Autoresponder Series - About Autoresponders

Sometimes referred to as mailbots, an autoresponder is an integral part of any online business experience, irrespective of your field of expertise. Not only are they of value as far as promotional tools are concerned, the fact that they can respond automatically to emails can save you a phenomenal amount of time and money.

While there are variations between one autoresponder and the next, in principle they all work the same. By this I mean that the primary function of an autoresponder is to send out messages in response to messages received. Of course, depending on factors such as the script or email address, an autoresponder will send out a suitable reply with relation to the message that was received in the first place.

Admittedly, as mentioned earlier, autoresponders can be extremely beneficial but unfortunately there's a downside as well, being that they're often extensively abused. Yes, being able to use them for automating daily requirements is a great feature but for many, crossing paths with an autoresponder can be catastrophic.

An example of this would be when one communicates with a website which also uses an autoresponder, such as when you submit your website to search engines or directories. When this happens, their autoresponder sends a message to you and in turn, your autoresponder will send a reply. What happens then is that the two mailbots will simply continue replying to each other. Need I say anymore?

Additionally, whenever one signs up to receive newsletters, emails or even ezines, you're required to provide an email address and if you provide the address of your autoresponder rather than a valid email address, you can be rest assured that your subscription will be canceled. Who could blame any group for getting annoyed when every time they send out the newsletter you requested, they get automated replies? After all, imagine if all their subscribers used autoresponder addresses. They'd be faced with thousands upon thousands of automated replies. Whatever you do, don't use mailbots for subscriptions to anything.

As has already been mentioned, autoresponders are great tools but they certainly do have drawbacks. When one considers the unnecessary inconvenience caused to subscription groups, it's hardly surprising that many of them will cancel your subscription if you use an autoresponder. Additionally, the fact that those using mailbots most often don't have the same "from" or "reply" address as they originally had, can make for a very time consuming experience when a group has to try and locate your correct address.

If like so many others, you feel the need to use an autoresponder, please be considerate and never use it when you sign up for one subscription or another. In responsible hands, an auto responder can make an extraordinary difference to your online business in terms of time, money and of course effort. Best of all, they are incredibly easy to configure and of course to use. Be responsible in your actions and your autoresponder will afford you a great advantage throughout your internet experience.

Article Source: http://www.upublish.info

About the Author:
Gary Packer
Gary Packer has been using the internet almost since the beginning. He has worked in Design Studios in London and has worked extensively on advertising projects for TV. During the last 4 years he has turned his attention to creating an income from the internet. For FREE internet-marketing related information and e-courses, please visit Internet Marketing Strategies .

Autoresponder Series - Why Email Autoresponders?

It doesn't take much to realize why an autoresponder is of such importance to anyone running an internet business, providing it has all the required features and it's an easy to use variety. Having an automatic email response system set up which successfully responds to all incoming emails 24 hours per day, seven day a week - 365 days a year, is without question, a big advantage in the world of online business. 

There are a vast amount of autoresponder programs which can be set up on your own computer or on your own local server. Alternatively, there are many forms of autoresponders which can be hosted via remote servers although it should be taken into consideration, such services do cost money and on occasions, it can become very costly. 

Obviously, for those wishing to avoid additional expenses, using your own autoresponder program, either on your PC or on your local server is the option of choice. 

As mentioned above, opting to use your own autoresponder program will end up saving you a considerable amount of money while at the same time, saving you a lot of valuable time. Understandably, allowing an autoresponder to sift through responses and reply to incoming mail frees up a lot of your time which most businessmen can then put to better use on other aspects of their business. 

Yes, sure we're all entitled to our own personal opinions but, the fact is, with online businesses, lists of clients are what generate income. The more leads you get, the longer your list of clients become and the more clients you have, the more money you're going to make. So, what has this got to do with autoresponders? It's a proven fact that autoresponders are capable of generating thousands of leads in minimal time. It only stands to reason that the more customers you have, the more money you make. 

In order to get the most out of an autoresponder, it's fundamental that you include a subscription box within your website. By doing this, you're making it convenient for visitors to sign up for you newsletters in order to learn more about the various products and/or services you offer. As soon as a visitor signs up, you can have your autoresponder set up in such a way that it automatically sends out an email while at the same time, it adds that address to your client list. This is an essential strategy in today's world of online business management. 

