AWeber Review: Comprehensive Guide to Email Marketing

AWeber stands as one of the pioneering forces in email marketing platforms. Founded in Pennsylvania in 1998, it has since proudly served over **one million** customers and continues to be a robust solution in the industry.

Many users find AWeber to be an indispensable tool for their marketing efforts. This comprehensive AWeber review delves into its key features, advantages, drawbacks, pricing structure, and more, based on an in-depth exploration of the platform.

AWeber Review: Pros and Cons

AWeber’s Most Important Features

AWeber simplifies the process of sending visually appealing emails. While its core focus is email marketing, it offers an extensive library of integrations to connect with your broader marketing technology stack. Here are some of its intelligent features:

1. Drag-and-Drop Editor: Easily create flexible layouts by clicking and dragging content blocks.
2. Email Templates: Choose from over 600 designs to kickstart your email creation. All templates are fully customizable and optimized for both desktop and mobile viewing.
3. Smart Designer: Automatically generate branded templates by simply pasting your website’s URL.
4. Canva Integration: Utilize Canva’s intuitive graphic design tools for free to create professional-looking graphics and directly insert them into your email templates.
5. Blog Broadcasts: Convert your blog content into a newsletter and schedule it for automatic delivery using RSS feeds.
6. A/B Split Testing: Test up to three variations of the same email simultaneously to identify the most effective performer.
7. Landing Page Builder: Construct an unlimited number of landing pages for your sign-up forms. As an added benefit, connect your Stripe account to accept payments directly on your pages.
8. Integrations: AWeber seamlessly connects with over 750 third-party applications.
9. Customer Support: AWeber provides 24/7 live chat and email support, along with a phone helpdesk available from 8 AM to 8 PM EST.

AWeber engineered its templates, the Smart Designer, and the Canva integration to simplify the creation of on-brand emails, all within the software itself. This makes it an excellent choice for small businesses, content creators, and agencies.

AWeber User Experience Overview

A crucial aspect of any platform is its ease of use and how quickly users can become proficient. AWeber excels in this regard, offering a clean, clear, and well-organized interface that is easy to navigate. Upon starting, users are prompted to define their business goals, providing a helpful guided experience.

This step-by-step approach guides users through setting up their email marketing strategy, though these are merely suggestions and can be skipped if preferred.

Sending Emails and Newsletters

The main menu in AWeber is located on the left side of the screen, with all options for email creation and sending consolidated under ‘Messages’.

Email Templates in AWeber

When it comes to building emails, AWeber, like many email marketing platforms, provides customizable templates. AWeber‘s template selection is impressive, boasting over 600 designs categorized into 17 different types.

While templates aim to assist in creating professional designs, AWeber’s templates are functional, though some are quite basic despite the vast number available.

The most innovative template-building option within AWeber is the Smart Designer. This feature enables users to automatically generate custom templates from an existing web page in mere seconds, making branding incredibly simple.

To use the Smart Designer, simply paste a web page URL and click “Create.” You’ll then receive a selection of templates to choose from, which can be further customized.

The Smart Designer streamlines the creation of email templates that align with your brand identity and offers a quick method for converting web page content into a newsletter.

AWeber Email Editor

AWeber provides three distinct email editors: a drag-and-drop editor, a plain text editor, and an HTML editor.

The Plain Text editor is designed for crafting very simple, text-only emails.

The HTML Editor offers a dual approach: a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) interface and an option for direct HTML code editing.

While these options are valuable, most users of services like AWeber primarily utilize the Drag-and-Drop Editor. This is the easiest way to customize templates and add content without needing to code.

AWeber’s editor operates with preformatted content blocks known as Elements. These can be easily added to your template by clicking and dragging them into position. The organization of elements into rows facilitates highly flexible and straightforward layout editing, reminiscent of tools like Leadpages.

A **product block** simplifies adding products to your emails. It is a predesigned element featuring an image, a header for the product name, descriptive text, and a button linking to the product page. For Etsy store owners, the process is even smoother: once integrated, you can select the desired product, and AWeber automatically pulls in the image, text, and links.

