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Wanted: a Non-sequential, "seasonal" autoresponder.

by Eric Graudins
12 replies
Hi,

Does anyone know of an autoresponder that sends out messages according to a date or time of the year, and not according to when somebody signed up?

I guess it could be called a "Seasonal" autoresponder

For example: If someone has a list who is interested in Gardening.
At different times of year, different advice will be given.

sure you can send out manual notices to the entire list.

But is there something that will automatically send out a message to members in August with information suitable for that month.
And then a couple of weeks later with more info about things to do in August. And then something in september.

Basically, the messages would be triggered by a certain date, and not by how long ago members joined the list.

regards,
Eric G.
#autoresponder #nonsequential #seasonal #wanted
  • Profile picture of the author TinkBD
    Eric -

    Why couldn't you do that by using the Broadcast option (not the Followup option) and setting the dates for each message to go out?

    Tink
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    • Profile picture of the author Floyd Fisher
      Originally Posted by TinkBD View Post

      Eric -

      Why couldn't you do that by using the Broadcast option (not the Followup option) and setting the dates for each message to go out?

      Tink
      Broadcast can only be sent out once, then it needs to be reloaded for the next shot. She wants something where she doesn't have to do the reloading.

      A damn good idea IMHO. Someone should invent it.
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      • Profile picture of the author TinkBD
        Originally Posted by Floyd Fisher View Post

        Broadcast can only be sent out once, then it needs to be reloaded for the next shot. She wants something where she doesn't have to do the reloading.

        A damn good idea IMHO. Someone should invent it.
        Hmmmm I know what you are saying, but I am not seeing why this would be an issue... if I understood correctly what the OPer wanted to accomplish.

        You don't want your list to get repeat messages... do you? In which case, I am not sure why the Broadcast messages wouldn't work?

        Or am I just being more blonde than usual? ;-)

        Tink
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
    Eric, if you are looking for a way to send, say, the same email each August, you could probably get something coded pretty easily that would work off a cron job.

    Otherwise, Tink's idea of scheduling broadcasts makes sense...
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  • Profile picture of the author Eric Graudins
    Thanks for the replies.

    @Tink,
    The future broadcasts would sorta work, but would still need a lot of manual help.

    If I set up a sequence today and someone joins in 11 months, they'd receive one message. So then I'd have to repeat this years messages for the next year as well.
    But this would mean that existing subscribers would also receive the same messages for the second time.

    What I want is the ability to set all the messages for certain dates for the first year that someone subscribes, then maybe put another set of messages for the second year, third year, etc.

    So basically it would be a series of autoresponder messages where people get a different first message, depending on the time of year that they join up. And then they receive a series of messages in sync with the seasons or month of the year.

    As a further refinement, people in different parts of the world could be receiving different messages, depending on what season they are experiencing.

    I think that this could be of use in a lot of niches where there is a seasonal or time based component.

    cheers,
    Eric G.
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    • Profile picture of the author TinkBD
      Originally Posted by Eric Graudins View Post

      Thanks for the replies.

      @Tink,
      The future broadcasts would sorta work, but would still need a lot of manual help.

      If I set up a sequence today and someone joins in 11 months, they'd receive one message. So then I'd have to repeat this years messages for the next year as well.
      But this would mean that existing subscribers would also receive the same messages for the second time.

      What I want is the ability to set all the messages for certain dates for the first year that someone subscribes, then maybe put another set of messages for the second year, third year, etc.

      So basically it would be a series of autoresponder messages where people get a different first message, depending on the time of year that they join up. And then they receive a series of messages in sync with the seasons or month of the year.

      As a further refinement, people in different parts of the world could be receiving different messages, depending on what season they are experiencing.

      I think that this could be of use in a lot of niches where there is a seasonal or time based component.

      cheers,
      Eric G.
      OK. Thanks for clarifying!

