An Introduction & Overview
The Money Is In The List
I am certain you have heard the online marketing super quote 'The money is in the list'. I can guarantee you there is no other method that will bring you greater success online than this method.
For those of you who have not heard of this quote before, I will give you the basic outline for what is involved in starting an autoresponder email service yourself.
This is a basic 3 step process which gives you an outline of just how simple this set-up process is.
The real skill, mentioned in step 2 above, although not difficult, is in writing the autoresponder messages you are going to send to your signed-up prospects. There is a need for a real structure and purpose in the way you attempt this task. And I will tell you how right now! So let’s begin.
We, all from an early age, have been trained as consumers. From the first moment for example, we saw our first 30 seconds of television, we were instantly introduced to the wonderful world of both 'Direct and Indirect Advertising'. Both these words direct and indirect are very important when it comes to online marketing. In my opinion direct advertising does not work online at first, and should not be attempted until later. This direct advertising may have worked online initially in the past, but thanks to such online issues as spam, this method is not effective at all in the beginning. Indirect advertising however is what should be used, and this provides a 'Conditioning' phase for your potential buyers who have newly signed-up to your autoresponder list.
When targeted, potential customers visit your website for the first time, they arrive because they are searching for specific information. And secondly, they may choose to purchase an item or service from your website, as a pure result of the information you are providing, in order to complete or complement the provided information contained on your website.
The structure of the information you provide in your autoresponder messages should therefore follow this same 'Cause & Effect' structure. Simply put, you are providing information that will complete or complement a product or service you are promoting indirectly. In online marketing you will hear the word 'Pre-selling' mentioned a lot, and this is what pre-selling is, a simple providing for a cause and effect event.
I must mention the word 'Trust' at this point, because it is an absolute needed commodity on the Internet, and leads into the whole concept and purpose of 'Branding'. We have all heard of the bad things that can happen online with credit card fraud etc. it’s a long list. And it is absolutely 100% certain that your potential customers have also heard of these facts. So you should be aware that every person who visits your website for the first time is already on the back foot. It is now your job to build a potential customers trust in your website, so that when they may visit your website again, they have a feeling of complete ease. Let me assure you this trust does need to be earned on your behalf and you should always be aware of this. I will add at this point the statement, 'If you are not serious about the product or service you are promoting then just don't bother doing it in the first place'. If you are not committed, you as a result, have no set purpose for what you are trying to achieve. If your customers suffer your website will suffer. So how do we build 'Trust'?
Branding is a tool by which we associate trust. Think of a brand name product. Ask yourself the question how do you feel about that product? Do you feel at ease buying that product? If the answer is ‘yes’, then it is for the reason that you know and trust that product. Why? Because you know when you buy it, you know exactly what to expect. If you answer no, it would be mainly for the reason that the product is unreliable, because you are not sure about what to expect. This idea of branding is essential in your autoresponder messages, because you have the task to condition your potential customers to positively associate your website, business name or logo etc, to what they should positively expect from your website and its products.
(Note: If a customer or website visitor sends you a question etc. you should always respond ASAP. If there is a problem work out a solution ASAP. Treat your customers etc. the exact way you want to be treated yourself. This note is absolutely essential, if you want to retain your brand image)
So how do I use all this information in my own autoresponder messages? Good question. Let’s answer it! What I have discovered that works effectively, lies in the exact structure of your autoresponder emails.
The big players online have email lists that consist of up-to and over 300,000 subscribers. How did they achieve these numbers of subscribers?
Subscriber lists can be gained from numerous traffic means. Search engines, PPC, eBook links, forming joint ventures, word of mouth, this list can just go on and on. But no matter by what means you use in gaining traffic to your website, a very large proportion of website visitors will be untargeted. In that they will have little interest in what your website provides, they are just simply surfing the net and/or do not know what they are looking for. This is wasted traffic and a pure waste of potential customers, but only if you are not aware of this. So it is essential, I have found to position your autoresponder subscribe box on multiple website pages, and I try to use a (1) x (2) format.