If you find yourself continually searching for new ways to improve your online business then you're not alone and you can be rest assured, millions of others have already realized that autoresponders are one of the most essential, and valuable, tools available. 

Firstly, as you won't be required to personally reply to every email, your workload will shrink, thus allowing you time for more important demands. 

Secondly, as your list of clients continues to grow, so too will your profits. The ultimate result of acquiring an autoresponder is that they boost income which far outweighs the initial cost of purchasing one.

Article Source: http://www.upublish.info

About the Author:

Gary Packer

Gary Packer has been using the internet almost since the beginning. He has worked in Design Studios in London and has worked extensively on advertising projects for TV. During the last 4 years he has turned his attention to creating an income from the internet. For FREE internet-marketing related information and e-courses, please visit Internet Marketing Strategies .

Autoresponder Series - Deciding Which Autoresponder Software to Use

Considering the vast choice of autoresponders on the market, choosing the ideal one for your needs can seem a little daunting to say the least. 

Before you make your choice and buy one, it's imperative that you understand what your personal requirements are with regards to available functions, etc. Furthermore, you'll also need to take your budget into consideration as prices can vary significantly. 

Brand names, prices and features are all factors which can influence your choice of autoresponder so you'd be wise to make comparisons before committing yourself to any particular autoresponder. Consider what features are important to you rather than allowing yourself to be impressed with a vast amount of features which in all likelihood; you'll end up never using. 

Generally speaking, messages sent out from autoresponders are short and straight to the point. As an example, if you have to go away and you won't be available to check emails then you could set your autoresponder to reply to anyone that emails you, informing them that you're away at the moment and also letting them know when you'll be back. Likewise, an autoresponder can confirm, on your behalf, that an email has been received. Undeniably, autoresponders are invaluable for businesses. 

Whatever you do, don't ever use your autoresponder address if you subscribe to any newsletter or mailing list. Doing so will reveal in no uncertain terms, a very real and very annoying problem as far as autoresponders are concerned. The fact that your autoresponder will reply to any email received means that if you've used the autoresponder address for subscriptions, each time you receive such a newsletter or mailing list, your autoresponder to send a reply. 

For those who specialize in the field of internet marketing and who have to maintain lists of a vast number of clients, a sequential autoresponder is without a doubt the best choice. These autoresponders can prove to be highly effective in getting more visitors to your website as they continually collect various email addresses to which they then send marketing emails or other pre-determined messages. 

Not only is a sequential autoresponder invaluable as far as keeping track of subscribers is concerned, it's just as indispensable for keeping clients informed with regards to new business developments. 

The plain and simple truth is that autoresponders are an essential tool for any online business. It's hardly surprising then that one should be willing to do proper research regarding which autoresponder will best suit your needs. Also, take into consideration that not all autoresponders run on your local PC or personal server. Some highly efficient autoresponders are primarily web based programs, so here again; a little research will go a long way in terms of money, time, effort, and of course, efficiency. 

The most common type of autoresponder is those which are locally hosted because admittedly, having your autoresponder hosted on your own local server has the benefit of being extremely convenient.

Article Source: http://www.upublish.info

About the Author:

Gary Packer

Gary Packer has been using the internet almost since the beginning. He has worked in Design Studios in London and has worked extensively on advertising projects for TV. During the last 4 years he has turned his attention to creating an income from the internet. For FREE internet-marketing related information and e-courses, please visit Internet Marketing Strategies .

Autoresponder Series - Boosting Business With Autoresponders

If you've never used an autoresponder in the past, you can be rest assured that you'll be absolutely fascinated with them when you do decide to use one. Having said this, while a large percentage of people nowadays are familiar with autoresponders, the greater majority of those people still don't fully comprehend just how significantly an autoresponder can benefit their business. 

In essence, an autoresponder will be able to carry out various tasks on your behalf, such as sending out broadcast emails alerting clients to your latest products or services. Furthermore, having the ability to keep track of conversations and in turn send out relevant personal messages automatically is without a doubt, a huge advantage of autoresponders. The bottom line really is that autoresponders, when used correctly, can most definitely result in a continuously growing list of clients. 

