[GWA] Autoresponder Professional — WordPress Plugin Review

[GWA] Autoresponder is an interesting plugin. It has many practical features for internet marketers, such as robust mechanisms for creating and scheduling autoresponder sequences. But its interface doesn’t feel like a native WordPress application at all. Some people may find it a little difficult to use.

Read on to learn more about [GWA] Autoresponder…

Ease of Use and Installation

Nothing about [GWA] Autoresponder is easy. The installation process is long, the user interface is busy and cluttered, and extensions are installed in an un-user-friendly manner.

While the plugin is not easy to use and doesn’t conform to WordPress UI conventions, it is still a functional and usable plugin.

Technical Support and Documentation

The documentation of [GWA] Autoresponder covers many important aspects of operating the plugin. And this plugin has extensions of its own, and each extension has its little user guide. But one glaring oversight in the docs is not mentioning how those extensions are installed! By trial and error I found that you have to unzip the extension files and drop them in the main directory of the plugin.

Support for the plugin is provided for buyers of the plugin in the members area. Just login to your account and submit a ticket.

Managing Subscribers and Mailing Lists

[GWA] Autoresponder calls subscribers “leads”. You can search and filter subscribers in the “Leads” menu and you can export or import subscribers.

The plugin allows you to capture custom fields, but it is limited to 5 only. Each mailing list that you create with the plugin can have its own set of custom fields.

• Screenshot: [GWA] Autoresponder “List Details”

Opt-in Form Features

There are two ways to display a subscription form with [GWA] Autoresponder. The first is through the use of a sidebar widget. The second is through the use of a shortcode, [gwa-autoresponderlistid="#"]. You can put the shortcode any where within your content and it’ll be replaced with a subscription form.

While the subscription forms of [GWA] Autoresponder don’t offer any built-in templates, enhanced 3rd party opt-in form plugins can easily be used to add subscribers to the plugin.

Scheduling Autoresponders

Scheduling autoresponders with [GWA] Autoresponder is simple. You create messages, assign those messages to specific mailing lists, and give each message a number of days as the delay.

• Screenshot: [GWA] Autoresponder “Add Message”

HTML Emails, Themes, and Attachments

[GWA] Autoresponder can send HTML emails with one of 19 built-in themes. You can even create your own themes. The plugin allows you to select either an HTML email or a plain text email. It can’t send both in one email, like some of the other plugins. However, unlike most other plugins, [GWA] Autoresponder can attach a file to emails.

Bounce Email Management

[GWA] Autoresponder is able to track bounces and remove them from your mailing list. It’s up to you how many times a message bounces before the recipient is removed from your list.

Email Newsletter Analytics

[GWA] Autoresponder is only able to track clicks on links in emails. You accomplish that by specifying a link to track in the “Track” screen. And then using the placeholder for the link (something like {LINK1}) within your email. But you can just use bit.ly if tracking links is all you wanted. And you’d probably get better data with bit.ly.

Money Matters

There’s a free version of [GWA] Autoresponder on WordPress.org. But it’s limited in functionality. This review was for the Professional version. The professional version costs a one time payment of $67. There is no mention on the website as to for how long updates will be offered and whether there are any restrictions on the license. I assume it’s life time updates and unrestricted license.

There’s also a 100% satisfaction guarantee for 30 days.

Visit the homepage of [GWA] Autoresponder »»

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