Autoresponders As An Essential Business Tool By: R.G. Srinivasan
Did you know that one of the major purposes of a website is to capture visitor information and create an effective
prospect list?
Do you also know you could write a newsletter or email broadcasts with important announcements and send it out to
thousands of people in an instant without spamming anyone. Did your web designer tell you the method to do it or
provide the software for it?
The most neglected aspect of millions of websites is an effective strategy to capture the details of the visitors
and following up with them frequently and convert them to sales.
With spam laws getting tougher, spamming bulk email lists is no more the option. The emails list providers harvest
the mail ids and put out attractive ads of millions of email ids which if you use will get you on the wrong side of
your customer as well as your hosting service provider. Further uninvited emails invoke a feeling of anger in the
receiver and there is not even a remote possibility that they would ever become your customer.
The key is your Optin list. An optin list is simply a list of web site visitors who have filled in a form at your
site and opted to receive information from you.
Building your optin list involves two steps. 1. Having a website. 2. Having an Autoresponder
Now you have learned to drive in traffic to your website. What happens to all that traffic? They just do a bit of
window shopping and move on even if they are interested as they may have other work to be attended to.
This is where, if you have a form asking them to leave their name and email ID in return for a subscription to an
ezine or a free ebook, comes in handy. They leave their details which is effectively giving you permission to mail
them further. This is the beginning of your optin list. Over a period of time as you drive traffic to your site, you
build up a list of thousands of targeted prospects. Note the word targeted as they have left their details due to
their interest in your product/service or business.
Now this form is sent to an external remotely hosted autoresponder or your own autoresonder system (ready software
are available for this) which immediately sends out a predrafted thank you letter acknowledging his interest with
the details of the download of your free eBook or confirming the subscription to the ezine or both.
There are personalization features built into any good autoresponder software which would automatically pick up the
first name of your prospect that has opted in. This helps in building a personal relationship and actually increases
the sales you make.
You can set up your autoresponder with pre-drafted emails packed with information on your products, announcements,
special offers or anything of interest to your customer you can think of. This makes your sales process a 24/7
system projecting a professional image.
These letters having been prewritten can be few in numbers or go up to even hundred letters. You have the
convenience of specifying the interval in which they should be sent by the autoresponder.
Research has conclusively established that you need a minimum of 7 follow ups for a conversion.
Now you have a fully automated system which takes care of your follow up without you having to lift a finger or even
touch your keyboard.
You also have the facility of sending special broadcasts or announcement in between your automated series. The
broadcast feature can also be used to mail your ezines or mini free eBooks, ebrochures or product catalogues.
The most important thing to remember in this is your letters have to be absolutely professionally written and very
powerful to induce conversion to sales. If they are boring or sloppy they would just opt out of the system by
sending an unsubscribe return mail to your autoresponder and you have lost the prospect forever.
It is best to have the letters professionally written if you think your writing is not powerful enough.
So now you know all about it, I am sure you can initiate some massive action to make your website a cash magnet.
R.G. Srinivasan is a managerial professional, Writer and author. He writes a blog on home-business at
http://www.home-businessresources.blogspot.com for online marketing tips, resources, opportunities and online
promotional strategies.
To experience firsthand how an autoresponder collects your information and sends your newsletter to your website visitor, Click Here , and sign up to receive my marketing tips newsletter.
Jonathan
