GetResponse Tutorial for Beginners 2026 - Step by Step

welcome to this get response tutorial for beginners my name is Matt and in this step-by-step guide I'll walk you through everything you need to know to get started with get response one of the most powerful email marketing and automation platforms available today we'll start by setting up your account and professional email then move into building your contact list from there we'll set up email marketing for newsletters and announcements landing pages to get new email contacts autoresponders to welcome new subscribers and signup forms to capture leads from your website by the end of this tutorial you'll know how to launch your first marketing campaign and use basic automation to grow your audience and keep customers engaged all without needing Advanced Tech skills before we get started you'll need a get response account if you'd like to try it out first there's a 30-day free trial linked below if you're ready for a paid plan we also have a link for an exclusive 10% lifetime discount but keep in mind this offer doesn't include a free trial click your preferred link and let's get started to get started add your name email and create a secure password you'll be prompted to activate your account go to your email account find and open the activation email from get response and click the confirm your email button get response will open up an onboarding form in your browser fill it out with your information then click Next Step once that's complete you'll land on the dashboard let's set up your first contact list at the top left of the dashboard click contacts this is your contact manager where you can create lists import contacts and manage segments custom fields and tags click create list give it a name for our demo let's go with Eco City threads subscribers then click create click add contacts there are four ways to add contacts to your list one by one this is best for manually adding a few contacts but it's not ideal for large lists from file this is what we recommend it's perfect if you have a spreadsheet or an exported contact list from another platform with this you can upload a file or paste manually if your file isn't compatible you can also import via integration if you use a tool that integrates with get response this is a great option you can check the list of Integrations with the get response Integrations Link in the description below the last import method is via signup form this is useful for collecting new contacts from your website or landing page but but we'll cover this later for this tutorial we'll import a file click from file select the contact list to import to in our case EOS City thread subscribers upload your file supported formats include CSV which is the most common but you can also use XLS xlsx txt VCF and ODS if you have a file but it isn't compatible you can convert it at Cloud convert or paste contacts manually choose what to do do with duplicate contacts the default option add an update existing is best for a new list if you're importing into a list that already has contacts select the appropriate option confirm you have permission to add these contacts then click next now let's make sure your contact details are properly assigned if any Fields don't match marked with a question mark icon click the drop down and select the correct field if you need a custom field click add custom field name it for example something like jobor title in our case and choose a data type for example text if any Fields aren't needed select don't match to exclude them when you're done click import you'll see a message that the import is processing large lists may take a few hours but most complete within minutes click okay got it and wait for the import to finish once done review your import statistics to check for any issues if some contacts were rejected inspect your file and try reimporting them if your list is rejected you'll get an email like this if this happens check out the troubleshooting rejected Imports guide link in the description below to fix your list let's connect the professional email address and link your custom domain a professional email not only looks more trustworthy and reinforces your brand but it also improves deliverability making it far less likely to end up in spam compared to free emails like Gmail or Yahoo if if you already have a professional email and domain great connecting it to get respon is free if you don't have one yet you can buy a domain directly through get response just keep in mind that this requires a paid Creator plan or you can also purchase a domain and set up a professional email through providers like GoDaddy Squarespace domains or name cheep I've linked these providers in the description below for this tutorial we'll assume you already have a domain and email set up to keep your emails out of spam and protect your sender reputation your email needs to be authenticated this includes dkim dmark and SPF which help prove your emails are legitimate and prevent scammers from Faking them get response uses a tool called entry to automatically handle these authentication steps for you so there's nothing extra you need to configure just connect your domain and you're all set we'll walk through this next to add and authenticate your email click on the profile icon at the top right and select emails and domains from the dropdown click add email give your email address a name enter your professional email address click additional settings if you want to adjust how the email is used the default option works fine for most users click add to continue next verify your email click got it then go to your inbox and open the confirmation email from get response click the verification Link in the email this will redirect you back to get response where your new email should now appear in the list with an orange warning label that says no dkim authentication hover over the three dots next to the warning label and select authenticate get response uses entry to automatically update your txt records and connect your domain click continue and follow the prompts entry will check if your domain provider supports automatic setup if your domain provider is compatible follow the prompts you may need to log into your domain provider account if your domain provider isn't compatible or you run into