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How to Use Autoresponders as a Marketing Tool
Autoresponders are a great tool for automating your business communication. You can use them to automatically respond to emails, provide information, and easily keep in touch with your customers.
Originally, autoresponders were used for quickly responding to emails - automatically responding to incoming emails as soon as they are received.
However, over time, people came up with many other creative ways to use autoresponders. They can be used to send information about your services or products, or answering repeated questions asked across numbers of emails (FAQs).
Maybe you want to offer your site visitors a special bonus of some kind, such as advice, or relevant articles. All of this can be handled by an autoresponder. Additionally, you can advertise your business and then build stable relationships with your customers by using autoresponders with useful information.
Some autoresponders can do more than simply send out standardized messages. They can send out an unlimited number of follow-up messages, sent at predetermined intervals of time. For example, you can set your autoresponder to send out a new message every day for as long as you desire.
Website hosting companies often provide autoresponders as a free service. Free web mail accounts, like Yahoo Mail, also have a built in autoresponder, though their options are pretty limited.
If your current email account doesn't offer an autoresponder, or if you need more options, there are numerous companies who offer this service for a monthly fee. Aweber.com is a good one to check out.
To personalize your autoresponder messages, you can attach a signature. Signatures in this case are much like business cards. You can include your name, company, all your contact info, and a brief message.
It's a good idea to attach a signature to every email that is sent out. This works as a repeated reminder of your business identity, every time a customer sees it. The more they look at your signature, the more likely your company will spring to mind when your particular service or product is needed.
Another specialized use of autoresponders is to create courses that you can then offer your site visitors for free. You can choose a topic in which you are an expert, and that precisely targets your potential customers.
Once you have carefully chosen your subject, divide it into a number of different sub-topics. Then offer your site visitor a free 10 or 15 day course, each day offering a different sub-topic.
The first topic should always be a welcome message to your site visitor, and an explanation about what is to follow. Your explanation should be enticing, getting the point across that you are offering free, quality information that will be of great value to your target audience.
Make sure each topic is packed with essential and valuable information, and leaves the visitor lusting to know more. Otherwise, you may lose them in the very beginning.
Of course, you have to write up your course before you can offer it. Once you have done this, and gone over the material carefully, you're ready to transfer your text to your autoresponder.
If you have an opt-in email list, set up an autoresponder with a welcome message, and any other information or bonus promised in your opt-in box.
Autoresponders are an effective and powerful marketing tool, allowing you to make contact with thousands of potential customers. Their use is limited only by your imagination.
About the Author Emilie Nottle is a graphic/web designer, online strategist, and principal at Zooop Design - a full service graphic and web design firm. If you're ready to make the most of your online presence, automate your marketing efforts, and grow your biz, subscribe to her monthly eZine here.
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