How to Send an Email With Aweber

So you’re ready to start email marketing huh?

You have your website up, opt-in form is sprinkled in all the right places, and people are subscribing. Outside of setting up your first follow-up message you may need to send an occasional broadcast to your subscribers.

A broadcast is an email sent out to your subscribers via your email service provider. Think of it similar to a group text message. Each subscriber will get the same message.

This is one of the great benefits of having an email list. You can keep everybody informed about news and updates with the click of a button. Of course that’s assuming you have optimized the subject and first sentence of the email to maximize your open rates.

You’re a smart business owner so you’ve already taken care of all that and you’re ready to send your first email broadcast. Let’s login in to Aweber and see how…

After logging into your Aweber account you will be presented with the home page of your account. On this page you will all your email lists you have created. If this is your first time logging in you will see a default list that Aweber creates for you automatically.

Once you’ve selected the list you want to send your broadcast to select the broadcast option from the messages menu

Your next screen will ask you to either create a new broadcast with new editor or the previous editor. I’ve been with Aweber for a while now and the previous editor has really grown on me so I don’t use the new editor. If your emails are media extensive I would recommend the new editor. For plain text with links the previous editor is quick and efficient.

You have now created your broadcast. Now it’s time to optimize your subject and body. The “personalize” link you see to the left of the subject field allows you to insert special fields into your email to make it more personal.

For instance, if you ask for the name of subscribers you can use the variable “{!firstname}” in your subject or body where ever you would like their submitted name to appear. More custom fields are available, browse around yourself to see the full potential.

Now your broadcast is ready to be sent. Lets review some of the options available.

Schedule
Send Immediately is pretty self explanatory here.

Send later allows you to schedule the delivery of the broadcast to a future time. Once the time is set you don’t have to login or do anything else. Aweber will ensure the broadcast is sent at the selected time.

Send to Segment
This allows you to send to your entire list or a segment of your existing list. Example would be if you wanted to send an email only to the people who opened your previous email.

Include or Exclude Lists
As your subscribers grow you will more than likely have multiple email lists. This option will allow you to send the created broadcast to multiple lists you own. You can exclude certain lists from getting this broadcast as well.

Track Clicks
Your broadcast has to be a HTML format in order for this option to work. It will track how many people have clicked links in your broadcast if you have links in your broadcast.

I’ve often questioned the accuracy of this option. A few of my subscribers have reported that they clicked on links I’ve sent but I did not see it reflected on Aweber’s side. Nevertheless, I still keep this option checked.

Social
This box checked allows you to auto publish a link to your broadcast via Twitter and Facebook. You will need to connect your Twitter and Facebook accounts to your Aweber for this one.

QuickStats
This option allows you to receive a message when tracking and other stats are available for the message.

Save or Preview
Either save the broadcast or preview it and see what it looks like.

Once your broadcast is saved you will see the following screen. Your broadcast will NOT be sent until you click the “Queue” button.

You can also test your email by selecting the “Test” button. This will send the broadcast to whatever email address you enter. It’s a good way to ensure all the formatting of your broadcast is what you anticipate it to be.

Hit “Queue” and see the prompt below.

The prompt above will show when the broadcast will be delivered. If you scheduled the broadcast it will show the future time.

Congratulations! You have successfully created and sent your first broadcast email.

Put your email marketing on auto pilot and strengthen your engagement with your audience by implementing a mix of follow-up messages and broadcasts.