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by Shelley Lowery
Autoresponders are one of the most popular tools used on the Internet, as they will enable you to put a portion of your
business on auto-pilot.
Over the years, I have received many questions about autoresponders and have devised a list
of the most frequently asked autoresponder questions.
Question: I'm new to Internet
marketing and am continually hearing about the benefits of using an autoresponder. Can you please explain exactly what an
autoresponder is?
Answer: Autoresponders are one of the top promotional tools available
online today. They are also known as automatic responders, mailbots, automatic email and email on demand. They were derived
from the very popular fax on demand and designed to automatically respond to any email message sent to it with an automatic
response.
Autoresponder programs vary from software set up to run with your desktop email program and automatically
answer your incoming email to a script that runs on your server. The script may run a Web-based autoresponder system that
utilizes a web page form, or it may run with your pop email account on your server. It is programmed to automatically send
out a predetermined message when a message is received to a specified script address or email address.
Question:
My hosting company provides access to autoresponders, but I have no idea what they're used for. Can you please explain?
Answer: There are many advantages associated with the use of autoresponders. Not only do they automate
the daily task of manually replying to requests for information, but they also provide instant gratification for the recipient.
Autoresponders can be used in an unlimited number of ways including:
• Sample ezine copy for potential
subscribers
• Articles for publication - A great way for writers to distribute their articles
•
Offer free powerful reports on various subjects and use your signature file at the end to promote your site or business
•
Offer free resources with information about your site, product or business
• Information about your business
opportunity
• Product listings
• Price list
• Welcome letters
• Thank
you letters
• Order confirmations
• Advertising rates
Question:
Can you tell me what I should look for when selecting an autoresponder service?
Answer:When
selecting an autoresponder service, there are many factors that need to be taken into consideration to ensure maximum performance.
The service you select should provide all of the following:
• Personalized responses - This makes the
recipient feel that the message was sent specifically to them.
• Automatic follow ups - Studies have shown it
may take up to seven contacts before closing a sale.
• Unlimited text length - If you are inhibited by the amount
of text your autoresponder may contain, you may be forced to revise a successful sales letter, ultimately costing you business.
•
Free unlimited updating - It is imperative to provide your customers with accurate, up to date information on your products
and services.
• Automatic notification - You must have the ability to track your ad's performance. You should
be instantly informed each time someone requests your information.
Question: I would
like to set up an autoresponder course, but I can't figure out how to do it. Can you please explain?
Answer:
In order to set up an autoresponder course, you must use a system that provides follow-up autoresponders. These follow up
messages can be set up to automatically be sent out at predetermined intervals. In other words, you can set up your autoresponder
to automatically send out a new message each day for as many days as you would like.
Not all autoresponders will enable
you to create follow-up messages. However, the following service will:
http://www.getresponse.com/
If you'd rather have your own autoresponder system that resides on your server, I recommend using AutoResponse Plus:
http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=autoplus
The first step in creating an autoresponder course is to decide upon a subject. Your course should focus on a subject
in which you have a great deal of knowledge and target your potential customers.
Once you have selected your subject,
you'll need to make a list of topics. Each topic will represent one lesson. If you have five topics, then you can offer your
visitors a free 5-day course. If you have ten topics, then you can offer your visitors a free 10-day course and so on.
Separate
each of your topics into course lessons. Your first lesson should welcome your subscriber to your course and explain a little
bit about what they are going to learn, followed by the first lesson.
The key to creating a successful autoresponder
course is to provide quality information that will be of interest to your target audience. Each daily topic must contain valuable
information or your reader may decide to unsubscribe. In addition, make sure you include information in regard to your course
such as the lesson number, lesson title, information about your products or services and highlights of the next lesson.
Your
course should identify a problem, provide advice in regard to solving the problem and provide the solution with your products
or services. Keep in mind, your course should not be written like a sales letter. It must provide quality information written
to teach and inform.
Autoresponders are an absolute essential part of developing a successful Internet business. The
more you can automate your tasks, the more time you'll have for more important things, such as making more sales.
Copyright
© Shelley Lowery
About the Author:
Shelley Lowery is the author of the acclaimed web design course, Web
Design Mastery. http://www.webdesignmastery.com And, Ebook Starter - Give Your Ebooks the look and feel of a REAL book. http://www.ebookstarter.com Visit Web-Source.net to sign up for a complimentary subscription to Etips and receive a copy of the acclaimed ebook, "Killer
Internet Marketing Strategies." http://www.web-source.net
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For a comprehensive free in-depth report series on autoresponders, their uses, and how you can use them in
your online business, just fill out the information below. And I'll send you a complete series on what autoresponders
can do for you. And, it's no cost to you! Nada!
Our Recommendations
This is one of my primary autoresponders. Not only does it give you unlimited campaigns, it has a built in
series of emails you can upoad to get you started, an FFA page you can promote for yourself (it's yours), lead capture page
generation, and a veritible plethora of other goodies. This is one very complete package.
Free autoresponder service that offers unlimited autoresponders, no maximum mail length, automatic multiple
messages sent over a period of time and much more. It's all free, but you'll have to put up with a small advertising message
at the top of every message you send out. This can be removed by upgrading. The fee based service also includes the potentially
important Double Opt-In feature.
AWeber can be configured to automatically send up to six or more follow-up messages at varying time intervals. The contents
of each of these messages can be varied at any time as can the time interval between each message. And very importantly, each
message includes unsubscribe information so that the prospect can easily remove his or herself from the process at any time.
Additionally, it has a Double Opt-In feature, which is very important in today's spammy world.
Email Campaigns with VerticalResponse. So easy it is SCARY! Vertical Response, Inc., a leading provider of self-service and customized direct marketing solutions, empowers small
and medium sized businesses to build, control and measure their own direct marketing campaigns. VerticalResponse is the most
intuitive Web-based direct marketing solution on the market, allowing customers to deliver highly sophisticated and easy-to-deploy
email marketing campaigns as well as printed postcard campaigns for delivery through the US Postal Service.
With Email Marketing by Constant Contact®, you'll discover that you can quickly create affordable, professional-looking
email campaigns that help you better connect with your customers, clients, or members. And with Survey, their online survey product, you can better understand their needs and wants
Autoresponder service with an interesting twist: SendFree also acts like an advertising exchange service. How it works:
you sign up for a SendFree account and set up your autoresponder service. At the top of every automatic reply your autoresponder
sends out is a short text advertisement. Half of these are for other members' sites. The other half are reserved for SendFree's
advertisers. In turn, your advertisement will appear at the top of messages sent out by other members
Autoresponder Pro has been designed to compete with other top autoresponder companies. Not only can you start your own
eBusiness and earn $$$, you can also skyrocket your sales and save lots of time with Autoresponder Pro, the professional autoresponder
service. And like Aweber & Get Response, the Auto Responder Pro also includes a Double Opt-In feature.
This free autoresponder service lets you send out one or many automatic followup messages at intervals you specify. Best
of all, there are no ads added to your outgoing messages. Instead, the site makes its money off banner ads on the main site,
and through sending registered users occasional messages.
This is a Top Notch Autoresponder used by a LOT of email and Internet Marketers.
We've just put together a companion blog site to document our learnings and findings about the various autoresponders
we come across. You may read about it at Auto Responders Reviews.
On another related topic, if you'd like to know more about the requirements for finding a good web hosting company, visit
our sister site; Web Hosting - The Basics.
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