Addressing your customer by their name is a quality that most everyone notices and yes, sure you can manually type in the name of each customer you're wanting to email but if you have hundreds or even thousands of customers, doing so would require an immense amount of your time. 

Fortunately autoresponders are capable of doing this all for you. They can be set up to send out personalized messages addressing the customer by name, a tactic which has been proven to benefit businesses. 

As far as sending personalized emails to a list of customers is concerned, it could simply not be any easier than it is when using an autoresponder. Having added your entire customer list to your autoresponder and having set up a suitable email template, there is only one thing required of you, and that is, you'll need to click the send button. 

Perhaps most important of all, is the fact that once you've set it up, you won't need to so again when next you wish to send all your customers an email. 

Market research has determined that the vast majority of people, who buy a product listed in an email, only do so after an average of seven emails. Of course there are those who are happy to buy a product sooner but they're only a small minority. When we take this into consideration, it becomes plain to see just how beneficial autoresponders can be under these circumstances. 

Once you've set up the email addresses, simply type in your new message and click the send button. 

While an autoresponder has the potential to help any business grow, those running an internet marketing business cannot even consider being without one. Any business owners can find better ways of utilizing their time rather than spending hours upon hours sending out emails. 

If you run an online business then you're more than likely already aware of just how many emails you can receive daily so having an autoresponder can only be to your benefit. If you're one of the few who have never used one, do yourself a favour and get one because you can be rest assured, you won't want to be without one once you've experienced the benefits.

Article Source: http://www.upublish.info

About the Author:

Gary Packer

Gary Packer has been using the internet almost since the beginning. He has worked in Design Studios in London and has worked extensively on advertising projects for TV. During the last 4 years he has turned his attention to creating an income from the internet. For FREE internet-marketing related information and e-courses, please visit Internet Marketing Strategies .

Autoresponder Series - Get Started With An Autoresponder

There's only one reason why people start an online business or why they get involved in affiliate marketing and that is purely for the purpose of making money. However, when one considers the vast amount of email correspondence which inevitably results from such a business, it can prove to be a huge challenge if you're operating without an autoresponder. 

An autoresponder is fundamental in saving you both time and money. 

If you're just starting out and you lack funds to buy an autoresponder, don't despair because there are some available on the internet for free. However, you've probably heard people say before that nothing in life is free and autoresponders are no exception to the rule. While free autoresponders do work, most will include adverts on all email responses they send out and it's not difficult to imagine how such adverts could be detrimental to your business. 

Your first priority when getting an autoresponder is to get it all set up and ready for use. This means you'll need to get messages written out as well as any articles you want to send out with regards to your business, products or services. Experience is always to your benefit so it's advisable that you try and write your own messages and/or articles. 

Alternatively, if you're not experienced enough, there are online services which can supply quality articles for a small fee. 

Ideally, you should be in a position to send out a message once each week to all the people on your list and of course, the content of these messages should be unique each time. In reality, this means that your best approach would be to load 52 unique articles or messages onto your autoresponder when you set it up, in order to have fresh content available for a period of a year. If you can't write this much content then feel free to obtain it from the internet or, add as many as you can and then simply keep adding more as you get the time. 

After the message and article loading process is completed, you'll need to set up your personal signature which is then automatically displayed at the end of all messages and/or articles which get sent. Ideally this should of course consist of your name and a link to your online business. 

Additionally, you can also choose to include a brief outline of your business in your signature which can be very beneficial if worded professionally. Keep in mind that many of those who read your mailings will judge your level of expertise based on the signature you include. 

If you've completed loading up your messages then congratulations because all that is left now, is for you to actually start sending the emails. Of course, as one would expect, autoresponders can be configured to send these emails automatically, either daily, weekly or monthly, depending on your personal requirements. The true benefits and full potential of your autoresponder will become especially noticeable once your subscriber list starts to expand and rest assured, after even a short while, you'll be unable to imagine having to work without one.

Article Source: http://www.upublish.info

About the Author:

Gary Packer

Gary Packer has been using the internet almost since the beginning. He has worked in Design Studios in London and has worked extensively on advertising projects for TV. During the last 4 years he has turned his attention to creating an income from the internet. For FREE internet-marketing related information and e-courses, please visit Internet Marketing Strategies .

Email Marketing – Expanding Horizon

Email – the internet’s most powerful application and the main online communication device – is now a main part of online marketing plan.

