Guide To Creating AutoResponder Letters

[trafficwave]

AutoResponders are powerful tools. Successful online marketers use them to automate repetitive sales tasks, build and manage multiple prospect lists, and send out regular articles, updates, and announcements.

More than providing an automated response to an inquiry, AutoResponders can be your own automated sales force working online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Used properly, AutoResponders can automate the process of building your lists, following up with your prospects, and helping you close more sales.

Let's look at how someone might use AutoResponders to help build a list of targeted prospects.

The first step is to create 5 to 7 messages about your offer and add them to your AutoResponder Campaign.

These messages can be set to go out every 2 days.. With 7 messages, your prospects would receive your sales messages over a 2 week period.

Here is a simple guideline you can use to create your own follow-up letters:

Message 1: Sent Out Immediately.

In this message you would thank them for requesting your information. Give them a brief history about yourself to build some credibility. They need to know you are qualified to share the information with them. Then give them an overview of the information you are offering.

Be sure to include a link to your web site so they can get further details, place an order, or contact you for more information.

It's also a good idea to include your name and email address. Include a phone number if you want prospects to call you.

Message 2: Sent Out 2 Days Later.

In this message, you may want to give them a brief reminder of what you covered in your first message and focus on the benefits of your offer. What's in it for them? How is your product, service, or opportunity different from others? Use this message to let them know.

And be sure to invite them to your web site, include the link to your site, and include your name and email address so they can contact you.

Message 3: Sent Out 2 Days Later.

This might be a good place to include some testimonials from your company or a little more of your own personal story. If you are new and haven't quite created your own story yet, share success stories and testimonials from others that have used your products or services. Give an overview of how people are using your product or service. If you are promoting an affiliate plan, explain how others are building their income with your plan.

And, as always, be sure to invite them to your web site. Include the URL and include your name and email address so prospects can contact you.

Message 4: Sent Out 2 Days Later.

In this message, pick one feature in particular to focus on. Maybe it's about how your offer can help them save money, be more productive, lose weight, make money, etc...

Remind them that you are available to answer questions and provide support.

And, as always, be sure to invite them to your web site. Include the URL and include your name and email address so prospects can contact you.

Message 5: Sent Out 2 Days Later.

Use this message to be a little more personal. Let your prospects know that you are available to help them in any way you can. This message could be used to simply thank them again for requesting your information and assuring them that you are a real human being and interested in helping them succeed.

And, as always, be sure to invite them to your web site. Include the URL and include your name and email address so prospects can contact you.

Message 6: Sent Out 2 Days Later.

Use this message to stress another set of features from your offer. Share a few more testimonials from others or from your own experiences with your product, service, or opportunity.

Briefly review some of the details you have shared from previous letters.

And, as always, be sure to invite them to your web site. Include the URL and include your name and email address so prospects can contact you.

Message 7: Sent Out 2 Days Later.

This message can be used to ask for some feedback from your prospects. Tell them you have enjoyed sending the information and you hope it was helpful to them. Ask them if they have any concerns or what might be preventing them from making the decision to purchase from you or join with you.

Sometimes, you will get some good feedback from folks. They may share some concerns they have or tell you why they feel your offer may not be for them at this time.

Thank them for agreeing to receive your information and let them know you are still available to answer any questions they may have.

And, as always, be sure to invite them to your web site. Include the URL and include your name and email address so prospects can contact you.

Now That Your Letters Are Created And Ready To Go:

Once the letters are loaded in to your AutoResponder Campaign, your next step is to begin getting prospects for your AutoResponder to follow up with.

The idea here is to begin advertising to attract prospects to your offer. Give people a compelling reason to request your information. This is where you want to start thinking like your prospects. You are asking them for at least a name and email address. What are you giving them in return?

Maybe your information shows them how to start and profit from their own home based business. Maybe you are offering tips on how to better protect their identity. Maybe you are offering weight loss tips or nutritional information. Maybe you are offering information on how to promote a web site.