The **coupon block** is a text block specifically designed for incorporating discount coupons into your emails. By default, it features a dashed border to evoke a cut-out coupon aesthetic and distinguish it from the main content. However, both the border and background can be customized in the settings.

Numerous editing options are available for each element type, appearing upon clicking a block. Personalization is a key option, allowing you to customize any text block in your emails with names, locations, dates, or other fields from your database.

Editing Emails and Images in Canva

AWeber boasts a free stock image library comprising over 6,500 pictures, which is highly beneficial if you don’t have your own visuals. However, a standout feature of AWeber’s image capabilities is its integration with Canva.

Canva is a free graphic design software, and a direct button in the AWeber email editor takes you straight into Canva.

You can upload your own images and enhance them with a wide array of icons, illustrations, filters, and effects. Text and images can be freely moved within your design using Canva’s drag-and-drop functionality.

The process is remarkably quick to master. Once your graphics are created, simply **click ‘Save to AWeber’** to seamlessly drop your creation into your email.

AWeber’s **Blog Broadcast** feature transforms your blog into a newsletter. By setting a schedule, your blog posts are automatically sent to subscribers.

Blog Broadcast utilizes your site’s RSS feed, requiring only your RSS feed URL.

AWeber enables A/B testing for up to three versions of the same email simultaneously, effectively functioning as A/B/C Testing!

Before sending, the platform provides warnings if potential spam filter issues are detected. Results will indicate if certain subject lines frequently land in junk folders or if one email version has a lower open rate. This pre-send insight into email performance significantly enhances deliverability.

Another intelligent technology supported by AWeber is AMP for email. AMP makes emails interactive, which, while not suitable for everyone, is a valuable option to have.

Consider the typical way you respond to an email: clicking “Reply” or following a link to a web page to complete forms or register for events. AMP emails allow all these actions to occur directly within the email body, reducing the steps required for recipients to respond to your calls to action.

AWeber Autoresponder & Automation Features

AWeber pioneered email automation, originally focusing on sending automated messages, or autoresponders. Many email marketing services have since followed AWeber’s lead, and email automation features continue to evolve.

Autoresponders send individual messages in response to a specific action. For instance, upon a new subscriber joining your list, an autoresponder can dispatch a welcome message.

Modern email automation tools offer significantly more functionality. Beyond single emails, you can now automate sequences of messages in drip campaigns. Instead of sending to one person at a time, you can automate complex processes involving more than just email delivery, triggered by multiple actions.

Campaigns offer flexibility, allowing you to create simple single-message autoresponders or link multiple emails into longer series.

AWeber provides 17 pre-made email workflow templates to get you started. Four basic templates are pre-loaded in your AWeber account, such as a Lead Magnet template with a single message, or a Mini-Course structured as a series of lesson announcements sent one day apart.

Additionally, there is a **Campaign Marketplace** featuring 13 campaign templates, some inspired by partners like Hootsuite, WordPress, and Justuno. These templates cover various scenarios, including sales event promotions, cart abandonment sequences, courses, personalized welcome series, and more.

AWeber’s automations are essentially simple, linear sequences, also known as drip campaigns. These campaigns orchestrate a series of autoresponders separated by specified time delays.

However, AWeber does not offer advanced automation capabilities, such as the ability to add if/then conditions.

The only way to implement conditions is by creating new workflows with different triggers based on your desired logic, which can quickly become complex with multiple conditions. Therefore, if your goal is to build email automation with sophisticated conditional logic, AWeber might not be the most suitable choice.

**Adding tags** to contacts is a strong feature of AWeber’s automation. Automated tagging assists in managing and segmenting subscriber lists, as discussed further below. Tags also enable the linking of email marketing campaigns, where a tag can serve as the trigger to initiate another campaign.

AWeber Landing Pages & Forms

AWeber allows you to construct standalone sign-up forms for new subscribers or create a landing page with an embedded form. In both cases, the primary objective is lead generation.

Landing Pages in AWeber

Starting with landing pages, AWeber provides pre-made templates, with 46 options available.