(1) Is the question that I pose to my targeted traffic so that they may sign-up for further information. And (2) are the 2 separate questions that I pose that are open and appeal to a larger audience.
For example: (1) Learn exact answers to effective affiliate marketing methods by subscribing here. (2) Making an income online is easier than you imagine when you gain these skills. (2) Free - This is your complete guide to show you how to create a real online income stream.
This is only a general example guide, but gives you an exact idea of my own 1 x 2 strategy. It is open in its format, and just does not only appeal to your target audience who may just be interested in affiliate marketing. It is also open to untargeted traffic who may have never even considered the idea of being able to make money online.
Tip: Free Manual traffic surfing sites are ignored by most as a source of website traffic of any value, and so they should be if they are not approached with purpose. But they can be a real source of potential subscribers. Build yourself a webpage containing your subscriber box and write content within the page that appeals to all who may read it. Use this page as you would with your first autoresponder message. Introduce yourself and your website purpose. I myself have built a very large responsive email list using this exact strategy.
*The Absolute Ultimate Autoresponder Tip: Provide your autoresponder messages with a link where potential customers can simply download your messages in a pdf format. Why?
Ultimate Autoresponder Info
Articles and Autoresponders
Writing articles to market a product or service is an excellent way to build business. The articles should be very informative, providing the reader with information that is relevant to a specific topic. The article usually includes a link to a webpage for more information. The webpage, of course, is designed to sell a product or service that relates to the topic of the article.
These articles are commonly submitted to article banks, websites, and ezine publishers. This is one of the most effective ways to market a service or product on the Internet, and it can become even more effective when it is combined with the use of an autoresponder.
Begin by setting each of your articles up in your autoresponder. It is important that each article has its very own autoresponder address, so you will need an autoresponder service that will allow you to do this. Next, make a master list of your articles, with the autoresponder address for each article listed beside the title. You can even add descriptions of the articles on your master list if you want to.
Advertising your articles one at a time can take a great deal of time…but advertising one autoresponder address - the one for the master list - won’t take very much time at all. Simply put it in your newsletter and on your website. You can even allow other ezine publishers to use this is a free resource for their subscribers!
Autoresponder Access to Secret Pages
People love to have access to things that other people can’t get. It makes them feel special, and it is a marketing tactic that really works. Granting access to secret pages works well on the Internet. It works best when it is limited. For instance, you can grant access to only a lucky few, or you can have a time limit for accessing the pages. You can grant access to secret pages on your website with an autoresponder.
The way this works is quite simple. You create a directory on your website that is password protected, with one login and password that everybody can use. You then create some valuable content for that directory. You can call this your secret vault or your private stash or anything else you want to call it - as long as it sounds like something that your visitors may really want to get their hands on. For instance ‘the secret tools that helped me earn thousands each month’ would probably entice many people who want to learn how to make money.
Once you get the directory and the pages set up, put the URL of the pages and the login name and password in an autoresponder. Write a Sales page and distribute it to your opt-in list, or have other list owners distribute it to theirs. Make sure you ‘limit’ the offer. Don’t let people assume that you are going to share this secret information with the rest of the world - they want to be the only ones with this special access!
Keep access to the secret pages free. The goal is to get people to those pages, so that they can purchase your products or services. However, remember that you’ve advertised secret tools or secret information. Therefore, when they get to those pages, there must be something of value there for them to collect - for free in most cases. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you will be losing money by giving something away for free - you won’t. In fact, you’ve already gained by collecting the names and addresses of the people who were interested in your secret information!
Again, this is a marketing tactic that really works, and it is a great way to use an autoresponder. Once people have requested the information for your private pages, you can email them periodically, using your autoresponder, to let them know about updates to the secret site. While you are updating them, you can also tell them about other specials or new products in your line.
