AWeber Review (2024)- The Pros, Cons, and Features

Email marketing remains a crucial component of any successful online business or blog.

As your list grows, you need a platform that provides extensive features while remaining easy to use.

In this AWeber review, I’ll be taking an in-depth look at one of the veterans of email marketing to see how it stacks up in today’s crowded marketplace.

Founded way back in 1998, AWeber has over 120,000 customers and likely powers thousands of the e-newsletters sitting in your inbox right now.

Whether you’re just starting or looking to switch from another provider, I hope you’ll know if AWeber is the right email marketing tool for your specific needs.

I’ll also reference their generous free plan so you can try it before you buy.

Let’s dive right in!

AWeber at Glance (AWeber Review)

The Pros and Cons of Using AWeber

As a rule of thumb, a product review won’t be complete without looking at its strengths and flaws.

Hence, I’ve deemed it fit to pen the core Pros and Cons of AWeber to make this AWeber review worth it.

Let’s check them!

👍The Pros of AWeber

✅ Free forever plan

AWeber allows you to get started with many core email marketing features without paying at all. You can build a list of up to 500 subscribers and send 3,000 emails per month on their free plan.

✅ Over 600 customizable templates

Choose from hundreds of professionally designed templates for emails, landing pages, sign-up forms, and more. You can easily tailor template colours, copy, images and other elements to match your brand.

✅ Intuitive drag-and-drop editor

AWeber’s visual editor makes putting together great-looking emails simple. You have the room to move elements around, resize sections, swap out images, and change colours and fonts without needing to code.

✅ Affordable pricing tiers

From the free plan to paid offerings – designed for small businesses and solopreneurs, AWeber delivers extensive capabilities without huge costs.

👎The CONs of AWeber

Despite the great efforts of AWeber, it still comes with some downsides that you need to know beforehand.

❌ Charges for unsubscribed contacts

AWeber counts both subscribed AND unsubscribed contacts towards your monthly fees. You’ll need to manually cull unsubscribed users periodically to avoid unnecessary charges.

❌ Basic marketing automation

While providing some email automation for sequences and triggers, AWeber doesn’t come with advanced conditional logic based on custom criteria.

❌ Limited segment targeting

AWeber doesn’t allow easy targeting or excluding specific segments when sending broadcasts. Workarounds exist but the process isn’t seamless.

Key Features and Tools

Now that we’ve covered some of AWeber’s biggest pros and cons at a high level, let’s explore some of its key features and tools in more detail.

I think you would love to have a table representation first:

Email Editors	Choose from drag-and-drop, plain text, and HTML editors to create your broadcasts.
Template Library	Access over 600 polished email template designs to customize for your brand.
Landing Page Builder	Design unlimited squeeze pages to capture leads without needing other tools.
Automation Tools	Set up sequences and basic triggers to send timely, relevant follow-ups.
A/B Split Testing	Optimize your emails for best performance with split testing capabilities.
750+ Integrations	Connect AWeber seamlessly with 750+ other apps and services you rely on.
Contact Management	Organize, segment, and filter your subscriber data with tags and lists.

Now, let’s explore each of those feature sets in a bit more depth!

👉Flexible Email Editors

AWeber gives you three different options for authoring your email broadcasts and newsletters:

• Drag-and-drop: Perfect for beginners, visually construct emails by dragging in elements like text blocks, images, dividers etc.
• Plain-text: For a simple approach, create emails using just fonts and basic styling.
• HTML: Take full control by coding emails using HTML and CSS.

Most users will likely stick to the intuitive drag-and-drop editor. But having the flexibility to use HTML when needed provides expert users more customization power… And it’s an added joy for someone like me 😍.

👉Hundreds of Email Templates

Why start an email from a blank page when you can tap into professionally designed layouts?

With over 600 templates for newsletters, promotions, announcements, holiday mailings and more, you can find an ideal starting point tuned for your industry.

Then easily tailor template colors, copy, layouts and images with the drag-and-drop editor until they perfectly fit your brand.

