Making decent money off out auto responder series?

I personally use both. I have a sales funnel in place. So what the prospect experiences first is an OTO (then another if they purchase or if they don't they just get redirected to a thank you for subscribing page and check your email), then I let them know myself, my business, how I operate it and generally build trust. I give out some more freebies. Then I have a few offers in place with intervals of freebie giveaways. As well, I also sometimes broadcast emails however that is if something is really important. Sales funnels are the key to email marketing success.

It's all about your conversions obviously. You can have a Huge List but doesn't convert for Sh*** or you can have a smaller one that converts like crazy!

Yes it's a numbers game but There are numbers better than numbers

Yes, many people do.

Personally, I avoid broadcasts whenever possible, for a big variety of reasons, including but not limited to these ...

(i) It's very rare that I want everyone on a list to get the same information at the same time, regardless of how long they've been there and where they are in the series;

This is "The Big One" -----> (ii) Subscribers in many niches have told me in the past that they don't like "obvious broadcasts" because (a) they interrupt continuity, and (b) they make the sender look more like a marketer and less like a trusted provider of valuable information;

(iii) It interferes with "subscriber expectation". It's really important, when opting people in, to set their expectations, and tell them exactly what they're going to receive and when. This dramatically increases open-rates and click-through rates. Sending "broadcasts" makes that very difficult;

(iv) To me, it feels like "being in a hurry" and "aiming for quick sales" - exactly the things I like to avoid, because I earn far more in the long run by avoiding that.

Key concept: interrupting continuity with an obvious promotion of something is really a much bigger deal than many people realise.

It makes you look desperate to sell, and to many subscribers, understandably, that comes across very negatively and ruins your credibility and their trust.

In my opinion, the people who imagine that isn't a big deal are typically those to whom open-rates of about 25% are acceptable, perhaps partly because they have little awareness of customer perception of - for example - passing off a commissionable product-launch as "news". (In other words, not being aware of your customers' perspective very much at all!).

Thanks guys. I ask a lot of questions that seem similar but that's because I like to fully understand things before I jump into something.

I use broadcast mostly for things that are date specific. ("Happy groundhogs day" and the like) I use the AR series to do most of my heavy lifting because I'm usually too darn lazy to do daily broadcasts. I'm one of those people who has way too many irons in the fire for my own good.

Jim Waller

Alexa, so how many emails do you recommend producing for an email series? I think it might be difficult for me to come up with that much content. Thank you.

Thanks Canyon, but if you start out with 4 or 5 emails and add more over time, how do you get your new emails to your existing customers if you don't broadcast.

Also, if you are going to have a 100 email series, do you constantly recommend different products or do you keep recommending the same products? Thanks guys.

Hmm...

Intelligent post Alexa, enjoyed reading it.

I do agree with Alexa to an extent - but would say it depends what your focus is.

There is not one "right" way of doing it. I know of a guy who (supposedly, I haven't actually seen his payments through a payment provider, although he has said this is how much he makes, and it 'seems' believable) about $45k/month 'solely' through an autoresponder series. (The series itself "is" what he is selling).

Other people who do affiliate marketing (I.e., Jason Parker), churn through leads because the goal is different. (I.e., from talking w/him & reading his posts, he is very good at lead gen, so his goal is not to see how big a list he can get, but to sell to them on the spot. NB: If JP reads this and I am mistaken, please feel free to correct me ).

Personally, I do a combination of the two. I wouldn't say I am perfect yet (I have some big lists that have not had the conversions I want, and have smaller lists that do much better).

So answering your question, (a) Yes, people make money from long autoresponder series, and (b) Yes, people make money from broadcasting to their list. It really depends on what your focus is, and how you structure your business.

John

I'm just getting started in building lists, so this is interesting information. One of the lists I have is geared toward PLR and they know when they opt-in that I'm sending a broadcast notice each time a new pack is ready.

However, I'm building another list (or 2 or e) in niche topic areas and that's where I need to learn the balance between autoresponder articles and broadcasts. From what I am reading, I still have a lot to learn! Thank you!!!

To be totally honest. These questions are fundamentally flawed.

An autoresponder series is simply a tool.

Tools alone don't make money.

Solutions make money.

Tools support and enhance solutions.

There's something about this topic that doesn't make sense to me.

Let me put it this way: any experienced writer or editor knows that if you don't capture the reader's attention in the first sentence very few readers will read the second sentence or the third or the hundredth sentence. In the same way, if you don't catch the email reader's attention in the first email and the second and third email, how many readers will survive to read your hundredth email?

Try this idea another way: How many articles and books collect famous first sentences of famous books ("All unhappy families are different...")? OK, next question: how many articles and books collect famous hundredth sentences?

I really wonder what's going on in a list where the readers don't respond for a hundred emails yet suddenly sit up and respond to the hundred and first email. Just askin.

Hi, I am not Alexa or Alex or Alexis or even Mr X just kidding

Broadcasts use to promote things that are seasonable such as Christmas, Halloween and the like you get the idea right!!

The email series are used to tease your subscribers and become so excited about what you provide and waiting your next email by high attention.

Your emails should present your subscribers with quality content and don't make your main aim is to promote products and making money. Create the trust firstly between you and your email list and then you will make money as a result.

I always think that I am not a businessman, but an artist. I never think about money because the beautiful things who makes money.

Good Luck.

My lists are made up of "Buyers" and not "Freebie Seekers" but I have cultivated a relationship with them over time so it doesn't matter what type of email I send them, they still buy.

When a subscriber opts in to my list, they get emails from me about once every three days all with great content. Most have a pitch at the end for my products.

I rarely do email blasts or recommend other products as most in my niche aren't very good. Maybe once a month I'll do a blast and it's usually to honor a holiday or show appreciation.

I did however send out a blast on St Patrick's Day yesterday recommending a good product I recently reviewed and it resulted in over $350 in my Clickbank account in the first 12 hours and I expect more to trickle in the next few days.

Whatever works best for you. But, if you have subscribers who still haven't bought anything after 15 emails, do you really want them on your list? I'd rather they unsubscribe personally as they are costing me more in the long run if they never buy.

I just recently jumped on the lists bandwagon, as I'm fascinated with their potential power and relationship with the consumer. I just read through this thread pretty thoroughly and it gave me a ton of incite on where I need to go in my development process.

I have a couple of niches right now that I'm excited about building lists for...thanks for the information guys (and gals)!