This question is a straightforward one to answer: Yes – ClickFunnels does have an autoresponder for email marketing.
Although we have already answered the question, there is no doubt more on this that can be useful to digital marketers.
While does ClickFunnels have an autoresponder? is an excellent question to ask, it is not the only question that needs answering where digital marketing platforms are concerned.
Let’s take a look at the matter in a little more depth and see why else ClickFunnels, one of the best sales funnel building software, may be a good choice for you.
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ClickFunnels Autoresponder – Actionetics
Actionetics, which is now known as Follow Up Funnels, is ClickFunnels’ own autoresponder that is integrated with the rest of their platform.
Actionetics is packed full of useful features such as an easy to use storage system for your subscriber list. It also uses a system that allows you to easily score individual entries in your subscriber list, helping you to leverage the power of your list.
Actionetics also has features that help to make it easier for you to follow up on leads, thus increasing your conversion rates.
Differences Between ClickFunnels Autoresponder and Alternatives
Of course, Actionetics is not the only autoresponder available, and the platform does have some distinct differences to other options that are available.
#1. Actionetics Works Seamlessly with ClickFunnels
Again, asking ‘does ClickFunnels have an autoresponder’ is a very wise question to ask. Once you look more closely at the platform, however, you will see that having an autoresponder is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of functionality.
ClickFunnels gives affiliate marketers access to essential tools like landing pages, sales pages, upsell pages, and a webpage editor. It also provides lead capture forms to help you build your database and allows you to build sales funnels that help you to close the sale.
One thing that makes Actionetics stand out against the rest is that it is not available as a stand-alone platform.
In order to use it, you must be a signed up user of a ClickFunnels account. While this might be a clear negative for a lot of people, it will also likely be a very clear positive for others.
That Actionetics is tied in with ClickFunnels means that the two were made to work with each other, and they do so seamlessly.
Considering the ClickFunnels platform provides a wide range of traditional internet and affiliate marketing tools, having an autoresponder that is made specifically for the platform will be a godsend to many.
Alternatively, digital marketers can integrate ClickFunnels with their favorite autoresponders.
#2. Unlimited Contacts
To have access to Actionetics, you will need to have a paid ClickFunnels Platinum account (which also gives you access to ClickFunnels BackPack). At $297/month, some people might be reluctant to commit at first, especially beginners and those with a limited budget.
If you do have a more flexible budget, however, and if you can take advantage of the platform’s features, the platform represents very good value for money.
One reason for this is that you can have an unlimited number of contacts in your subscriber list. In order to be able to have a list that large on other platforms, it is likely to cost you rather a lot more.
Plus, of course, you will also have access to the many useful tools that ClickFunnels has to offer.
#3. Email Deliverability Advantage
When asking, ‘does ClickFunnels have an autoresponder?’ there is another important question you should also be asking. This question is, how good are Actionetics’ delivery rates?
Quite simply, the more people who receive your emails, the more conversions you will make, so it is something that should always be at the top of your email autoresponder checklist.
Explaining What and Why Clickfunnels Uses SMTP
Clickfunnels was the first internet marketing software that I needed to setup SMTP for. But, I really didn’t know what it was and had to figure it out the hard way.
I’m sure I wasn’t alone in my SMTP confusion, but in recent years, Clickfunnels has done a lot better in explaining what SMTP is, why they use it, and how to set it up in Clickfunnels.
Bailey Richert, a Clickfunnels host, businesswoman, and host of the Affiliate Bootcamp Summit and 30Days.com training explained SMTP beautifully in her Facebook post explanation below:
What Is SMTP?
Bailey’s SMTP Explanation
I’m going to explain it in a non-techy way. (Techy folks, cool your jets. This is simplified.)
Let’s pretend you want to send a written letter to a friend via snail mail. There’s 2 parts to that activity:
1. You write the letter and seal it up in an envelope to send.
2. You drop it off at the post office, who delivers it.
Think about sending mass marketing emails just like these 2 parts of a real snail mail letter: you write the email and ‘package’ it up to send, then someone delivers it.
When you have an email autoresponder, that company is doing BOTH parts for you: they are giving you a user-friendly front end platform where you can write the email and then they send it.
How do they send it? Using SMTP’s. An SMTP is like the post office in our snail mail analogy. It is what actually delivers the email. In reality, it’s a whole bunch of email servers sending emails.
What you probably don’t know is that these email autoresponder companies like Mailchimp, Convertkit, etc DON’T own their own SMTPs! They actually hire other SMTP companies to send their emails!
That’s why you pay so much. They give you the front-end platform to write the email, then charge you a huge mark up cost. They then hire the SMTP for a small cost to send your emails. And you’re willing to pay for this, though, because you don’t have the tech knowledge to hire the SMTP to do it yourself.
Well, with ClickFunnels, you can!
ClickFunnels gives you the first part you need to ‘write your letter’. With Actionetics, you get a user-friendly platform where you can write your emails and schedule them to send (just like an email autoresponder does).
But, ClickFunnels doesn’t deliver the emails. It’s not an SMTP, and (until recently) didn’t hire an SMTP company to send the emails you wrote. It required you to get your own. Which, actually isn’t that hard at all!
You can do it yourself with a little help.
But let’s say you don’t want to do it yourself. You WANT ClickFunnels to provide you that SMTP just like Mailchimp, Convertkit, and Aweber do.
Good news!
That’s what Actionetics MD is. ClickFunnels realized a little while ago that people wanted this help setting up their SMTPs, so they partnered with a super reliable one, called SendGrid, so that they can offer you everything you need: both the user-friendly platform for writing emails in ClickFunnels and the actual email delivery, just like the other email autoresponders do.
So, if you want to use Actionetics for your email marketing and ditch your old pricey email autoresponder, you can still either set up your own SMTP with the regular Actionetics, or you can get Actionetics MD which has it all built in.
Hope that clears things up!
Setting Up a 3rd Party Autoresponder in Clickfunnels
Remember that you’re not required to use Clickfunnel’s autoresponder. You can use 3rd-party autoresponders.
Here’s how you would connect your email service to the Clickfunnels platform.
If you’re an affiliate marketer and want to use the Clickfunnels Standard Plan, make sure to check out our list of best autoresponders for affiliate marketing.
Final Thoughts
ClickFunnel’s autoresponder, Follow Up Funnels, is pretty good and works well for marketers and businesses that want to handle all their marketing on one platform.
If that’s you, start your free 14-day trial today!
Related: Clickfunnels for Real Estate
