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FollowUpXpert made it into my top choices as a desktop autoreponder system because it is powerful, feature rich, and the simplest of all the systems to maintain and operate. It includes all of the standard features you would expect and doesn't skimp on the extras like: report generation, list filtering, and rich opt-in/out options. If you are looking for simple yet powerful desktop solution
FollowUpXpert
is an obvious choice. Coming in as one of the cheapest autoresponders to actually own only makes it stand out even more. (read more...) |
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Xtreeme’s FollowUpXpert is a desktop autoresponder system. This stand alone program operates on a windows based PC and handles the follow-ups from there instead of a dedicated server or remotely hosted solution. I first came across this product a year ago and from what I can see they have made some nice improvements. The interface is much cleaner and it is much simpler to get rolling quickly and easily.
Upon launch FollowUpXpert asked some basic setup questions, like if I wanted to be prompted for a dial-up account before sending follow-ups. After this you come to the main screen which contains no autoresponder’s so you need to go ahead and create one. From here you have two choices for an autoresponder:
- Follow-up Responder
- Simple Autoresponder
A simple autoresponder is basically an automated secretary. Use this option to send out ‘I am away from the office’ messages or even a ‘thanks for emailing us we will get right back to you’ types of messages.
The Follow-up responder is the sequential autoresponder we all know and love. With this tool you can send any number of emails to anyone subscribing to your list at any time interval you choose.
I was really impressed with FollowUpXpert. Not only was it incredibly simple to get rolling right away but they had lots of juicy features. Subscribers can opt-in to your mail list by sending a blank email to a specific address, or it can be based on a criteria you provide, ie: subject = subscribe. Opt-out works the exact same way. You can have a number of events happen on subscription as well, like forwarding the request to another address. Also included is the ability to add any number of custom fields in your database and parse emails to extract these values. A needed feature for building a demographically targeted list.
Now FollowUpXpert works a bit different than the remotely hosted scripts like Sendstudio and Aweber in that it accesses your POP3 inbox directly. By this I mean it will log into your box and check the headers of the emails to see if there are any subscribers, and if so perform the appropriate action. You can set it to leave the messages on the server or remove them. Obviously the biggest drawback to using a desktop solution is the fact that the program must be running at all times on your PC or a PC set aside just for this task. Whether or not this affects you is something you will need to determine before making a decision.
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Scheduling an Autoresponder
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Opt-in Settings |
Mail Server Settings |
Because FollowUpXpert is a Windows application preparing your actual emails is really a breeze. You can choose to edit HTML directly or just send simple text. One thing that is absent from FollowUpXpert over some of the other products are inline editing tools, like font style, size, color etc. For me this was not a problem as I traditionally create my emails in Dreamweaver or a similar HTML editor and paste them into my autoresponder tool.
Also included was a tool for creating some reports on your campaigns. This is a welcome feature as I would typically not consider any product that does not deliver this. Available stats include: opt-in stats, opt-out stats, autoresponder delivery rates, and prospect reporting. The reports are generated on the fly as an .HTML document making them easily transportable for others to analyze. Necessary stuff for any serious marketer.
The only thing this product really lacks is the ability to send out newsletter's or ezines. This is something not everyone is after and you will need to determine if you are needing simply an autoresponder follow-up system or a full featured mailer. If mailing a newsletter is something you really need I would recommend checking out either Sendstudio or AWeber. Regardless as a full featured desktop autoresponder tool, FollowUpXpert performed as advertised.
All in all I would recommend FollowUpXpert to anyone just getting involved in autoresponders, or someone who wants a simple yet powerful product with a better price point than most of the others. True it lacks some of the bells and whistles of some of the competition but it really delivers solid functionality without dumbing things down too much. Of all of the products I review it is by far the simplest to get started with and maybe even offers the best bang for your buck at only $99. If you are dead set on a desktop solution, in my opinion, this is the clear winner.
Visit Xtreeme's Home Page or check out the rest of my autoresponder reviews.
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