Are You Using Autoresponders?

Without a doubt, the biggest obstacle facing the online marketer is getting the attention of the potential customer. You spend time placing classified ads, reading "How To" books all in a search for that elusive lead, or sale.

No doubt when someone contacts you requesting more information on the product or service you are selling, you do exactly what you are supposed to do. You send the potential customer the sales information they inquired about.

Now here's the problem. If you are not using an autoresponder to handle your sales inquires you are likely losing 50% or more of your sales. This may sound like a high percentage but I'm being conservative. Most visitors to a web site, or first inquiries from potential customers via email, DO NOT result in a sale. The average percentage of visitors who purchase something on websites is about 1-2%, and that is considered good. If you are not using an autoresponder, chances are your percentages are far less.

An autoresponder will result in your sales information being sent to the potential customer within minutes of their request, 24 hours day, 7 days a week. They can read it online, or print it for later use. A sales letter is much easier to print than an entire web page.

When someone is 'surfing' the web, going from site to site, if they don't receive your info quickly, they will likely forget about it within a matter of minutes as they visit more and more web sites. Getting your message to the potential customer quickly is VERY important.

Now it is quite possible and actually very likely that your sales letter will get trashed, or only looked at in a casual manner and then discarded. This doesn't mean the person wasn't interested, but that something else likely got their attention. Even if they read your sales letter carefully, chances are they will not make an immediate decision as to whether to purchase your product or service.

In most cases, your initial sales letter will NOT be enough to make the sale.

If that one sales letter is the only sales letter you send to this potential customer, they most likely become a lost customer.

Here's is where the true value of an autoresponder begins.

A good autoresponder allows you to send automated follow-up sales letters to this same customer. Let's say that you have your autoresponder set up to send your first reply after 2 days. You have already constructed these follow-up sales letters, so the first follow-up sales letter will be sent out automatically. You can set up your autoresponder to send a second follow-up letter 3 days later and so on. This is all automated. Most marketing studies have shown that 7 follow-ups can often turn what was to become a lost customer into a sale. Now, not everyone will become a customer regardless of how many sales letters you send out so set a reasonable limit. I recommend 7. If you haven't made the sale and haven't heard back from the potential customer, you are likely not going to get a sale and your email then becomes annoying and may be considered spam.

Many web hosting packages offer built in autoresponders, usually an unlimited number. Very few provide automated follow-up responses. And the follow-up is by far the most important part.

There are several places you can get free autoresponders. Some are better than others. But keep in mind that you generally get what you pay for. The best autoresponder I have found is from a company called Aweber. They are not free, but are reasonably priced. And you get everything you need to automate everything.

To wrap this up: If you aren't using an autoresponder, you are losing a large percentage of your potential sales.