Great: Working with polished designs as a foundation saves tons of time while allowing complete customization.

You also gain access to AWeber’s templates for landing pages, sign-up forms, lead magnet offers, autoresponder sequences, and more.

👉Landing Page Builder

AWeber ships with a landing page builder, which allows you to convert your website traffic into email subscribers by creating dedicated pages and squeeze forms to capture leads.

With AWeber’s built-in landing page creator, you don’t need to invest in a separate tool.

You can build unlimited landing pages using 100+ mobile-friendly template designs focused on conversions.

You may want to embed them on your site or use standalone domains. You can also integrate with payment processors like Stripe for taking payments.

For small business owners, the landing page builder helps rapidly grow your lists to power sales through email marketing campaigns; and you have it waiting for you at AWeber.

👉Decent Automation Capabilities

While AWeber may not offer extremely advanced automation, you do get user-friendly tools for setting up sequences and basic triggers.

Using a visual campaign builder, you can easily schedule timed drip sequences to onboard subscribers and nurture leads. Or configure pop-ups and promotions based on subscriber actions.

For example, you can send a 5-part autoresponder sequence to all newcomers spreading out helpful tips over two weeks automatically. Or trigger a special offer email to those who clicked on a previous broadcast.

…Simple yet powerful!

👉Optimization With Split Testing

AWeber allows you to tap into the power of A/B testing by sending different email variants to segments of your list.

This allows you to see firsthand which layout, copy style, subject line etc. drives the most opens, clicks and conversions so you can tailor your future broadcasts accordingly.

Pro Tip: Little optimizations add up over time to boost engagement and increase sales powered by your email marketing initiatives.

👉750+ Integrations

Chances are, you rely on other apps and software services for running your business – perhaps payments through Stripe, marketing via MailChimp, chat using Drift and so on.

Rather than managing data across disparate platforms, AWeber neatly ties into your existing ecosystem.

With over 750 direct integrations, you can connect AWeber with tools you already use and sync data seamlessly.

For example, you can automatically add new opt-ins straight into your AWeber list.

Or you can trigger an AWeber welcome sequence when someone registers for a Thinkific course.

This gives you the ability to maintain one centralized subscriber database across all your marketing software for simplicity.

Bottom Line: Whether you prefer direct AWeber integrations or using Zapier’s connectors, you can weave email marketing directly into your technology stack.

Segmenting Contacts

As your lists scale from hundreds to thousands and beyond, organization and segmentation become critical – you can’t treat all subscribers equally.

With AWeber’s contact segmentation, you can divide your audiences into separate lists based on preferences like interests, buyer persona, plan type and so on.

It also allows you to assign tags to label specific groups for easy filtering like ‘customers’ or ‘leads’.

Analytics and Reporting

Beyond just sending emails, you need to track the engagement and outcomes generated by your broadcasts.

AWeber provides solid analytics capabilities to measure your email performance over time.

Let’s explore some of the key metrics and reports available.

Email Analytics	Track opens, clicks, bounces, unsubscribes, social sharing and more for each broadcast.
Lists Insights	See your list growth over time and breakouts of where subscribers originate from.
Campaign Reports	Dive into performance for each email campaign you send.
Split Testing	Directly compare metrics between A/B test email variants to determine a winner.
Sales Tracking	Connect email clicks directly to online revenue tracking with integrations.

Monitoring Email Campaign Performance

For every email broadcast, newsletter or sequence you send, AWeber captures detailed analytics within its platform.

Beyond just open and click rates, you can view:

• Bounce rates and spam complaints
• Unsubscribe rates
• Social sharing engagement
• Links clicked and actions taken
• Geographic breakdowns

The comprehensive reporting covers everything you need to continually assess campaign health and fine-tune your approach over time.

This allows you to spot trends, identify poorly performing messages, uncover popular content types and more based on rich analytics.

Tracking List Growth

Via the analytics, you can step back from individual emails to evaluate the growth velocity of your subscriber lists too.

