Mazimize Autoresponder Use to Boost Business
by Todd Kenovas
http://www.webwaysmedia.com

Although web businesses use auto responders extensively, it's doubtful that many are taking full advantage of this tool to broaden profit potential. Are you missing out on more repeat visitors, better customer contact, enhanced marketing and greater revenue? Maybe it's time to broaden your auto responder use.

Lead capture is likely the most common auto responder use. A common technique is to drive traffic to a lead capture page with a pay-per-click campaign and offer some juicy information in exchange for a name and email address. Sales messages can eventually be sent as follow ups to the information series. But auto responders can be incorporated in many other ways. The impact on your bottom line can be substantial, especially if you combine several auto responder uses.

Auto responder use beyond lead capture can be slotted into two categories, although there is some profit-boosting crossover:

- Marketing: delivering information intended to produce direct sales.

- Services: making information available to customers or visitors, helping to increase business visibility, draw return traffic and ensure customer satisfaction.

In the marketing category, here are four powerful ways to use auto responders:

1. Invite customers to complete a survey in exchange for a useful gift. The survey might be timed to be sent after a certain number of sales, after a fixed period or when an information series has been completed.

2. Scheduling in an unadvertised bonus or a customer appreciation gift can reap rewards in strenghtening the relationship. Don't wait too long to make this offer to a new subscriber or customer, because it could make the difference in retaining someone who is lukewarm about your product. And don't forget the long-established customers. They deserve a reward for sticking with you, and they are just too valuable to be taken for granted.

3. Training and motivating affiliates.

4. Offer a free gift when someone unsubscribes. By exchanging products with another marketer, each of you may gain a customer or subscriber when the other loses one. And the parting gift can create goodwill that might rebound in various ways.

The use of an autoresponder to provide services will depend on the nature of your web site. Free reports are great to offer, and they can be linked to marketing information that's accessed through subscriptions within the report.

Your services list could also include:

1. Frequently asked questions reponses.

2. Your products and services catalog.

3. Ezine archives.

4. If you have a long list of endorsements or testimonials, provide an autoresponder option and also suggest that the information be passed on to others.

5. Relevant reference material that's in the public domain (tagged with your identifier, of course).

6. Any other material that is lengthy.

Of course, many internet users are still on dial-up, so offering information that can be read offline is courteous service.

Providing services in as many ways as possible can be one of your most effective means of marketing, and the autoresponder is an excellent tool to aid your cause.

Author Todd Kenovas is Marketing Manager for the PPC advertising resource, Webways Media. See http://www.webwaysmedia.com for more information.