Email Autoresponders

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• How to choose the right autoresponder for YOUR needs
• How to create a killer email sequence that gets results
• My sneaky trick to keeping your subscribers on your list for longer
• How to enlist an army of referrers to build your list for you, fast!

...and much, MUCH more!

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An email autoresponder is a service, script or program that sends out a sequence of pre-written email messages in reply to a customer either filling out a web form or sending a request email. In short, they are like answering machines for your email, handling the newsletter distribution for you.

Maybe an example would make things a little clearer...

Imagine for a moment that Bob visits your Golf website after reading an article or watching one of your marketing videos and sees that you are offering a free golf ebook for download. All he has to do is enter his name and email address into the form box and click the submit button...and all from the comfort of his sofa.

The sequential autoresponder then goes to work. It adds Bob to your subscriber list and then sends Bob an email informing him of where to download the ebook.

The next day, Bob gets another email from the autoresponder asking him if he managed to download the ebook and telling him of the latest offer they have on golf clubs.

Two days later, the autoresponder sends an email to Bob telling him about the best way to cure a slice shot...and lists a number of golf swing aids that are on special offer.

A week later, Bob gets an email from the autoresponder...

As you can see, an autoresponder keeps your company at the forefront of Bobs mind without being intrusive.

No need to spam the guy, he's already shown that he's interested in your products. and anyway, if Bob doesn't want to receive any more emails, he can simply unsubscribe at any time.

This is why email autoresponders are such powerful tools in your permission based email marketing arsenal.

Many web hosts such as AOL, Hotmail, or Verizon have very aggressive spam filters that block the majority of emails sent to their users. Sources reckon that over 50% of email messages are blocked. This is not good news for business.

The best way to guarantee maximum deliverability is to use one of the web based email autoresponder services such as Aweber. They have agreements with all the major ISPs that ensures a 99.34% deliverability rate. So you can relax, knowing that your messages are getting through.

But email deliverability isn't the only advantage to using a web based service. Their system is very easy to use, even for absolute beginners. Aweber even have a series of videos showing you how to set up an email campaign, how to make each message personal and how to send those fancy formatted HTML emails that will make your message stand out from the crowd.

Head over to the Aweber site and check out their tutorial videos. In fact, why not give it a spin for one month, for free. Take a look at Aweber here.

If you are fairly competent at PHP or Perl, then another option is to install an autoresponder script on your own web server. This is actually easier than it sounds, so what are the advantages (and disadvantages)?

The main advantage to having your own autoresponder script is that you can create an almost unlimited number of email campaigns, limited only by your systems resources. The emails will also have your company address, rather than some third party name. This can help with branding.

The biggest downside to installing your own script has already been mentioned; deliverability. See, the big ISPs often simply throw the emails into a black hole without telling you that it wasn't delivered. So you never even know that they were blocked. Not a good situation.

Of course, if you install your own script then you must also maintain it. If the script breaks, you need to fix it. Or install updates. If you are comfortable with say, PHP then this is not a problem.

Yet another option that is growing in popularity, thanks to the rapid growth of broadband and a permanent internet connection, is dedicated autoresponder software such as Mailloop.

Mailloop is actually much more than just a simple autoresponder. Its latest upgrade to version 7 sees the program mature into a complete email and newsletter suite, capable of handling unlimited newsletters, subscribers and email sequences.

I would go into great detail explaining every feature of the Mailloop software but as they offer a free 90 day trial, it's easier for you to just grab a copy and take it for a test run. Click here to get your copy.

For people who simply want to try out email campaigns before committing to any particular system, there are free autoresponders available. My advice? Don't use them!

At first, free autoresponders seem like a great idea. But in reality, you get what you pay for.

Their delivery rate is poor, which means that you are throwing valuable subscribers down the drain. Now how much would that be costing you?

Another thing you need to ask yourself is how the free autoresponder services actually make money. Usually, they do this by placing advertisements in your emails to your clients. Just how unprofessional would that make your business look?

If you are using your autoresponder to sell a product or service such as Hotel Marketing, 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 email autoresponders?

It's really quite simple, and in fact, an HTML autoresponder makes 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.

First, you need to get people to see your signup form. This can be done using a Squeeze Page or Slide In Popup online, or cheap and easy leaflets in the real world. Or why not drive traffic from your Google business listing?

Then you build interest slowly. Start with an informative message - a message that educates the reader in some way on the topic that your product or service is related to. At the bottom of the message, include a link to the online video marketing 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're like me you probably hate the thought of actually having to WRITE an email autoresponder sequence.

If you have never written an autoresponder series before and have a million questions swimming around your head then download a copy of Michael Rasmussens extensive email marketing course, Email Promos Exposed. He walks you through the entire process of constructing effective marketing email messages step by step covering everything from the subject line right through to the PS!

The course comes in the popular screen capture video format so you can follow along as he explains everything on screen. It's only around an hour long so watch it from start to finish before you get started on your own email sequence. Download it here.

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!

So whether you're a multinational corporation or just a humble restaurant, get started with an email autoresponder and put your marketing on autopilot.