You can see the total size over time along with visibility into:

• New sign-ups by date
• Origins and sources driving adds
• Confirmation rates for double opt-in
• Contact quality with hard vs. soft bounces

Monitoring list growth and quality will help you assess the health of your overall email subscriber base.

Evaluating Sequences

Given AWeber’s automation capabilities for sequences, tracking performance across an entire pre-defined flow is essential.

In the analytics, you can assess factors like:

• Drop-off rates between emails
• Conversion rates on desired actions
• Engagement velocity and fatigue over time
• Winback success for lapsed contacts

This insight exposes how well your narrative resonates across a multi-message journey.

You can pinpoint where subscribers lose interest and optimize content accordingly, ensuring sequences are nurtured effectively.

Facilitating A/B Testing

Earlier, we covered AWeber’s built-in split testing to compare email variants.

The side-by-side analytics in its reports make determining a winning version simple at a glance.

You can easily assess opens, clicks, unsubscribes, spam complaints and more to declare the best performer based on data.

Tracking Conversions

While AWeber provides stellar visibility into email engagement, you likely care more about driving tangible business outcomes – leads captured, sales won, revenue earned.

Knowing actual conversion rates and sales efficiency will help you shift email marketing from a cost center to a measurable profit engine.

Bottom Line: With comprehensive visibility into email performance, list growth trends and conversions -powered by integrations with tools you already use, AWeber delivers strong reporting capabilities.

Support and Onboarding

Transitioning to a new email service or getting started as a beginner can be daunting.

That’s why AWeber focuses heavily on support and helping users quickly get up and running.

Let’s check some of the assistance available.

Knowledge Base	Search hundreds of FAQs and articles in the online help center.
Live Chat	Start a conversation online instantly with a support team member.
Email & Phone	Submit tickets via email or call support 6 days a week.
Tutorials	Follow step-by-step video walkthroughs that guide you on how to use features.
Free Migration	For new users, AWeber assists in transferring existing lists from other platforms.

Now, let’s look at each component of support and onboarding help in more depth…!

Robust Knowledge Base

Instead of making you hunt for answers in complex documentation, AWeber offers a clean, easy-to-navigate knowledge base organized by topic.

This provides you with the ability to browse through hundreds of articles and FAQs covering everything from getting-started guides to advanced functionality.

The search makes it easy to find assistance on any feature or issue.

New instructional content gets added regularly addressing common pain points that users experience; they know the right thing to add next, due to their keen attention to feedback.

Live Chat On Demand

Waiting days or hours for support tickets can lead to frustrating downtime.

With AWeber’s website live chat, you get connected directly with a friendly expert instantly when issues arise for rapid resolution.

AWeber’s chat support availability spans 7 days a week for most working hours worldwide – no annoying phone trees to navigate either.

Being able to screen share directly with a support agent allows them to walk you through solutions interactively too.

The convenience and speed of chat support keep productivity and momentum moving as hurdles inevitably emerge when using new tools.

Phone & Email Channels Too

In addition to real-time live chat for urgent matters, AWeber also provides email and phone support options for broader inquiries.

This means you can submit trouble tickets via email around connectivity issues, missing data or anything else requiring investigation. Or call in 6 days per week for guided setup assistance tailored to your use case.

Having channel choices ensures you use the medium that best suits your preferred style and question type.

While chat works great for most issues, email and phone may better facilitate edge cases that need custom guidance or account review.

Getting Started Video Tutorials

To supplement text-based help documentation, AWeber created an entire library of video tutorials that will walk you through the key tasks from creating your first broadcast to setting up automation workflows.

The videos break complex topics down into bite-sized guides you can digest as needed while actively using the platform.

Migrating Existing Lists

Transitioning email subscribers from another provider feels daunting, especially for beginners. You don’t want to disrupt sending capabilities or lose subscriber trust through deliverability issues.

Fortunately, AWeber provides free migration services to smoothly transfer your lists into their platform.

Their team handles everything from data importing behind the scenes to confirming and updating new subscribers of the change.

Rather than tackling a complicated data export, import, validation and communication project yourself, AWeber lends a hand ensuring no hiccups during a transition.

