GetResponse Review - Versatility on a Budget
GetResponse claim to be the easiest newsletter tool available, with a tonne of pro features. This is a big claim, especially as their prices are so competitive.The Polish-based company’s global reach extends to 182 countries, and claim to engage over 1 billion subscribers every month! That’s a lot of emails.
Feature-wise, they do boast a lot more than most other tools. From simple A/B testing, to custom landing pages; comprehensive design testing to video email marketing. They even offer time travel, but perhaps not the Marty McFly kind.
The landing page feature, for example, is one-of-a-kind for newsletter tools, especially for one the offers so many customisation options. Another feature that’s worth mentioning is their automation, allowing movement of subscribers from one list to another, based on factors such as sales or even location. Other tools offer automation, but most are not as powerful or user-friendly.
Let’s see what else GetReponse has to offer:
GetResponse in Detail
| Criterion | Rating/Info | Notes |
| Ease of Use |  |
Mostly easy to navigate using the upper menus, with an easy-to-use editor. The only areas that GetResponse loses points is the slightly hard to find (but important) campaign section, and the messy knowledge base. |
| Newsletter Creation | ||
 -Editor |
 |
The editor is user-friendly, and allows for a wide-range of email types. There are also powerful automation features, better than most other newsletter tools. |
| -Personalization | yes | If/then/else personalization is possible, but not very user-friendly. |
| -Types of Emails |
 |
Classic newsletters, autoresponders, RSS to newsletter, easy A/B testing, also surveys. A good range. |
| Choice and Flexibility of Template Designs |
|
The designs could do with an update, but there is a lot of choice and the majority of them are responsive. It’s easy to use, and edit, the templates. Although we had some issues with columns, making it hard to recreate some of our campaigns easily. Not a big gripe, but as columns are widely used they should make this easier to customize. |
| Marketing Automation
|
|
Their automation offers rules for ecommerce and URL tracking. You can move subscribers from one list (which they call a campaign) to another based on sale conditions, campaign removal conditions etc. This is available via a visually attractive automation section. |
| List Management | |
Apart from being a little confusing to start with, GetResponse’s list management is actually quite powerful, and packed with features. These are more powerful than regular lists in terms of their segmentation. You can add any/all conditions to segments, and even condition groups. |
| Registration Forms/Opt-in & Opt-out- Process |
|
Very easy to use, with many templates available, or the ability to create your own. You also have the ability to add your own database fields. There are several types of integration available, or you can embed on your site, alternatively you can host the form on GetResponse. Subscribers can also select the campaign/s they want to opt-out from. |
| Reports and Analysis | |
Thorough reports, with geo-tracking available and desktop vs. mobile. You can also see which clients were used, although it appears Gmail comes up as ‘other’. You can get all the details of the openers and clickers, as well as Google Analytics integration, and conversion/ecommerce tracking. There is no heatmap or social media tracking available. |
| Languages | |
Available in up to 17 languages. |
| Further Features | ||
| -Spam- and Design-Testing |
|
Inbox testing is available on the site, allowing you to see the design in many different browsers and devices. Spam testing happens in the last step, giving you a score out of 5, with 0 being the best. |
| -Bounce Management |
yes | Located within their ‘list hygiene’ section. Hard bounces are removed immediately from your lists, while soft bounces are removed after four unsuccessful attempts. |
| -Blacklist |
yes | Both a blacklist and suppression list available. Manual import, but no export options available. |
| -Storage Available for Data and Images | 1 Gigabyte | Apart from being able to add your own files, you also have over 1,000 stock photos available for use. |
| -Social Media Integration |
|
You have the usual sharing buttons available in the editor as elements, and you can also post to Facebook and Twitter when you send the campaign. |
| -Newsletter Archive |
yes | This is available within in the slightly-hidden profile settings menu. |
| Pro Features | ||
| -Authentication |
yes | SPF and DKIM are supported. They are apparently whitelisted by major clients (Yahoo, Outlook etc.) |
| -Own Domain? |
yes | This is only available within the ‘Max’ payment tier though. |
| -Different Access Levels |
yes | The ‘Pro’ plan allows up to 3 users, while the ‘Max’ plan allows up to 5. On top of this, you can buy multi-user add-ons for $20, adding another 5 users. There’s no specific access levels, but you can define specific access areas for each user. |
| -Integrations | yes | Quite a few available from contact lists (Shopify, Magento, Salesforce) to payments (Amazon, Google Checkout) and Social (Facebook, Twitter). |
| -Landing Page Editor |
yes | This is a strength of GetResponse, as they have a simple editor that allows you to make unique landing pages for events registration, or similar. A/B testing and responsive design are also available. |
| Support | |
Via e-mail and live chat, support was very quick, friendly and helpful. The knowledge base is hard to navigate, opening too many tabs and using Google Custom search, which doesn’t do them any favours. |
| Overall Rating | |
GetResponse is a very powerful and relatively user-friendly newsletter tool. It’s also good value for the amount of features available. |
© EmailToolTester Matrix
Conclusion:
GetResponse really came through with the goods, managing to provide both the features and ease-of-use that most other newsletter tools fall short of. We also noted the great automation mechanisms for list management (or campaigns, as GetResponse calls them).
While the editor can be a little fiddly when performing certain tasks, and the templates look a little dated, they’re responsive and still good enough to create something useful. And, of course, all templates are responsive, which means you’re good to go on mobile, too. There's even an app for iOS and Android that allows you not only to track, but also to send (plain-text) newsletters on the go.
With its long list of powerful features like landing pages and now even webinars, GetResponse is doing quite a few things right. And while we might not call it the ‘world’s easiest email marketing’ tool, it’s definitely versatile enough to perform almost everything you’d need for your personal or business needs.
> Try GetResponse now, free for 30 days.
Updates
04 January 2017 - App information added.
29 June 2016 - Webinar feature added.
15 February 2016 - Initial Tests.
Last Update: 04 Jan 2017 | Steve Lamattina
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The Company
Product: GetResponse Sp. z o.o.
Country: Poland (Offices in USA, Canada and Russia)
Headquarters: Gdansk, Poland
Server Location: USA and EU
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