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Explain To Me......Autoresponders.

by captainbohica
9 replies
Hi everyone. been lurking on here, reading, learning and thought i'd finally take the plunge and say Hi.

So i'm almost done building a wordpress blog /affiliate site for an identified niche, and it looks like all thats left to do is write content for the site and install an autoresponder. after doing some reading and consulting with my wallet, i've decided to go with the GWA Autoresponder to start out... but i have a couple questions:

What is the auto responder for and why is it important?

just for background: i have absolutely not marketing/sales experience so im slowly learning as I go along.. also, i did my due dilligence and couldn't find a thread that actually discussed auto responders other than "which one should I use"

What im looking for is for the community to talk to me about auto responders and why they are important to internet marketing.

Depending on the responses im sure i'll have some follow up questions...

Also as an aside - if i wanted my site to be critique, what are the rules for asking for a critique by the community? can i post my domain? would i have to have someone PM me for it?

Thanks for your time and im looking forward to reading your responses!
#explain #meautoresponders
  • Profile picture of the author sanssecret
    An autoresponder is just a way for you to send out messages to a list of subscribers. You get to write them up in advance and schedule them to be sent in a certain timeframe, usually based on the date your subscriber signed up.

    The messages should be useful and related to whatever it is you're selling. The idea is to build a relationship with your subscribers, help them out by offering solid advice, and even (dare I say it), recommending they buy certain stuff from your links.

    Some people swear by them, some people don't.

    As for reviewing your site - I don't think there's a problem with posting your domain. You can only ask. As my mother used to say, "Shy bairns get no broth". :p
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  • Profile picture of the author Robert Colle
    Hello Captainbohica and welcome. That is quite a nice question you have just posted. And as the first responder have already very rightly pointed out, Autoresponders are aimed at keeping or maintaining some sort of communicative relationship with subscribers to your site and they can be very helpful as far as marketing is concerned.
    But as far as I am concerned, I personally hate them, why? well because they are just like spams and I hate spams too very much. How is a robot supposed to keep a communicative relationship with a person? If I may ask. I rather prefer to send out emails to my subscribers myself trying as much as possible to customize each and every one as much as a I can.
    Well I guess the bottom line is you need to keep a relation with the people that take their precious time to fill up forms at your website(your subscribers) so the question is do you want it to be done by a software AKA robot?
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  • Profile picture of the author Daveyz
    Put it simply - Autoresponder helps to build your list. Your list is your cash cow. Your cash cow can make you rich depending on how you utilize it.
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    • Profile picture of the author captainbohica
      Thanks for your responses so far.. they're helping me understand autoresponders a lot more.

      Originally Posted by Robert Colle View Post

      Well I guess the bottom line is you need to keep a relation with the people that take their precious time to fill up forms at your website(your subscribers) so the question is do you want it to be done by a software AKA robot?
      as someone who has a regular 'day job' i will not have time to dedicate to personalizing each email. while i think that's a better way of doing things, and definitely more personable, its just not feasible.

      Originally Posted by Daveyz View Post

      Put it simply - Autoresponder helps to build your list. Your list is your cash cow. Your cash cow can make you rich depending on how you utilize it.
      How? from what i've read so far, i can use lists to cross sell other products, right? if my main niche product is product A... i can use the list to cross sell products B,C and D that are related to product A, right? am i on the right track?

      what would I send out? newsletters? or quick emails promoting other affiliate products? articles? that sort of thing?

      Another question: How can i integrate this into my site? can i just put the opt-in function on the right side widget bars? or do i need to build a squeeze page?

      thanks again for helping this n00b out.
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  • Profile picture of the author woonkiat
    I agreed with Daveyz as they help with your list and you can also personalized your email by sending out newsletter regularly. by the way, I am using GetResponse for an auto responder.
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  • Profile picture of the author UMS
    Simply put, an autoresponder is a tool (like GWA) or service (like aweber) that provides the following functions:

    1. Opt-in/Opt-Out management
    2. Opt-in form design
    3. Sending emails to your list/s.
    4. Various stats on your subscribers and the emails sent out

    The "trick" with a new list, is that you definitely don't want to send out lots of emails with the usual affiliate offers to buy product X.

    What you want to do is build up some trust with your subscribers. The best way of doing this is to offer them something of value.

    For example, you might have discovered a great free site for doing backlinking, or you've found a really informative video that you want to share.

    Once you've built up some trust, then you can slip in the odd affiliate offer.
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    • Profile picture of the author captainbohica
      Originally Posted by UMS View Post

      Simply put, an autoresponder is a tool (like GWA) or service (like aweber) that provides the following functions:

      1. Opt-in/Opt-Out management
      2. Opt-in form design
      3. Sending emails to your list/s.
      4. Various stats on your subscribers and the emails sent out

      The "trick" with a new list, is that you definitely don't want to send out lots of emails with the usual affiliate offers to buy product X.

      What you want to do is build up some trust with your subscribers. The best way of doing this is to offer them something of value.

      For example, you might have discovered a great free site for doing backlinking, or you've found a really informative video that you want to share.

      Once you've built up some trust, then you can slip in the odd affiliate offer.
      absolute GOLD. Thank you for your response.

      What other examples of emails has the community sent to their list? (looking more for what you sent out as a n00b to gain their trust)

      like UMS said - info on a free site, or info on a video... can it really be as simple as an email? or does it have to be robust as a full fledged newsletter in the traditional sense? or an email with full on HTML coding?

      or is it okay to follow the K.I.S.S. principle on this one?
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      • Profile picture of the author sonamlama
        Originally Posted by captainbohica View Post

        absolute GOLD. Thank you for your response.

        What other examples of emails has the community sent to their list? (looking more for what you sent out as a n00b to gain their trust)
        I send out short emails directing my valued subscribers to my blog posts,free reports I create, videos, audios (like podcasts or recordings) focused on a specific topic that I know people are interested in and want a solution for.

        I do this by just being active on top forums, like here at the amazing Warrior Forum and surfing the top IM blogs. It's amazing what you'll find by just being active and listening.

        Originally Posted by captainbohica View Post

        like UMS said - info on a free site, or info on a video... can it really be as simple as an email? or does it have to be robust as a full fledged newsletter in the traditional sense? or an email with full on HTML coding?
        It can be as simple as an email. Simple, short, to the point emails work really well since most people either don't like reading long emails or don't have the time to.

        Originally Posted by captainbohica View Post

        or is it okay to follow the K.I.S.S. principle on this one?
        I live by the K.I.S.S. method. As humans we have a habit of over complicating things. And often we find that the solution to most problems are the simplest methods. It's no different with Email marketing.
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  • Profile picture of the author orvinmarcantel24
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    • Profile picture of the author captainbohica
      Originally Posted by orvinmarcantel24 View Post

      Autoresponder is a computer program (a set of instruction), which automatically respond to the emails that is send to it. There are two types, as they, 1. Outsourced ASP model and 2. Server-side
      my webhost is hostgator.. i didn't look at my cpanel closely before but do they have an autoresponding tool? guess i better have a look-see .
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