Follow Up Autoresponders

Autoresponders are the main tool used in permission based email marketing for sending "follow up" email messages. They have many uses:

• They can be used to acknowledge receipt of technical support requests, sales information requests etc. In any situation were the customer needs reassuring that his request, order etc is being dealt with.
• They can be used to send prospective customers fixed information like price lists or FAQ.
• They can be used to send email course modules, newsletters, special offers.
• They can be used for email capture ( creating mailing lists).

 Autoresponders - Where to Get them

There are four main sources:

1. ISP – For basic autoresponder needs such as merely sending a single message response you can probably use the free autoresponders that usually come as part of your website hosting package.
   If you require more sophisticated autoresponder functionality than a simple single response the you require a professional autoresponder software or service.
2.  Free Autoresponder Service -In general, the services are provided free usually in exchange for advertising - that is, many of them place advertisements in your responses.
   Some providers also offer two versions the free cut down one and the more powerful commercial one. The service is hosted on the providers server meaning you don’t have hardware or software to maintain.
3. Commercial Autoresponder Service –Usually offer more functionality and control than free systems and they doesn't have any advertising. As with the free autoresponders the service is hosted on the providers server meaning you don’t have any hardware or software to maintain.
4. Your own autoresponder Software- Here you have complete control and responsibility for the hardware or software. This should only be considered for very large sites and for very technical webmasters.

 As with most services on the Internet the level of functionality provided varies greatly between providers and so it pays to research a few before selecting one. See Autoresponder Review for a review of 5 established autoresponder solutions.
 

Using Autoresponders

The early use of auto responders involved a link on a website or a newsletter like:

 Send an email to freereport@autoresponder.com to get my free report on xyz.

When a email was sent to the above address the autoresponder would respond by sending the free report to the sender as a  "follow up" email.

It is rare to see email links like the above due to email spam ( see hiding email addresses). Instead most websites use a website form, the email being captured by an autoresponder system which handles the request.

Autoresponders and Internet Marketing

Many Internet markets will tell you that the only reason for a website is to capture email addresses and build a mailing list. While I wouldn't quite go that far I do agree that capturing an email address is essential to building long term relationships with potential customers.

Indeed there are many websites that I only visit in response to an email ( newsletter, product offer or similar).

Autoresponders and Mailing Lists

Over the years autoresponder systems have evolved to include the ability not only to respond to messages but to initiate them i.e. they have developed many of the functions of mailing lists and vice versa.

Therefore the distinction between the two is very blurred such that autoresponder software/services have the ability to manage mailing lists and vice versa.

• Email Marketing For Small Businesses
• Collecting Email Addresses
• Autoresponder Guide
• Autoresponder Review
• How to Structure A Follow Up Series (Aweber)
• Why Use An Autoresponder