Today I’m doing a review of the new Chat Response software.

(NOTE: After our interview Sam informed me that the group integration is not fully tested and as such will be omitted from the release. So to be clear you need to link your initial chat / app up with a fan page, not a fan page or a group, also a correction, the UNLIMITED plan to Chat Response is for unlimited messages, it has a 5000 subscriber limit)

Probably the best way to explain Chat Response is to compare it to an autoresponder because in essence that’s what it is. Only Chat Response uses Facebook messages instead of emails. However at its core it has the same functionality as a regular email based autoresponder. People can optin to receive your messages. You can send mass messages. You can schedule messages. You can create message sequences. Finally of course if people do not want to get your messages they can opt out. It works, as I said, excatlly in the same way as an autoreponder works. Only it does not send emails, it uses Facebook chat to deliver your messages.

Now you might be wondering why would anyone want to send their marketing messages via a chat instead of though email? Well there are a couple of advantages:

First of all getting people to signup is a lot more simple. Why? Because they do not actually have to provide you with personal information. With a normal email autoresponder marketers will build a squeeze page and ask people to opt in with their email address in exchange for a free gift. In essence they are asking people to provide personal information, their email address. With Chat Response people do not have to do this. All they need to do is send your fan page a message and they will be subscribed automatically  to get your future chat broadcasts. How will you get people to send you a message? Simply make a post telling people that they can get a freebie if they send the page a message that says “I want it” (or anything else, it does not matter what they say). Then have an autoreponder message set up with Chat Response that instantly replies with a thank you, and a link to download the free gift you offered them (tip, you can use the software I have in the freebie section of this blog as your give away). This way they optin in to get your chat broadcasts, it’s less obtrusive for them since they did not have to give you their email, and you can instantly deliver the freebie you offered them without lifting a finger.

The second advantage of a system like Chat Response for sending broadcasts is that people will get a Facebook notification that they have a new chat message and people always check these notifications. This means your message is more likely to be read and any links in the message are more likely to be clicked than traditional email that often gets lost in the clutter. Also since millions of people have the Facebook messenger app they can instantly get your message even if they are not at their computers. In short the deliveribility of messages sent with Chat Response is likely to be higher, and when you couple that with the fact that its easier and less intrusive for people to opt in to get your messages, it’s not hard to see how this can be a great way to build a list and do marketing outside of the traditional email platform.

Now there is one slight downside to Chat Response and that is the fact that you need to set up your own Facebook app to use it. This would not be a really bad thing but the app needs to set up in a specific way that is a bit different than setting up a new app. You have to edit several settings and copy and paste a few codes between the app and the Chat Response system. While setting up your app is not something I believe any of my readers are incapable of doing, it can be a little confusing if you do not follow the tutorials the include carefully and to the letter. For this reason I suggest people first watch the tutorials on setting up your app. Then when they are actually setting it up, keep the tutorials in a separate browser so you can refer to them as you go. As I said, this is not something that a reasonable intelligent person can’t do, you don’t need to be a tech genius or anything, but you do need to do it correctly / to the letter or else the system will not work.

One thing I normally do not do is talk about the OTO’s in my reviews. However Sam mentioned them when I was interviewing him, and I also questioned him about them more in depth after the interview so for this review I decided to cover the OTO’s as much as I know about them.

The front end version of Chat Response has 3 pricing options. The lower priced first two have limits on the number of subscribers you can have in the system. The third option, initially priced at $27, has no limits to your subscribers or the number of lists you can have. This is going to be the option that makes the most sense to pick up. Unlimited, one time fee, for a single $27 price is just the obvouse choice.

The first OTO is for a messaging system that allows you to respond to individual chats and segment incoming chats. It also comes with a ‘developers’ license that allows you to use the system for other people. Honestly I’m not so sure I would pick this up personally. The messaging system did not sound to interesting to me when I was questioning Sam about it (not that I’m saying its bad, just that it did not excite me), and the developers rights are not going to be something you will need if you get the OTO 2 which I will be strongly suggesting you consider.

The second OTO is for a white label version of Chat Response. They will allow you to link up your own domain to their system. Rebrand their system with your logo and name, and sell it to people as your own product. This will allow you to build your buyers email list and make money at the same time by selling it. I always tell people that having your own product to sell is super important and this is a very easy way to get your own done for you product to sell, branded to your own name / company for a fraction of the price it would cost to hire a developer. The white label version will be priced at $97, which is quite low to own a software like this. Also the fact that I feel the white label is worth investing is is the reason that I say if your going to follow my advise and get it you wont need the developer rights in the first OTO. Why would you need developer rights to their platform if your going to have white label rights to sell it as your own product? (FYI: I confirmed with the vendors that if you pass on the developer rights you will still be given the opportunity to buy the white label).

Finally there is a 3rd OTO which is a bundle deal on two totally different software products. For this one I am unfortunately lacking in information and I will have to let you decide on your own if its a worth while investment. Quite simply I did not have time to test the two different software products in this bundle deal so I really do not have an opinion on them one way or another. Sorry about that.

So what do I think about Chat Response over all? Well I really like the concept. I like the fact that you can in essence build a list, without asking people to enter their email address. I like that fact that its a fresh way to communicate with people and one that will likely get great engagement. Finally I like that it is in essence a full featured autoresponder with scheduled broadcasts and the ability to make premade sequences. Because of this things I think Chat Response is something that is worth considering:’

CLOSED

 A quick note about the reviews I do on this site. The product vendors give me access to their products for free in order for me to do my review. However I make no promises to them regarding the results of my tests or what I will write in my review. Should you click a link that takes you to a sales page for a paid product for sale this link will be an affiliate link and I will be paid a percentage of the sales price should you decide to invest in it.

About the Author

Brett Rutecky

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Brett Rutecky is a full time online marketer, web developer, and entrepreneur. He has developed scores of Facebook apps, dozens of custom web sites and hundreds of scripts.

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