issues you'll need to authenticate manually click the go to our manual setup Link at the bottom of the wizard to complete the process once the txt records are updated either automatically or manually allow time for the changes to propagate this typically takes a few hours but can sometimes take up to 48 Hours once the authentication is complete a green dkim authenticated tag will appear next to your email domain under the dkim column confirming that everything is set up correctly to check the status of your DNS propagation visit dnsh cheer. org enter your domain and click txt in the dropdown then click search if 48 Hours pass and authentication still isn't working check out the troubleshooting guide in the description below or the card at the top right of this video if you have multiple email accounts and get response and want to set the new one as default hover over the three dots next to the email and select set as default now you're all set to send messages from your professional email through get response get response is packed with powerful AI features and one of the most impressive is AI campaigns this tool lets you create a landing page welcome email and newsletter all from just a few prompts it's the fastest way to launch a marketing campaign in get response acting like a smart assistant that generates personalized templates for your business you'll still need to tweak and refine the content but it gives you a solid starting point to build from to get started with AI campaigns click tool in the top nav bar and then under automate select AI campaigns click create campaign name your campaign in this demo we'll name it cat sweaters to promote our limited run eco-friendly cat sweaters as your campaigns grow stay organized as key so consider adding a time-based identifier like winter 2025 or spring sale 2026 especially if you Market the same products at different times select a contact list where New Leads will be saved we'll use Eco City thread subscribers click Next Step describe your product or service this field allows for up to 500 characters so the more details you provide the better the AI generated content will be here's an example enter your industry we'll use eco-friendly clothing describe your target audience in one line be specific for better AI customization enter your company name optionally select a communication tone from the dropdown we'll choose friendly then click next step now let's set the look and feel of your campaign you'll select a color palette and upload a logo if you already have brand colors click custom and enter your hex codes for background buttons and text if you don't know your hex codes but want to match your website's colors use imagecolor picker. you can upload a screenshot or enter your website you URL to find your brand colors if you're starting from scratch explore trending color palettes on coolers or generate one using their palette generator tool I've left the link to coolers in the description below if you're short on time simply choose a preset and get response next upload your logo use a transparent background logo for the best results if you don't have a logo yet you can generate one for free at logo.com click the description below or click the card in the top right for a link to their logo generator once you've customized your Brand's look click the button to continue and let the AI generate your marketing assets this may take a few minutes when it's done you'll see a blue review link next to each asset click each link to preview what the AI created in the next sections we'll show you alternative ways to create these assets if you like what the AI generated you can use it as a starting point or you can take a more Hands-On approach using the manual methods we'll demonstrate shortly next let's design sign and send a newsletter there are a couple of ways to get started option one is to use the AI campaign generator this automatically creates a newsletter along with a matching landing page and autoresponder email just like we did earlier the second option is manual newsletter creation if you want to create a newsletter on its own you can do it manually if you like the AI generated newsletter we just made we'll come back to it in a moment but if you didn't like the AI version or have used up the AI runs included in your plan I'll quickly show you how to create a newsletter the traditional way in the top navigation bar go to tools then under communicate click email marketing click the blue create newsletter button choose to create an email by myself or with the AI email generator since the AI method is similar to what we did earlier we'll skip that for now and focus on the manual approach if you select by myself you'll land on the newsletter settings page scroll down to the design and content section click design message to open the template Gallery browse available options scroll through the options or click on the all categories drop down to filter by category if you prefer to start from scratch select the blank templates tab if you've created previous messages you can find them under the existing messages tab you can also save designs to reuse later under my templates we'll cover this in a bit hover over any template and click preview for a desktop and mobile view when you find one you like click use template to load it into the message editor customizing your newsletter once your template is loaded in the message editor you can start customizing it with your content images and branding since the editor works the same whether you're using a pre-made template or an AI generated starting point we're going to switch back to our AI generated newsletter for this demo to return to the AI newsletter go back to the email marketing page click the drafts tab near the top you'll see both the AI generated newsletter and any messages you've started choose the one you want to work with this brings you back to the newsletter settings page we'll handle the sending details later for now scroll down and click edit message to start designing your newsletter now let's dive in and refine the AI generated email for our cat sweaters product announcement let's take a quick tour of the drag and drop message editor and get response on the left side of the the page you'll see your message preview on the right side there's a panel with all the