Pricing Breakdown

Now that we’ve covered AWeber’s extensive features, support services and ease of use, how do costs fit into the equation?

The platform offers four pricing plan tiers scaled to fit different scales and phases of business.

Let’s look into them!

Free Forever	Up to 500 subscribers + 3,000 emails per month
Lite – $14.99/mo	Up to 1,000 subscribers, basic automation
Plus – $29.99/mo	Unlimited subscribers & lists, advanced features
Unlimited – $899/mo	Enterprise-level dedicated support

👉Forever Free Plan

AWeber stands out by offering an extremely generous free plan allowing up to 500 subscribers with access to core capabilities like:

✅ Broadcast to 500 contacts

✅ Send up to 3,000 emails per month

✅ Access basic templates

✅ View key analytics

✅ Use drag-and-drop email builder

With the Free plan, you give up advanced features like split testing and automation but can still grow small lists sending basic newsletters for free indefinitely.

This makes AWeber extremely budget-friendly for solopreneurs starting out before upgrading.

👉Value-Packed “Plus” Plan

I consider AWeber’s Plus plan the best option for most small business owners looking for premium capabilities affordably.

For just $29.99/month, you unlock:

✅ Unlimited subscribers & lists

✅ Advanced automation

✅ Split testing

✅ Sales & conversion tracking

✅ Access all 600+ templates

✅ Landing page builder

✅ Remove AWeber branding

Scaled to deliver enterprise-level access at SMB cost, the Plus package brings all the functionality needed for executing sophisticated email marketing campaigns that convert.

👉Annual Discounts

Note that the pricing above reflects monthly rates billed for each period.

You receive discounts between 15-35% for paying your full plan costs annually upfront instead. This helps lower overhead further if you know you’ll rely on AWeber long-term.

Considering the fact that most competitors don’t offer free plans at all or restrict key features unless upgrading to expensive premium tiers, AWeber shines for value.

👉The Giant Unlimited Plan

Hopefully, your business will continue to grow and you’ll have over 100,000 subscribers – that’s when you will need to change your game drastically.

The Unlimited plan gives you unlimited subscribers, unlimited email list, unlimited landing pages, and other advanced perks.

How AWeber Compares to Alternatives

Thus far we’ve explored AWeber’s capabilities and value in depth.

How does it stack against competing email services like GetResponse, MailerLite, SendinBlue and more?

Let’s compare AWeber to a few top alternatives across key dimensions.

Feature Set	AWeber provides all core email functionality but lags on advanced automation
Ease of Use	Very simple for beginners with intuitive drag-and-drop builder
Template Design	600+ nicely designed templates for essential assets
Support Quality	Knowledge base, email, chat + phone support combination is stellar
Pricing	Very affordable especially the Unlimited plan cost

Functionality

For standard email marketing campaigns, AWeber delivers on par with competitors.

You get excellent templates, automation, forms, and landing pages all tightly integrated.

Where more sophisticated platforms like GetResponse outshine are with advanced options like multi-branch conditional logic, predictive send-time optimization, and machine learning features.

But for most small businesses, AWeber provides all the must-have email capabilities even though engineering isn’t best-in-class. You’ll only miss out on the cutting-edge functionality enterprise marketing teams crave.

Simplicity

Very few email solutions compete with AWeber for new user onboarding and simplicity. Everything from its forever-free plan to its drag-and-drop editor makes getting started smooth.

Compared to tools like MailerLite which seem to bury desired settings deeper in crowded UIs prioritizing upsells, AWeber funnels you right into sending great emails powered by clear navigation and thoughtful templates.

Designs

Regarding template quality, AWeber leads rivals with over 600 mobile-friendly options covering all major use cases. Default styles won’t win design awards but serve as great starting points for customization.

With most competitors, you’ve stuck either coding HTML from scratch or relying on a limited catalog of uninspiring layouts. AWeber’s combination of volume and quality accelerates the creation of good-looking emails.