Autoresponders and Shopping Cart Integration
When people place orders through your website, it is always a good idea to immediately acknowledge the purchase. One way to do this is with the use of an autoresponder that can be integrated with your shopping cart. In fact, many shopping carts that are available today have their own autoresponders built into the system.
When you set up your autoresponder to send a message to someone that has placed an order, there are several things that should be included in the message. This is an opportunity to ‘speak’ to your customer, and to let them know about other deals that you have or special items that you have available. You should not miss this opportunity.
Do not try to get your ‘thank you’ sales message on the same autoresponder as the customers email receipt. Putting the sales message on an email that is automatically sent to grant the customer access to their purchase is also a bad idea - that would go better with the receipt. Make sure your ‘thank you’ sales message is a message that is sent out all by itself, so your customer can focus solely on that!
Thank the customer for their recent purchase. Tell them how much their purchase will help them, and then tell them about other available products that work well with the one that they just purchased, or that are similar to the one that they just purchased in some way. For instance hair conditioner works with hair shampoo. Vacuum cleaner bags or carpet powder works well with vacuum cleaners. Just let them know about the various products that you offer that will compliment their purchase in some way.
The important thing is to not let your customer get away without further contact! Think about being in a brick and mortar store. When you go up to the counter to pay, there are many items there for sale. These items are meant to be picked up as last minute purchases, or impulsive purchases. Your ‘thank you’ sales letter serves the same purpose.
Don’t make the mistake of bombarding your customer! You can usually send them periodic information about your specials after they have made a purchase through you, but emailing them on a daily basis with your offers is not good business! Use your autoresponder responsibly! Make sure that your autoresponder is set up to handle automatic remove requests, and make sure that the information that you are sending your customers is of value to them.
Autoresponders and Spam - What You Need To Know
There are laws against sending spam. There are even laws that you must adhere to when you send out email that was requested. No matter what type of email you are sending out, the chances are good that the anti-spam laws apply to you in some way.
In order to be in compliance with the anti-spam laws in various states in the US, each commercial email that you send must include your name or business name, your street address, city, state, zip code, and phone number. You must also include instructions that will allow the recipients to remove themselves from your mailing list. If you fail to do any of this, you are essentially breaking the law in various states - no matter what state or country you live in!
Protect yourself from spam complaints in any way that you can. Make sure that when a customer requests any type of information from you that an email is sent requesting confirmation before any other email is sent. If someone is placing an order from you, include a check box on the order form, asking for permission to send them periodic emails. Never use your autoresponder to send unsolicited commercial email!
Autoresponders
The More You Know, The More Effective They Are
If you have signed up with an autoresponder service, you need to take the time to read the instructions to learn how to use the service - before you load the first word of your first message! Not knowing how to use the service will lead to many mistakes, and your customers and potential customers will most likely see every mistake you make! As soon as you have completed the sign up process, load one email address into the autoresponders mailing list - yours. If there is a manual or help file for your autoresponder, read every word of it, and really learn how to use all of the features of the autoresponder.
Work with it, sending messages to your own address, until you know your autoresponder service inside and out! This may take a little time, but after a few hours or so, you should know all that there is to know, and you will be able to set your autoresponders up much more effectively in the future. Taking the time to learn now, will not only save time in the future, it may also help you tweak and tune your autoresponder messages and tracking in a way that increases your responses!
Autoresponder Training Sessions
Autoresponders work very well when it comes to training others. This is why autoresponders are the perfect way to conduct email courses. But there are other types of training that can be done with autoresponders as well.
Even college professors have found a use for autoresponders. They can use them to remind students about upcoming tests, or to deliver study guides. Since the information in that professor’s course is taught over and over again each time a new class comes in, this saves the professor a great deal of time.
Autoresponders are also used by colleges to remind faculty and students about coming events. Because events are scheduled in advance, these autoresponder messages are set up in advance, and nobody has to depend on a secretary to get those notices out!