Many users appreciate AWeber’s landing page templates, often finding them superior in quality to the email and form templates. Most are visually appealing, colorful, and effectively utilize imagery. They cater to a broad range of purposes for gathering sign-ups, including:

• Subscriptions to newsletters, blogs, and podcasts
• Payment plans
• Events and webinars
• Sales and special offers
• Crowdfunding and donations
• Consultations and coaching
• Opt-ins

AWeber employs the same drag-and-drop engine for landing page creation as it does for emails. This consistency is highly beneficial, particularly for those new to designing emails and web pages.

The primary difference lies in the types of content elements available, with forms being a key addition. Every landing page template includes an in-line form by default, which can be removed and replaced with a pop-up form if preferred.

Compared to the form editor, the landing page builder offers more layout options and greater flexibility for arranging elements. This provides enhanced control over matching your form’s appearance with the overall page design.

For instance, AWeber customer Zumbalycia utilizes an AWeber landing page as her business homepage, consolidating important links for class attendees. She also includes options for visitors not yet ready for classes, such as a CTA to join her Facebook group and an email sign-up form, providing valuable engagement points.

AWeber’s landing pages can also be used for direct sales. By integrating an order form with the Stripe payment platform, customers can purchase products or paid subscriptions directly on your page without needing to navigate elsewhere.

The ‘Smart Content’ element is particularly useful, pulling in content from external web pages with just a URL. This can be leveraged for items such as:

• Facebook posts
• Google Map locations
• Shopify product listings
• Blog RSS feeds

Sign Up Forms

Moving to sign-up forms, AWeber once again offers templates, with a total of 159 forms categorized by industry and function.

While many templates are quite basic, they offer extensive customization. Unlike many lead generation tools that limit form editing, AWeber provides a high degree of customization.

A significant advantage is the ability to configure every template as either an embedded ‘in-line’ form or a pop-up. In-line forms are integrated into the main body of a page, while pop-up forms appear after a visitor spends a certain amount of time on the page.

AWeber refers to these as ‘Pop-Over’ forms. It also offers a ‘Lightbox’ form, which is similar to ‘Pop-Over’ but darkens the rest of the page upon appearance. A traditional ‘Pop-Up’ option, which opens in a new window, is also available for exit-intent popups, though the platform notes that these are often blocked by most browsers.

The availability of all these options for every template is impressive, as most services provide separate templates for embedded and pop-up forms.

While the customization options for forms in AWeber are extensive, the Form Editor itself can feel a bit clunky. For instance, template thumbnails are displayed horizontally, and in larger categories, they can extend beyond the page’s right edge, though this typically doesn’t cause major operational issues.

AWeber offers plugins for website builders like WordPress, Squarespace, and e-commerce platforms such as Shopify and Wix, greatly simplifying the process of adding forms to your website.

AWeber List Management

Importing contacts into AWeber is a straightforward process, accessible via the ‘Add Subscribers’ options under the Subscribers tab.

Subscribers can be entered individually or, for greater efficiency, uploaded via a spreadsheet. AWeber also provides a migration service for seamless transfers.

Regardless of the method used to add subscribers, the option to confirm opt-in is provided, which is a commendable feature from a data protection standpoint, indicating AWeber‘s commitment to compliance.

Under ‘Personalize Your List,’ you can add company details, a logo, and an email signature that will appear on all emails. This section also allows you to connect your social media accounts, enabling automatic posting of your newsletters to Facebook and Twitter. Similarly, all your broadcasts can be saved to an online archive called ‘Newsletter Hub,’ providing subscribers with easy access to your messages at any time.

List Segmentation
To segment your contacts, navigate to the Subscribers page and utilize the Search Option. Select your desired filtering criteria and save the results as a new segment.

When sending a broadcast, you will be prompted to choose ‘Who should receive this message?’, allowing you to select your specific segment.

AWeber’s segmentation features are suitable for beginners, but advanced email marketers may find some options lacking, such as OR logic, creating segments across multiple lists, and sending to multiple segments simultaneously.

