Email Service Providers
Email Service Providers or “ESP’s” are third party companies that manage and send email for their customers. A quality ESP can be a great asset. They provide and maintain email delivery systems, and they try to stay current on the best practices for successful email marketing. Further, their services are usually quite reasonable in terms of expense, and they can provide you with a wealth of information – so you won’t have to re-invent the wheel.
A good ESP should:
- Help you improve email delivery rates.
- Provide html email templates for the creation of professional looking email and email newsletters.
- Help you manage which emails will be sent including when and where.
- Provide help with storing and managing your email databases.
- Provide help with best practices and compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act.
- Provide unsubscribe services for prospects who want to opt out of email.
- Help with email capture by providing html code for the creation of email capture boxes.
- Provide information on open rates and link tracking.
- Help you with advice on how to use email marketing effectively.
ESP Providers I Use
In my businesses, I’m currently using two different ESP’s. One is Get Response and the other is Constant Contact.
My first experience using email marketing was with Get Response. I was looking for an “autoresponder” for my web business and, after looking at several providers, I chose Get Response. It was via a, “Seven Lesson Email Course,” from Simon Grabowski, CEO of Get Response, that I first learned many basics about email marketing. I had signed up for a different provider beforehand, but had a difficult time working with the company’s email templates. But, with Get Response, I had a much easier time.
A bit of advice on working with email templates. If you pre-write your emails using an external word processing software like Microsoft Word, make sure you:
- “Copy and paste” the text for your template into Word Pad or Note Pad before transferring it to your html template.
- Save the text .rtf format in Word Pad or Note Pad.
- Then, “copy and paste” the text into your template.
Otherwise, copying and pasting text straight from a word processing program can bring all sorts of hidden formatting language along with it when you “paste” the text into your html template. The result can be an irksome formatting mess that can be quite difficult to work with!
Get Response
I found Get Response [Sponsored Link - GetResponse] when I was looking for an email capture to put on my website that would invite visitors to join my email list in exchange for either an autoresponse email course or a PDF. At first, I started out with an email course that took a series of emails to fulfill. A good approach, but I have since gone to sending the whole course at one time in PDF format. I send subsequent emails to keep folks informed about topics of interest. Autoresponders are nice in that you can craft several personalized messages in advance and have them go out in a prescheduled series. They are also nice because they can feel very personal. A short email message sent to the “first name” of the person you are communicating with can help begin to build a relationship over time. If I have something particularly detailed that I’d like to communicate, I’ll include a link back to my website.
With Get Response I use a “double opt-in email autoresponder.” This is a system whereby a person interested in my email course first signs up via the capture box on my website. The person is then sent a confirmation email that they must respond to in order to be added to my email list. Only once this confirmation response is received will the autoresponder trigger. Double opt-in is considered to be the “gold standard” in email marketing. Due to the extra confirmation step, it may cause you to lose a few subscribers in the sign-up process. However, those who do make it onto your list tend to be better qualified. If you can successfully build a double opt-in list, you can create a nice foundation for your future email marketing.
Constant Contact
The other ESP I use is Constant Contact. [Sponsored Link - Email Marketing and Online Surveys by Constant Contact make it easy to connect with your customers. Try it FREE for 60-Days. 
] In my “brick and mortar” business, I have hundreds of clients who, from time to time, need to hear about issues such as legislative updates that affect their service or other timely issues. Constant Contact made it easy for me to work with my current client list and create a way to communicate with my current customers. They have an autoresponder, as well, that I use on a limited basis for another informative email series.
One nice feature I have also used with Constant Contact is their survey feature. I have surveyed my clients about how well they thought we were taking care of them, and this was very well received. The survey gave me the opportunity to ask clients if there were other products we could help them with, identify which clients were having ongoing service problems, and solicit client’s opinions on various other issues relating to our business. I was easily able to track open rates and follow-up with respondents. Easy to set up and send, I am very pleased with Constant Contact’s email survey feature.
Email Service Providers
Email Service Providers
Email Service Providers or “ESP’s” are third party companies that manage and send email for their customers. A quality ESP can be a great asset. They provide and maintain email delivery systems, and they try to stay current on the best practices for successful email marketing. Further, their services are usually quite reasonable in terms of expense, and they can provide you with a wealth of information – so you won’t have to re-invent the wheel.
A good ESP should:
ESP Providers I Use
In my businesses, I’m currently using two different ESP’s. One is Get Response and the other is Constant Contact.
My first experience using email marketing was with Get Response. I was looking for an “autoresponder” for my web business and, after looking at several providers, I chose Get Response. It was via a, “Seven Lesson Email Course,” from Simon Grabowski, CEO of Get Response, that I first learned many basics about email marketing. I had signed up for a different provider beforehand, but had a difficult time working with the company’s email templates. But, with Get Response, I had a much easier time.
A bit of advice on working with email templates. If you pre-write your emails using an external word processing software like Microsoft Word, make sure you:
Otherwise, copying and pasting text straight from a word processing program can bring all sorts of hidden formatting language along with it when you “paste” the text into your html template. The result can be an irksome formatting mess that can be quite difficult to work with!
Get Response
I found Get Response [Sponsored Link - GetResponse] when I was looking for an email capture to put on my website that would invite visitors to join my email list in exchange for either an autoresponse email course or a PDF. At first, I started out with an email course that took a series of emails to fulfill. A good approach, but I have since gone to sending the whole course at one time in PDF format. I send subsequent emails to keep folks informed about topics of interest. Autoresponders are nice in that you can craft several personalized messages in advance and have them go out in a prescheduled series. They are also nice because they can feel very personal. A short email message sent to the “first name” of the person you are communicating with can help begin to build a relationship over time. If I have something particularly detailed that I’d like to communicate, I’ll include a link back to my website.
With Get Response I use a “double opt-in email autoresponder.” This is a system whereby a person interested in my email course first signs up via the capture box on my website. The person is then sent a confirmation email that they must respond to in order to be added to my email list. Only once this confirmation response is received will the autoresponder trigger. Double opt-in is considered to be the “gold standard” in email marketing. Due to the extra confirmation step, it may cause you to lose a few subscribers in the sign-up process. However, those who do make it onto your list tend to be better qualified. If you can successfully build a double opt-in list, you can create a nice foundation for your future email marketing.
Constant Contact
The other ESP I use is Constant Contact. [Sponsored Link - Email Marketing and Online Surveys by Constant Contact make it easy to connect with your customers. Try it FREE for 60-Days.
] In my “brick and mortar” business, I have hundreds of clients who, from time to time, need to hear about issues such as legislative updates that affect their service or other timely issues. Constant Contact made it easy for me to work with my current client list and create a way to communicate with my current customers. They have an autoresponder, as well, that I use on a limited basis for another informative email series.
One nice feature I have also used with Constant Contact is their survey feature. I have surveyed my clients about how well they thought we were taking care of them, and this was very well received. The survey gave me the opportunity to ask clients if there were other products we could help them with, identify which clients were having ongoing service problems, and solicit client’s opinions on various other issues relating to our business. I was easily able to track open rates and follow-up with respondents. Easy to set up and send, I am very pleased with Constant Contact’s email survey feature.