Aweber has been for the most part, the only email marketing software that I have used since I started my online marketing journey.

In case you don’t know what Aweber is, it is an email marketing software that enables many entrepreneurs and small business owners to create and send emails that their customers and followers love.

I have spoken extensively about why you need to build an email list and send emails to your followers rather than relying solely on social media platforms.

Well Aweber is the one tool that I use to build my email list and I am going to give you an honest review of my experience using it, so you can decide whether it is for you.

I am going to tell you the good, the bad and the not so good about this marketing tool.

Let’s start.

Aweber In A Nutshell

Aweber has been one of the leading email marketing providers in the marketing industry, having been founded by Tom Kulzer in 1998.

Anyone in the internet marketing arena, is probably familiar with or has used Aweber at some point in their marketing.

So what does this marketing tool do? It helps you to communicate with your subscribers and market to them with automated email campaigns.

They exist for those who struggle with having enough hours in the day to complete the task. The process allows for complete automation of marketing emails with tools that launch, tag, and segment based on subscriber behaviour.

This is what I like about automated marketing tools, because it helps me to free up my time and focus on the more important things in my business, which is networking and making sales.

So if you find that you’re networking or following up with your leads manually, consider using an automated email marketing tool like Aweber.

I remember in my network marketing days, I would follow up with my leads by reaching out to them in a Facebook or Instagram message or via SMS message. Aweber would have definitely come in handy back in those days.

Email List Segmenting

Segmenting is a vital part of the key features offered by Aweber. Segmentation is the process of sorting your subscriber list based on specific actions taken by your subscribers.

The division creates subgroups, and the subgroups vary based on behaviour, interest, and characteristics.

Segments work well with keeping track and reaching out to groups of subscribers within a list who have similarities.

For example if you want to segment your email list by those who have opened your emails within the last month, then you can do that.

You will be able to tag these subscribers as active and send them more important or frequent emails since they continue to engage with your content.

If you want to segment your email list by those who have clicked on a particular link, showing that they are interested, you can do that and only send an email to that segment.

This is useful, for example, if you want to retarget persons who may be interested in a product you have on sale. If they clicked on the link to visit the product, you can segment the link clickers and send them a more targeted message where you offer an incentive to continue with their purchase. 

The segmentation process helps to streamline emails that are more result-focused instead of task-focused. It makes it easier to send the right emails to the right people. Personalising your list, based on segmentation, is a great way to increase click-through rates and reduce the unsubscribed rate.

Setting up the segmenting process is quick and easy with only a few clicks. Simply go to the email list you want to segment, select from the list of segment options, then click search.

Once you save a particular segment, you will not have to create that segment again, unless you choose to make changes to it.

I use segmentation all the time to help increase my open and clickthrough rates and to send special offers to those who I know are interested in my content.

Email Campaign Automation

The driving force behind an automated email campaign is to organise your subscribers into particular email lists so they get the most appropriate emails that matter to them.

There is a misconception that the email marketing automation process is challenging to set up, but, it’s pretty easy to get started, or so Aweber says.

Ok! Full transparency here…

I have never used the automation campaign before.

When I tried to set up my own campaigns in the first few months of starting Aweber (circa August 2016), I had no clue about what the campaign process was and why it was necessary.

At the time, it was a bit overwhelming, having just started internet marketing and learning everything I could about it. I completely gave up the first time and never made it a priority.

But studying the automated campaigns now, I have to say that it really is only useful if you want to free up more of your time and want a way to segment your list automatically.

For example, you can segment your list based on the country your subscribers are from and send them specific emails.

Other ways to auto-segment the list is by the source of the email and ad tracking. You can also apply tags to your subscribers and segment them that way.

If you have no issue applying tags and segmenting your list manually, then the automated campaigns offers nothing elaborate to boast about. 

Sign Up Forms

Aweber also comes with sign-up forms but truthfully, I rarely use them, instead opting to create my sign up forms, or lead capture pages with a designated lead capture page builder like LeadPages. You can read my review of LeadPages here.

In my opinion, Aweber sign up forms appear outdated and just do not have the design factor that I am looking for.

Here’s what they look like on my website

If you do decide to use Aweber’s sign up forms on your website, they allow your customers to subscribe to your email list effortlessly.

So if you want a simple sign up box where people can sign up for content to your blog, then opt to use Aweber’s sign up form as an in-content lead box or as a side column lead box.

To design your sign up form use Aweber’s form generator. It customizes the forms according to your specific needs. You have the choice to change the buttons, purpose, appearance, and entry fields on the form.

Once you have decided on the look and style of your form, you will have to add it to your website. You can add the form to any or all pages of your site with javascript code that Aweber gives to you.

Simply copy and paste the code where you want the form to appear.

Another feature is the split test option. The split-test is a great tool to use to see which form is most attractive to your subscribers. Finding out which sign-up form works best can be useful in subscriber growth.