Many businesses use autoresponders to keep their employees trained. When new equipment is brought into the office, and employees need to know how to operate it, an autoresponder can be set up with training instructions.
No matter what kind of business you are in, there is a way that autoresponders can be used. The use of an autoresponder will save quite a lot of time, and it can also serve to make the people in your organization much more effective.
Build Interest With Autoresponder Messages
If you are using your autoresponder to sell a product or service, you must be very careful as to how you approach your potential customer. Few people like a hard sale, and marketers have known for years that in most cases, a prospect must hear your message an average of seven times before they will make a purchase. How do you accomplish this with autoresponders?
It’s really quite simple, and in fact, the autoresponders make getting the message to your potential customers those seven times possible. On the Internet, without the use of autoresponders, you probably could not achieve that. Too often, marketers make the mistake of literally slamming the potential customer with a hard sales pitch with the first autoresponder message - this won’t work.
You build interest slowly. Start with an informative message - a message that educates the reader in some way on the topic to which your product or service is related. At the bottom of the message, include a link to the sales page for your product. Use that first message to focus on the problem that your product or service can solve, with just a hint of the solution.
Build up from there, moving into how your product or service can solve a problem, and then with the next message, ease into the benefits of your product - giving the reader more actual information with each and every message. Your final message should be the sale pitch not your first one! With each message, make sure that you are giving the customer information pertaining to the topic - free information! This is what will keep them interested in what you have to say.
This type of marketing is an art. It may take time to get it exactly right. Use the examples that other marketers have set for you. Pay attention to the messages that you receive from other marketers. Start a ‘swap’ file, and keep those messages. Use some of the better sales copy for your own autoresponder messages - just make sure that yours doesn’t turn out to be an exact copy of someone else’s sales message!
Remember not to start with a hard sale. Build your potential customers interest. Keep building on what the problem is, and how your product or service can solve that problem or fill that need. If you are doing this right, by the time the potential customer reads the last message in that series, they will be convinced enough to make a purchase!
Business Automation with Autoresponders
Automation is important to all businesses. The less time we have to spend doing small tasks, the more time we have to make more money - or we could spend that time doing something besides working. Putting an online business on auto pilot isn’t difficult at all and it is all done with the use of autoresponders!
Autoresponders can be used to get people to your website, or to promote products and services. Simply plug your sales message into the autoresponder, along with some valuable information that your potential purchaser may want or need, and advertise that autoresponders address.
Once the person arrives at your site, and goes through your ordering process, another autoresponder kicks in. This autoresponder should send out a receipt, as well as information that will grant the customer access to whatever it is that they have purchased. Another autoresponder message should be sent out after this, thanking the customer for their business, and letting them know about similar or related products or services that they may be interested in. The beauty of this is that while all of this ordering is going on, and these important customer service emails are being sent, you can be off doing something else! The more automation you can integrate into your online business, the better off you will be.
Customer Service with Autoresponders
Ideally, when you perform customer service, it is done on a one-on-one basis with each of your customers. That works quite well in the off-line world - but on the Internet, that simply will not do. Your customers are literally all over the world, and there is no way that you can really deal with each one of them personally. That is where an autoresponder comes in.
Customer service with autoresponders is quite simple. When an order is placed, an autoresponder can send out the receipt for the sale, the information for accessing the product, and a ‘thank you’ email. This happens whether you are logged in to your computer or on vacation in an exotic location! But customer service doesn’t always end right there, and if you are away from your computer, you may be letting your customers down!
For instance, an elderly gentleman sees your product advertised and places an order. Everything goes through just fine, and he receives the receipt, the download information, and your ‘thank you’ email.
Your product is an ebook, compiled into a PDF file. This particular gentleman doesn’t understand what a PDF file is, and he has no idea what you mean by ‘right click to download.’ He needs additional customer service for the product that he has purchased, and there is nobody available to help him - nobody but an autoresponder.
