The autoresponder is a critical tool to use in your email marketing campaigns-it can save you valuable time and greatly improve your communication results. Here's what it is and why you should use it to achieve your business goals.
A few articles ago, I told you about of theemail marketing and how it is a key strategy for promoting your business.
If you've read it before, you've probably thought that yes, it actually has a lot of benefits and can really allow your business to grow--but how much time does it take to write all those messages to send to your recipients each time?
In fact, it is a lot of manual labor....
But there is makeup!
It is called autoresponder.
Have you ever heard of them?
We could call it the "workhorse" of email marketing. Work behind the scenes, 24/7, to automate your online campaign.
What does it do? It simply sends for you The right messages to the right people at the right time.
Welcome new users, introduce readers to your new blog articles, and continually reach out to your audience with valuable content and relevant offers.
It is essential to enable you to establish a long-term relationship with your current and potential customers: in fact, according to even some research, emails sent automatically get more clicks and conversions than others (such as newsletters). The reason? Because they are contextual, meaning they depend on the actions users take at a specific time.
It really is a super-performing email strategy!
Have I piqued your interest?
Well: continue reading the article to find out in detail. What is an autoresponder and why you should use it In your email campaigns.
What is an autoresponder?
As I mentioned, an autoresponder is a program that sends automated and personalized emails based on the specific actions performed by each user.
Basically, it allows you to create a series of messages that will be sent to a list of contacts according to specific rules and at defined intervals, which of course you determine.
Such messages can be of two types: broadcast and sequences. I broadcast are emails that you send only once, either immediately after writing them or by scheduling them to be sent on a specific day. They are used to communicate a message to your list in a specific context and are not repeated.
Le sequences are instead a series of messages, which your recipients receive starting at a specific time and then following each other according to predetermined times. The beginning of the sequence is time zero, which coincides with a certain action taken by the recipient: it can be, for example, signing up for your newsletter, downloading a free or paid piece of content, purchasing a product, but also abandoning the shopping cart.
Other messages will then follow on day 3, 7, 14 and so on, each with a defined content (invitation to read your blog, download an ebook, visit your social page, etc.). Unlike broadcasts, in sequences, communication is clearly time-dilated, with the goal of getting you known and offering consistently valuable insights.
The idea behind the use of an autoresponder is to take advantage of that person's interest in you and your offer: you can then use that attention to entice them to continue your business relationship by letting them find out who you are, what you do, and what value you propose through your business.
The nice thing is that you only have to write the single message once, which will then be sent to the various recipients.
It is therefore a software program your activities, simplifying the management of one-to-one communication and helping you automate email marketing campaigns.
How to use an autoresponder
To give you an even better understanding of how useful an autoresponder can be to you, let's look at some examples of messages you can schedule to be sent.
#Email welcome
It is the classic email that the user receives when they interact with you for the first time: they sign up for a newsletter, download a piece of content, or purchase a product.
It is a way to welcome new potential customers to your business and intrigue them to learn about your brand. It then usually involves "next steps," which are other messages that invite them to try other ways to interact with your brand (social media, blog posts, etc.) or that offer discounts or downloads.
1TP4Product Launch
These are messages that set the stage for selling your latest product or service.
In that case, however, I recommend using them only in "small" launches, such as promoting affiliate products, over which you have no direct control, or for digital content such as ebooks or PDFs.
Why do I say this? Because when it comes to products that are "important" and of some value (including economic value), it is more effective to act on the feedback you receive with a message tailored to your audience at that moment-something that a preset sequence clearly does not allow you to do.
#Upsell and cross-sell
These are messages that you can send to the customer after they have purchased a product: they contain suggestions of similar or relevant items. They are referred to as cross-selling To indicate the sale of related products and upselling For the sale of higher-end products than those already sold.
The idea is always to keep user engagement high: if they bought once, they might buy again. If you run any kind of e-commerce business, these emails provide an easy way to encourage customers to return to your site and explore your product range.
You can also include the affiliate links of the brands you collaborate with (to learn more, read my article on theaffiliate marketing).
#rolley abandoned
These emails are directed to customers who, after adding an item to their cart, have not completed checkout. They provide a gentle "nudge," reminding them that they have left something behind and that it is waiting for them.