      Tink
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  • Profile picture of the author emaildeliverypro
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    • Profile picture of the author Eric Graudins
      Originally Posted by emaildeliverypro View Post

      I think using the broadcast feature is be best option. I dont know any email company offering that feature
      As previously discussed, the broadcast feature doesn't really solve the problem.

      Maybe I should ask AWeber and GetResponse directly.

      cheers,
      Eric G.
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      • Profile picture of the author cindybidar
        Aweber can't do it. I don't know about GetResponse. I asked this same question - also for a gardening site - on another forum and ended up having a WordPress plugin custom coded.

        Basically it begins the subscriber's email series based on the week they sign up, rather than with the first email in the series.

        If you're running WordPress, I'll ask the designer if she'd mind my passing it on.
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        • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
          Originally Posted by cindybidar View Post

          Aweber can't do it. I don't know about GetResponse. I asked this same question - also for a gardening site - on another forum and ended up having a WordPress plugin custom coded.

          Basically it begins the subscriber's email series based on the week they sign up, rather than with the first email in the series.

          If you're running WordPress, I'll ask the designer if she'd mind my passing it on.
          That makes sense. The AR script I use does have the option of moving people back to the beginning of a sequence when they reach the end. Couple that with an application that could set their position in the sequence based on their opt-in date, and you just might have it whipped.

          If your designer okays it, I'd love to have a look at it...

          Eric, you may be worrying about nothing regarding repeating messages. If you send me a message, say a monthly newsletter, this April and I get the same newsletter next April, the odds of me spotting the repeat are pretty slim. Especially in a seasonal niche like gardening - or fishing.

          Here is SW Florida, the fishing tends to go in cycles depending on what fish are active and present (many are migratory). So tarpon fishing is going to be a hot topic this May, next May, and the May after that. The general information is evergreen, so I'd expect to get similar information that time of year anyway.
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          • Profile picture of the author Eric Graudins
            Originally Posted by cindybidar View Post

            If you're running WordPress, I'll ask the designer if she'd mind my passing it on.
            Thanks for the offer Cindy. I'd be interested in finding out more. However, I'm really looking for something that ran from one of the larger autoresponder companies.

            Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

            So tarpon fishing is going to be a hot topic this May, next May, and the May after that. The general information is evergreen, so I'd expect to get similar information that time of year anyway.
            John, that's true and information could certainly be updated in each of the messages to keep them current and relevant in many niches.
            And then list members could be kicked back to the start of the sequence.

            But for the particular situation I'm considering, it won't work because it's an ongoing process that spans stages over several years with different information required for each year.

            While it may be possible to continually massage the existing autoresponder features to "sort of" do the job, it would require a lot of manual intervention.

            So I'm being unreasonable I guess, in wanting technology to bend to my requirements, rather than me bending to the requirements of technology.

            But remember that most progress is through the demands of the unreasonable person .

            I don't think that it would be a huge undertaking to achive this sort of autoresponder sequencing, if there were sufficient demand for it.

            And it would open up some added flexibility to autoresponder users.


            cheers,
            Eric G.
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            • Profile picture of the author Troy McDonald
              Sounds like you'll need a custom solution.

              Two (possible) options:

              Infusionsoft (they are a 3rd party service) my be able to do it.

              Interspire Email Marketer has a lot of features, but also has API access, so certain functionality can be added by hiring a programmer. (This software you host on your own server.)
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              Troy McDonald
              I will build your IM list for FREE!

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  • Profile picture of the author Steve Steinitz
    Hi Eric,

    Its a cool idea. Obviously it could also handle Christmas and other holidays.

    After much humming, hawing and researching, I finally signed up with Campaign Monitor. I had a quick look at their API and while it doesn't look to support your idea directly they seem like real smart, open-minded guys and I think they would find your idea interesting and might even have a tinker with it. Maybe it would be worth contacting them. Perhaps I'll draw their attention to this thread.

    Best regards,

    Steve
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