Some people believe that autoresponders are just a little too impersonal and that they don’t convert or result in any good except for a click or two. Sometimes they don’t even result in that and you get stuck in the spam folder. All of the hard work you put into your autoresponder was for nothing, and you don’t like wasting your time and money on things that don’t work.
That all makes sense, but autoresponders can be valuable and do work when used correctly. Let’s talk about them a little.
What is An Autoresponder?
An autoresponder, beyond the initial “thanks for signing up!” email, is an email that is designed to grab the attention of the person who signed up for your email list. Often, this is a series of emails that is asking your audience to do something. That something varies from campaign to campaign, and sometimes they’re only asking for a click. At other times, an autoresponder wants you to sign up for something else, read some information, or just remind you that a company exists. This kind of autoresponder is often called a “sequential autoresponder,” while the one-shots are called “simple autoresponders.”
Two Reasons You Need to Use an Autoresponder
Even if you’ve been burned in the past, using an autoresponder now – with some tweaks – can be a huge benefit to you.
The first thing that’s important to note is that people who are actually interested in your business are going to be the ones that signed up for your mailing list. Anyone can like a Facebook page (since you don’t have to actually sign up to view updates from that page) but there’s no way to “opt-out” of an email list unless you unsubscribe, so why would they ever subscribe in the first place? These are your true fans, and these are the people who are going to matter in the long run. In addition, you actually own your email list. You don’t own your Facebook or Twitter followers, so if either one of those sites decides to take away those followers, they can.
Secondly, it cuts out a lot of work for you when you want to offer a visitor something valuable. You ask for them to subscribe in exchange for a piece of very valuable content that appeals to your target audience. When they subscribe, they get the content, and then you can have a series of friendly autoresponders that follows up and offers even more information that someone who could use your initial freebie could also use. This builds authority and creates more loyal fans.
Three Ways to Use an Autoresponder
- If you’re convinced that you do want to try an autoresponder but aren’t sure what to do with it, here are a few ways you can use one:
- Offer a free resource (book, guide, etc.) and let the autoresponder deliver it automatically
- Send out thank you notes and follow ups when people download resources off of your website
Deliver a great series of emails to your reader that will help establish you as a noteworthy resource in their minds, which may make them click through and become paying customers
The possibilities are endless with a good sequential autoresponder, and simple autoresponders are valuable, too. Use both and start building your audience today.
