Email Communications on Autopilot

What Email Autoresponders Can Do For Your Business
An email autoresponder is basically just software that sends out pre-saved emails on a schedule. Better than that, it actually keeps a personalized schedule for each person on your mailing list.
Sounds complicated?
It really isn't; at least not from the list manager's perspective. (That's you!)
All you really do is create a series of email communications that you want everyone on your mailing list to receive. When a new name gets added to your list, no matter when they joined, the software will take care of sending them out the complete series of emails. The emails get sent one at a time, based on a predetermined schedule that you set.
Unlike you sending out a "bulk" email addressed to dozens of recipients, each person on your mailing list gets a personalized email that is addressed only to them. They never know whether you have three people on your mailing list or 30,000.
Because you can use a mail merge type feature to add user names and other personalization details, autoresponder emails do not have to be just static form letters.
You can even set up multiple lists and split out your customers based on criteria you decide. For instance by product line, or prospects who have only inquired versus customers who've bought, our household versus business customers, etc.
Each of those lists can get a different series of emails. There is no limit to the number of lists you can have, the number of emails on each list or the number of names on each list.
A good autoresponder service will grow with your business. A well-managed autoresponder account may just put your business on autopilot.
Why should you use one?
Staying in contact (as long as you have relevant and useful information to impart) is the best way of turning prospects into buyers, buyers into repeat customers and repeat customers into loyal fans.
Perhaps you have a monthly newsletter you'd like to inexpensively share with your customer base. Or maybe you want to train the buyers of a complex system how to get the most of their new purchase. You could create holiday or seasonal messages that go out to all your prospects and customers. The possibilities are limited only by your creativity and imagination.
Say for example that you run a camera store and you sell a customer a new camera. Digital cameras these days have a mind-boggling array of features. Let's say you set up mailing lists for each of the different camera brands your store carries. When a customer buys a Nikon DSLR, you add her name to the Nikon DSLR list. Then once a week, your autoresponder will email her one lesson that teaches her how to use some particular feature on her specific camera. You write these lessons just once but every single customer who buys a Nikon DSLR from you benefits from them! You could create similar lists for Canon, Sony, Pentax and any other camera brand you carry.
This same principle could be applied to computers, cars, sewing machines, leaf blowers... you name it! It can even be applied to services such as tax preparation, house cleaning, dog walking and prenatal care. The list is endless.
Where can you get one?
Although it's possible to buy your own autoresponder software and run your lists in-house, it's not recommended. If for no other reason than compliance with CAN-SPAM laws. An online mailing service will assure compliance while simultaneously offering you the most up to date software available.
Three of the largest mail houses are:
· AWeber
· Constant Contact
· Mail Chimp
Of course there are other services out there but these are reputable companies that can handle even the most complex mailing needs.
How much do they cost?
The cost for mailing services varies but is largely based on how many names are on your list (aggregate number if you have more than one list) and how frequently you mail to them.
To give you a general idea, a list with around 1,000 names to which you send out emails every week will cost $30 per month or less. For most businesses, just one sale per month will pay for the full cost of staying in touch with everyone.
How to get names onto your mailing list
If you're just starting out but already have a list of names and email addresses, such as in CRM software or even just on a spreadsheet, you can import them and have a jump-start on your list building.
The service you use may require you to explain where the list came from and affirm that everyone on the list "opted in". That is, they all gave you their email address and explicitly agreed to receive email communication from you. This is done for compliance with SPAM laws but is really not a big deal.
Once your list is set up, even if it's just an empty shell without a single name on it yet, all of the services allow you to create sign-up forms that you can post on your web site. These fill-in-the-blanks forms enable visitors to your web site to sign up for your mailing list by filling in the form.
When they do, the autoresponder service kicks into gear and will begin sending that customer emails in your name. They will continue to receive emails from you until they have either reached the end of the series you set up or until they click the unsubscribe link included at the bottom of each email sent out.
If you have visitors come in to a store, you can also have your employees manually add customer information to get them on your list. Or you can set up a kiosk and let the customers do it themselves.
What if you have unscheduled sales or events?
You are not just limited to pre-saved emails. Say that you have a special event or an unscheduled sale coming up. You could create a one-off "broadcast" email that will go out to your entire list (or multiple lists or even segments of lists).
Broadcast emails get sent no matter where in the series a customer may be. So a customer who just received issue #7 of your newsletter and one who just got issue #2 would both receive the same sale notice. This will not interrupt their sequence and the first customer will still get issue #8 next while the second customer will get issue #3 next.
There is no limit to the number of broadcast emails you can send.
Effectively managing your list
It doesn't stop with simply collecting names and having some computer automatically send out emails for you. Online mailing services include detailed reporting so you can closely monitor the effectiveness of your mailing operation.
· How many of the emails you send actually get opened?
· How many of the links in your emails get clicked?
· What percentage of users unsubscribe?
· You can even create multiple versions of your sign-up forms and test them against each other to determine which is better at getting prospects to sign up.
Worried that some third-party company has possession of your customer list? Well you can easily export the list from their servers and import it into your own CRM or other business management software.
Of course there's nothing you can do about them having the list. At least not as long as you want them to keep managing your mailings for you. (All the more reason to stick with reputable companies.) But at least you can easily get and keep your own copy in-house.
List Rental
Some companies may allow you to mail to rented lists under certain conditions. If you frequently rent email lists, you should definitely solicit the services of a mailing professional to help you.  Be sure and check out The Corner Market-ing Blog.  Lot's of good stuff there.  "Enjoy Your Coffee"

Michael Stanley