Hey, Want to Take Your Email Marketing to the Next Level? Here are the 10 Best Autoresponders I Recommend

Do you spend hours manually sending one promotional email after another to each new subscriber and customer? Are you missing out on critical post-purchase communication because you simply don’t have enough time?

Take heart my friend…there is an easy solution to take your email marketing to the next level while saving enormous effort in the process – email autoresponders!

An autoresponder allows you to create pre-made, personalized email sequences that get automatically triggered based on subscriber actions like signups, form fills, transactions etc.

For instance, when someone purchases a product from your store, they instantly receive an order confirmation email, 2 days later a feedback survey and so on.

This multi-step communication is completely automated once initially set up saving you hours of manual emails daily.

In this comprehensive guide, we are going to explore:

  1. What are email autoresponders and how do they work?
  2. Key factors to evaluate when choosing an autoresponder solution
  3. In-depth comparison of the 10 best autoresponders in 2023
  4. Real-world examples of marketing automation sequences

Let‘s get started, shall we?

What Are Email Autoresponders & How Do They Work?

As mentioned earlier, an autoresponder allows you to automatically send pre-made email messages when subscribers take certain actions like:

  • Signing up for your newsletter
  • Filling a form to download an offer
  • Making purchases on your online store
  • Clicking links in post-purchase emails

Based on these triggers, you can create multi-step workflows to guide subscribers across their lifecycle with you.

For instance, when someone joins your subscriber list, here is a sample 5 part welcome sequence:

  1. Instant welcome email tip sheet
  2. Product catalog sent 2 days post signup
  3. Promotional coupon email 1 week later
  4. Satisfaction survey 2 weeks after signup
  5. Newsletter digest rounding up latest articles

As soon as a visitor opts in, this pre-configured sequence will automatically enroll them saving you effort of crafting engagement emails manually.

According to recent benchmarks, strategically automating communication can deliver 2x higher open rates and 4x more clicks compared to one-off broadcast emails.

So if used judiciously, autoresponders offer a powerful way to personalize messaging improving deliverability in the process.

Here are some popular types of automated sequences you can set up:

New subscriber onboarding: Multi-email series welcoming newcomers

Post-purchase communication: Confirmations, surveys, recommendations etc

Abandoned shopping cart: Winback email series with offers

Webinar promotion: Multi-touch campaign driving registrations

Content upgrades: Lead magnet delivery based on downloads

RSS to email: Auto digest recent blog posts periodically

Now that you grasp the incredible capability of these tools, let‘s explore key aspects to evaluate when picking an autoresponder for your email campaigns and customer communication.

How to Choose the Right Email Autoresponder Service

While all major providers offer the ability to set up triggered sequences, their capabilities can differ vastly – especially when you want sophisticated workflows.

Here are the main elements to assess autoresponder solutions on before signing up:

1. Workflow Automation Capabilities

  • What triggers do they support – signups, purchases, date-based, links, custom events etc?
  • How flexible are the sequencing rules – unlimited multi-path? Branching logic?
  • Can you schedule emails in advance to sync with promotions?
  • Do they offer complexity like sequences within sequences?

For instance, a tool like GetResponse allows nested sequences enabling very advanced multi-layered journeys – invaluable for lead nurturing scenarios.

2. Contact List Segmentation

Dividing your subscribers into distinct buckets lets you target each group with communication tailored to their profile and activity history.

For example – send special offers only to cold leads who have been inactive for months or promotional pricing to active repeat customers from last season.

So examine the segmentation functionality closely during your evaluation beyond basic grouping.

3. Email Editor & Template Designs

While text-only emails still work for some types of communication, you‘ll want rich HTML templates for promotional messages and post-purchase sequences.

Having professionally designed templates across categories makes getting started faster since you don‘t have to create from scratch. Equally important is an easy drag and drop editor for personalization allowing ample layout flexibility without coding skills.

Ideally try out creating a sample welcome email sequence to test the design experience during your trial.

Moosend in particular stands out with stunning email templates suited even for niche vertical markets.

4. Analytics for Optimization

Granular tracking – opens, clicks, unsubscribes, spam complaints, link click mapping – allows you to continuously optimize autoresponder performance.

Tools like MailChimp provide excellent campaign analytics dashboards enabling data-driven sequence tweaks to improve deliverability and conversions over time.

So study the depth of reporting closely during your evaluation.

