Knowing how to set up AWeber correctly from the start saves hours of frustration — because we learned the hard way when launching MarketersChoice.com. We hit two walls that stopped our emails firing for an entire weekend. Both were completely avoidable. This AWeber quick start guide walks you through every step from sign up to first email in under an hour — including the two gotchas that catch almost everyone and how to avoid them entirely.
How to Set Up AWeber — Understanding the Compliance Process
Every new AWeber account goes through a compliance review before any emails will trigger and send. This is standard practice for reputable email marketing platforms — it protects deliverability for all users on the network.
Here is what to expect: after creating your account subscribers will be added to your list correctly but emails will not fire until your account clears compliance. The compliance team typically reviews new accounts during business hours Monday through Friday. If you sign up over the weekend your review will process first thing Monday morning.
The one thing AWeber could improve here: there is no dashboard indicator showing whether your account has cleared compliance or is still pending. A simple status flag would save new users hours of uncertainty. Their support team is excellent — if you are unsure about your status contact them via live chat and they will confirm immediately.
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How to Set Up AWeber — Step by Step
Step 1 — Create Your Account
Go to AWeber.com and sign up for a free account. The free plan covers up to 500 subscribers and includes access to all the core features you need to get started — forms, email campaigns, automations, and basic analytics. No credit card required.
Fill in your business details accurately during signup — AWeber’s compliance team reviews this information. Incomplete or unclear business information can delay your compliance clearance.
Step 2 — Wait for Compliance Clearance
Once your account is created log into your AWeber dashboard and look for any notifications about account status. If you signed up during business hours your compliance clearance typically comes through within a few hours. If you signed up over the weekend expect clearance first thing Monday morning.
How to tell when you are cleared — your welcome email automation will fire correctly when a test subscriber is added. Until then subscribers will be added to your list but no emails will send. This is completely normal and expected — not a technical fault. Contact AWeber live chat if you want to confirm your status at any time.
Step 3 — Set Up Your First List
In your AWeber dashboard go to Lists → Create a List. Fill in your list name, from name, and from email address. Use your domain email address (hello@yourdomain.com) rather than a free email provider — this is important for deliverability and professionalism.
Step 4 — Set Up DKIM Authentication
Do not skip this step. DKIM authentication tells email providers like Gmail and Outlook that your emails are legitimately sent from your domain. Without it your emails are far more likely to land in spam regardless of how good your content is.
In AWeber go to Account → Deliverability → Email Authentication. AWeber will give you three CNAME records to add to your domain’s DNS settings. Copy these exactly and add them in your hosting provider’s DNS management panel. AWeber’s help documentation walks you through it clearly with screenshots for every major hosting provider. We completed this for MarketersChoice.com in under 15 minutes. Allow up to 24 hours for DNS propagation — though it typically completes much faster.
Step 5 — Build Your Sign Up Form
Go to Sign Up Forms → Create a Sign Up Form. AWeber’s form builder is one of its genuine strengths — clean interface, fully customizable, and the output matches your brand properly without needing a developer.
Key decisions when building your form: keep fields minimal — first name and email converts better than longer forms. Send subscribers to a dedicated thank you page rather than a generic confirmation. Use the raw HTML embed code not the JavaScript version for best compatibility with most WordPress themes.
Step 6 — The Custom HTML Email Gotcha
This is the second wall we hit when learning how to set up AWeber — and it will catch you too if you are building custom HTML emails rather than using AWeber’s templates.
If you are sending a custom HTML email you must include AWeber’s official unsubscribe tag in your email code. AWeber will not send any email that does not contain this tag — and the error message is not obvious. You will see the email queued and nothing will happen.
The AWeber unsubscribe tag to include in your custom HTML email footer:
{!remove_web}
Place this as a text link saying “Unsubscribe” in your email footer. If you are using AWeber’s built-in email templates this is handled automatically — the gotcha only applies to custom HTML emails.
Step 7 — Create Your Welcome Automation
Go to Automations → Create a Campaign. Build a simple welcome sequence — Email 1 immediately on signup delivering your lead magnet, Email 2 on Day 3 with your most valuable content, Email 3 on Day 7 with your story and what subscribers can expect. Keep it simple to start — three solid emails beats a ten-email sequence that never launches.
Step 8 — Send Your First Email
Subscribe to your own list using a personal email address. Confirm the welcome email arrives in your inbox — not spam. Check the unsubscribe link works. Check DKIM shows as authenticated in the email headers. If everything checks out — you are live and your AWeber setup is complete.
How to Set Up AWeber — Quick Reference Checklist
| Step | Task | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Create account — fill in business details accurately | 5 mins |
| 2 | Wait for compliance clearance — contact support if unsure | A few hours |
| 3 | Create list with domain email address | 5 mins |
| 4 | Set up DKIM — add 3 CNAME records to DNS | 15 mins |
| 5 | Build sign up form — embed on your site | 15 mins |
| 6 | Add {!remove_web} tag to custom HTML emails | 2 mins |
| 7 | Create welcome automation — 3 emails minimum | 20 mins |
| 8 | Test by subscribing with personal email | 5 mins |
Total: Under 60 minutes — from sign up to your first email sent.
AWeber Support — Genuinely Excellent
We contacted AWeber support twice while learning how to set up AWeber for MarketersChoice.com — once for the compliance delay question and once for the custom HTML unsubscribe issue. Both times the response was fast, knowledgeable, and solved the problem in a single conversation. For a platform in a competitive category this level of support is a genuine differentiator. Contact them via live chat before spending hours troubleshooting — they will get you unstuck in minutes.
Ready to Go Deeper on AWeber?
This guide on how to set up AWeber gets you live and sending. For a complete assessment of AWeber’s features, pricing at every list size, and how it compares to the alternatives:
- AWeber Review 2026 — complete breakdown of features, pros, cons and verdict
- AWeber Pricing 2026 — every plan explained at 1k, 5k and 10k subscribers
- AWeber vs Mailchimp — which is the right choice for your business?
- Best Email Marketing Tools 2026 — full category roundup
Our AWeber Setup Verdict
Learning how to set up AWeber is straightforward once you understand the compliance process and the custom HTML unsubscribe requirement. Everything else — the form builder, DKIM setup, automation builder — is genuinely well designed and faster to configure than most competitors. MarketersChoice.com runs on AWeber and we would make the same choice again.
Follow this guide in order, understand that compliance clearance is part of the process not a fault, and you will be sending your first email in under an hour.
Ready to get started? Sign up free — no credit card required: