addresses on your list and do some tests before sending out a full mailing to your list. That may be an initial hassle, but it proves that the service has a zero tolerance for spam, a quality that insures high deliverability through spam filters for all its clients.

Only desperate marketers make purchasing decisions based on price alone. Having said that, for larger lists with GetResponse or AWeber, a single weekly mailing to 100,000 subscribers prorates to only $25-$30 -- an amazing price to communicate with that many people -- and with a high rate of deliverability! (Of the two, I'm more familiar with AWeber's good reputation and service.) Hopefully this helps you understand better some of the factors small businesses must consider when seeking e-mail software for Internet marketing.