Feb

What Is An Autoresponder and How Do I Use It?

The autoresponder is a vital marketing tool, but if you are new you may be unfamiliar with the term. An autoresponder is a software program or subscription service used to automatically schedule and send out email messages.

What I’m referring to here are permission-based emails, which means that your prospect (recipient) has requested information and confirmed their request, a process that is referred to as a double opt-in. The request and confirmation process is necessary to avoid spam complaints. Many people have abused email so safeguards are now essential.

The key characteristic of a quality autoresponder system or service is deliverability. You want to be sure your emails don’t get blocked due to past complaints regarding the autoresponder company. By the way, you can buy autoresponder software but you must then send out the emails from your own account. Send to many and get complaints and your internet service provider may shut down your account. For this reason, many people choose to use a subscription service.

The best autoresponder services provide reliable delivery of messages and allow an unlimited number of autoresponder lists (of messages). Multiple lists are often desired to target different market segments, or different markets altogether. You will also want to be able to select the intervals for your message delivery and to send “broadcast” messages whenever you want. The interval delivery consists of defining how many days to wait between each message. The first message goes out right away and subsequent messages can be sent a selected number of days after the previous message. Another key feature is the ability to create customized webforms. These are the forms used to have people subscribe to your list. They can be designed to include headlines, graphics, and so on. And you will want a knowledge base plus customer support to get answers to your questions.

There are several good autoresponder choices available. The service I have selected for my own use is Aweber. They offer a full-featured autoresponder service and provide extensive training to help subscribers get the most out of the system. You can check out Aweber and even take the system for a test drive.