You can include a clear call-to-action to help them return to your site and successfully complete the purchase-an effective way to save sales that would otherwise be lost.
#Surveys
Surveys allow you to get to know your audience better: you can focus on a variety of topics (customer satisfaction, product reviews, interests and buying habits). The responses you receive can be used to create new digital content to offer later-and the more valuable content you offer, the more loyal subscribers you will have among your contacts.
Why you should use an autoresponder
As you may have guessed, using an autoresponder much of your email marketing is automated.
Once you set up messages according to your needs, users receive them at the right time, without you having to worry about sending them manually.
So the main advantage of an autoresponder is clear: saves you a lot of time (and manual labor).
Not only that, autoresponder emails can generate a lot of revenue for your business, as long as you make smart use of them.
Here is what they can do for you.
#Ttransform new visitors into customers
Automated emails offer a fantastic line of communication with new users, giving them a taste of what you have to offer. Sometimes, people simply aren't ready to buy and want to learn about your brand first. An autoresponder allows you to provide valuable content to your subscribers quickly and easily and direct them to your blog, YouTube channel, or social pages. These different channels showcase who you are and what you do, helping your audience better understand your offerings-and that can only translate into more traffic and more conversions.
#Setting up stable and lasting relationships with users
As I mentioned, an autoresponder allows you to create automatic messages and schedule them to be sent to contacts on your mailing list on specific dates. In this way, your users receive consistent information from you, and this facilitates the creation of a unique bond with them, increasing the brand awareness.
More importantly, this allows you to build trust with your audience slowly over time: you have a golden opportunity to build a long-term relationship from the moment people join your list. And with the right emails, you can take them from mere subscribers to loyal customers.
#Create repeat sales
With an autoresponder, you are sure to follow up with all your customers without missing any: you are guaranteed that all messages in the system are sent on time to all recipients. This becomes even more crucial within cross-selling or upselling strategies-a great way to generate repeat sales by leveraging the interest expressed by your buyers.
#Access measurable outcomes.
I have already told you about the importance of the Data Analysis In web marketing. Here, an autoresponder also serves you for this: collecting quantitative and qualitative data and information, which helps you better evaluate your strategies. You can know which messages have the highest open rates, those with the highest conversions, and so on. As a result, you can tailor your content with the goal of getting more interaction.
#A Increase involvement
Ultimately, an autoresponder allows people to stay in touch with you and your brand. Whether it's a user who is only interested in the free content you offer or a customer who is intent on buying your high ticket product, it's a way to ensure that you are never forgotten and remain firmly in their minds (by the way, I recommend you read my article on the brand positioning). Also because, the more your audience interacts with your brand, the more likely they are to click and convert 😉
Bonus: Best Practice
An autoresponder can really make your life easier, but it's also a double-edged sword: there's a risk that you'll get exactly the opposite effect (i.e., people will run the hell away from your list). To avoid that, here are a few little things to watch out for.
Don't overdo it
Don't send too many emails close together: keep "healthy" intervals between your messages, unless you have a very good reason to send them in quick succession even within the same day (such as a reminder of an offer that is about to expire, leveraging the scarcity of time available to take advantage of it).
Be relevant
That is, avoid sending irrelevant messages: use what you know about your audience to send content they are most likely to be interested in. Always remember that you should satisfy an informational need, which you infer from how that person reacted toward a particular offer or proposal. Plan intelligently for the development of any content, even if it will then be automated.
Always send valuable content
Don't just advertise and promote all the time: most of your content should be educational and stimulate readers' interest and curiosity. When you've created an autoresponder campaign, review each of the emails you've added and make sure each one provides value to your subscribers (in terms of both useful content and valuable offers).
Conclusion
With relatively little effort, an autoresponder can help you send tailor-made offerings to people who want to learn more about your business, increasing brand awareness.
You don't need to be an expert: start with a simple welcome email and then build a series of messages from that. Experiment with timing and content until you find the most effective ways for you.
Finally, don't forget to focus on your members! Only by providing valuable content that they look forward to reading in their inbox, you will succeed in establishing long-term trust in your brand.
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