While there isn’t an option for automated segmentation, the automatic addition of tags largely fulfills this role. Users only need to take the additional step of creating a segment based on a chosen tag.

In AWeber, segmentation based on email opens and clicks is available. However, other email marketing software often provides a wider array of segmentation options.

Reporting and Analytics

Reporting provides crucial insights into the performance of your broadcasts and campaigns, enabling you to identify successful strategies and areas for improvement.

AWeber offers three primary analytics options:

• ‘QuickStats’ for individual broadcasts and campaigns
• On-page tracking
• Sales tracking

The main Reports tab displays reports by list, a distinct approach compared to many email marketing software that prioritize campaign-level analytics. The statistics provided are standard: open rates, click rates, and subscriber numbers.

‘All Lists’ reports present aggregate figures for all lists across all broadcasts and campaigns. ‘Current Lists’ reports break down these figures into individual lists. “Broadcast totals” and “follow-up totals” refer to the total opens and total clicks, respectively.

Location totals categorize opens and clicks based on subscriber geography, allowing analysis by country, region, or city.

Much of the same information is available for individual broadcasts and campaigns, each with its own Quickstats page. These reports also include statistics for bounce rates and unsubscribe numbers.

**Tracking** measures the amount of website traffic generated from your emails, a powerful email marketing tool. To utilize it, you can install AWeber’s tracking analytics on your site.

This tool can also be used to **track sales**. By adding the tracking code to a product page, you can monitor when a product is purchased, allowing AWeber to attribute sales originating from your emails. This provides direct insight into the monetary value generated by your email campaigns.

Integrations

As previously mentioned, AWeber integrates with numerous third-party services, such as posting sign-up forms and newsletters on Facebook, accepting payments through PayPal or Stripe, and incorporating Etsy or Shopify product listings into your emails.

However, this is merely a glimpse of its extensive capabilities. AWeber boasts more integrations than almost any other email marketing solution, exceeding 750 in total.

What makes integrations so significant? They offer two major advantages.

Firstly, they enable you to link applications already used in your marketing stack, unlocking a wealth of possibilities. This includes adding and managing contacts from your CRM, connecting Leadpages to AWeber, and embedding forms on your WordPress or Squarespace site without requiring coding expertise.

Secondly, integrations expand AWeber’s functionality. While AWeber’s email and form builders are effective, if you desire more, AWeber connects with dozens of landing page software options, as well as drag-and-drop email and form builders.

Additional integration categories include:

• CRM platforms
• Event management services
• Video hosting

Should the 750+ direct integrations prove insufficient, connecting AWeber to Zapier opens the door to over 4000 additional applications.

AWeber Customer Support

AWeber’s support is exceptional, offering both live web chat and telephone support, a combination not commonly found among email marketing providers.

In total, there are four support options: live chat, telephone support, an online knowledge base, and email support.

The Live Chat feature is available 24/7, while the Help Desk operates for calls 12 hours a day, from 8 AM to 8 PM US Eastern Time. The provision of an international calling number is also a thoughtful touch.

The knowledge base is comprehensively stocked with hundreds of how-to articles and guides, categorized into 18 types for easy browsing, and includes a search tool.

This level of support is outstanding, particularly on the free plan. Users have various options to resolve issues based on their preferences; some may prefer the knowledge base over phone calls, while others value the immediate assistance provided by live chat and phone support for urgent problems.

For those migrating from another email marketing tool, AWeber offers a free migration service.

AWeber Pricing and Plans

AWeber offers four distinct pricing plans. On paid plans, you receive unlimited emails, with pricing determined by the number of subscribers you have.

• The Free version is ideal for getting started and exploring the platform. It includes a limit of 500 contacts and allows up to 3,000 emails per month. Live chat and email support are also included.
• The Lite plan starts at just $14.99/month for up to 500 contacts. This price can be reduced to $12.50 per month if you opt for annual billing. It grants access to unlimited email sends, landing pages, email automation, and AWeber’s e-commerce tools.
• The Plus plan removes AWeber branding and includes unlimited email lists, landing pages, and email automations. It also offers free migration, advanced reporting, and analytics, priced at $20 monthly (billed annually) for 500 subscribers.
• The Unlimited Plan is perfectly suited for companies with extensive contact lists. It costs $899/month for unlimited subscribers, email sends, lists, landing pages, automation, users, and segments. This plan provides personalized account management, advanced landing page features, full access to the template library, sales tracking, and low transaction fees.

