Autoresponders

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

An autoresponder is a computer program that automatically answers e-mail sent to it. They can be very simple or quite complex.

Autoresponders are often used as e-mail marketing tools to immediately provide information to their prospective customers and then follow-up with them at pre-set time intervals.

Autoresponders are usually used to confirm subscriptions, un-subscriptions, posts, and other list activities.

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GLOBAL TRAFFIC INTEGRATION recommends Aweber Autoresponder

There are two essential parts to an autoresponder service, the 'Sign Up Form' and the 'Follow Up Emails and/or Broadcast'.  These work in conjunction with each other, whereby once a customer/potential customer enters their details into the 'Sign Up Form', they will then automatically start receiving pre-set email follow-ups with further information about the product/service you are offering, further training that may be required, or even offering extra products that the customer may be interested in (Upsells).

1. Sign Up Form

The 'Sign Up Form' is a simple form designed to capture vital information about the customer, mainly their name and email address. Obtaining a customer's (or potential customer) email address is a vital component of online marketing, I am sure you have heard the saying 'the money is in the list'. This is 100% true, without a list you are severely restricting your ability to market your products or services effectively, and you could potentially be missing out on numerous sales.

Once a customer or potential customer enters their details into the 'Sign Up Form' and clicks 'Submit', the Autoresponder automatically starts sending out pre-written emails, at pre-set intervals, the first usually being immediately and thanking them for their purchase or request for information.

This is a very powerful tool for any online marketer to have, and used correctly, can lead to loyal customers and ongoing or 'back-end sales'.  'Back-end sales', also called 'Upsells', can be very lucrative, this is where a customer has requested information on a product or service, and the emails automatically sent to them by your designated Autoresponder will eventually lead to a sales page.  If the follow-up emails have been well worded, offer good information, and are not too pushy, then the customer will stay interested throughout the entire email series, and more than likely lead to a sale.

Setting up a 'Sign Up Form' is quite simple, it only takes a few minutes, and 'Aweber' has great templates available that you can easily customise to your own preferences. 

Rather than describe how to create your own 'Sign Up Form' here, click on the training video below for step-by-step instruction:

2. Follow-Up Emails and Broadcasts

Once you have copied the HTML Code into your website, it is now ready to start receiving customers, but what happens when a customer or potential customer fills out your 'Sign Up Form' and clicks on Submit?

This is where the Autoresponder really kicks in and works it's magic...

In my opinion the best part of an Autoresponder is the ability to send automated emails (or random broadcasts) to customers that join your list. Remember, these are your leads, they have given their email address to you in return for information, so you are free to email or broadcast to them as often as you want (but be careful not to 'spam' them!).  If they don't want to receive your emails any more, they always have the option to un-subscribe.

The automated emails can be pre-populated into your Autoresponder, and set up to send out to your customer or potential customer at set intervals, usually 1-2 days apart. These emails can include anything from a simple thank-you letter (usually the very first email in the follow-up series, sent instantly the customer submits their details in the Sign Up Form), to follow-up training, to new product/services offers (Upsells). You can also write 'broadcasts' to send out to your list, and these can either be sent as a one-off or at a set date/time interval.

This is SO POWERFUL, you have captured their contact information, now you are able to keep in touch with your customer with new offers, called 'back-end sales' or 'upsells'. Regular communication with your customers is a vital part of internet marketing, just getting an initial sale and then forgetting about them is like having a main street store and then closing the doors after you have made your first sale for the day!!

Bad Business!!

When customers make contact with you via a Sign Up Form, then you obviously must have something they want. They have filled in the form for a reason, so now that you have both their attention AND their contact details, you should be following up and keeping them interested. You already know they are interested in your product or service, so a good seller will then offer other related products to them, thus leading to greater sales.

Your follow-up emails should be friendly (let them know a bit about you, to gain their confidence), informative (maybe give them updates to what you have already sold them), or sales orientated (offer a new related product or service).