Email marketing is an expanding art of delivering a message to a targeted audience via e mail. It sells, promotes, informs, reminds and brands. Sending an email is one of the simplest tasks today and it is one of the most cost effective of all the marketing media. 

Open up your personal email and find quite a variety of offers marketed to you. But then why is it moving at a snail’s pace? Targeted email messages, in terms of click-through links, often deliver responses of 5-15 per cent only. Email marketing is a lot more complicated than sending e mails. One needs customer permission, good lists, creativity, tracking and measuring techniques and customer relationships. When its email there is a thin line of difference between marketing and advertising and very often the mails are considered Spam.

Are they all just Spam?

It’s easy to mistake email marketing as “glorified Spam”. But a few key items differentiate the two. Email marketing requires you to get specific permission from your email targets. The two general categories are Opt- in and Opt –out.

Opt in – For email marketing to be truly opt-in, the target must specifically tell you that he or she wants to get the specific emails that you tell them you are going to send. Seth Godin popularized this as Permission Marketing. Permission is more critical when prospecting with e-mail marketing. Not doing so only risks damaging the brand with spam and kills the potential for any subsequent marketing efforts to the same audience. 

Opt out – Opt out means you can email blindly once and ask a “yes, send me this email” box in the registration page. But for most part when people say “opt out” today they refer to Spam with an unsubscribe link. After all “opt out” sounds better than “unsolicited commercial email” or Spam. This has posed a problem to many email marketers as consumer activists and antispam Organizations call for an active opt in as a requirement for commercial email. 

As a medium the email is not a problem. But like in all other media it requires the art and science of marketing. Solid email marketing rests on three “legs”- Product, List and Creativity.

Product 

Be it any media, however flashy and catchy the banner or ad, the products and services offered the backbone.

• Make the product compelling.

• Have clarity in what you want to sell and what the customer expects.

List 

A great offer to the wrong list might as well be Spam. A lot of care needs to be taken while acquiring a list. It’s a lot trickier on the net than in direct mail.

• Clean ‘n’ nourish – As it is in gardening cleaning and nourishing creates all the difference between a garden and a weed patch. A list needs to be built, cared and fed.

• Scrub the list off all duplicate addresses, no longer active emails and disinterested readers.

• Segment the group into small groups by a variety of criteria so that mails can be specifically targeted.

• Every facet of the email list needs to managed. How many and how often the people view the emails, how many of them try out the offer etc. needs careful monitoring.

• Design correct entry and exit strategies. One should remember that email or the brand (offering Company) is not new. Only email marketing is. If each message starts out as if they were the first email the company has ever sent and the emails keep coming for months even when they remain unopened…… the entrance and exit strategies need a good looking in.

• Build relationships – eMail is a lot more personal to a consumer’s mind than direct mail.care should be taken to personalize it. This simple acknowledgement of a relationship has tremendous results in building customer advocacy. Though this is a great step it needs to be tread cautiously. Systems can automatically personalize and send emails but if some records in the database are missing or the fields are mixed one can end up with odd message constructions. You can end up getting your friend’s personal investment records and loan recommendations in your mail. Also one should be sensitive to privacy concerns. An email with too much of the recipients’ personal information might seem like an abuse of privacy.

Creativity

Creativity in advertisement refers to the concept, copy and design of an advertising piece. The email messages are designed in three forms. In plain text or HTML, with lots of visuals that are pleasing to the eye or via a link. So the design cannot be explored much. Hence the focus should be in the copywriting.

Message and its delivery- the message and style of the email dictates it to be a success or a failure. A successful message needs to be:

Short – keep the message short. If its long winded and forces the reader to scroll down to read chances are he/she may not finish reading the message.

Personalize – readers need to feel a connection with the sender. Addressing someone by name and providing with an offer to their personal interest can produce tremendous results.

Unique – email markets as well as promotes. Hence the subject line needs to be catchy as well as unique. But no hard sell, no hyperbole. 

Relevant – A key point is that the message should be relevant. Studies show that in multiple lists slicing up and targeting content increase response rates by as much as 200 per cent.

All these factors when done well will certainly SPUR the customer to take up the offer. A quick look at the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of email marketing would help in better understanding.

