And Four that Women in Ecommerce Absolutely Recommends!
Since the topic of discussion yesterday was autoresponders (or rather my luck with one), today seems like a good day to talk about the most popular and well-known autoresponders on the market. And by the way, these are not the FREE ones although some of them have a “trial period” or a “free for 30 days option” so you can test drive them. But before we compare these, let’s talk about what they are and why you need one to grow your business online.
The number one reason you need an autoresponder for your online business is that it can improve your sales significantly. It works on auto pilot, even responding to queries while you’re asleep. These little programs automatically reply to messages around the clock, and in some cases are almost instantaneous. Statistics show that most people need to be exposed to an offer seven or more times before they’re willing to buy. That’s when an autoresponder can help you get the word out, and convert potential customers into real buyers. In fact you might be surprised to know that the majority of people who want or need your product or service don’t actually make a purchase on the first, second, or even the third visit to your site. While we like to think we have products that appeal to the masses and are of high quality and reasonably priced for the marketplace, that will turn even the most skeptical person into a buyer, most people actually have to think about it for a while. This is where an autoresponder comes in handy.
By providing the opportunity for interested people to sign up for more information, you now have the ability to stay in front of those potential customers. Most people are trying to find a reason not to buy, or are comparing products to see which one is best. By providing regular, high quality information about your products and deals, you can remove the doubt and make potential customers feel a lot more comfortable. You’re also keeping your company name and website fresh in their minds. If you don’t make use of an autoresponder for capturing visitors contact information, you could be losing money.
There are lots of ways to improve your profits using an autoresponder. Here’s one of the most common.
Step 1: Put a form allowing visitors to opt-in on your home page. Also, place it in appropriate locations on other pages, and on the pages of people who are hosting your advertising. Using this form, prospects are able to add their email address to your list from here. Be certain to reassure them that there’s no obligation, and all the information you’ll be providing is free. And tell them you will not share, rent or sell their email address, a real deal maker or breaker for most people.
Step 2: Offer some kind of free content to encourage more sign ups. This isn’t vital, but it does provide an incentive to get on the list. For instance, you could offer an Ebook, report, or even a small discount for the names and addresses of people who come to your site. Be sure not to ask for any more information than you absolutely need, as many people are worried about the possibility of unsolicited email from other sources, and even identity theft. It’s important not to scare off potential customers who might sign up for the list. In general asking for a first and last name and email is all you need to get started building your list and interacting with people. Some companies will only ask for the first name and email which is even better from the visitors viewpoint.
Step 3: Create a series of messages for your autoresponder, such as testimonials, a limited time offer, or information about your product. Be sure to provide links back to your webpage in each message. Send them out at intervals, regularly enough to keep your name fresh in potential customers’ minds. Be sure you don’t send them out too often, however. You could become associated with too much email, destroying the image you’ve tried so hard to build.
How often your autoresponder should send out messages depends on what kind of sale you’re trying to make. Soft sales, such as the use of testimonials or other information, should go out once a week or so. However, if you have a limited time offer, you should send an two or three emails out over the course of a few days.
Now let’s talk about the autoresponders themselves.
Aweber (this is the one Women in Ecommerce uses and recommends) AWeber allows you to create and run your campaigns with powerful, easy-to-use marketing tools. aWeber is great for those just starting out with e-mail campaigns and yet still provides all the important features that experienced marketer looks for in an autoresponder system.
aWeber is a Professional autoresponder solution with unlimited follow-up messages, HTML/plain text options, a web form generator, a wide range of HTML email templates, the ability to customize emails with up to 25 fields, and much more. Automated tools to help ensure your emails get delivered and comply with all relevant legislation.
Get Response ~ This autoresponder service offers unlimited autoresponders, no maximum mail length, automatic multiple messages sent over a period of time and much more.
iContact.com allows businesses, non-profit organizations, and associations to easily create, send, and track email newsletters, surveys, and autoresponders. We believe that email marketing should be really easy and have built and designed iContact from the ground up to give you all the features you need while still making it easy enough for anyone to create permission-based email marketing campaigns with high deliverability
Infacta Group Mail Personal Edition is suited to the professional/power user. With GroupMail Personal Edition you can manage groups and lists of any size and you can send to them at speeds much faster than GroupMail Free Edition using multiple connections. You also get a range of add-ons to help manage and maintain your groups more easily.
Each of these email autoresponders offer fancy templates, great customer service, and overall a lot of “hidden benefits” that you’ll just have to experiment with to fully appreciate.