Set up an additional autoresponder that will send out a list of frequently asked questions or problems that deal with customer service or how to access the product. Also set up a support autoresponder. If he sends a message to support, he should get an instant message back letting him know that his message has been received, and how soon it will be addressed. This will give him some measure of comfort, and in most cases, he will wait that specified period of time for assistance.
However, if he doesn’t know how to download the product, and he sends a message to support, and nothing happens, he will most likely become very dissatisfied in a very short period of time. The difference between a patient customer and an irate customer is one simple autoresponder message that can and should be set up in under five minutes.
Really think your ordering process through, and consider the potential problems that may occur for your customers. Get an autoresponder set up to address those problems, and you will find that your customers are more satisfied with your products, and extremely satisfied with your customer service - all because your autoresponders handle their problems right away!
Email Courses and Autoresponders
Offering free things to your website visitors is one marketing method that often results in a lot of sales. Free courses that are delivered via email are very popular, and people sign up for such courses on a regular basis to learn more about a topic of interest to them. These courses are best maintained and delivered with the use of autoresponders.
An autoresponder can be set up to send out a series of lessons for an email course. The lessons can be set for distribution at specific intervals. You determine how often the lessons for the course are sent to the people who have signed up. Email courses are very different from traditional courses, web based courses, or any other type of course.
There is no student and instructor interaction. The instructor writes the informations out, puts each lesson in an autoresponder series, sets the timing for the lessons, and the rest is automated. You can opt to have lessons delivered daily, every other day, every three days, or any other time frame that you think works best for your email students.
Email courses are commonly used to sell products and services. For instance, if you sell widgets, you might develop a course that teaches people how to use widgets or how to care for their widget. Experts agree that an email course can be written for almost any product that you can imagine - if you put enough thought into it.
Start by determining what your course will be about, and how long it should be. If the course should be delivered every other day for two weeks, you know that you would need seven lessons. Write the lessons, and load them in the autoresponder. Set the interval for each lesson, which in this case would be 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13.
This means that the first lesson would be delivered one day after the person has requested the course, and the second lesson would be delivered three days after the person has requested the course, and so on. The interval for each lesson is set for the number of days after the person has signed up Make sure that everything is spelled right, and that your sentences are grammatically correct. You want the lessons to look and sound as professional as possible.
Next, simply advertise the email address that will activate the autoresponder. Make sure that you run a test first, sending each lesson to yourself. This will allow you to see what your email students will see when they sign up!
Formatting Autoresponder Messages
Have you received emails that were all broken up? These emails have one or two words on one line, then eight or ten words on the next line. In some cases, one word begins on one line and ends on the next. These emails are very hard to read, and they appear to be very unprofessional. Is this what you want your autoresponder email messages to look like?
If not, you need to learn how to format your messages. Start by reading the instructions for your specific autoresponder. Each one operates a bit differently in the way that it handles text. For instance, some autoresponder messages will be messed up if you do put a ‘hard line break’ at the end of each line, while others will be messed up if you don’t! Find out what the right option is for your autoresponder!
Because each email client is different, you should not allow any line in your message to exceed 65 characters. This will help prevent lines from breaking up, and it is achieved by hitting the ‘enter’ key at the end of each sixty-five-character line. The best way to be sure that your autoresponder messages are delivered in the correct format is to send them to yourself, before you send them to your list!
Getting Your Autoresponder Messages Through The Spam Filters
In light of the spam problem, most email clients now have spam filters installed. These filters catch spam email and either move it to a ‘spam folder’ or automatically delete it. After spending a great deal of time laboring over your series of autoresponder messages, it would be a shame to find out that the majority of the messages that are sent out end up in the spam folder, or are automatically deleted as spam!
You can avoid this in two ways. First, when anyone signs up to receive information from your autoresponder, have them automatically redirected to a page that gives them instructions for ‘white listing’ you. Email clients have an actual white list where the owner of the email client can add specific addresses that should never be considered spam