Since I sell AutoResponders, I offer prospects free information to show them how AutoResponders can help boost their online sales.

I have added a subscription form to my web sites.
I use lead capture pages.
I include my email subscription address in my ads.
I include my email subscription address and/or my URL in discussion forum posts.

Then I focus all of my advertising on my lead capture pages so that people will request more information from me. I don't try to sell them up front. I want to capture their information first. THEN I will focus on following up to close the sale.

As people request your information by filling out your subscription forms or emailing your AutoResponder, their information is captured in your database.

Now your AutoResponder goes to work sending out your sales message.

For the next two weeks, your prospects will be receiving your sales letters. You don't have to remember to send them out. You don't have to remember which prospect has received which letter. Your AutoResponder is working for you behind the scenes.

Now your focus should be on two things:

1) Continuing to advertise to get more prospects in to your AutoResponder
2) Using the feedback you get from prospects to adjust your letters.

You may need to make a few changes. Maybe you see a recurring question from prospects. That recurring question is letting you know that you may need to cover that information a little better or more in depth.

This is just a simple guideline you can use to create your own follow-up messages for your AutoResponder. You may use more letters or less. The average for successful marketers seems to be in the 5 to 9 range.

Notice that each letter ended with a "call to action" where you invite the prospect to your web site or to contact you for more information.

This "call to action" is a critical element to the success of your messages. You must let prospects know what to do next and how to do it.

[Christine Jones]

This is an amazing blueprint, Brian. Thanks so much for it!


Christine

[trafficwave]

You're very welcome!

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[Simon_Sezs]

Very good blueprint indeed Brian. There is such a fine line between all out blatant promotion and actually keeping your list satisfied and reading.

[Barry Walls]

**** Brian...I just copied and pasted the entire thing into onenote...marvelous job!

[trafficwave]

Thanks for the feedback. Really glad you enjoyed it and I hope it helps you in your business.

Sometimes, I pull this little gem out myself when I'm creating my letters as a way to trigger thoughts and remind me of the little steps.

I keep it in a handy BBEdit file so I can get to it quickly.

[krishananda]

Sorry to bumped this thread but I find this thread is awesome, you did a great job Brian,

I found this thread when learning about autoresponders,
This is great for newbie (me) in autoresponders, thanks so much

[AlanCarr]

Why exactly would you want to keep on sending them back to your website?



B.

[Lukas]

Yes, it is a great blueprint..
Now what if they decide to buy/subscribe in step 4 or 5.
How does one turn off the autoresponder on a prospect

[trafficwave]

Originally Posted by Bigsofty

Why exactly would you want to keep on sending them back to your website?



B.

Could be any number of reasons:

If your web site is where you take orders, you want them to return to your web site to place their order.

If your web site is a blog and you are adding good content, you want them to come back and read that content.

Maybe you have adsense running on your site and you want them to come back, view the content, and click the ads.

Maybe you are running a survey on the web site and you want them to come to the site and fill out the questionnaire.

The reasons will vary from business to business and will be determined by the overall goal of your particular site.

Maybe you don't want to bring them back to your site but you want to let them know about another site or offer you have available.

The primary idea is that you can use your AutoResponder letters to build rapport, establish credibility, and improve your marketing results.

[trafficwave]

Originally Posted by Lukas

Yes, it is a great blueprint..
Now what if they decide to buy/subscribe in step 4 or 5.
How does one turn off the autoresponder on a prospect

That would depend on your goals and processes.

If you are managing separate prospect and customer lists, you would move them to your customer list.

If your list is going to be used to send additional offers, back-end offers, related offers, etc... you could just leave them in your original list.

When someone purchases from us, I offer them a subscription to a separate list that focuses solely on training and support. They have the option to stay on the prospect list to receive additional information on other services and/or to use the letters they are receiving as examples.

Flexibility is one of my favorite aspects of using AutoResponders.

[Jay White]

Looks great, Brian. When I'm writing for my guru clients, I tend to stress more of a relationship-building process through storytelling (See sig below), but as I'm sure you know--there's no "right way or wrong way" to write an email or autoresponder message. Only what's best for the audience you're trying to sell to.

