Clash of the titans: Aweber vs Mailchimp vs Getresponse. Three of the most popular email marketing software providers on the market.
Aweber vs Mailchimp vs GetResponse Basics
Aweber
Aweber’s mission is to “to deliver powerfully-simple email marketing software for small businesses that does 90% of the work for you. We leave the last 10% for you to have fun!” Straight from Aweber itself, this email marketing tool is made especially with a small business in mind.
The company was founded in 1998, making it one of the earliest email marketing companies established. It is also one of the most popular email tools, with over 120,000 companies from all around the world using it for email marketing.
Aweber offers most of the functionalities that are considered the standard now in email marketing platforms. With Aweber you can:
- easily create forms and landing pages
- import and add new subscribers
- automate email sequences
- split testing
- reliable support
- data analytics
This is not perfect a perfect platform. Although in my opinion, I don’t think a perfect platform actually exists. Some of the flaws that should be pointed out are dated templates and limited marketing automations. If you do your research, this is not the only Aweber review that will mention those two negative points. Read on and you’ll see why in more detail.
However, for people looking for a solid email marketing tool that is made for small businesses, that’s fairly easy to use, and has all of the features that one would need to get their email marketing campaigns off the ground and running, Aweber might just be the one to fit the bill.
GetResponse
GetResponse is the better platform for startups, small businesses, and online stores, because of its robust email marketing and funnel building functions.
With GetResponse, you can create opt-in forms, set up comprehensive email lists, and comprehensively manage your leads.
It is also a much more comprehensive and cost-effective system and you can save 18% by getting an annual plan, or an incredible 30% by signing up for two years.
If you are an affiliate marketer then GetResponse is also affiliate-friendly alongside Sendlane and Aweber so you don’t risk suspension from emailing links and offers to your audience.
With a 30-day free trial and the ability to cancel anytime with monthly plans, you’ve got nothing to lose by testing out GetResponse for yourself right now.
Mailchimp
MailChimp is among the best known and oldest email marketing tool and still aims to be an email marketing software where you can write and send simple newsletters and marketing emails and get value for the money you invest. MailChimp was established in 2001. It is an old tool designed to enable small business owners to easily send email newsletters and ad campaigns to their audiences or subscribers.
In 2009, MailChimp released its popular free plan, which suddenly attracted the attention of startup owners and bloggers.
Although MailChimp has basic automation functions, it lacks a visual workflow generator and other advanced functions.
Aweber vs Mailchimp vs GetResponse Email Templates
Aweber
In Broadcasts, you’ll find most popular feature which is allows you to create your first email newsletter. You can design your own layout using a drag and drop feature or you can choose to use one of the hundreds of email templates available.
Some of the templates provided are slightly dated (think 90’s era Clipart) and have probably been in the library of Aweber since it was founded.
There are also newer, more contemporary designs and blank options that you can customize yourself. If you’re working with a Pro plan, you can also contact Aweber and they can customize one for you. The wide range of templates available is definitely a plus for Aweber.
Aweber also has a feature where you enter your website URL and it will create a variety of templates for you. The designs are very basic and will simply scrape your logo, colours and font but it is definitely a quick way to create branded emails.
Aweber vs Mailchimp vs Getresponse Automation
Aweber
Campaigns allow you to create or import a campaign or create a campaign based on a template. Templates include a welcome series, lead magnet, blogger series, or a mini-course. This is a great feature that makes it easy for the user to start an email campaign without having to spend too much time setting it up.
Having said that, the campaign templates are very limited. In fact, the whole campaign builder is pretty much just emails, delays and applying tags.
More advanced marketing automation software like GetResponse and ActiveCampaign will let you create a new journey for subscribers meeting certain conditions there and then.
However, while Aweber only gives you the bare bones of an automation, if you enter any of the email designs you’ll find they have been pre-populated with effective sales copy.
For free software like Aweber, that’s a big helping hand given the demand for paid sales copy software like Funnel Scripts and Automatic Script to condense the time taken to create an email funnel.
With Aweber you can automatically add a tag to a subscriber if they either open an email or click a link (and you can specify which link). To create a new campaign for that subscriber you have to go out and create a new campaign that starts with the trigger “tag added”. However, this is enough to allow you to target emails carefully.
For instance, you can set up your opt-in so that new subscribers that joined through your free ebook offer are automatically tagged as “ebook” and you can create a campaign that delivers them their ebook and then treats them differently to someone who just signed up through your website signup.
For example, a mini-course allows you to send out a step-by-step instructional to your audience. If you were a fitness blogger, you could start an Upper Body mini-workout and send your subscribers a useful workout.
Aweber vs Mailchimp vs Getresponse Landing Pages
Aweber
The templates of these pages are noticeably more modern-looking than the form templates available.
You won’t find any 90’s clipart featured here. However, there are much fewer options available in the landing pages templates compared to the email templates. This feature also uses drag and drop options to allow you to customize your landing page. You can add buttons, forms, or additional text or images to existing templates.
Reports are only available to those using Aweber paid Pro plans. Free plans do not get any data reports at all. Paid plans can access analytics like website and sales tracking.
The pages are nice but basic. Would I use them? Probably not. GetResponse certainly leads the way here. GetResponse lets you set up multiple pages as part of a sales funnel that rivals premium software like Clickfunnels. You can even set up shopping carts and webinars using their funnel templates and integrations.
If you have a single product to sell then GetResponse may well be a better option for you.
GetResponse
The drag-and-drop editor of Getresponse allows you to create a stunning landing page with just a few clicks and then turn it into a profitable online business. The easy to use templates will let you quickly grow your contact list. By offer various incentives to your customers, you’ll be able to gradually convert them into high-quality leads.
Your landing page on Getresponse is the perfect place to show off your products and sell them more effectively.
You can use some of the ready-made sales funnel templates of Getresponse to add products or services to your landing page or draw visitors to your online courses.
If you don’t want to use GetResponse auto funnel function, you can use the landing page feature instead to create a sales funnel.