Why You Need An Autoresponder II

E-mail Marketing - Autoresponders for Beginners - Pt 2
By Andrew Grant

Welcome back to Part 2 of my introduction to autoresponders; one of the most powerful tools yet invented for web marketing

An autoresponder is a piece of software that sends out a pre-written e-mail or series of e-mails, automatically on request. It is usually triggered by someone sending an e-mail to a specific address, or more commonly, by entering their e-mail address into a form on a website.

That software can either sit on your computer and you administer it your self, or it can sit on your web hosting servers and be run by your ISP or, most commonly, it’s a web based service run by a specialist provider, who you pay a monthly subscription to.

The last method is by far the easiest to setup and manage. You will find my recommendations for the best providers on the Links page of my website. Both of my favourites offer a truly comprehensive service from basic autoresponders, through sophisticated list management, to ad tracking and broadcast capabilities (more on that later) and will give you full control of your campaigns for very reasonable monthly fees.

You can set up multiple campaigns; decide the exact sequence that e-mails go out, control which days they are sent and also give your customers have the full ability to unsubscribe at any time they choose – very important if you don’t want to be accused of ‘spamming’.

How to use them

The key to successfully using an autoresponder is to try not to think of it only as an advertising medium, although, of course it is; but more as an information channel.

People put a high value on useful information; that’s why they go to the web in the first place, so if you can give them information that is completely relevant to their search, then they’ll lap it up for as long as you can hand it out.

Here’s an example – let’s say you are running that shoe store we mentioned in the first article. A customer comes to your website, or into your store and doesn’t buy first time. However, she likes what she sees, so you give her the chance to be put on your list to receive special offers or news about new lines. She thinks that sounds cool and gives you her e-mail address and in return she gets a free gift of an elegant shoe-horn, maybe.

The same day she receives a friendly e-mail from you saying, “Thanks, it was nice to meet you, did you know we’re open late on Thursdays and that privilege customers get invites to special previews of new lines and early admission to the sales?”

A week later, she gets another e-mail telling her what is so special about the ‘Fabulous.Range’, which is your most expensive line. The e-mail explains how well these shoes are made, how comfortable they are and that there’s a new line every spring and fall.

Now you are beginning to plant seeds. She now knows that you are the leading local stockist for ‘Fabulous’ shoes, and now your store has a bigger place in her mind than your competitor’s.

The next week she gets an e-mail reminding her that you always have the full range of ‘ Fabulous’ shoes in all the colours and all the sizes, even halves and you include a discount coupon she can print out at home and bring with her to the store, so that she gets a 10% discount on her next purchase.

In the next part we’ll take a look at the result of all this clever activity.

Andrew Grant is a web entrepreneur, life coach and marketing consultant. He has written many articles on self growth and how to build a successful web business. Andrew publishes a FREE fortnightly newsletter, packed with valuable information for growing your wealth and growing your self. Visit http://www.money-and-mind.com to subscribe

Why You Need An Autoresponder

E-mail Marketing - Autoresponders for Beginners - Pt 1
By Andrew Grant
Whenever I talk to entrepreneurs who are trying to market their businesses, I am often amazed by how few people use the incredible power of e-mail marketing. Many of them tell me, “Oh my business isn’t suitable for that”, or “Yes, I’ve heard of autoresponders but I don’t really know what they do.”

There seems to be a lot of confusing information around and many businesses, which could be benefiting, just don’t know how to take advantage of one of the most powerful marketing methods ever seen.

So I decided it was time to explain exactly what autoresponders are, how they work and just what they can offer to any business, whether online or offline.

Basics

Firstly, when people come to your website or walk into your store, they don’t always buy first time. Maybe they didn’t have enough money today, or they were in a hurry, or they need to think about it, or they want to shop around first. All you know is they came and they left and they didn’t buy.

Wouldn’t you rather have the chance to maybe ask them why, or offer them a special, or tell them about a product they might not have seen on their first visit? Do you think that might encourage them to come back at a later date?

Secondly, people like receiving communications and that includes your prospects and customers. Rather, I should say, people like receiving communications that they have requested to receive.

You will often hear the term “Opt-in” – this means that someone, a customer or a prospect has opted-in to be on a list and has agreed that you can send him information until he or she says “enough”. This is the exact same principle that direct mail has worked on for most of the last century.

People ‘opt-in’ because they have seen something on your website or in your store that they liked the look of and they said “I want to find out some more, here’s my address so you can send it to me”.

Thirdly, it doesn’t matter what sort of business you’re in; whether you sell e-books on line, or shoes on the high street; whether you offer business consultancy services via your website, or advertise gardening services in your local paper – if a prospective customer says “I’m interested, tell me more” then sending them an e-mail, is the quickest, cheapest, least time consuming way to answer their queries and engage with them.

But let’s take it one step further; imagine if you could automate that to the extent that you didn’t have to personally send out the e-mail and that no matter what time of day, night or weekend, the enquiry came in, your customers could get the information immediately, without you lifting a finger. That is what an autoresponder is designed to do.

In Part 2, we’ll go into more detail about exactly what an autoresponder does and where to get one for your website.

Andrew Grant is a web entrepreneur, life coach and marketing consultant. He has written many articles on self growth and how to build a successful web business. Andrew publishes a FREE fortnightly newsletter, packed with valuable information for growing your wealth and growing your self.
Visit http://www.money-and-mind.com to subscribe