MailChimp or Aweber – which is better?

When it comes to choosing an email marketing system, there are a few things to consider.

Each email marketing system has pros and cons, but my top 2 choices are MailChimp and AWeber.

In today’s article, I share why I prefer these two services and map out the pros and cons of each – so you can determine which one is the best choice for you.

Why are MailChimp and AWeber my top choices?

Both of these services integrate with PayPal.

If you set up what is called and IPN (instant payment notification), between PayPal and these services, you can have purchasers automatically added to a list in the email marketing system.

This means that you won’t have to manually add purchasers to a list in your email marketing system.

This is an important feature because you will want to stay in touch with people who purchase from you. At the very least, you will want to make sure they receive newsletters/ezines and any promotional emails you send out.

Which of these services is right for you?

If you sell different services or products via PayPal,
choose AWeber.

One of the main advantages of AWeber is that you can sell different products via PayPal that all hook up to their own list in AWeber.

For example, if you have private clients who pay you via PayPal, they can get added to a list for Private clients. Then, if you have clients who purchase your Summer Detox, they can get added to their own list. If you offer a Fall Detox, they can get added to yet another list.

Then, for each list, you can have a customized, automated welcome email (also called an autoresponder) go out to each list.

This is important because you don’t want the same welcome email to go out to people who purchase private coaching as the one sent to people who purchase your Summer detox.

With MailChimp, everyone who purchases from you via PayPal gets added to one list in MailChimp. This is an issue if you have people purchasing more than 1 thing from you via PayPal.

If you are only offering private coaching right now, MailChimp will work just fine.  But keep in mind that down the road you will likely offer more than one service. Moving from one email marketing service to another can be time consuming, so you want to think at least 1-2 years out when deciding which service is the right one for you.

If you only add to your list via live talks, MailChimp may be the right choice for you.

If you give live talks/workshops, you will want to use them as opportunities to build your list.

When I was a health coach, I always brought a sign-in form to my live talks. On the form, attendees could check off if they wanted to be added to my list.  Then, when I got home, I added the attendees to a list in my email marketing system.

With MailChimp, you can easily upload a list of new subscribers. (You have to select the correct settings for a single opt-in process – meaning they are not sent an email asking to confirm their subscription.)

What about cost?

MailChimp does offer a free account, but the free account does not enable you to send welcome emails/autoresponders. In order to have this feature, you will need to upgrade to a paid plan. The paid plan is $10/month if you have fewer than 500 subscribers. This is a very important feature if you are selling programs or having people opt-in on your website.

AWeber offers a trial month for $1. After that, you will pay $19/month if you have fewer than 500 subscribers. All of their plans offer their full range of functionality.

 
In conclusion, I recommend Aweber. It is more expensive, but you’re only paying an additional $9/month.  I would not let this price difference affect your decision.

Note: These are the prices at the time that I wrote this blog post and may change at any time.

 
What questions do you have about email marketing systems?
Post your questions below so we can get you into action!