So yes now is when you get yourself sorted with an autoresponder.

Yes this costs money but it will be well worth the cost, keep reading and you'll see why!

So you can use Mailchimp which is free (up to a point) and start your building list if you want to.I used Mailchimp for 4 years and yes you can start your list but you just won't have all the features you will need to be a successful marketer, which is why I moved to aWeber recently and the change has been incredible!

There is also GetResponse... anyway you can search around and find something that works for you.

My suggestion is aWeber which has a 30 day free trial. If you are tight with money start with Mailchimp and as soon as you can move over to another service (and yes you can take your list with you, remember it is yours).