tools you'll need to build your email under the layout tab you'll find different elements to structure and design your email sections are blank structural elements that help divide the email both vertically and horizontally basic blocks are the core content elements including text images buttons and videos when dragged into the email they automatically create a single column section for your new content block e-commerce and courses are Advanced blocks that let you embed products from your catalog or an online course directly into your email making it easy to sell products and services lastly my blocks is a place for saved reusable content blocks so you can quickly insert them into future emails at the top of the panel you'll also find the message style tab this allows you to modify settings that apply to the entire email not just individual sections here you can adjust email width and background color customize the header and footer appearance and edit styles using CSS for those who are comfortable with coding to edit your email simply drag and drop sections and blocks into place click on any block to modify its content or appearance settings will appear in the right side panel for text blocks an editing toolbar appears at the top of the page similar to a word processor here you can modify font Styles sizes and colors and type and format directly inside the block if you want to use AI to enhance your text click the magic wand icon that appears next to a text block select the type of change you'd like to make from the dropdown enter any additional details if prompted click tweak to let the AI generate a draft and if needed click rewrite for another version if you like the result click replace to swap out the text while keeping all of your formatting intact at any time you can use the undo redo and save buttons at the top of the editor standard undo keyboard shortcuts also work command Z on Mac and control Z on Windows to replace an image in your editor click on the image in the right side panel click replace under the image thumbnail upload an image from your computer or insert one via URL for example let's add a picture of a cat wearing one of our new cat sweaters to add a new image drag an image block into your email click add image in the right panel you can also browse stock photos and Gifts within get response for example let's search for a gift of a cat wearing a sweater and add it to our email if elements feel too cramped use spacers or dividers to create visual separation you can adjust their size and appearance in the right side panel to remove an element click on it and press delete on your keyboard or use the trash can icon let's make our email more personalized by adding the recipient's first name to the greeting click inside a text block where you want to insert personalization click the personalization button in the top toolbar it looks like a person with a pencil select first name from the options get response will insert a placeholder that dynamically adds the recipient's name to the final email by default if a recipient's first name is missing from the contact details get response will leave it blank to avoid awkward gaps write your text so it makes sense with or without the personalization for more control you can define a fallback value to replace missing data this is a more advanced feature if you're interested check out get responses help article by clicking the card in the top right corner to Define an action for a button click on the button in the right panel choose the link type from the dropdown and then enter the destination URL for example let's link to our cat sweaters product page there are several link types you can explore so feel free to experiment if you've designed a block you'd like to use again hover over the block and click the save icon give it a name for easy reference it will now appear in the my block section for future use once your email is ready click test and preview at the top right and select preview you'll see how the email looks on desktop and mobile enable personalization check to verify how Dynamic content will appear click exit preview when you're finished to send a test email open test and preview again select send test message and enter your email address you can also run a Spam check to identify potential issues that might affect deliverability after perfecting your emails design save it as a template to streamline future emails just hover over save and exit in the top right click save as my template and give it a memorable name when you've finished crafting the perfect message and design it's time to review the message settings click next to return to the message settings page enter an internal name for your email if you haven't already select a linked list this is the contact list the newsletter is assigned to for organization and tracking choose the from and reply to email addresses the reply to field determines where responses to your email will be sent and can be different from the sender's address add a subject line you can write your own or use the AI subject line generator for help you can add personalization to the subject line for the recipient just like we did in the message click the personalization icon and select a field using the recipient's first name is a great way to stand out in a crowded inbox add preview text to give recipients a sneak peek at the email content here's a tip for subject and preview text instead of summarizing the email contents use the subject and preview text to create Intrigue and encourage recipients to open it next add recipients the people you're sending the email to decide whether to send immediately or schedule the email to send later whenever everything is set click Send message if sending immediately or click schedule if scheduling for later on the confirmation page you can cancel the email if needed send another email view email performance statistics and manage news News letters if you need to cancel your email just make sure you do it before the countdown gets to zero great work you just created and sent your first marketing email and get response next let's set up a landing page a landing page is a simple Standalone web page designed for a specific purpose like capturing leads promoting a product or getting signups unlike a full website it removes distractions and guides visitors towards one clear action by the end of this section you'll know how to build a landing page that looks great connects to your email list and helps you grow your audience all without needing any design or coding skills let's get started let's walk through setting up a landing page and get response click tools in the top navigation bar under build visibility select landing pages here you'll see the AI generated landing page we created earlier you can use that as a starting point or follow these steps to create a new one from scratch click create create landing page just like with newsletters you can use a readymade template or let AI generate one for you since we've already tested AI let's explore the templates click use a readymade template use category filters to find one that fits your business and offer hover over a template and click preview to see it in detail find one you like then click use template now let's take a quick tour of the landing page editor on the left you'll see your page preview and on the right is the editing panel with all your customization tools unlike the newsletter editor this panel expands and collapses depending on what you're working on here's what each section in the right panel does manage Pages here quickly switch between different pages of your landing page setup Global design here you can set sitewide Styles like colors fonts and buttons elements here you can drag and drop content like text buttons images videos and more Store settings manage your store and products within get response here's a pro tip click the pin icon to keep the panel fixed or move it around as needed before adding content let's set up the global design so everything aligns with your brand click Global design that's the second bubble from the top on the right panel adjust your color palette to match your brand the leftmost color is background second from the left is text middle is buttons second from the right is your accent one color and the rightmost is your accent two color click each color to adjust using a slider or a hex code you can also explore preset pallets need help picking colors check out coolers.com to find hex codes from an image update the typography to match your Brand's fonts here we're using monserat for the headers and robotto for the body or pair paragraph text set your button Styles shape and size click advanced settings for more customization like hover effects before we dive into updating content here's a quick primer on the anatomy of a landing page a high converting landing page includes four key elements one headline grab attention and clearly State the benefit two supporting visuals this is imag or videos that reinforce your message three call to action or CTA make it clear and action oriented four social proof and or benefits this should be testimonials and or key selling points of your product or service here's a pro tip keep it simple one goal one action too many distractions equals fewer conversions now let's customize your landing page update the headline to something bold and compelling write a subheading that supports your offer for our example limited edition cat sweaters is made from sustainable materials only 100 available once they're gone they're gone update the CTA call to action to tell visitors exactly what to do for example enter your email to get 20% off since our goal is to collect emails let's swap the CTA button for a signup form delete the existing CTA button click add elements then drag in a form a popup will appear with different form Styles select one that fits your design we'll use a signup form use the right panel to customize add or remove Fields set your success view to redirect visitors after the form submission then adjust style fonts and colors the simpler you keep your form the higher your conversions after updating your CTA use the same action throughout the page to keep it clear and consistent the wording can vary but the goal should stay the same copy your CTA by hovering over it and clicking the copy icon delete old elements that you're replacing drag the form to the right spot using the arrow icon on the right side of the element adjust styles to ensure good contrast and readability and for forms make sure that the text above the form clearly tells the visitor what to do now let's swap out the placeholder images for highquality product images click the background section or the photo to access image settings in the right panel hover over the existing image and click replace upload your new image or select from the library if the text is hard to read with your image use opacity blur or overlays to enhance the visibility use spacers to organize and separate content visually and adjust spacing by dragging the double arrows that appear when hovering over an element always check how your landing page looks on mobile Click mobile preview in the top right adjust the layout as needed hide elements like spacers if they look good on desktop but disrupt the mobile view to hide an element on mobile click on an element and then toggle on hide on mobile in the right panel customers trust other customers add a testimonials or benefit section drag a pre-built section from add elements or update an existing section customize Tech with real customer feedback or product benefits if you don't have testimonials yet highlight what makes your product unique save elements for future use by ing over a section or block and clicking the save icon give it a memorable name and it will appear under my blocks in the ad elements section you can save entire sections or individual elements update or remove social media links if you keep them click the social media block to add your links however since landing pages should focus on one action consider removing them to keep visitors on track replace placeholder logos with your own add your brand name as alt text in the right panel for accessibility and to display if the logo doesn't load the thank you page is what visitors see after submitting the signup form this is your chance to confirm their action explain what happens next and guide them to the next step click manage Pages then thank you page since our goal is to collect emails and send a 20% off coupon the next logical step is to direct visitors to our e Commerce shop Let's remove anything unnecessary delete any elements