5. Integrations & API Access

If you plan to connect your autoresponder account with other apps like your website, ecommerce platform etc, then integration capabilities become vital.

For instance, Shopify-GetResponse integration allows you to trigger order confirmation emails automatically when transactions occur on your store.

So examine which turnkey connectors the vendors provide to other common apps like CRMs, webinar software, membership platforms etc.

Now that you know how to assess autoresponders critically beyond surface capabilities, let’s compare the 10 top solutions in the market right now.

The 10 Best Email Autoresponders of 2023 Compared

I have personally used and evaluated dozens of providers in my career managing multi-million dollar email programs. Based on in-depth testing, here are the top 10 autoresponders I recommend currently based on features, deliverability, ease of use and pricing:

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Autoresponder Best For Key Strengths Pricing
GetResponse Lead generation sites, content publishers – Advanced automation capabilities
– Great analytics
– Easy drag and drop editor
– High deliverability
Starts at $15/mo for under 500 contacts
SendinBlue Funded startups, SMBs – Free plan up to 300 contacts
– Powerful workflow builder
– 300+ mobile-optimized templates
– Transactional email API
Free plan. Paid plans from $25/mo
Omnisend Ecommerce brands – Awesome templates for shopping journeys
– Unique post-purchase capabilities
– Built-in web/mobile behavior tracking
– Free starter plan
Paid plans from $9/mo. Generous free version.

1. GetResponse

GetResponse offers a perfect blend of email marketing and sophisticated automation capabilities that blows most providers out of the water.

Over 100,000+ businesses use GetResponse making it both a veteran and market leader in the space.

Some unique strengths:

  • Create sequences within sequences allowing extremely targeted multi-layered journeys – invaluable for complex lead nurturing scenarios
  • Great campaign analytics funnels providing automation ROI reporting
  • 300+ beautifully designed email templates covering niches
  • Easy to use drag and drop mobile-friendly editor allows fast creation
  • Specialized workflows for webinars, digital events makes it very versatile
  • Excellent inbox placement and deliverability based on reputation

GetResponse packs the deepest & most mature product at affordable pricing:

✅ Starts at $15 per month billed annually for under 500 subscriber list size
✅ Free 30 day trial to evaluate thoroughly

Clearly for me, GetResponse strikes the best balance of capability, deliverability and affordability among autoresponders making it an easy #1 choice I recommend.

2. SendinBlue

SendinBlue is the new kid on the block that has grown rapidly thanks to an unbelievably generous free plan combined with pro-grade functionality you expect only from paid tools.

Over 150,000+ users have signed up to use SendinBlue for critical email marketing.

Notable features:

  • FREE forever plan allows 300 contacts and unlimited emails making it unbeatable for early stage startups
  • Really powerful and intuitive workflow automation builder allows multi-path sequences
  • 300+ gorgeous, mobile-optimized templates suitable even for complex use cases
  • Transactional email API allows integrating ancillary business apps easily
  • CRM integrations, real time tracking, webhook triggers make it very versatile

Great for all types of usage from nascent startups to scaled companies, SendinBlue packs a big punch – more than compensating for the odd limitations.

Paid plans are priced reasonably starting at $25 per month but even the free version goes a long way!

Give their forever free tier a spin during 14 day trial without any payment information.

3. Omnisend

While Omnisend is focused on ecommerce brands selling online, it works great as an autoresponder for any type of business actually.

Over 8000+ ecom merchants swear by Omnisend‘s email and SMS marketing functionality specifically optimized for shopping journeys.

Why it truly stands out:

  • Highly targeted email templates & workflows mapped to each ecommerce buyer lifecycle stage – from acquisition to retention
  • Unique post-purchase follow up capabilities like reviews, order updates etc making it invaluable for stores
  • Built-in web and mobile tracking allows granular behavioral personalization without extra tools
  • Contact activity scoring combined with great segmentation functionality helps focus energy on high-value customers
  • Free starter plan to test it out before upgrading

Pricing is affordable at $9 per month including full-features under their Growth suite making it very appealing.

Especially if you sell products online, I strongly advise checking Omnisend out with their forever free version requiring just email and password.

And that sums up my top 3 picks for best email autoresponders in 2023!

While my rankings are based on in-depth personal testing, do checkout the remaining 7 tools in the initial comparison table which are equally capable solutions based on your specific needs.

