Introduction to Autoresponders

If you've reached the point of exhaustion trying to keep upwith answering the mountain of emails that threatens tobury you alive every single day, you're ready to learnabout autoresponders.

The bad news is that people expect prompt replies to theiremail inquiries. However, unless you can figure out how towork continual twenty-four hour shifts, or hire enoughpeople to constantly monitor incoming emails (while they'reeating up your revenue), you have a problem. The good newsis an autoresponder is an inexpensive - or even free -method of quickly responding to emails. What these programsdo is automatically respond to incoming emails as soon asthey are received.

Emails are essential to your business for many differentreasons. Most importantly, these invisible email voicesgive you their feedback about your website - for free!However, if you spend all your working hours answeringthese emails, how are you supposed to run your business?The answer is simple: use autoresponders. Autorespondersare programs that automatically respond to your emailswithout you so much as having to click on your mouse.

There are a number of good reasons why you need anautoresponder besides just answering your email. Forexample, autoresponders can be used if you need a way tosend information about your services or products, pricelists, or if there are repeated questions asked acrosslarge numbers of emails. Maybe you want to offer your sitevisitors a special bonus of some kind, such as advice orrelevant articles. All of this can be handled by anautoresponder. Additionally, you can advertise yourbusiness and then build stable relationships with yourcustomers by using autoresponders.

Autoresponder programs vary from software that runs withyour email program to a specialized script that runs onyour web hosting company's server. This kind of script mayuse a web page form or simply operate with your emailaccount. This kind of script is programmed to send out astandardized message whenever an email is received. Themessage is sent to a particular script or email address.

Some autoresponders can do more than simply send outstandardized messages. They can send out an unlimitednumber of follow-up messages sent at predetermined intervalof time. For example, you can set your autoresponder tosend out a new message every day for as long a period asyou desire.

There are numerous companies who offer autoresponders freeof charge. Your website hosting company often providesautoresponders as a free service. If this is not the casewith your web hosting company, there are numerous companieswho offer this service for a small fee, or free of charge,providing you attach an advertisement for their company toyour emails.

To personalize your autoresponder messages, you can attacha signature. Signatures in this case are much like businesscards. You can include your name, company, all your contactnumbers and addresses, and a brief message.

It's a good idea to attach a signature to every email thatis sent out. This works as a repeated reminder of yourbusiness identity every time a customer sees it. The morethey look at your signature, the more likely your companywill spring to mind when your particular service or productis needed.

You can create a standardized signature that every employeein your business uses, or you can go wild, and let everystaff member create their own personal signature. Ofcourse, like everything in life, there are some rules andguidelines to creating a personal signature.

Keep the length of your signature between four to six linesof text, with no more than 70 characters in a single line.Make sure that your email program does not cut off yourtext! The content should include your name, your companyname, your email address, fax number, and any other contactdetails, such as 800 numbers. Lastly, always include ashort personal message about your company. It should be asubtle sell of your services or your products, and possiblyyour company's reliability and longevity.

Another specialized use of autoresponders is to createcourses that you can then offer your site visitors forfree. You must choose a topic in which you are an expertand that precisely targets your potential customers.

Once you have carefully chosen your subject, divide it intoa number of different sub-topics. Then offer your sitevisitor a free 10 or 15 day course, each day offering adifferent sub-topic. The first topic should always be awelcome message to your site visitor and an explanationabout what is to follow. Your explanation should beenticing, getting the point across that you are offeringfree, quality information that your target audience willfind of great value.

With every lesson, include the number of the lesson, thetopic title, information about your company and itsservices or products. At the end, include a few blurbsabout the next lesson to entice the subscriber to continueon.

Make sure each topic is packed with essential and valuableinformation, 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 canoffer it. Once you have done this, and gone over thematerial carefully, employing a professional writer oreditor if necessary, you must transfer your text to yourautoresponder.

There are a number of free autoresponders you can use. Tryhttp:/www.getresponse.com, or http://www.fastfacts.net. Orgo onto Google and you will find a long list of freeautoresponder companies. Then sign-up for your chosenautoresponder. Once you do, you will receive instructionsas to how to set it up and transfer your text.

Email is an excellent marketing tool; it is inexpensive andit is fast. Use it to advertise your business by choosingyour email address carefully. Your website should containdifferent email addresses for different contact requests.For example, use info@yourdomain.com for informationrequests, or sales@yourdomain.com for questions aboutsales. It's a good idea to set up one for the owner, suchas president@yourdomain.com. This presents your company ina personal, approachable light and insures that directcontact is provided.

Autoresponders are an effective and powerful marketingtool, allowing you to make contact with thousands ofpotential customers. This is an invaluable assetconsidering how many potential customers you usually havecontact with before you make an actual sale. Essentially,an autoresponser allows you to automate part of yourmarketing campaign.

Chris Geldof

Chris Geldof is owner and publisher of the free special report "How To Build Your Own Profitable Opt In List".Get this report for free at http://www.reach-for-money.com