OR….
Email Marketing Explained
As we get ready to begin another Building Abundance Course (YAY for everyone who enrolled!!!!) I am thinking of some of the questions I am most often asked…and what frustrates most health coaches…
The answer?????
!auto responders!
This is the one piece of technology parts that you need to have in place…before anything else.
What is an auto responder?
I started looking for definitions to pass on to you and see that even defining auto responder can be a little confusing. Here are several things an auto responder will do:
- offer an optin form to be placed on your website, on social media or in emails
- send out emails (and sometimes phone calls, letters, texts and fax depending on auto responder service)
- automated system to send out emails (or any of the above) based on a trigger (like a timer, event or opt in)
- follow up with customers at preset intervals
- provide analytics
You will create an optin form, insert it into your website. Then drive people to your website optin form. Then follow up with your list with emails that have been pre-entered into the system to release at a set interval. Then you will follow the analytics to see what should and should not be changed.
How do I get an auto responder?
You need to register with an auto responder. There are some you can get started with for free and move up…and others you need to pay starting out. Any of them require a contract to be able to put your emails on an automated system. We chose Mail Chimp for our “Packages” members because we can get in and set you up with Mail Chimp at no charge. Setting up the opt in offer and building your list is free. The secret to keeping those people on your list is the communication that takes place after. Set them up on timed triggers to communicate with your list.
What auto responder should I use?
Any of these are good. I have used Constant Contact, A-Weber, Mail Chimp and Infusionsoft. It all depends on your needs at the time and your projected future needs. It is better to start out a little higher because you sometimes loss part of your hard earned list if you have to transfer.
- Infusionsoft
- A-Weber
- Mail Chimp
- Constant Contact
- Mad Mimi
- I-Contact
I invite you to join in the conversation below and tell us who you have or are using now and why.
Why should you use one?
The auto responder saves you tons of time.
You set up your responder with emails one time and it delivers it to 20 or 20,000 – just as easy.
An auto responder works while you do other things.
An auto responder is a communication tool that an internet marketer should not live without.
What makes a good auto responder?
Like your business, your auto responder should be about the client…not you.
Your auto responder should project you as an expert in your industry.
Your auto responder should show you are likeable.
Everything your auto responder shares should be thoughtful and useful for your client.
Your auto responder should explain your offerings – benefits and uses.
Not all clients are ready for purchase right now…the auto responder waits with your clients and is there when they are ready.
How do I use an auto responder?
The truth is, if you want to do it yourself, you will need to learn the fine art of search and google. I googled and went to Mail Chimps support using the search “how to create an optin” this is what I got:
There are plenty of tutorials everywhere. If you do not have the time…or better yet, want to spend the time on this aspect of your business – you need to hire a Virtual Assistant (VA) – a secretary type person who works online for an hourly fee. There are plenty of VA’s who can do this all a lot quicker than you and will allow you to do other things that are more worthwhile of your time and energy.
Well, I hope that answered some of your questions and confusion about auto-responders. I would love to hear some of your questions, challenges and tips in the conversation below!
Cathy this is great timing. I have just signed up for a new on-line booking Mindbody. There are tons of auto responders that I can tailer to my needs. Like after they book an appointment, remind them to bring towel, water, happy birthday special,…Thank they for coming…..
It is a lot of work to go in and change the pre-made forms but it will be so worth it.
The other company I was using Clevorfox I couldn’t make any changes to the responder emails. It was what they wrote and that was it.
Now I have to figure out the opt-in page for my web site. I just spoke to GoDaddy and they suggested everything you did.
With Mindbody I get one year free with Constant Contacts so will be checking that out.
Judi
Thank you! I have been one of those confused and intimidated just thinking about autoresponders. Muah!
I love Mailchimp. They are super easy to use You do have to have a paid account to be able to do autoresponders which starts at $10 per month (this gives you up to 500 subscribers)
Cathy this is one of my most frustrating things. I get lost in the set up of them so hopefully now I can figure it out. I currently use Constant Contact for newsletters but have not used it for auto responder.
I use MadMimi and love it….I can set them up as “drips” and they work perfectly. I do know that I need to expand on these and use them more effectively though….thanks for the motivation!
Though I haven’t yet tried the auto-responder feature on my MailChimp account, I find the whole platform quite user-friendly and easy enough for a non-techy person like me to figure out.
My intention is to set up a new free offer that will be fed to my clients in small portions…I love that it can all happen automatically!
As a client, I love it when I’ve signed up for something and whatever information simply gets served to me at regular intervals, in a way that I can digest it without overwhelm.
Hi Cathy!
YES! Me too. Do it. I’ll sign up 😉 :D.
Love this post! I started using auto-responders via Aweber a few months ago–and wow, has it saved me time & kept me organized! 🙂
this is so helpful and definitely something that I need to use more often! thanks for explaining how auto responders can be useful and efficient. I use mail chimp for my newsletters and will explore it in more detail.thank you!
I use Mailchimp and they’ve been great. I’m on the verge of revamping my auto responders because I have a new opt in offer. (Yay!) But I know there’s SO much you can do with them. I did set up an auto responder for subscriber birthdays. I don’t have everyone’s birthdays, but it’s fun to send them something on their special day. 🙂
I know I’ve only grazed the surface of the incredible power of autoresponders, but already it’s been SO GOOD. It’s always hard to say, but I think it’s one of the reasons my clients get great results AND keep coming back!
I’ve been pleased with A-Weber. Customer service is stellar. They are ALWAYS there on the phone when needed in less than 5 minutes. That’s really important to me.
Thanks for the lowdown, Cathy!
You are brilliant. Thank you for explaining this and for sharing your helpful tips.
Great info as usual Cathy. I recently migrated from Mailchimp to Aweber because MC’s autoresponders weren’t going out instantly after someone signed up. I definitely feel setting them up frees tons of time for more important things.
Great article. I use an auto responder but someday want to use Infusion Soft which I heard was $2000+ for a buy-in and then a monthly fee. Will be great to use that program or similar for some high end traffic.
i’ve been using mailchimp (happily) for a couple of years now. but i don’t think i’ve utilized its vast resources nearly enough yet. i am about to present my first opt-in to the world (next week!) and hadn’t yet checked to see how to send it out through mailchimp (thanks for googling it for me, cathy! :)).
each week you provide such valuable content. I am working on opt ins and autoresponders so it’s perfect timing. Well done!!
I know how to do them, but i need to do more. As they are an ectra to a blog.
And ideally infirm, inform, share an iffering etc
Thsnks for the reminder to do rhem!
Hi Cathy, what a timely post. I had the absolute privilege of being at a writers workshop this weekend and autoresponders were discussed. I became a little resistant, not because I don’t like the idea of them but because I don’t know how to implement them. So this week I have resolved that I am going to increase my technical prowess just a little and start to implement and use autoresponders via email more often. It keeps us connected and it is always lovely to be connected with our wonderful clients.