Autoresponder eCourse

Autoresponder eCourse

An Internet marketer, in the truest sense of the word, is basically a one-person advertising company. As such, the ability to follow-up with those who have already purchased from you, as well as contacting new, potential leads, is a critical factor in growing your business.

The main problem with being an Internet marketer is that you must single-handedly consistantly keep a steady flow of new leads and purchasers coming into your realm of influence. The bigest problem with this is the amount of
time required to follow-up with each and every contact you have gathered. You need to be spending more time generating more cash flow into your business, not spending all day sending out follow-up emails to all of your leads and purchasers.

The dilema then, is how to keep up with all the necessary communications with new leads, as well as with your past purchasers, and still have the majority of your time and attention focused on generating more sales and more new leads. The easiest answer to this is simply to use a good autoresponder that can be set up to automatically follow-up with everyone according to a pre-set schedule with pre-determined and specifically timed emails.

The best part about autoresponders is that, if done right, everything is completely controlled by you, but maintained automatically by the autoresponder! You simply could not ever hope to manually handle a task of that magnitude one email at a time by yourself, it would be virtually impossible. Be a wise marketer, and set up an autoresponder to automate the task for you.

The best part of this scenario is that, once the system is set up correctly, the
whole process will continue on auto-pilot!

If you have been trying to market online for any length of time, you have heard about autoresponders, but may not have used one for any number of reasons. These reasons may include, but are not necessarily limited to: Price - which normally runs anywhere from $14.95/Month to $34.95/Month for some
of the more well known online products; Fear - Which comes from lack of understanding of how to set one up and use it; Ignorance - brought on by not understanding the importance of having a list of your own to market to (usually because your "up-line sponsor" did not tell you how important it is). Or you may be unwilling to use the Free versions of most autoresponders that
would pass ads into every email you send out.

Q: Exactly what is an autoresponder?

A: Put in the simplest terms, an autoresponder is software that allows you
to send email messages to people who have opted-in to your list.

This, by definition, is not spam or unsolicited mail on any level. The people whose names and email addresses are in the autoresponder have given you permission to send them emails. That is how they got there - they had to fill out a form and click a "submit" button to be added to the autoresponder "list", and they understood that before they hit the "submit" button on that form.

They usually filled out a form like that to get a free ezine, newsletter, eBook, or other desirable offering from you. The autoresponder sends out an automatic email in response to the subscriber who clicks the "submit" button on the opt-in form of your site. Depending on how you have set up the autoresponder, the subscriber will receive either one message, or a series of follow-up messages that go out at certain intervals that you have chosen. The best thing about this is that YOU get to choose how many messages and how often they are sent out.

The people whose names are in the autoresponder system also were given a chance to change their mind by not clicking a link in a "confirmation" email that was sent to their email inbox. If they clicked the link within that confirmation email, they agreed to receive emails from you. There is also a link included at the bottom of each email they receive from you that allows them to "opt-out" of your list (by clicking that link, they are saying that they no longer want emails from you). Because that link is at the bottom, they can not consider your autoresponder emails as spam.

The messages that go out must be written and the autoresponder doesn't do that for you. You must write them. Yes, this takes some time, but once it is set up, it will not have to be done again, unless you want to change the messages. After it is set up, your autoresponder will send out everthing to every subscriber on a set schedule - on auto-pilot!

Here, I want to make a point about the autoresponder program you choose for yourself. There are quite a few out there that will offer an autoresponder for "Free", but they will include ads of their own or someone else who has paid for
advertising.

Remember that these will go out at the TOP of your autoresponder emails. This is bad because these messages detract and distract the receiver from the message YOU want them to respond to. There is one autoresponder that I use that has a free option and has no ads included to distract subscribers from your messages.

It is called ISO Responder (Free through the banner link below).

I will cover this more later.

Your Most Valuable Asset:

For now, let us move on...

Q: Ok, now I know what it is and its most basic opperation, but how can I
use it in my daily routine for my business?

A: There are many ways to use an autoresponder in your daily routine
for your online business dealings - for example:

You can use the opt-in form on a squeeze page to sign people up for your free ezine and the autoresponder will immediately send out an email with a
confirmation link that they must click on. Once they "confirm" that they want your ezine, your autoresponder will send out a "welcome" email. If you would like to, you can send out another email with a free report and a link to receive a sample of your ezine (if it is monthly and the current one is not being sent out yet) with a notification of which day of the month to expect their ezine so
that they will know approximately when it will arrive.

You may also want to send out an email asking what they find most challenging. Explain that you will try to cover the subject in detail in an upcoming ezine.

That will accomplish two things.

1. You will have them scouring every ezine for the "answer" to their needs, and

2. It will give you a good idea about what your subscribers Want to read about. This way, you have a real purpose to fill with your ezine, and it will make you seem more "one-on-one" with your subscribers. They love that!

Another good use of an autoresponder, is to have one set up for customers who purchase your products! When someone buys one of your products, have an autoresponder message ready to go out immediately that thanks them
for their purchase and have a link to a free eBook or "bonus".

