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[Troy McDonald]

In this day and age, there are people that don't use a hosted solution to manage their list(s).  (There are people that use both. )

If you host your own list/autoresponder what do you use and why?

Here is a list of "gurus" that host their own autoresponder (but also use lists/autoresponders hosted by other companies). . .  they use more than one solution:

Matt Bacak
Jim Edwards
Keith Baxter
Mike Filsame
James Martell

If you host your own list/autoresponder what do you use and why?

[Don Morris]

I use Autoresponse Plus -- I decided early on that I didn't want to spend $20 or more per month for the rest of my life.


Don

[Lisa Preston]

I have hosted my own, used free services, and now, after years of testing and trying, I use the best one out there - GetResponse.

Why?

It is truly an imperative service to have... an autoresponder. It is the lifeblood of any online business.
Why would anyone place the fate of their business in the hands of an amateur?

There is far more to running a good autoresponder than plopping in email addresses and clicking the SEND button.

Self-hosted and free services are the worst for deliverability. A single SPAM complaint can even shut down your hosting/domain, blacklist any email from your address. And worse, you might never even know that your emails were being delivered to the Black Hole of SPAM...

Maintaining good relations with numerous ISPs, following the law and keeping up with the latest changes - that can be THEIR headache... it needs to not interfere with your everyday business. Your time is better spent working on your company.

For less than $20 a month, it leaves you free to do what you do best, while increasing the liklihood of your emails getting to those who have opted into your list.

And if you can't or won't pay for a service so vital and so cheap, then chances are you will never see the value in having your business set up properly.

[Troy McDonald]

Lisa,

As much as I appreciate your viewpoint, you missed the topic of the post.

If someone asks how others like to make homemade hamburgers, you don't need to talk about the "safety" of going to an establishment that has grills at the proper temperature, meat regulations, etc.

Please keep the post on topic.  :)

[Lisa Preston]

It's in my nature to post things to help others.

As I said, I have done it all - including host my own.

If someone posted here about the best affiliate program to send to a list that they bought from some guy - a million names for $5, do you think I would really reply with the affiliate program?

No... I would tell the guy to dump the damn list before he nukes his business.

[Don Morris]

BTW, Armand Morin uses Autoresponse Plus 3.

[Troy McDonald]

These gurus use Autoresponse Plus:

Matt Bacak
Jim Edwards
Keith Baxter
Mike Filsame

* They are using them even to this day.

[Shaun van Hart]

I prefer to use a 3rd party autoresponder service (AWeber) because they deal with ISP relationships to improve deliverability.

That said I have ARP3 in reserve as a back-up just incase my 3rd party service goes AWOL.

I hear that ARP4 is close to release so I'm interested to see what additional features it has.

Shaun van Hart

[Don Morris]

ARP 4 has been promised "real soon now" for at least 3 years (I have a message from Neil from May 2006), but I, too, am waiting with bated breath. I've already upgraded to v4, with all the bells-and-whistles included in a promotion last December.