In order to use the split test tool however you must create two sign up forms under the same email list. The split test option will only be accessible this way.

Email Templates and Content Editor

The content editor is nothing spectacular in my opinion.

Aweber recently upgraded their content editor to a drag and drop interface so it is easy to organise your content into beautiful emails by dragging the elements from the left into the center to create the email.

They also offer pre-made and tailor-made templates that meet your branding and style needs. This is a time-saver for the busy entrepreneur.

You have the choice to change a pre-existing template. You can modify the colour, background and font, as well as include video or images in your content.

I never really used any of the templates that are available but they do help your emails stand out if you are the creative type.

Email Types

The type of emails you can create include legacy series, broadcast emails or blog broadcasts. 

Legacy series is a single series of emails that is set up so a subscriber can receive your emails in a particular order.

For example, once a person subscribes, you can set up the series so that they receive your first email immediately, then your second email, a day later, your third email on the third day, etc.

The single series process is straightforward in its approach to send emails in a sequence pattern.

If you forego the single series, broadcast messages are available.

A broadcast message is simply sending everyone on your list the same email, whether your broadcast is an announcement that you are launching a product or have a sale.

Broadcast messages are quick and easy to create. Simply select the broadcast message item, create  your email and then send.

If you have an RSS feed on your blog you can connect your blog to the Aweber platform to send blog posts as emails. Another easy way to do this and to help generate traffic back to your blog is to compose a broadcast email with a link to your blog. 

Integrations

There are many online applications and services that integrate with Aweber making your entire marketing arsenal seamless.

Currently, there are over 150 listed applications.

Integration allows for a smooth merge of your marketing campaign with the rest of the online business strategies you may use often.

Some of the most popular integrations include:

• Facebook
• WordPress
• PayPal
• Clickfunnels
• OptimizePress

If you don’t see a particular service on the list, Aweber is set up to assist in new integration opportunities.

Email Tracking and Reporting – Open Rates and Clickthroughs

I don’t often pay attention to this, but email tracking and analytics are available to view at any time and can help with the growth of your business.

With the available reports, you will have the chance to see click through rates, open rates, purchases and more. It’s handled all in just a few simple clicks.

So let’s say you want to see what percentage of your list opened a particular email and how many people clicked on a link within the email, you can view the email report showing you the performance of that email.

Open and click through rates help to provide valuable information about the activity of the subscribers on your list.

Tracking this report can help you determine the success level of your email campaign and assist you in understanding whether your subject lines need rewriting or your content is engaging.

You can then use this information to split test different subject lines and email content. 

If you’d like to know whether email drives purchases on your website you can also set up tracking to track this important metric.

With the help of these analytics, you will have the ability to adjust your current campaign based on the numbers, and track emails aimed at increasing website traffic.

Keeping track of the analytical knowledge is important in learning what works best for your subscribers.

Support

One thing I must say about Aweber support is that it is phenomenal.

They do offer live support 24/7 via email and chat. They are also available by phone from 8am-8pm Monday – Friday. There is a ticket support system via email to work on technical issues promptly and in a timely order.

Usually when I report an issue with my email marketing I get a response within an hour. I don’t have any qualms at all about their support.

Besides technical support they also implemented a knowledge base that is an extensive list of frequently asked questions. The knowledge base contains answers ranging from questions about your account to how to use the service. It’s easily accessible because it’s divided into different categories.

There is also a blog on the website. There are many how-to articles and articles with advice on what works well and new options to try. If you happen to be looking for marketing tips, make sure to check out their blog.

Deliverability

Having the ability to deliver emails is crucial to any marketer.

Who wants to compose an email, click send and then that email lands in your subscriber’s junk mail?

The goal is always to get your emails in the inboxes of your subscribers. Once your emails are seen, you open availability to increase the opportunity for future opens and more clicks and engagement.

Aweber knows that deliverability is a key point for marketing emails which is why their focus is on securing a high performance score as determined my Sender Score.

Sender Score is an email deliverability firm that measures the performance of email servers, rating them on the quality and reputation of the emails they send.

According to Sender Score, Aweber has a high score of 97-98.

Tom Kulzer developed one of the first email autoresponders in 1998. His experience over the course of two decades allows him to provide insight into the best ways to get an email delivered to an inbox.

The in-house monitoring team also monitors reports of undeliverable emails 24/7. The data found in the reports help to identify and remove suspicious or low-quality emails from the list.

Is the Aweber Marketing Software For You?

With the information available for Aweber and based on your own trials of other autoresponders, it is up to you to determine if this is the best fit.

Aweber provides several benefits that help to lessen the load of an already overwhelmed small business owner or entrepreneur.

Many of their products have an initial free period that may be worth trying to see if the experience works well for you.

Click here to get Aweber’s free 30 day trial.