The autorepsonder is one of those tools that for many can be confusing!
When it comes to the topic of autorepsonders you are going to have people extol their virtues or you will have people cursing about them left right and center!
The fact is that when you are working online, have your own blog or business, then using a good autoresponder is vital tool that will help you stay connected with your subscribers, pre-customers and customers.
For those of you who are not aware of what an autoresponder is.. it is a (program that sends a) sequence of email marketing messages that gets sent to subscribers in the order and frequency that you decide.( by SONIA SIMONE)
Now I have to be honest and say that until recently I was one of the people who “kind of” cursed at them, mainly because I never really understood them and how useful they can really be, but once I went beyond the typical sale pitch style emails that I used to get (being on the receiving end by the dozen of autoresponder messages I signed up to), I realized that there is so much more that can be done and done well when using auto responders if you take yourself out of the box and see the potential.
A few ideas when to use an autorepsonder
Tips – many people use autorepsonders to send valuable tips about a specific niche. I know of one company that did this and their vistor rate jumped quite high.
Free courses – creating a sequence that helps a person learn about your niche, with good quality information is a sure fire way to keep people remembering you and your business
Saying happy birthday to a subscriber – I love this idea and know for a fact it works. It doesnt just have to be a birthday it could be any special occassion. People love to be remembered and with an auto repsonder its easy to set up. As an added bonus, when sending your wishes, if you offer them a coupon or something free, then you will have one very happy subscriber.
Polls or suveys – Using an autoresponder to help you with any direction you’re thinking of taking with your business, is a great way to get people involved and lets face it, especially these days, it has been proven that people want to be involved in any purchase or direction a business or company is thinking of changing.
Newsletters – What a great way to share with people the latest happenings in your organization or business.
The point to using the autoresponder is to keep people remembering you, to increase visitors interaction, gain new subscribers and do I dare say improve conversions? This can only be done by providing useful information and the great thing to autoresponder is that once you have set everything up, you get to keep reusing the content over and over again.
Some things to look for when thinking about getting an auto responder
– Obviously looking at the prices is a given, but also consider you list to see which auto responder offers the best value
– Make sure that the auto repsonder provides tracking and anylitics
– With the advent of mobile, does the autoresponder have mobile features?
– No one likes spam and no one wants to be accussed of spamming, does the autoresponder have a spam scoring? You want your mail to get through to the intended person
– There is no “one size fits all” when it comes to emails or autoresponders. Does the autoresponder allow you to email certain segments of your lists?
… and something many people do not think about when it comes to email/auto responders and that is the WYSIWG. If you are planning to send HTML mail, then having a good editor is going to be important.
Now I am not even going to try and tell you which service is the best out there, the fact is there are so many and they all have great features…but lol, I have to say that mailchimp might be one to consider as it provides you with the initial free trial, but it stays free for a certain limit or certain amount of mails, then you are charged.
No doubt there is a learning curve to using autorepsonders and learning how to set them up properly, but I have to say that even that is not so much a problem with the amount of tutorials and customer service “helps” that the top autoresponder services are now sharing.
What are your thoughts on autoresponders..Share them in the comment form below.
Related articles
Great presentation, Diane.
One thing we encourage clients to consider in their use of these Powerful communication system is to write in an engaging manner.
Asking questions, providing surveys and sharing the results creates an atmosphere of reality.
As the the relationship develops one will find amazing ratios of click through to links, offering Value and the culmination of a Sale.
Better to drip than shout with a fire hose
Chuck Bartok recently posted…Is your Blog/Website Elegantly Presented?
I have been using Aweber for nine years.
Many feel it is “Expensive”, but we look at features , personal customer service and reliability.
As your list grows and if done correctly, the “cost” is a mere pittance when weighed against Gross profit.
If anyone decides to try let me know…
Free coaching available from yours truly
Chuck Bartok recently posted…How many Blogs do You read weekly?
I have been doing a lot of reading and listening to people who talk about using autoresponders and while I agree that using the drip method is better in the long run when it comes to sending messages/using an autoresponder, I do believe there are those times when it is also appropriate for that fire hose ( as long as it is put on “gently”) for such purposes as an upsell or an event happening.
Where we are totally agreed is the concept of building relationships and that to me is very important.
Thanks for the feedback as always Chuck.
Diane (Blogneta recently posted…Anyone (almost) Can Write – How To Get People To Read It
Pingback: The Autoresponder! - Social Media and Marketing...
Good info, Diane. I have been using Mailchimp for quite awhile and find it very easy to use. Thank you
Pingback: The Autoresponder! « Bogdan Fiedur
Pingback: Why An Autoresponder Is Essential To An Internet-Based Business | internetmacmarketing.com
Pingback: Autoresponders: What are they, why and how do I use them? | Classified Ad Land