More Creative and Profitable Ways to Use Autoreponders
An interested visitor who has been strolling through your site
has finally found exactly what she is looking for, and is
about to make a purchase. If she fails to complete the
purchase due to any number of distractions or priorities, you
just lost the sale. This can also be a problem if you are
offering services - once the visitor leaves, chances are he or
she will never find your site again. Even if your visitor
bookmarked your site, most people have a glob of bookmarks
they will never return to.
However, if you'd had the foresight to utilize an
autoresponder that has captured her email address, you can
follow up with her, and in all probability, make the sale.
Autoresponders are remarkable, versatile programs that do so
much more than just automatically answer your email. Here are
a few ideas that will help you to creatively and productively
use your autoresponder to transform the casual visitor into a
profitable customer. Use your autoresponder to:
1. Publish a newsletter. Certain quality autoresponders will
manage subscriptions and follow-up with interested prospects.
Your newsletter can keep your visitors informed about your
services or products, while building your reputation as a
credible expert in your particular business.
2. If you have an affiliate program for your business, publish
a newsletter only for your affiliates. Inform them of current
sales you are running and of promotional materials that your
affiliates can use themselves to increase their commissions.
Include tips, advice, and techniques that your affiliates can
use to successfully go out and promote your business.
3. Write reviews. Cover books, software, music, e-books,
movies, etc. that would be useful or interesting to your
target market; and put each review into an occasional
autoresponder, just to keep in touch.
4. Distribute your articles. Writing and distributing targeted
articles is a powerful tool to build your business
credibility, bring traffic to your site, and increase your
sales potential. If your articles contain valuable
information, many editors will print what is known as a
resource box for you. A resource box contains your bio and a
brief description of your service or product. It can also
contain your autoresponder address. Let's say you've written
fifty articles. Put them on separate autoresponder accounts
and create a master list that contains the titles of each
article, the autoresponder address, and a brief abstract. Then
promote your master list. Additionally, include your
publishing guidelines so your affiliates can add their
articles to your list, increasing the number of writers who
are represented in your article list.
5. Create mailing lists. Inform subscribers about your
articles when you've written new ones, that they may want to
publish in their own newsletter or website.
6. Distribute advertising. Let's say you sell advertising on
your website or in your newsletter or e-zine. Set your
autoresponder to send the information about rates and how to
place an ad automatically to all prospects' email addresses.
Then have your autoresponder follow-up. It can also send
notification of any special deals you are currently offering.
7. Distribute an email course. Each day, have your
autoresponder send out another lesson. Just be sure that each lesson has quality content - not a sales pitch. Your content will do the selling for you, and will do it much more
effectively. You can include tips centered on a different
topic for each lesson, illustrating how your product will
benefit the reader. Include the tangible benefits the visitor
will reap by purchasing your product. Make sure to include a
paragraph or two at the end of each lesson enticing your
prospect to consider making a purchase.
8. Automate a reminder about your service or product after a
visitor has completed your course. This will increase the
possibility of sales from visitors who have taken your course
but are dragging their feet about actually making a purchase.
You can also use these reminders to promote new products or
services, and the products and services of your affiliate
programs.
9. Distribute free reports. This gives your visitor an idea of
the type of information you can provide and the quality of
your product or service. Make sure these reports are not sales
letters or you will more than likely lose a potential customer
than gain a sale.
12. Offer a trial version of your product. Give your prospects
a sample of your ebook, course, software, membership, etc. If
you are offering something of value and interest to your
target market, they will want the rest. You can also capture
their email addresses when you offer them a free trial from
your website. Set up your autoresponder to give instructions
on how to obtain their free trial, and then make sure to
follow-up to try and close the sale.
13. Use an autoresponder on your order page. Post a request
form for visitors to be notified of special offers or
discounts in the future. This creates a very effective mailing
list that contains the names of people who are already your
customers.
AWeber is a good autoresponder service to check out. It's
reliable, and they make it easy to schedule ulimited
autoresponders, follow up messages or eZines. The pricing
starts at $19.95 per month, regardless of how many emails you send out.
© 2008 Emilie Nottle
Want to use this article in your website or ezine? You can, as
long as you include this complete blurb with it:
Emilie Nottle of Zooop Design, publishes Grow Your Biz, a
monthly eZine for entrepreneurs and small business owners.
If you're ready to take your biz to the next level, using your
website as an effective marketing tool and automating your
marketing efforts, subscribe at
http://www.zooop-design.com/subscribe_info.html.
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