that don't support this goal next let's add a section to direct visitors to the shop click add elements then drag in a section a popup will appear choose a pre-built section that fits your brand or click add blank section to build from scratch now customize the page update the header to thank the visitor and confirm their sign up adjust text fields to explain what happens next and what they should do set the CTA button to take visitors to your shop click the button then update the destination URL in the right panel then update the button text choose whether to open the shop in the same tab or a new one since our goal is to move visitors to the store and we've already confirmed their action keeping it in the same tab works best here replace any placeholder images and adjust the appearance so that so that everything looks balanced and easy to read with your landing page and thank you page ready it's time to launch click the blue continue button in the top right click edit name and give your page a clear descriptive title this name is for internal organization only select the contact list where new signups will be added some countries require a double opin before sending marketing emails check your country's rules and toggle on send an OP confirmation email if needed since we're sending a 20% off coupon upon signup toggle on add contacts to an autoresponder cycle and set it to Day Zero for an immediate send a favicon is the small icon that appears in browser tabs usually your logo upload a square version of your logo if you don't have a favicon use toggle on the cookie consent Banner to ensure Regulatory Compliance in all regions enable landing page statistics to track basic visitor data analytics and remarketing tracking for example Google analytics are optional but recommended you can learn more about Google analytics with the link in the description below click update information to add your business details then when everything looks good click continue get response provides a free default domain allowing you to launch your landing page instantly however a custom domain enhances your branding and makes your page look more professional if you want to go live quickly you can start with a get response branded domain and connect a custom domain later simply create a subdomain name and click publish I'll show you how to update it later if you need a custom domain you can buy it through get response on the Creator plan or hire or from a registar like GoDaddy Squarespace domains or name cheep links are in the description assuming that you have a custom domain let's set it up now at the bottom right under connect the domain click connect give your landing page a public name then click add a new domain you can either use a dedicated domain for example your product.com or set up a subdomain which is a section of your main domain that acts as a separate website like promo .y yourwebsite.com instead of why would you use a subdomain well it keeps your branding consistent and doesn't require buying a new domain each provider setup is slightly different so today I'll show you how to do this in GoDaddy enter your subdomain or domain then click add get response will provide DNS instructions follow these steps to update your records copy the cname record provided by get response log into your domain provider and open your DNS settings add a new cname record in the name field enter your subdomain for example just cat sweater without the full domain in the value field paste the text provided by get response then click save return to get response and click got it to close the popup a message will appear asking which domain would you like to use so select your new subdomain from the dropdown then click publish you'll be routed back to the landing pages dashboard your landing page may show as pending while the DNS Updates this can take up to 24 hours but it's usually much faster next test your page type your new landing page URL into your browser or click the link under your landing page name to see it live here's how our finished landing page looks I think it turned out great if if you ever need to make updates to your domains or subdomains click the profile icon in the top right and select emails and domains open the website and landing page domains tab to manage your connected domains next let's set up an autoresponder a tool that automatically sends prescheduled emails like a welcome message after sign up keeping your audience engaged without manual effort this is important because it saves Time by automating emails keeps subscribers in engaged with consistent messaging and scales easily no matter your audience size since your landing page is set up we'll create an autoresponder to welcome new subscribers and send them a coupon helping to increase conversions unlike marketing automation which reacts to user Behavior autoresponders follow a fixed schedule making them an easy first step in email marketing let's dive in let's start by opening the autoresponders dashboard click tools in the top nav bar under Auto click autoresponders here you'll see the AI generated autoresponder from our campaign you can use this draft or create a new one by clicking create autoresponder in the top right choosing to create it by yourself with a template or with AI assistant for this demo we'll use the AI generated version we already created just open it from the list this opens the autoresponder settings page click edit name and give it a relevant name for list select the same list used for your landing page by default it sends on Day Zero at the same time as sign up keep this setting ensure your from and reply to emails are set to a professional email address create or update the subject line and preview text manually or with AI to thank the subscriber and clearly mention their coupon inside the email personalize it by adding the subscriber's first name for a friendly touch then click edit message to customize the email content the autoresponder editor works just like the newsletter editor so I'll cover just the key steps update the header to welcome the subscriber adjust the body text to let them know their coupon is below under e-commerce drag a promo code block into your email below the text in the right panel click create promo code a new tab will open give the promo code a clear name for internal