Autoresponders – Why you need an email marketing service?

Autoresponders – Why do you need one?

Have you noticed how, if you have an internet based business, everyone says you “need” an autoresponder, autoresponder software, email service provider or email marketing solution without actually giving a reason as to why!

Well if you’ve every purchased an item online you have invariably used an autoresponder without even realising it, as they are almost always used when you buy anything online these days.

Autoresponder Scenario

Being responsive and relevant to your customers is always a challenge. For online businesses it’s extremely important to provide the right offer at the right time to the right people. With autoresponder this task can be fun and remarkably easy once you get the hang of it. Using an autoresponder responsibly can help you quickly build a responsive and loyal customer base.

Presuming a visitor has decided to accept an offer after browsing your website, a typical autoresponder scenario would consist of:

• Making a great first impression with a welcome email.
• Send an immediate order confirmation.
• Send a VAT (tax) receipt when the transaction is complete.
• Send a follow-up messages thanking them for their business.
• Sending delivery details.
• Sending loyalty emails offering discounts or special deals on future purchases.

Autoresponders can help you provide accurate and timely offers to your subscribers and boost their loyalty with highly customized and personalized messages that mimic one-to-one email communications. This builds lasting customer relationships and lets them feel special and unique.

Best Email Marketing Service

There are many autoresponders available, just do a Google search on “Autoresponder” or “email marketing services” to see what I mean. AWeber, founded in 1998, are possibly one of the most well know email marketing software automation businesses (as they say). Other good candidates are Constant Contact, GetResponse and iContact. All these email marketing service providers have excellent products combined with the best knowledge systems, FAQs, video tutorials, forums and easy to use control panels in my opinion. That having been said, they might not be to your liking so please do your research and check the market place before making a choice.

Do You Need an Autoresponder?

So, do you need an autoresponder? Well, if you sell online or run a club or other facility where automated responses can be used to give a better customer experience, then the answer is, maybe. Sorry, read on, things will get clearer.

The thing to remember with autoresponders is, all of the emails must be written beforehand. This has the advantage that standard responses can be given for typical situations with considerable time and manpower savings but has the disadvantage of, potentially, being very impersonal.

• Always write your autoresponder emails with one person in mind. Being personal is the name of the game. Don’t write like a machine.

Autoresponders are an excellent tool for generating leads. Customers opting-in to newsletters are added to the subscriber list and get a new issue of the newsletter on a regular basis so maintaining customer awareness and hence potentially increasing sales, either directly or indirectly. An autoresponder for club newsletters is an excellent option for this very reason. With regard those entering affiliate marketing, an autoresponders is simply a must.

When deciding upon a suitable solution, set-up fees, maintenance and time requirements, which can be considerable, must be considered. Another consideration is whether the autoresponder service should be outsourced or server-side?

Outsourced Autoresponders

Outsourced autoresponders run on the suppliers server and are configurable by the client, that’s you, using a web-based control panel. This is good for you as it is easy to implement with just a small learning curve, the downside is the monthly usage fee payable. The email marketing service provided mentioned above are examples of outsourced autoresponder programs.

• Unless you are extremely technically competent and are happy playing with server-side technology an outsourced email marketing service provider is the solution for you.

Server-side Autoresponders

Server-side autoresponders are those installed on your own server. The benefit of server-side installation is that you have complete control of the implementation. The downside, is the high learning curve required to gain the technical skills needed to implement the installation. The Infinite Responder is an example of a server-side autoresponder, it’s also the only free autoresponder I could find.

You have to compare these factors when making your decision. Do the benefits outweigh the costs?

Autoresponder Usage

Do you need to send a sequences of emails, such as an “e-learning course”, a special report, a club bulletin or sales reminder? In cases like these, you would write and save a series of emails which the autoresponder software then sends at intervals specified by you. For example, people subscribing to your “e-learning course” would receive a new module every week for 10 weeks from the date of subscription. All controlled and fully automated using the autoresponder.

Do you need to send bulk marketing emails globally to be delivered to the recipients mailbox at a particular time dependant upon their time zone? i.e., the email should arrive in the recipients mailbox at 0900hrs (when most people read their emails) whether the recipient is in New York, London or Hong Kong.

If this sounds like you, then you probably need an autoresponder.

Advantages of Autoresponders

The following are just a few of the many advantages of using some sort of email marketing service:

• Follow-up emails can be written beforehand.
• Emails can be delivered time-zone dependant.
• Standard responses can be given for typical situations.
• Considerable time and manpower can be saved.
• Good for newsletters.
• Maintains customer awareness.
• Automated opt-in and opt-out.

Disadvantages of Autoresponders

The following are what I consider the main disadvantages of using an email marketing service:

• Follow-up emails must be written beforehand.
• Potentially very impersonal.
• Another learning curve.
• Can be costly to implement and maintain.

Do You Need an Autoresponder?

So, why do you need an autoresponder? You need an autoresponder if the emails you are sending can be predicted and automated and the befits you will gain from having an autoresponder, i.e. time, consistency and manpower outweigh the resources needed to realize and maintain the implementation of the autoresponder.

An autoresponder is an ideal method of sending marketing information. It’s a great method to educate and inform. People buy from people they know, so adding an autoresponder to your marketing mix can also improve your bottom line as well.

• Finally, please don’t automatically add everyone who has ever emailed you to your mailing list . This would be a breach of the data protection act. Just because someone has emailed you doesn’t give you the right to add them to your mailing list. Please, be considerate.

Conclusion

Should you require more information on email marketing services (autoresponders), then you will find my article, Top Recommended Email Marketing Service Providers valuable.

Well, I hope you found something useful and enjoyed this article, Autoresponders – Why do you need one.