The art of using autoresponders in your online business

Autoresponders are a tool built into most message management systems. Whether you’re using Mail Chimp, AWeber, Constant Contact, IContact, or just about any other quality messaging service, an autoresponder will be built right into the product suite.

What they allow you to do is send a series of messages to your email subscriber customer at intervals without having to manually do any work beyond the original setup of your email campaign series.

For example, when they first sign up with you, it’s customary to send them a welcome message that tells them a bit more about you or your organization and possibly provides them with a freebie that they’ll hopefully value. Gifts can be created in many ways and it is completely up to you what you decide to give them and by the way it often happens that the person is willing to sign you because you have advertised the gift beforehand, they have seen it and they want it, so think carefully about what you offer as it may be what gets them to sign up in the first place. Some guiding principles for your gift:

• To keep your costs low or zero, make it something that can be transferred electronically to the person who signs up.

• Most of the time, the gift should be educational or inspiring to them in some way, so they will remember it over time and treasure that you were willing to part with it.

• It must be perceived as a gift of great value to them; they will treasure it more and you don’t want them to feel insulted by it. I recommend that you think about it and give them something that you would value if you were in their place. .

• It should be something that stands out, that is unique, you don’t want to give them something that they can get anywhere on the internet. Make them feel special.

• The gift should have relevance to your business. After all, it is their type of business that they have expressed an interest in when they signed up in the first place.

So here are some gift ideas that I think might be useful for someone who has just signed up for your business.

• A checklist of good ideas that you can use to earn money in some way if you apply.

• A checklist of something relevant to your business. Are you in Travel? How about a checklist of things to pack when you go on a trip, etc.

• Are you an online trainer? Give them a coupon for a free course.

• Have you written and published anything? Give them a copy or let them download a free copy electronically.

• Give them an app or some software that can be useful to them.

• Give them a template or templates of something (can be done in Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)

• A free sample of something.

• A plugin of some kind, custom ringtones, screensaver, free access to music, etc. – You understand me.

So this takes us beyond the first thing you do with your answering machine. You can automate all of this so they can sign up, get their gift, and you don’t need to do any extra work manually, except maybe check your signup stats periodically.

Once they’ve signed up, start regularly sending them useful information, such as a newsletter. Most marketers will send something to their subscriber base about once a week. The newsletter shouldn’t really be trying to sell you anything, just passing on more knowledge or ideas to help you through the day. You want to send them content that they will want to see and that they will be looking forward to your next delivery with the desire to open your next message when it arrives.

Pat Flynn, a well-respected and successful online marketer, says he only sends them one promotional message for every seven messages. A strategy like this is a good thing to consider. As you set up your autoresponder campaign, it’s a good idea to think about setting up a series of 30 or more messages in a periodic sequence, carefully interspersing your promotional messages so they don’t feel inundated with pressures to buy anything. . He wants them to believe that he has a relationship with them, that he’s not just a salesman.

And when they get to the end of their series of autoresponders, hopefully they’ll have bought something by then. But in any case, keep the relationship: you can have multiple campaigns integrated into your messaging platforms over time. A second series of emails can begin after the first one concludes. This costs you nothing more than a little time to set up, and it’s worth it, as you never know when your lead will choose to buy or who they’ll talk to about you if they like you, helping you grow.

So, use autoresponders in your business and think carefully when setting it up. They may, in time, become the heart and soul of the marketing portion of your business enterprise. Good luck in your marketing activities.