use if you use Shopify click integrate with your e-commerce platform to sync codes if using another platform create a discount code in your store first enter your promo code then click create promo code you'll be routed to the promo codes tab in e-commerce tools close this tab and return to your autoresponder if the promo code drop down doesn't appear immediately click on another element in the email then click back on the promo code block to refresh then select your new code from the dropdown your new code will populate in the email adjust the layout replace placeholders and update elements like logos and links ensure all buttons link to relevant URLs for example your online store test and preview the message when satisfied click next in the top right send a test email to yourself and check the final look then then click save and publish that's it your autoresponder is now live and will automatically send emails to new subscribers from your landing page let's add a signup form to your website to capture new subscribers a signup form and get response is a tool for collecting email subscribers directly from your website helping you grow your Audience by adding a well-timed popup or embedded form you convert website visitors into subscribers automatically sending them a welcome email and discount through your Auto responder to start click tools in the top nav bar under build visibility select forms and popups click create choose a popup or embedded form we'll use a popup for this demo pick a template or start from scratch under blank templates the form editor is similar to The Landing Page editor but simpler the right panel has two sections edit settings and add elements click edit settings then change the background color to match your brand adjust the size 50% and fluid is a good starting point update the header with a clear call to action like sign up for 20% off update the paragraph text to reinforce the offer style the header and paragraph fonts to match your brand click the signup form element then adjust the Fe fields to collect the info you need under success view choose show thank you page to confirm signups under subscription settings select the email list for new subscribers toggle send opt-in confirmation email if required in your country if using an autoresponder toggle on add to an autoresponder cycle to send automated emails like the coupon autoresponder we created earlier turn on recapture to prevent spam under design update the form to match your brand style and colors when the content and design look good click the thank you message Tab update the header and paragraph keeping it simple then toggle preview at the top right to check both desktop and mobile views make any final adjustments you need after checking your preview next check the preview again as needed to confirm your changes look good then click next in the top right for embedded forms you'll get HTML code to add to your site for popups you'll need to set display rules we'll use webconnect next to link the popup to your website click choose audience select who should see the popup then click save skip e-commerce targeting for now click choose triggers to decide when the popup appears since our goal is getting signups for a 20% coupon on we'll Target engaged visitors after n seconds set to 60 seconds for visitors who stay on the site for after scrolling set to 75% for visitors reading more than halfway down the page then click save now let's adjust timing rules click set timing under stop displaying it to visitors who select signed up or clicked a button then click save with display rules set click next on the next page click edit name and give your popup a relevant name this name is only for internal organization so your website visitors won't see it next let's set up web connect to get your pop-up form working on your website webconnect is a small code snippet that links your site to get response enabling visitor tracking Automation and pop-ups so you can engage visitors and grow your email list effortlessly now let's set it up enter the URL for the website where you want to display the popup click get web connect copy the code provided in the web connect setup Page open your website's HTML editor or backend in this demo I'm using Squarespace in Squarespace you'll find this under website Pages website tools and code injection paste the web connect code inside the head section of every page you want to track save and publish your changes if you use WordPress Shopify or another major platform check if get response has a Plugin or integration for your platform and install the get response plugin and follow the setup instructions some platforms automatically insert the web connect code for you go back to get response close the web connect code instructions then click save and publish visit your website and confirm that the popup is appearing and behaving as expected webconnect is now live and you can start using popups Automation and tracking features tracking your email and landing page performance is key to improving your marketing results in get response you can access analytics for newsletters autoresponders and landing pages to see what's working and What needs tweaking for newsletters and autoresponders click reports in the top menu the default view is the email marketing tab where you can view performance of your newsletters scroll down and click on a specific email to see who opened clicked or ignored it you can do the same thing with autoresponders click on autoresponders the second option down in the left side navb bar you can view all the same metrics here clicking on specific emails to see their performance for landing page analytics go to tools then landing pages and click on your page view unique visits on the performance perance and traffic Tab and view signups and conversion rates under the forms and popups tab to track key performance metrics like your click-through rate or CTR by checking these reports regularly you'll optimize your emails and landing pages improve conversions and grow your audience effectively and that's it now you can send marketing emails build landing pages automate signups and track results and get response if you found this video helpful give it a like subscribe for more tutorials and drop any questions in the comments thanks for watching and happy marketing