If you run your own business, you know that one of the most time consuming jobs each day is to deal with the incoming email.
If you are not careful, you can find yourself buried under a mountain of requests for information, requests for samples, and even orders.
It may seem like a "good problem" to have - more orders than you can handle - but the reality is that without proper management you will lose those orders, and the customers that placed them.
One way to help alleviate this problem is with the use of Autoresponders.
At its most basic, an autoresponder is simply a software program that automatically responds to incoming queries by sending a predetermined email response.
If it did nothing more than this, it would be an incredibly valuable tool for busy entrepreneurs.
But, when set up correctly, they do much more.
In the right hands, autoresponders can be silent sales professionals, answering questions, overcoming objections, making offers, and even closing sales.
The heart of an autoresponder is the ability not simply to respond once with an email, but rather to respond multiple times following a sequence that you have complete control over.
For example, you may have web page set up to tell people about your new CD program.
At the bottom of the web page you include portion that reads "for more information, please fill in your name and email address below.
" Along with the text are boxes for entering the requested information.
With an autoresponder in place, here is what could happen next: 1.
The name and email address is captured and added to a database of other subscribers.
2.
A "thank you" page pops ups with an offer of an up sell.
3.
An email is sent within seconds, thanking the person for signing up, and providing some sort of valuable gift (free report, eBook, etc.
) 4.
Then, at predefined intervals, additional follow-up emails are sent to the prospect.
Each contains information and sales offers, including links to order pages.
5.
When a prospect takes advantage of an offer, their email address is removed from one follow-up list and added to another, starting them on a new sequence of mailings.
Repeat as needed! In addition: · You'll be able to send out broadcast messages to your entire list any time you want · You can manage your lists, adding, deleting and modifying the entries as needed · You can examine statistics, such as email delivery rate (did your email even get to the intended audience?), email open rate (of those that received the email, how many opened it?), and click through rate (of those that opened the email, how many clicked the link it contained?) Clearly autoresponders provide wonderful service.
If you are interested in finding out more, there are several great products on the market.
Two of the most popular are Aweber, and iContact.
Each has extensive documentation available on their website, as well as tutorials and video instruction.
You'll also see areas for retrieving statistics, creating broadcast emails, and more.
Check them out, examine the feature sets, and decide if a full-featured autoresponder could put more dollars in your account.