Sign up for just about any old online newsletter these days and there’s a good chance that the confirmation email you receive will include the mark of AWeber, perhaps the name in vertical response marketing. And why shouldn’t it be so recognizable? It’s got plenty of good features, as we highlighted in our own AWeber review, and these features and functions can all be had for a reasonable price.

So your vertical response platform of choice shouldn’t be a choice at all, right? AWeber for the win!

But not so fast. Whenever something comes at a price, there should be a question we as potential customers are always asking: is there something out there that’s not only better, but cheaper? Let’s take a look at five email marketing options not named AWeber and see which might be the best “alternative” for you.

1. iContact

Here at Clickfire we wrote in our iContact review that iContact is concerned not only with the function of vertical response, but the visuals as well. Sending out an email newsletter, after all, is a visual experience unless your emails make more noise than mine do. iContact differentiates itself from the mainstream boys like AWeber by making things easy on the eye – and that’s exactly what some people prefer.

If you’ve got an online business or presence that needs to worry more about how your brand looks than how its newsletter operates, this might be the vertical response software for you.

2. Constant Contact

The beauty of Constant Contact is that they immediately make a name as an AWeber alternative with the classic offer: try them out for free. Sure, it’s not hard to find free trials of online services these days, but Constant Contact’s 60-day free trial is noteworthy enough that it alone should merit your consideration.

Constant Contact’s features are all there, and the pricing plan – once you enter day sixty-one, that is – is affordable and definitely a great alternative to the likes of AWeber. Should you decide to opt for Constant Contact, you’ll likely wonder why you considered many other alternatives.

3. StreamSend

StreamSend, although somewhat difficult to pronounce, definitely sets itself up as an AWeber alternative by adding plenty of features. After all, it’s hard to miss the big guy like AWeber if you find someone else that gives you all the goods.

All of the features, from analytics and full-on email crafting, are here – but it’s not any one particular thing that StreamSend does that merits your consideration as making it your AWeber alternative. It’s the combination and the compilation of all of these features that ends up hitting the home run.

4. JangoMail

We like the catchy name, as you found out our JangoMail review, and although the actual email editor looks like it belongs in the late 1990’s-Internet, the combination of price, features, and overall quality were enough to give a general thumbs-up for yet another AWeber alternative.

How does JangoMail make it happen? A simple pricing plan that’s fair, solid analytics and of course, the aforementioned email editor that does everything AWeber is capable of. JangoMail might sound like a simple but catchy younger brother to AWeber but it packs a more powerful punch than that.

5. myEmma

Emma (review), located at myEmma.com, is the email marketing solution that you should really give a second look at. It’s not only a considerable AWeber alternative, but it’s an alternative to the four other email marketing solutions we’ve already listed.

Why? It’s focused on the visuals, and makes a perfect way to brand your email newsletter as a small business. You can essentially “download” all their good stuff for immediate use and look like a quirky professional within a matter of minutes. Is that enticing enough to leave AWeber? For certain businesses it is.

The point of all the above is to demonstrate that while AWeber is a fine choice as your email marketing solution, there’s a lot more to the story if you’re just willing to dig a little and find out what else is out there. Today’s web isn’t all about the one or two companies doing it right (cough – unless you’re talking about Google – cough), but the multitude of options you have on your plate. Make the best use of them.

Original Article by Dan Kenitz