subject: An Overview Of The Uses Of An Auto Responder As Part Of An Internet Marketing Campaign [print this page] What are Auto responders. What are Auto responders.
They are automated software which handle e-mail tasks without human intervention. Auto responder applications are widely applied in internet marketing campaigns and they can be used to automatically provide notifications that all e-mail sent has been correctly delivered to their intended recipients. Some individuals can use auto responders to issue vacation notices, or notify their correspondents that they are not available within the office and that they will not be responding back to their e-mail messages anytime soon.
Autoresponders applications are useful to webmasters in a number of ways. Establishing relationships.
Most clients who sign up to receive marketing e-mails do not necessarily purchase a product the first time they are offered it, but the chances of these same clients purchasing products increases with time if the customer is contacted on a regular basis. An autoresponder comes embedded with the capability to deliver information at certain intervals, which could be daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly and this particular feature could be used as a marketing tool to remind the customer about the product.
Enhanced Branding.
Clients who continuously read e-mail messages pertaining to a certain product are likely to naturally get branded with your business and hence seek for advice pertaining to your product niche. Modern Autoresponders enable businesses to send emails in both plain text and HTML format, and with an auto responder, a marketer can use e-mail templates which will enable him/her to add their business logo's, pictures, or graphics, which in return enables the e-mail message to portray the business brand name and helps the organization to stand out from the crowd.
Automated list building.
An autoresponder has the capability to send newsletters which offer subscribers reviews, surveys, opinion polls, and product recommendations. A large list will enable a marketer to increase his/her sales drastically because of the large audience who have already shown considerable interest in the products offered.
Tracking of results.
Another Auto-Responder advantage is that it comes integrated with capabilities which enable the marketer to quantify how many people read their e-mail messages. For instance, if an e-mail message is sent to 100,000 people and only 10,000 opened the e-mail message, it means that you only achieved a 10% open rate.
Autoresponders can also be used to send some prospective customers specific information such as the price list of available products and services, frequently asked questions (FAQ), and any other fixed information. When clients send messages to some specific e-mail addresses, they will automatically receive a reply instantaneously.
Setting automated tutorials or classes.
Autoresponders are also beneficial in education. The application can be used to send course modules through e-mail messages. For instance, if you offer a three week course, with related information being dispatched to the students periodically, such as weekly, monthly, or quarterly, the course instructor only needs the students to simply send their e-mail addresses to the addresses attached to the Autoresponders program. When this is done, the autoresponder will automatically reply to the students by sending the appropriate course package at the scheduled interval.
Increasing sales.
Autoresponders can be used to increase sales. For instance, a person can decide to deliver a free sample of certain coursework or the first chapters of a book. The individual will then proceed and offer the first three chapters or lessons for free every week for three weeks. On the fourth week, an autoresponder application can be programmed to send another e-mail message this time not with the free chapters or course materials, but with a sign up form so that the customer can decide whether to buy the book or pursue the full course. If the sample book or the course offered was of value, then the customer will purchase the product in question.
Reduction of email duplication.
Another Auto-Responder advantage is that the application enables the marketer to segregate the e-mail list. For instance, if a client acquires one of your products,then with an autoresponder it is possible to segregate that very client to a "buyers list" whereby you won't be sending that client e-mails promoting the product that they have already purchased from you.
Today there are different types of autoresponder applications. These are available as freeware or trial ware which involves low cost as well as high cost editions, depending on the features bundled. These applications are effective and powerful marketing tools which enable a marketer to make contact with thousands of potential customers before the actual sale is finalized, and with an autoresponder it is possible to automate the essential part of the marketing campaign.