Then, follow up in a couple of days asking how they are getting along with your product. This gives you "feed-back" for your product and may help you improve it for a later distribution. If they click a link saying that they like it, You can ask them to give a testimonial.

Have your autoresponder send an email with a link to a Free Bonus for their response to your questions. These only are the "tip of the iceburg" as there are many more uses of an autoresponder. You can use the autoresponder to send out eCourses as well, and add a short two or three sentence ad at the bottom with a link to a related product. These are what I refer to as "ghost sales" since I am not actually spending money to advertise these links. I get about 15% of my sales this way! Autoresponders can do a lot of good to marketers who use their creative imaginations.

Q: I understand some of the uses of autoresponders now, but are there
any tips on how to optimize my success using them?

A: The most important "success secrets" are as follows:

No matter how many people are on your list in the autoresponder, let "YOU" shine through! Make your messages personal by allowing your personality to come through in your messages. Encourage people to send feed-back, and make sure you ask them to take action in your messages. If you are offering
them a product, let them see why they need it, and why they should get it NOW!

A word about "Cookie Cutter" Ads

I absolutely hate opening my email inbox and seeing the same heading five or six times on one page! These people are just taking a "Cut and Paste" ad of the most recent "Gotta Join" opportunity and sending it out! These "cookie cutter" ads just make me go down the line and delete all but one! Do something original for heaven's sake! If you want to advertise a product, use the basic language that describes the features and benefits of the product, but put it in your own words. Don't copy verbatum! It is so obvious when people do that, and I pity those that do such things since they are losing money and ad credits that will get deleted over and over without being read.

They need to join "Your Biz Success!" and learn to write as if they are writing
to One person - the person receiving the email ad. This is critical when creating autoresponder ads for your ezines, or for follow-up messages. They must feel as if you intended that message for them! If it looks like it is aimed at everyone, it smacks of despiration. If you are using proper marketing techniques, you are not desperate for their purchase. You would like it if they made a purchase, of course, but it doesn't look as if you are financially in a pinch.

How you write your autoresponder messages says a lot about you. Make sure your language and approach are personal and not just "Cut and Paste". Experienced marketers will "unsubscribe" from your list so fast it will make your head spin if they see nothing but pre-written copy supplied by the product's creator. I know I did about a year or so ago!

I had joined an eZine and the "owner" sent nothing but "cookie cutter" ads to me with no articles, tips or information. I hit "unsubscribe" within two weeks. As soon as I did, a page popped up asking me "Why" I wanted to leave the list. My reply was short and sweet: "The eZine had no useful content at all, only "copy and paste" ads supplied by each product's creator. If you want to do this kind of advertising, join a safelist and be done with it. Do not insult "subscribers" expecting a real ezine!

The bottom line is: Don't use an autoresponder to abuse the power and freedom it offers. Use it wisely and with respect for your subscribers and you will gain a reputation to be proud of. I rely on my autoresponders to follow up
with my customers, subscribers to my ezines and to my various lists. It would be impossible to follow-up with all of them individually without them. Staying in contact helps you retain these valued members without the loss of that valuable relationship you have cultivated. Those who do reply to those messages are now my friends as well.

MLM Training is NOT Relevant Online!

At one time, I was like a lot of people who fell for the promise of great wealth offered by MLM companies. They taught two common and widely accepted concepts:

SW-SW-SW-N, and the 80-20 rule. The first is the abreviated form of:

Some will, Some Won't, So What? - Next!

This was designed to keep the "recruiter" from feeling bad about those who were not interested in their MLM opportunities. One needs some kind of mantra to help sooth the "sting" when someone who was once a good friend starts avoiding you for fear you will "start-up" with pitching your MLM again!

The second "rule" stated that you will need to spend: "80% of your effort on the 20% of "recruits" who do the most" This rule leaves out 80% of the people who signed up! They paid their way in, but they will receive little or no help
from their sponsor under this guidline!

I for one, do not follow either concept. Anyone who joins any of my programs is equally given my time and effort if they show interest in learning. I will not go begging people to learn. That must come from within the person. I can plant a seed, water it, and supply water. I can't control the weather. The person's attitude is the "weather" in this case. The harvest only comes when every factor, including the weather, co-operate as they should. Enough said...

An autoresponder is an ice-breaker that puts the message out to the subscriber. You are not pestering "friends and family" to join some opportunity, you are simply sending messages to people who have agreed to receive them. They may buy, or they may not buy. In any event, the worst that can happen is that they "unsubscribe." This will not happen unless you
offer nothing at all useful to them. You come away with no hurt feelings or lost friendships, as well as a great way to follow-up with those who stay on your list, and sell products, and develope friendships that can last a life-time.

I know that I have a number of friends online whom I met through my autoresponder messages! We exchange opinions, discuss opportunities and stay in contact by IM, email, and skype. In fact, one of them was the first member of "Your Biz Success!"

If you want to do anything worthwhile online, you need an autoresponder to help you market more efficiently. You can not even start to hope to be successful if you can't have a good system set up, and this is one of the key
factors to ensure success!

What's Next?:

Continue to the next lesson by clicking the link below:

Coming soon...