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If you've reached the point of exhaustion trying to keep up with answering
the mountain of emails that threatens to bury you alive every single day, you're
ready to learn about autoresponders.
The bad news is that people expect prompt replies to their email inquiries.
However, unless you can figure out how to work continual twenty-four hour shifts,
or hire enough people to constantly monitor incoming emails (while they're eating
up your revenue), you have a problem. The good news is an autoresponder is an
inexpensive - or even free - method of quickly responding to emails. What these
programs do is automatically respond to incoming emails as soon asthey are received.
Emails are essential to your business for many different reasons. Most importantly,
these invisible email voices give you their feedback about your website - for
free!
However, if you spend all your working hours answering these emails, how are
you supposed to run your business?The answer is simple: use autoresponders.
Autoresponders are programs that automatically respond to your emails without
you so much as having to click on your mouse.
There are a number of good reasons why you need an autoresponder besides just
answering your email. For example, autoresponders can be used if you need a way
to send information about your services or products, price lists, or if there
are repeated questions asked across large numbers of emails. 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.
Autoresponder programs vary from software that runs with your email program
to a specialized script that runs on your web hosting company's server. This
kind of script may use a web page form or simply operate with your email account.
This kind of script is programmed to send out a standardized message whenever
an email is received. The message is sent to a particular script or email address.
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
interval of time. For example, you can set your autoresponder to send out a
new message every day for as long a period as you desire.
There are numerous companies who offer autoresponders free of charge. Your
website hosting company often provides autoresponders as a free service. If this
is not the case with your web hosting company, there are numerous companies
who offer this service for a small fee, or free of charge, providing you attach
an advertisement for their company to your emails.
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 numbers and addresses, 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 productis needed.
You can create a standardized signature that every employeein your business
uses, or you can go wild, and let every staff member create their own personal
signature. Ofcourse, like everything in life, there are some rules and guidelines
to creating a personal signature.
Keep the length of your signature between four to six lines of text, with no
more than 70 characters in a single line. Make sure that your email program
does not cut off your text! The content should include your name, your company
name, your email address, fax number, and any other contactdetails, such as
800 numbers. Lastly, always include a short personal message about your company.
It should be a subtle sell of your services or your products, and possibly your
company's reliability and longevity.
Another specialized use of autoresponders is to create courses 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 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 your target audience willfind of great
value.
With every lesson, include the number of the lesson, the topic title, information
about your company and itsservices or products. At the end, include a few blurbs
about the next lesson to entice the subscriber to continue on.
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 thematerial carefully, employing a professional
writer or editor if necessary, you must transfer your text to your auto responder.
There are a number of free autoresponders you can use. Tryhttp:/www.getresponse.com,
or http://www.fastfacts.net. Or go onto Google and you will find a long list
of free autoresponder companies. Then sign-up for your chosen autoresponder.
Once you do, you will receive instructions as to how to set it up and transfer
your text.
Email is an excellent marketing tool; it is inexpensive and it is fast. Use
it to advertise your business by choosing your email address carefully. Your
website should contain different email addresses for different contact requests.
For example, use info@yourdomain.com for information requests, or sales@yourdomain.com
for questions about sales. It's a good idea to set up one for the owner, such as
president@yourdomain.com. This presents your company in a personal, approachable
light and insures that direct contact is provided.
Autoresponders are an effective and powerful marketing tool, allowing you to
make contact with thousands of potential customers. This is an invaluable asset
considering how many potential customers you usually have contact with before
you make an actual sale.
Essentially, an autoresponser allows you to automate part of your marketing
campaign.
Isn't all about working less and earning more?
About the Author:
Jose L. Gonzalez, Journalism degree in Spain, makes a living online with several
websites on different niches.
He is editor of Premier Marketing Ezine and author of The Marketing Master Course.
A complete no hype guide to setting up a real online business that works.
http://www.marketing-master-course.com |
