In its simplest form, autoresponders allow you to create a
fixed message that will go back to anyone who e-mails a
specific address. The most common use for this is the “I’m
away from my office until 29 May and will not be checking my
e-mail until I return” type of message. Messages of this type
can be created within the control panel of most ISP e-mail
servers.

Autoresponders are far more versatile, however. Even the
basic autoresponder that comes with your e-mail account can be
set up to send a document or photo, even an audio or video
file to anyone contacting that address. This is the most
basic form of using an autoresponder for delivering a product,
but it is not recommended for products you are selling because
of the lack of control. Basically, whatever you are selling
will be delivered to anyone sending an e-mail to that address
– whether they paid for it or not.

Third party autoresponders provide the kind of control needed
for a marketing or sales application. The good news is there
are a number of excellent autoresponders that can be used at
no charge. Those that do have a fee – whether a one-time
purchase fee for a system you set up on your own server or a
monthly/yearly fee for one you access online – typically are
well within the budgets of nearly anyone trying to do business
online.

Perhaps even better news is that autoresponders are not
difficult to set up, even those that offer several levels of
capability across a broad range of possible applications. The
largest and most popular autoresponders often come with
tutorials – some of them video – that walk you through the
set-up process step-by-step. Many also have user forums or
support systems that will help you if you get stuck.

The possible uses for an autoresponder at this level are
legion. For example, you can set one up to send out a
newsletter to your mailing list on a regular basis, another to
send e-mails advising your list of special sales, upgrades,
new releases or other such information. Still another
autoresponder can deliver your digital product, along with
future patches or upgrades.

These different tasks actually can be set up using a single
autoresponder, even a single account, depending on the
capabilities of the system you have selected. Many of the
free autoresponders allow you to upgrade to a fee-based
version, with far more capabilities, without losing anything
you already have created.

Anyone who thinks they may someday want to have a mailing list
or sell any kind of product – especially digital, such as
downloadable software or e-books – should make investigating
autoresponders one of their first and most important tasks.
The more you know about them in advance, the more prepared you
will be to quickly and efficiently get your business online.

Mike Tansey @ Profit-Unlimited

Copyright 2009 Profit-Unlimited.com. All rights reserved.

Autoresponders are great time-savers and you can use them for
a variety of tasks. They never take a break, work 24/7 all
year for no extra pay and hardly ever check in sick (providing
you use reliable suppliers). Autoresponders never query the
task you set them and they follow your instructions to the
letter. You will notice the plural being used, so you can see
that more than one autoresponder is usually required.

With the Internet constantly growing, and new users coming
online daily, you have a truly international marketplace at
your disposal. Competition is fierce, especially in certain
markets. Many thousands of companies are already competing for
business so you must do whatever it takes to give you an edge.
The last thing you want is to gain that edge, attract hundreds
of visitors daily, and then fail to capitalize on the
advantage you worked hard to gain.

All the companies and experienced marketers know that getting
visitors is only the first step in business. What comes next
is conversion or turning those visitors into customers. They
know they won’t convert all their visitors to customers, and
they also know, or soon learn, that few visitors buy anything
on their first visit. It’s commonly stated that it takes an
average of 5 to 7 visits before a visitor will make a
purchase. The key to your success on the Internet lies in
bringing those visitors back for further visits until they
buy.

And that’s where autoresponders fit in. Successful businesses
know they must bring potential customers back, and the best
way to bring them back, achieving a good conversion rate at
the same time, is by using autoresponders. You do this by
offering your visitors something as an incentive to return.
The offer can be for additional information in keeping with
site content maybe a free eBook or a free report.

If your website has lots of really useful content, and/or you
produce a regular newsletter, your offer can be for free
notifications of website updates or a free subscription.
Anything of quality will do as long as it’s on the same
subject they came looking for, or closely related to it. Set
up an autoresponder and it will generate a code for you to put
a form on your website. Place the form beside or beneath the
offer and interested visitors can fill in their name and eMail
address.

You will need to write a generic response to the subscriber’s
request and load it into your autoresponder. As soon as
someone fills in your form and hits the ‘Submit’ button their
message goes to your autoresponder and your message goes back
to them right away. This will show you’re serious about
serving the customer and give them the feeling of personal
service. Personal service on a scale a single person would be
unable to provide to thousands of customers, clients and
enquirers.

