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In this post I’m going to give you an introduction to autoresponders, and explain why you should definitely be using them in your business.
Today, I’m going to explore:
- what autoresponders are
- the business benefits of using them
- the apps you can use to send them
And, at the end of the post, you’ll find some bonus content — our top tips for making the most of autoresponders.
Let’s start with a key question: what is an autoresponder?
What is an autoresponder?
Autoresponders are e-newsletters that are sent automatically to your subscribers on your mailing list. They are ‘triggered’ based on rules and time intervals that you define.
For example, you could design a programme of autoresponders so that:
when somebody signs up to your mailing list, they immediately receive a welcome message from your business
exactly one week later they receive discount codes for some of your products
three weeks later they receive an invitation to follow you on social media…
…and so on.
Why are autoresponders important?
When you use autoresponders, a lot of your email marketing gets automated. If you set things up correctly, subscribers receive key messages from your business without you having to worry about sending these messages out manually.
So the main benefit of autoresponders is clear: they save you a lot of time.
Not only that however, autoresponder emails can generate a lot of income for your business — so long as you are clever about how you use them.
Smart applications of autoresponders
The above example of sending out a series of timed emails automatically after somebody signs up to a mailing list is an important one — but it’s also a fairly basic application of autoresponders.
There are much more sophisticated things you can do with them, based on what you know about your subscribers, or the actions they take online.
For example, you can:
switch a subscriber from one autoresponder cycle to another if he/she clicks on a particular link within an email
move a subscriber from one cycle of communications to another after they buy a product (i.e., move them from a prospect-focused series of emails to an ‘upsell’ cycle of communications)
send emails based on subscription date — for example, you could send your customers a message exactly one year after they bought a product (to encourage them to renew a policy or warranty, for example)
- send emails based on personal data you’ve captured — for example, you could use date of birth information to trigger emails on your subscribers’ birthdays
send an offer to a subscriber if they visit (or subscribe to your list from) a particular page on your website
.
Using autoresponders in these ways can generate significant income and maximize the value of your mailing list.
How do I send autoresponders?
To send out autoresponders, you need to use an email marketing app. There are lots available.
Well-known ones include:
These are all well-established solutions for building mailing lists and sending autoresponders to them.
Additionally, some e-commerce platforms — like Squarespace and Wix — now also include email marketing tools that include basic autoresponder features.
(These tend to be rather basic in nature, however, by comparison to fully-fledged email marketing tools).
Of the above apps, we’d probably suggest trying out GetResponse if you need advanced autoresponder functionality — in addition to simple autoresponder cycles, you can use it to create very sophisticated subscriber journeys. Like many email marketing tools, GetResponse offers a free trial, which you can access via this link.
Campaign Monitor, AWeber and Mailchimp are also very good for creating autoresponder cycles — but in our tests we found them to be more expensive and less feature-rich in the autoresponder department than GetResponse.
If you are on a very low budget, Mad Mimi is worth a look as it allows you to host big lists very cheaply on the platform.
It’s worth noting however, that Mad Mimi’s autoresponder functionality is extremely basic by comparison to its competitors — you are basically limited to ‘drip campaigns’ that are triggered by the number of days between emails.
So, should I stop manually sending out e-newsletters?
No! Even if you use autoresponders, there will still be many occasions when it makes absolute sense to send out an e-newsletter manually — messages marking festive occasions, seasonal promotions, sale announcements and general news updates will often need to be covered off by sending out a ‘normal’ e-newsletter.
But used well, autoresponders will allow you to automate a lot of ‘nuts and bolts’ marketing activity — and tailor your messages to suit particular segments of your mailing list.
All while you’re in bed, or doing something more interesting, or both!
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Our top tips for sending autoresponders
Don’t overdo it
Keep the intervals between your email autoresponders fairly long, unless there is a very good business reason to send your subscribers a lot of emails
in quick succession.Keep things relevant
Use data supplied by your subscriber when they signed up to send content which they are most likely to be interested in. For example, if a subscriber expressed interest in Product X, think twice before adding them to a cycle about Very Different Product Y.
Don’t just ‘drip’ — use marketing automation
Autoresponders have come a long way since the days of basic ‘drip campaigns
‘triggered by time intervals. You can now use a whole host of marketing automation triggers such as opens, clicks, web page visits and purchases to create really sophisticated user journeys that maximize profit.
Be mindful of data protection rules
In the era of GDPR, it’s more important than ever to stay on the right side of data protection laws. Be very aware of your obligations on this front, make sure you always have explicit consent before adding any subscribers to autoresponder cycles and allow users to unsubscribe easily from your mailing list.
And that’s it!
Got any queries about autoresponders?
If you’ve got any questions about autoresponders, please do share them in the comments section below. We read all queries and will do our best to help you.
Related resources
Our email marketing reviews section contains a lot of useful, in-depth reviews and comparisons of the leading email marketing apps, including Aweber, Campaign Monitor, GetResponse, Mad Mimi and Mailchimp.
- We’d suggest taking a particular look at our GetResponse review — this goes into its autoresponder features in considerable depth.
You might also find our guide to automating your business helpful.
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