Autoresponders – What Are They?

Maybe you’ve already been exposed to a ton of information about autoresponders (aka auto responders or automatic responder software) and you’re confused.

It’s normal and it’s not your fault. These ‘so-called’ EXPERTS forget to teach you the basics.

For now, let’s forget about advanced terms and tools like…

  • RSS
  • Feeds
  • Text or Html?
  • thank-you pages
  • OTO (one time offer).

I’ll explain the advanced stuff later on –

But for now, please read this article to fully understand what are autoresponders and how their amazing power will help boost your affiliate marketing sales & commissions.

Believe it or not, autoresponders have revolutionized the way business is done online including…

1. staying in touch with customers
2. building relationships with prospects
3. turning free leads into paid clients

And so on.

But what are they?

Easy to Understand Definition:

  • An autoresponder is a computer program which can be ‘programmed’ to send pre-written e-mail replies to anyone who request more information about it.

The ‘programming’ thing is just a matter of clicking some options within your autoresponder account, it’s nothing complex or complicated.

Here’s an example to understand the definition.

If you want to join my FREE Blog Updates opt-in list, you could do so if you sign-up with your name and e-mail address using this form.

I’ve set-up this autoresponder so that only when you confirm your decision to join in (by clicking a link inside the e-mail), you’ll get the welcome message back to the e-mail address you’ve used to sign-up with.

Afterwards, you get a series of follow-up messages that I’ve already added on that autoresponder a few days, weeks and even months ago.

HINT – you can program your autoresponder to follow-up with new messages (plain text and/or html) for months and even years in advance.

That’s how autoresponders are working – isn’t it exciting?

You work once by writing the e-mail content, then you put it on follow-up. Whenever someone joins it, they get ALL your e-mails frequently, in advance.

Forget about hiring an online secretary to follow-up with your leads.

Your autoresponder is doing this job, on your behalf – at a fraction of the cost.

Think at it as a fax back service, just that it works via e-mail.

Here’s a graph to see exactly how it works.

Maybe you’ve been exposed to some new terms so far, so let me explain them to you:

  • Double Opt-In = E-mail authentication or validation

When you use double opt-in, the person requesting information from your autoresponder states he was the one asking for it!

Think at this as a way for you to protect against false SPAM accusations and comply with the FTC and EU e-mail marketing laws.

Moreover, when someone double opt-ins to your autoresponder it means they’re more inclined and motivated to stick with you for awhile and read your e-mails.

If you’re using just a single opt-in method (e.g. “X” joins your list and they’re automatically being sent the welcome e-mail, without having to confirm first) you ‘re risking to build a low-quality list with this tactic.

In addition, you have a higher chance to get in trouble with FTC.

My advice – stick with double opt-in. That’s what I do.

  • Confirmation link = the link within your autoresponder the user needs to click on in order to receive the welcome e-mail (day 0)

In Aweber , the confirmation link looks something like this…

http://www.aweber.com/z/c/?xxxxxxxx

(that’s an example – the link above is not clickable)

  • Follow-up message = the e-mail message that you write and add it onto your autoresponder. Each e-mail follows one after another.

In the Next article you’ll find out about…

Top 5 Reasons Why You Need Autoresponders

Stay tuned!

Cheers,
Codrut Turcanu – “Succeeding Against All Odds!”

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