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Draw My Life
A white board drawing of my personal journey»You need an email list – just don’t use Aweber
written by admin on May 10th, 2011
One of the best ways I keep my readers/viewers updated is through my email list. There are many companies who offer the service, but I chose one called Aweber because they have a lot of great options available with their service and give a commission if other people also sign up for the service through you. Unfortunately, I’ve referred three people to them (possibly more), and each time I’ve had problems getting my commission. Every time I called about it I was told by their customer service department that it was because those people used my affiliate link without the www in front of it. Somehow that supposedly affected the cookies so that they couldn’t track where the sign-ups were coming from. In all three cases I was told that I just had to get the username and invoice number for the person I referred, and I’d be credited. I did get the credit for two of the people, but not for one. That third person signed up for a full year and I contacted Aweber a month later, when I noticed that my commission hadn’t been recorded.
Turns out, somehow in this case, I’m not able to be credited retroactively. They say that a month is too much time, and there’s no way they can credit my account or issue me a commission. Excuse me? How on earth is that possibly acceptable? The person who signed up says he did it through my link. I gave all the info they requested. Any reputable business can issue a refund, a credit, or a comission – but not this one. Not to mention that in all 3 instances I had to follow up to find out why my commission didn’t go through in the first place – how many other people signed up with my affiliate link that I don’t know about?
The final person that I spoke to was the customer service manager, who told me that in fact it didn’t matter if the www was there or not. He said that with or without the www it records the cookies the same. I couldn’t believe it – I told him how at least three other people in customer service told me that was the reason why my commissions didn’t go through in the first place, and he told me that they were wrong, but regardless, they would not give me a credit of any kind for the payment that had been made in this case.
I’m really flabbergasted at the treatment I got from Aweber. Considering I’m paying $29 a month to them, and the commission we’re talking about here is only $58, you’d think they might want to make their recurring customer (and active affiliate) happy. But nope – they refuse to budge even though both I and the person who signed up through my link have told them that’s the case, and even though I’ve never had a commission given to me for an account that I didn’t have to follow up on myself because it didn’t get recorded on their end, and even though I was able to be credited for the other two.
So I highly recommend you use an alternative to Aweber because any company that is shady enough to be like this, isn’t one that you should be investing your own money in, or referring others too. The main problem is that once you’ve set up your email list, you’re kind of stuck with them – and they know that. I can go to another service, but I’ve heard from others who’ve tried switching that most of their list doesn’t actually bother to switch over with them (I can’t move over people to a new email list myself – they have to re-sign up themselves and click on the confirmation link). So if you’re just starting out with building an email list, choose wisely – because once you’ve got one, you’ll have to put up with their rules and customer service whether you like it or not.
Facebook Comments:
Hey Josh,
I know I’m one of those guys in your story! Did you end up getting paid from my signup? It shouldn’t make a difference with the www’s or without them really but I hope they get this sorted out for you just to make you happy. I know I would.
Hey Vince, it’s actually the commission from your sign up that I’m referring to! lol
As you know, I had contacted them with your info after I noticed the commission wasn’t there, and they said it would be credited. Someone else that I referred around the same time also hadn’t been recorded so I had called in about him as well – turns out he signed up for a year too (which I didn’t realize) so the payment I thought was from your signup, was actually his. After many back and forths with them we finally realized it was your commission that was missing, which leads us to the point where they said I can’t have the commission because I originally contacted them about the issue a month after the fact, which is too late (even though I of course just assumed it went through and would just show up on my next month’s records), and when they told me it was fixed when I originally called in about it and that my account would be credited, they say now that they meant that the next time you pays your dues I’ll get commission, but not for this past one. I suggested they even just credit my account if they don’t want to add it to my regular commission payout, but they said no, there was no way for them to do anything for me. Ridiculous.
Oh damn,
That sux Josh. That was like a yr ago now, they should of been onto that back then. I don’t know what to say. You had my receipt number too which you would think would have been easier for them to process. Regardless of how long it was after this they still should be paying you for it. Ahh well, when I renew, you should get a double commission
Ya, I wish they’d double it, but nope – their excuse is if I don’t catch it within a few days, the commission is lost forever. So convenient for them and lousy for the affiliate. It’s a shame because their service works great, but their attitude toward affiliates and keeping their customers happy leave a lot to be desired.
I was starting some research prior to selecting an email service. This information in your story is very timely…I can cross Aweber off the list.
I can’t believe their support thought it was because of the ‘www’ in the url. Glad to hear someone on their staff is smart enough to know how their affiliate program works. Unfortunately, you definitely got hosed.
After reading this, I would never consider promoting their service as an affiliate. Thanks for the warning.
Ya, it’s such a shame – because it’s a service I’d like to be able to promote, and one of the few things I use myself that has an affiliate program. Such a shame when companies lose sight of the bigger picture. Thanks for your comment Laney.
That sucks. I use Aweber but did not think they would be that unethical. I’m going to check out their rules with their customer service department, and if I don’t hear what I want to hear, I may quit them.
Thanks for bringing this to light.
Ya, I was really surprised to. Such a shame because they have the potential to be a great company.
You have shared very nice information here. I was searching what the aweber is? One of my friend suggest me to use aweber if you wish to increase traffic but i could not understand his means. After reading this post i have come to know that we can increase our website traffic through easy way.
Thanks a lot for the heads-up, Josh. A lot of people – and I mean a LOT – have recommended that I use aweber. Those who have suggested against it haven’t been able to give me a good reason as to why I should seek an alternative. The post above does exactly that in a more-than-articulate fashion. I still may end up going with aweber but at least now when I make my decision I know it’ll be an informed one!
Anita. x
I didn’t know that this company is that awful. Thanks for telling the public lol. Cheers