Strength

Extreme one to one customization is possible

Any email campaign is traceable at every level

Highly cost effective.

Less effort – mailing is only a click away from the customer.

Increasing customer base.

Weakness

1. Low response rates.

2. In emails like yahoo the mails might end up in bulk and be considered Spam.

3. Cannot do mass marketing.

4. Email or internet services in India are mainly accessible in cities only.

Published: 2006-07-28 

Author: Latha R

eMail Marketing Guidelines

If you have started a new online or offline business then you’re certain to be looking for adequate means to advertise your product or service. Using mass media including television commercials, newspapers and magazines to sell your ideas can be very expensive and totally out of reach for most. 

Email marketing has become a reasonably priced way of reaching large volumes of individuals looking for information and offers on a wide variety of topics. According to eMarketer, a Pew Internet & American Life Project survey found that 91% of Internet users between the ages of 18 and 64 send or read e-mail, and an even higher number of users ages 65 or older do the same. The only other activity to even approach e-mail's popularity is using a search engine to find information. 

What is Email Marketing?

Email marketing is a form of direct marketing which uses electronic mail as a means of communicating commercial or fund-raising messages to an audience. In its broadest sense, every e-mail sent to a potential or current customer could be considered email marketing. However, the term is usually used to refer to:

• Sending email with the purpose of enhancing the relationship of a merchant with its current or old customer and to encourage customer loyalty and repeat business.

• Sending email with the purpose of acquiring a new customer or convincing old customers to buy something immediately.

• Adding advertisements in email sent by other companies to their customers. (Wikipedia)

Email marketing can be a very powerful tool if handled properly and legitimately meaning that all can go smoothly if you approach only people who your product or service relates to and make sure that they give you permission to send them updated newsletters, ezines or special offers. Research conducted by the UK marketing firm IPT in August and September 2004 suggests that consumers are showing a more favorable opinion of email marketing compared to TV advertising.

How to Protect Your Company’s Reputation 

• Never send unsolicited email. When a subscriber displays interest in receiving news updates from your organization be sure that you send them an email that requires them to confirm the subscription. At this stage you can add them to your list of recipients and keep a copy of the confirmations for your records.

• Deal with unsubscribe requests and spam complaints promptly.

• Keep your list updated. Regularly rid yourself of out-of-date and duplicated addresses.

• Establish boundaries with subscribers by letting them know up front what they can expect from your email, let them know how often they can look forward to hearing from you and don’t step out of your set schedule whether weekly, biweekly or monthly.

• Create a privacy statement page on your web site and include a link to it in every email you send. 

• Allow subscribers to decide if they want to receive your email in text or HTML format and what type of information they’re interested in (company news, special offers, site

updates) 

• Include an unsubscribe link along with a way you can be contacted.

As your contact list begins to grow, you will need to maintain customer loyalty by keeping their attention focused on your business.

• Be creative, use graphics, fascinating polls, engaging topics of conversation with requests for input from your users and add replies from stimulating customer feedback.

• Be resourceful, always stay up-to-date on the latest market trends and find out what the people are looking for.

• Keep it simple, speak in terms that anyone can understand to broaden your audience.

• Write an e-book and offer it for free as a way to thank them for their devotion to your project.

• Offer discounts on new products/services.

Spam Issue Awareness

Spamming is a big problem that could have dire results on the future of your business if you do not approach with caution. There are laws out ruling such activities like the United States’ CAN-SPAM Act, the European Privacy & Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 or your

Internet provider’s acceptable use policy. 

In a recent study conducted by the FTC, 89% of E-Retailers are compliant with the CAN-SPAM opt-out provisions. The opt-out provisions, outlined in the CAN-SPAM act, gives consumers the

right to stop receiving commercial email messages from a sender.

Spam has been described as form of bulk mail, often sent to a list obtained by companies that specialize in creating email distribution lists. To the receiver, it usually seems like junk email. Spam is equivalent to unsolicited telemarketing calls except that the user pays for part of the message since everyone shares the cost of maintaining the Internet. Spammers typically send a piece of email to a distribution list in the millions, expecting that only a tiny number of readers will respond to their offer. (Wikipedia) Definitions will vary so check around so that you get a better understanding of what spamming entails.

Published: 2006-04-15 

Author: Treci Cauthen