GetResponse (opens in new tab) was founded in 1998 by an entrepreneur named Simon Grabowski, making it one of the oldest email marketing software (opens in new tab) in existence. For reference, Google was founded in that same year and popular apps like FaceBook and Instagram didn’t even exist back then. The company formed out of Grabowski’s need to send emails to multiple subscribers and started as Bizmaker, later renamed Implix, and again, GetResponse. By 2003, the company employed 6 people and by 2010 employed 100 people. In 2012, the company released mobile apps for iOS and Android, which helped boost its popularity. GetResponse is currently based in Gdansk, Poland and has over 400 employees spread across 14 countries, being a remote-first workforce.(Image credit: GetResponse)GetResponse: Plans and pricingGetResponse offers a free plan but with limited features. This plan supports a maximum of 500 contacts and 2,500 monthly emails. It also lets you create just one landing page with a monthly limit of 1,000 visitors and one website. You’ll need a paid plan to use the platform best.GetResponse offers three paid plans; Email Marketing, Marketing Automation, and E-Commerce Marketing. The Email Marketing plan starts at $19 / £19 / AUD$29 per month for 1,000 contacts and increases according to the number of contacts. For instance, 10,000 contacts on this plan will cost $79 / £75 / AUD$120 per month and 100,000 contacts $539 / £500 / AUD$800 per month. Subscribers to this plan can send unlimited emails and create an unlimited number of websites and landing pages.The Marketing Automation plan starts at $59 / £50 / AUD$90 per month and increases according to the number of contacts. For example, 10,000 contacts will cost $114 / £100 / AUD$170 per month and 100,000 contacts $599  / £550 / AUD$1000 per month. As the name suggests, this plan lets you send automated emails to your subscribers.  The E-Commerce Marketing plan starts at $119 / £100 / AUD$220 per month for 1,000 contacts and increases according to the number of contacts. For instance, 10,000 contacts will cost $199 / £180 / AUD$300 per month and 100,000 contacts $699 / £650 / AUD$1100 per month. As its name suggests, this plan offers features designed for online retailers, such as product recommendations, abandoned cart emails, and web push notifications. For each plan, you’ll get an 18% discount if you pay for 12 months in one go and a 30% discount if you pay for 24 months in one go.GetResponse also offers a plan targeted at enterprises called MAX. There’s no standard pricing for this plan, so you’ll have to contact the company’s sales team to get a quote. (Image credit: GetResponse)GetResponse: FeaturesGetResponse comes with some of the best marketing features that we’ve seen. The email marketing tools available are quite strong, and have to be seen to be believed. The benefits include a toolbox with attractive email templates, an excellent drag-and-drop builder, autoresponder tools, intuitive list management features, and even more. GetResponse provides multiple inbound marketing automation tools, which can create streamlined workflow automations saving you and your company time and money. The drag-and-drop workflow builder is a standout feature, and complements your email marketing campaigns.Through the platform’s native landing page (opens in new tab) builder, you can also create visually enticing, high-quality landing pages. These add substance to your email marketing campaigns, which encourages promising leads to take the desired actions.(Image credit: GetResponse)GetResponse: Interface and in useGetting started with GetResponse involves simply creating a new account by entering your name, email address and a new password. This accesses the 30-day free trial, without a requirement to enter any payment or credit card information.Next, go through the short questionnaire that asks about your goals, including the type of marketing you plan on doing. With this complete, you can access the GetResponse management dashboard to start creating your first campaign. We find the dashboard itself intuitive, and easy to navigate. The top left menu lets you move quickly between modules, and in a few minutes you will feel plenty comfortable. A stand out feature here is the excellent email builder. By dragging and dropping different elements into the required positions, you can add your own content, ensure the design is consistent with your brand, and use the test and preview tools for checking that everything works as expected. GetResponse: SupportGetResponse offers direct support through email and live chat (opens in new tab). Even free users can access this support, and it’s available in different languages including English, French, Spanish, and Russian. There’s no telephone support, which we consider a disadvantage. Before seeking direct support, you can also access the Help Center, which contains a plethora of user guides and articles concerning all the platform’s features. These guides come in handy when dealing with complex features like automation and APIs. You can also view webinars that’ll teach you how to use the platform in an interactive way. GetResponse: The competitionAn industry leader in the email marketing space, but that doesn’t mean that GetResponse is the right option for all. Constant Contact (opens in new tab) remains a popular competitor, which is quite ideal for those needing a simple, beginner-friendly platform without being overwhelmed with a ton of advanced features. Prices start at a competitive $10 per month, with the email marketing tools complemented by the platform’s excellent landing page builder. Another option worth considering is MailChimp (opens in new tab). For over two decades, it has been providing industry-leading email marketing solutions, with its service continuing to improve every year. It has an excellent “free forever” plan with streamlined integrations such as a creative assistant, marketing CRM (opens in new tab), and a website builder.GetResponse: Final verdictPutting this all together, there’s plenty of reasons that GetResponse gets lauded as the number-one email marketing platform worldwide. This is because it is affordable, offers a great free trial, and has excellent customer service. The drag-and-drop email builder is great for novices, while still remaining a powerful option for creating highly customized emails. The free forever plan is also worth mentioning for a smaller business just starting out. The bottom line is that if you’re looking for a competitively priced email marketing program that’s backed by a suite of other tools, GetResponse easily makes it to the short list of contenders worth looking at. We’ve listed the best online marketing services.
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