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What is an autoresponder?
And how do I use one?
Author: Alyice Edrich
An autoresponder is a set of emails sent to your client/customer, via automation. By setting up a series of emails, you can put parts of your business on auto-pilot.
Autoresponders are great sales tools―if done right!
Autoresponders can help sell your product or service with informative information, while keeping your business in front of your customers/clients for several days—even weeks. Your autoresponder should not be a self-promoting sales pitch, but an informational product.
Research proves that it takes a minimum of five views before someone will purchase a product or service. Don't lose out on a potential sale because someone found your website by mistake and forgot how to find you. Get an autoresponder going today!
Autoresponder Ideas
An autoresponder doesn't need to be fancy or expensive; it just needs to build trust. The idea is to write a series of emails and then send them out every three to five days—even once a month. You can use an auto-responder for:
- Reports: Five to seven articles on same theme. (Not found on your site or elsewhere.)
- Articles: Others can request and use your articles on their websites and e-zines free of charge. (Build a master list to each responder article or have them sign up to receive a new article every month.)
- Resource: Have an article on your site? Know resources to compliment that article? Instead of linking to all those places on your site, set up an auto-responder series giving your visitor five new urls/resources every week!
- Gifts: Join Our Club. Order $XX amount in merchandise or services, or Order XX number of a certain product, and receive a FREE email course on...
- Mini-course: Create smaller, more niched, courses based on one of your seminars, books, or workshops.
- E-course: Create courses that allow you to interact with potential customers.
- Workshops or Classes: Create a workshop that can run on autopilot then email it to paid subscribers.
- Affiliate Programs: Pick a product, use it, and then put together a series of emails that inform your reader about that one particular product with the purpose of enticing him/her to buy, now. Also write up some simple classified ads, with a "Get More Information Now...send blank email to" message.
- Downline Training Letters: Don't spend a ton of time training your new downline, especially if you don't know if they'll stick around—train them each automatically.
Preparing Your Autoresponder Series
Will you be writing a sales/promotional package or an information-based e-course using autoresponders?
For sales and promotional autoresponder series, you will need to know:
- Any thoughts, notes, statistics, facts, etc. you can share that I can work with to prepare your stuff.
- Benefits of product or service.
- Why is product or service necessary?
- How can product or service actually be used?
- Any proven customer case studies?
- Testimonies (with permission)
- Most frequent asked questions and answers.
- Any guarantees, warranties, etc?
- Deadline? Sense of urgency to order now?
- Any marketing materials, brochures, articles, etc. about your business.
- Company information for bottom of each message. (Name, Email, URL, Toll Free Number)
For information-based e-courses using autoresponders, you will need to know:
- What is the focus of this course? i.e. main theme, reason for course. etc.
- Will you be using past articles that you want reworked to flow into a lesson or will you be starting from scratch?
- Do you want the course to gear the reader towards purchasing a particular product or service?
- Any information, research materials, etc. available to help put this package together?
So where do you get the emails for these autoresponders?
Depends on what you'll use the autoresponder for. You can use your current client/customer base (remember not to spam) or you can pay for a mail list. People can click on a link on your site, in your newsletter, from advertisements, or you can sign them up directly (with permission, of course).
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