Customer service is a major key to business success and
autoresponders provide that service better than humans. They
do exactly what you tell them and what the client asks. You
can purchase or license scripts to install and run from your
website, programmed to run on servers, or pay for the services
of one of the many autoresponder providers.

Your main objective is to make sales but your first priority
should be to provide useful information and to capture as many
names and eMail addresses as possible. Put faithful
autoresponders to work for you, establishing a sense of trust
in your visitors, and the sales will follow. Your
autoresponders will help keep your customers and leads happy
and up to date on your business, feeling special because
you’re sharing and taking care of them.

Autoresponders, used correctly, can be the pulse of your
business. It’s a good idea to ask someone you trust to
recommend a good supplier rather than choosing a supplier at
random from the search engines.

Mike Tansey @ Profit-Unlimited

Copyright 2009 Profit-Unlimited.com. All rights reserved.

Quick SideNote Here: The gold standard for an autoresponder on the market today is either GetResponse or Aweber

There are several reasons that you should be using an autoresponder every day for your business.

If you have ever tried to keep in touch with your customer base in the past, you’ll know how difficult this can be. Many traditional businesses, before the onset of the internet, used to have a major problem with a customer list because it was typically kept in a rolodex. This card file would often have thousands of names, each on individual cards. The business owner would have to use “snail” mail or the telephone to try and contact each individual, this could take hours if not days to accomplish. 

Enter email and the Autoresponder.

The smart business professional today keeps their lists where they can easily be accessed, i.e. an autoresponder. This does away with the old card file system and means that customers can be contacted using a few simple mouse clicks. The autoresponder system can be used for PR, promoting a special offer or just updating price lists as well as simply keeping in contact with their customers or business associates.

Most successfull online marketers today will have a subscriber list. These subscribers are people who have agreed to receive emails from the marketer. An autoresponder is an excellent way to stay connected with these people.

Although people have agreed to be contacted by you it is unlikely that they will repond positively to your initial sales message. An autoresponder allows you to send out a number of follow up emails that may result in a future positive response and will also keep your business name in front of these potential customers.

You can automate the entire process with a series of pre-written messages. You can update these messages or tweak them at any time. An autoresponder allows you to make new offers or send free bonuses or simply send  additional information when the opportunity arises.

For example, say your business comes out with a new product, you will be able to blast this offer to every one on your customer list instantaneously. Then send them a series of follow up messages at predetermines intervals. Once it is set-up in your autoresponder you can allow it to run completely on auto-pilot.

If you are marketing anything online, your autoresponder is THE #1 essential tool to employ.

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Why Are Autoresponders So Effective At Driving Purchases?

Autoresponders are simply automated mailing systems that send the message of your choice to your prospects at intervals chosen by you. A typical use for an autoresponder is for a series of related emails containing free content – for example, a five part mini-course on a topic of interest to your prospect. While you could technically make that mini-course available on your website, you would miss out on the importance of autoresponders’ ability to condition your prospects to welcome your emails.

This conditioning comes from repeatedly sending your prospects valuable content that they are interested in (such as the mini-course mentioned above). As your string of emails becomes longer, your prospects associate your emails with massive value to them. Soon enough, they will actually look forward to your emails and increase their trust of you. At this point, you can incorporate links to the products you are promoting in future emails, and prospects will be more willing to click on them. The importance of autoresponders here is to first warm the prospect up, and then make purchasing easy for them.

What Else Can You Use Autoresponders For?

The importance of autoresponders isn’t limited to sending sales emails; there is much more that you can do with them. For example, you could send surveys to your mailing list asking them what kinds of issues they need help with, and that can give you valuable insight on what to promote next time. You could also use your autoresponder to deliver bonus content to subscribers at certain intervals, such as every 30 days, to give them motivation to stay on your list (and increase their trust in you at the same time).

The importance of autoresponders can go even further than that; it can help make you a better marketer. Many autoresponder programs allow you to split test, or send slightly different versions of your messages to segments of your list. This is useful because you can adjust your subject lines and message body and discover which version converts better. These free marketing lessons will help you become better at turning your prospects into paying customers. So don’t let another day go by without using a good autoresponder to increase your sales.

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Mike has been online since 2004 building Multiple Streams of Income.
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