Support

Very few email platforms provide support channels as responsive and extensive as AWeber’s knowledge base, email, live chat, and telephone team. Getting timely answers when stuck on a problem makes you much more productive.

Many alternative options skimp here with limited self-service content or offshore reps following rigid scripts. AWeber’s genuine focus on educating customers stands out – perhaps the biggest advantage overall.

Cost Efficiency

At its Unlimited tier priced at $899 monthly, AWeber offers outstanding ROI for mid-sized businesses relative to the enterprise pricing of competitors.

You receive white-glove service and support surpassing that from Mailchimp and Campaign Monitor costing thousands per month.

Of course, the Free and Plus plans shine for solopreneurs and small teams too maximizing access to advanced functionality at modest rates.

The verdict? While AWeber may not boast the absolute richest features demanding power users crave, it strikes an ideal balance of affordability, ease-of-use and core email marketing capabilities.

For most small businesses, choosing a sophisticated yet accessible platform you can grow into makes sense vs. overpaying early for unnecessary extras.

Depending on your specific needs, another solution may better suit you – but we’ve covered why AWeber warrants strong shortlisting.

Concluding Thoughts

As I wrap up this exploration of AWeber, it’s clear to me that choosing the right email marketing platform is a crucial decision for the success of your online endeavors. So, let me share my verdict on AWeber in 2024.

Founded back in 1998, AWeber has earned its stripes with over 120,000 customers and a legacy of powering countless e-newsletters.

In this review, I’ve delved into its features, strengths, weaknesses, and pricing to help you make an informed decision.

Ease of Use and Power Combined: AWeber’s sweet spot lies in blending user-friendly design with powerful features.

Whether you’re a beginner or a small business owner, the platform caters to your needs. The intuitive drag-and-drop editor and over 600 customizable templates make crafting emails a breeze.

What’s more, the pricing tiers are designed to ensure that even small business owners can access extensive capabilities without breaking the bank.

Landing Page Magic: One standout feature is the built-in landing page creator. This eliminates the need for a separate tool, making it easy to capture more subscriber sign-ups and grow your lists.

For someone like me who values efficiency, this integrated approach is a game-changer.

The Downsides You Should Know: Of course, no platform is perfect. AWeber does have its limitations, such as basic marketing automation and some challenges with segment targeting.

If you’re an expert user craving advanced customization, you might find the platform somewhat limiting.

For instance, be mindful that AWeber charges for both subscribed and unsubscribed contacts, so periodic cleanups are necessary to avoid unnecessary fees.

Templates, Automation, and More: On the positive side, AWeber offers a vast library of email templates, a landing page builder, and decent automation capabilities.

While not the most advanced, the visual campaign builder allows you to set up sequences and triggers with ease.

Insights and Analytics: AWeber’s robust analytics provide valuable insights into email and campaign performance.

From email analytics to list insights and sales tracking, you can track everything you need to refine your approach over time.

Support and Onboarding: Transitioning to a new platform can be daunting, but AWeber has your back. The support and onboarding experience is commendable, with live chat, email and phone support, tutorials, and even free migration assistance.

Pricing Plans: Now, let’s talk numbers. AWeber offers a Free Forever plan, allowing you to send basic newsletters to up to 500 subscribers without any cost.

The Plus plan, in my opinion, strikes the right balance for most small business owners, offering advanced features at an affordable price.

The Verdict – Why AWeber? So, here’s my verdict: AWeber is not the most advanced platform out there, but it excels in simplicity, effectiveness, and cost efficiency.

If you’re a solopreneur or a small team looking for a reliable and budget-friendly email marketing solution, AWeber deserves a strong consideration.

Your Next Step: If you’re intrigued, I recommend trying out AWeber’s Free Forever plan. It’s a risk-free way to explore the platform, send basic newsletters, and see if it aligns with your needs.

After all, the best way to know if it’s the right fit is to experience it yourself.

Try AWeber Now

Remember, your choice of an email marketing tool can significantly impact your online presence. So, take your time, explore, and find the solution that not only meets your current needs but also grows with your business.

Happy emailing!

AWeber Review – FAQs