Now that you have clarity on the leading providers available, let‘s see some real-world examples next.

Real World Examples of Marketing Automation Workflows

While we have so far discussed autoresponder capabilities at length, seeing some examples of actual workflows will help cement the incredible utility of these tools.

Use Case 1 – New Subscriber Onboarding Sequence

One of the most popular uses I recommend for marketing automation is sending a tailored, multi-touch welcome series when someone signs up for your list.

The goals of properly onboarding newcomers are:

i) Orient them about your brand, products, content
ii) Provide exclusive value to delight
ii) Incentivize further purchases
iv) Setup two-way communication

Here‘s a sample 5 part email sequence:

  1. Instant welcome with quick tips to get started
  2. Product showcase email giving tour of offering sent couple days post signup
  3. Special offer or coupon for incentivizing first purchase sent 1 week later
  4. Satisfaction survey email 2 weeks after signup to capture NPS, feedback
  5. Recent updates newsletter rounding up latest releases or articles

As soon as a visitor submits their email on your website, this pre-configured sequence gets activated automatically delivering value consistently without any effort from your side.

Advanced tools like GetResponse even allow creating mini sequences within each onboarding email for better personalization across subscriber attributes.

The end goal is to nurture visitors from unaware strangers to delighted loyal customers within span of their first month by leveraging relevant and timely communication.

Use Case 2 – Abandoned Shopping Cart Sequence

Shopping cart abandonment is a billion dollar opportunity loss for ecommerce businesses every year.

According to Baymard research, the average site loses ~75% of prospective orders due to visitors not completing checkout after adding items.

However smart digital marketers leverage autoresponders to recover this lost revenue using targeted time-bound promotions.

Here is what an abandoned cart automation workflow looks like:

  1. Instant 20% off coupon via SMS+email reminding about checkout
  2. 24 hour follow up email with another set of discounts to incentivize return
  3. Final email after 48 hours with deep 40% off promo code and freeshipping
  4. Winback survey if no action in 4 days asking why they didn‘t buy

Ecommerce focused platforms like Omnisend, GetResponse etc give marketers pre-built sequences covering every step across buyer journey – from acquisition to retention.

The key is creating a sense of urgency via timely and relevant offers that provide just enough incentive for visitors to complete the purchase journey instead of leaving.

Use Case 3 – Webinar Promotion Sequence

Driving interest for events like webinars, conferences, holiday sales etc involves multi-channel, multi-touch campaigns for best results.

Here‘s a sample 5 part autoresponder sequence to promote an upcoming Valentine‘s Day special sale:

  1. Early bird announcement sent 2 weeks prior to event date with 25% off coupon
  2. 75% off lead magnet sent 1 week before valentine‘s day aiming to instantly delight & build urgency
  3. Last chance reminder sent 2 days before event with final call to action
  4. Final reminder sent night before release day across SMS, email, push
  5. Post-event survey to capture feedback, ratings across email & web to improve future events

Leveraging date-based triggers, these set-once forget-forever sequences can be configured once and scale elegantly across your entire subscriber list driving higher registrations and conversion over time.

Tools like HubSpot, GetResponse make it stupidly easy to replicate email campaigns across multiple events, seasons with minimal effort allowing you to focus on high level strategy.

Similarly you can drive launches of online courses, software tools, content upgrades and more using multi-layered autoresponder funnels customized to each campaign for delightful customer experience.

Hope these real-world examples give you concrete ideas on utilizing marketing automation workflows powered by email autoresponders for your customer communication needs.

Now wrap your heads around the scenarios and possibilities to craft your own sequences! 😊

Key Takeaways from this Guide

Before we sign-off, let me recap some key tips on what we have covered around email autoresponders:

✔️ Autoresponders automatically send pre-configured email sequences when users take actions like subscribing, purchasing etc saving enormous manual effort

✔️ Evaluate tools critically on automation capabilities, editor, templates, analytics, integrations & pricing to find best fit

✔️ Platforms like GetResponse lead the market with advanced features, great deliverability and affordability

✔️ Use autoresponder sequences for subscriber onboarding, cart abandonment, event promotion etc to drive communication automation

✔️ Combine personalized email content with intelligent workflows mapped to customer lifecycle stages for success

I hope this exhaustive guide offers you clarity and confidence to pick the right autoresponder platform matching your unique needs.

Please feel free to reach out with any other questions!

Speak soon!