An autoresponder is simply a software program which stores email messages and then sends them out to email addresses stored in a database. the order in which the messages are sent out is defined and the delay between messages can also be predefined.

For example, message 1 may be sent immediately, message 2 may go a day later, message 3 a further day after that etc. You load your messages into the responder once and then just let it do the follow up for you.

Email addresses can be input manually, via a form on a website, or by sending a blank email to the autoresponder address. If you put email addresses in manually then it is absolutely essential that you have the recipients permission - otherwise you are spamming.

Autoresponders work well because they allow you to communicate with your opt-in subscribers several times. This allows you to build a relationship and it takes you out of the "one chance to make a good impression (sale)" arena which has many advantages.

One of the main advantages is that you don't need to make ludicrous over-hyped claims just establish rapport with your subscribers and give them the actual facts they need to make a decision.

A lot of research has been done into this field and it has been found that people rarely buy anything at the first time of asking. You will often hear that 7 autoresponder messages is the ideal number but it will vary depending on the product or service that you're promoting.

One of the key things to remember is that you don't need to dive straight in and push your product in the very first message. In fact this is a bad thing to do.

Perhaps you've heard of AIDA? It stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, Action and is an often quoted mnemonic in the field of advertising. It can be used as an aid for most advertising and marketing campaigns and it can certainly be applied to autoresponder messages.

Attention

Grab your prospect's attention using a very simple webpage which has an eyecatching graphic, a few bullet points outlining your service, opportunity or product and a signup form for them to enter their e-mail address in order to receive your autoresponder messages.

You can encourage them to sign up by giving away a free e-book or a special report. Keep the page simple and uncluttered and design it so that your prospect doesn't have to scroll down in order to complete the sign up form.

Interest

To a certain extent you also have your subscriber's interest but don't rest on your laurels. Your first autoresponder message should be a fuller explanation of what you're offering your subscribers. By which I mean the benefits that you're offering them not the details of the product or service itself. Ask yourself what problems your target audience may have then provide the answer to those problems in general terms.

At this stage you don't have to tell them exactly how you will solve their problems, it's enough that you know what their problems are and that you have some proven method of addressing them. Because of some standard pleasantries that need to go in the first email, this "interest" phase will probably need 2 messages to cover it.

Use bullet points and lists to list the problems as these are easy for people to read quickly.

Desire

Having built some empathy with your prospect by demonstrating that you understand their problems, you now need to generate some desire for your product by providing some more detail of exactly how it will solve these.

No doubt your product has many desirable features which pick off your prospect's problems one at a time. Don't try to address them all in one e-mail, you'll just confuse your subscriber (and quite possibly yourself).

Focus on one or two key points (problems) in each message and show how your product will make their problems disappear . This will take 3 or 4 messages for most products.

Action

Finally you need to tell the prospect what you want them to do. It's not enough to provide your name, phone number and a link to your website. Tell them exactly what you want them to do, e.g.:

Click here to visit the website and place your order
Phone me now to discuss your needs
Send an email to sales@yourwebaddress for a full quotation
Fill in the form and send it to

This should come in by message 7 at the latest. You could probably introduce it at the end of message 5 or 6 if you like.

Whenever you decide to issue your call to action, always follow up a week later with a gentle reminder just in case they meant to take action and forgot, or life got in the way, or they lost their internet connection, or their mother-in-law visited or any of the other reasons that could have put your offer out of their mind for just long enough for it to become overlooked.

Most people will go through your series of messages, come out the other side and not buy. That's life it's just a numbers game. However, you can skew the odds in your favour by using the "broadcast" function of your autoresponder to follow up whenever you have a product update, a new product, a special offer etc.

Follow up with your list at least once every 3 months it's the follow up that makes autoresponders such powerful sales machines.

Better yet, publish your own ezine and supply your clients with useful information on a regular basis - even when you don't have anything to sell them. It'll build trust and make them more likely to buy when the time is right.