Consider subscribing for a whole year or quarter once the free plan no longer meets your growing needs.

AWeber Review Wrap-Up: Is it the Right Newsletter Service For You?

This in-depth AWeber review aims to provide all the necessary information for your decision-making process.

In summary, AWeber is a robust email marketing platform well-suited for solopreneurs and small businesses. Its primary user base often includes:

• Personal Development Trainers
• Professional/Business Consultants
• Spiritual, Wellness, and Lifestyle Coaches
• Artists & Creators (Photography, Crafts, Musicians, Authors, Podcasters, etc.)
• Fitness Instructors
• Affiliate Marketers
• Marketing Agencies

It is user-friendly, affordable, and packed with valuable features for crafting high-quality emails. Here’s a summary of its scores:

Ease of Use: 4.25 / 5
Value for Money: 4.5 / 5
Editor and templates: 3.5 / 5
Functionalities: 4 / 5
Email Autoresponders: 3.5 / 5
Customer service: 4.5 / 5

Total score: 4 / 5

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

AWeber Alternatives

GetResponse

GetResponse is renowned for its powerful email marketing tools. However, its most affordable plans offer features quite similar to AWeber‘s. The GetResponse Email Marketing plan is priced higher than the AWeber Lite plan, despite offering comparable features.

Both platforms include a free tier with very similar tools. On both, the free plan allows for the creation of one landing page. AWeber’s Free plan also incorporates e-commerce tools and lower transaction fees, which are only available with GetResponse’s Professional plan at a higher cost.

The choice between AWeber and GetResponse often depends on your need for advanced features. GetResponse excels in marketing automation, but these features come at a premium. The same applies to contact scoring, sales funnels, and advanced segmentation, all of which are exclusive to the Marketing Automation plan, nearly double the price of AWeber’s Plus plan.

MailerLite

MailerLite presents a budget-friendly alternative to AWeber. Its paid plans start at roughly half the cost of AWeber’s Lite plan, while offering more contacts. Its Free plan is also quite generous, allowing up to 500 contacts and 12,000 emails per month, significantly more than AWeber’s 3,000 emails.

However, MailerLite’s Free plan does not include any email templates, whereas AWeber provides access to its basic templates. This makes email campaign creation considerably easier with AWeber, especially for beginners.

Brevo

Similar to AWeber, Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) offers a very generous Free plan. Brevo’s Free tier is highly competitive, supporting up to 100,000 contacts. Its segmentation tools are excellent, and its automation options, including a user-friendly workflow editor, surpass those found even on AWeber’s paid plan.

However, unlike AWeber, Brevo does not allow landing page creation on its free plan. In fact, creating even one landing page with Brevo requires a paid subscription exceeding $15 per month, and five additional landing pages would cost $24/month. AWeber, conversely, permits one landing page on its free plan. Overall, Brevo is generally a more affordable service, with its Starter plan at $9/month costing less than AWeber’s Lite plan.

Kit

Comparing AWeber and Kit (formerly ConvertKit) presents a nuanced decision. Both fall into the category of “no-frills” email marketing solutions, focusing on excelling at core functionalities at an accessible price point. They both offer free plans that enable broadcasting to a limited number of contacts and support e-commerce. Their cheapest paid tiers are similarly priced, though Kit scales up with a more expensive, advanced tier.

Each service possesses a clear advantage over the other. Kit is significantly superior for automation. Its visual workflow editor is more advanced and user-friendly than AWeber’s campaign builder, offering greater flexibility and the ability to automate entire sales funnels.

However, Kit‘s email building capabilities—the fundamental aspect of email marketing—are less robust. It provides only 23 templates compared to AWeber’s 600+, and its customization options are limited.