Nice work..and good to know somebody feels as passionate about follow up emails and autoresponders as I do.

[AlanCarr]

Oh, I feel passionate too - in that I loath writing for the things!

This is a handy blueprint, for it's far too easy to get lost and spend weeks, if not months, adjusting and fiddling with a series. The moment you think it's finished the client wants something added earlier, or held back until later, or left out altogether, or something new added, or perhaps at the beginning of the 4th mailing... no, at the end. Perhaps in the middle? How about we.... oh, the 5th email..?

I asked about WHY send em back the site as it seems a popular goal in itself. Maybe I'm weird but I don't like such unnecessary traffic, not without a specific goal and landing page. Again I've had clients complain "Where's it sending them back to the site?" as though raw traffic is the goal.

How do you split test a mix of cold and warmed-up traffic? I like traffic to be like my beverages, ice cold or nice n hot. Never lukewarm


B.

[DominicTFY]

Brian, what's your take on providing free content to your list? I've actually heard 2 versions:

1. If you give too many free content through your email campaigns, your customers actually become 'free-loaders'

2. If you give free content through your email campaigns, your customers actually respect you more and buy from you.

How often should we give free information to our customers?

[seedmom]

Thanks for the info, Brian. I was a member of Traffic Wave in the early 2002's. Great company.

Sharon Deloy

[pay2ran]

Do you have better luck with auto responders or broadcasts?

[bigcullie]

Thanks for your blueprint Brian, I have copied it to my aweber folder.

I appreciate the subtleties in not ramming your product down a pre-customers throat.

My autoresponder after my free report 1. thanks them for the there interest, but 2,3,4,5,6, details a short course in getting started taking photographs. It is only on the last email I mention the "buy my ebook", although I have tried to make the course as inspiring as I can, wanting them to got out and take serious photographs.

Do I assume you turned this post into an article? If not why not.

Thanks again,

Gordon.

[BBAkwe]

Thanks Brian for this excellent blueprint. It is comprehensive and far reaching.

[trafficwave]

Originally Posted by bigcullie

Thanks for your blueprint Brian, I have copied it to my aweber folder.

I won't hold that against you!

;-)

I'm glad you found the information to be useful.

Originally Posted by bigcullie

Do I assume you turned this post into an article? If not why not.

Thanks again,

Gordon.

Absolutely, I have!

Originally Posted by BBAkwe

Thanks Brian for this excellent blueprint. It is comprehensive and far reaching.

Glad you enjoyed it!

[trafficwave]

Originally Posted by pay2ran

Do you have better luck with auto responders or broadcasts?

Looks like I missed a number of replies. I've been away from the WF for a while. I'll try to catch up here.

I don't do autoresponders "or" broadcasts.

I use my autoresponder to manage my broadcasts.
I can set up regularly scheduled follow up emails AND schedule broadcasts in the same AutoResponder campaign.

Both approaches are quite helpful.

[trafficwave]

Originally Posted by seedmom

Thanks for the info, Brian. I was a member of Traffic Wave in the early 2002's. Great company.

Sharon Deloy

Thanks, Sharon!

My, how things have progressed since then (for all of us).

[trafficwave]

Originally Posted by DominicTFY

Brian, what's your take on providing free content to your list? I've actually heard 2 versions:

1. If you give too many free content through your email campaigns, your customers actually become 'free-loaders'

2. If you give free content through your email campaigns, your customers actually respect you more and buy from you.

How often should we give free information to our customers?

I don't think you're going to find a "one size fits all" answer to this question. It will depend on a number of things, including your market, your offer, and your own goals.

I try to strike a balance between educating and creating a desire. My content (hopefully) shows them how they can benefit from my service and provides some examples along the way.

If I've done my job correctly, my readers see the benefit of what I've shared with them and have the desire to realize the same benefit in their own business. So my goal is to bring them on as paying customers.