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Email Marketing Solutions

Automatic Responder – Mass Email Marketing Manager

by SteveLorenzo on January 15, 2010

Automatic Responders working for you all around the clock

The Atomatic Responder – as the name shows – was in the beginning just a piece of software or a server script that was automatically sending ‘Reply To’ messages whenever someone was trying to contact you while on holidays…  It was also called a Vacation Responder.  They are still available, even as features of other software like email clients – the most commonly used email clients being Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, Thunderbird, etc… – or as features of your webmail accounts like Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL, to name only a few.

But while the feature is still available, all that is by now ancient history.  In the early days of heavier than air flight, the canvas-wooden made planes were having big wings, even two or three of them, to help getting the high air buoyancy they needed.

Nowadays, the fighter jets have very tiny wings…as a matter of fact, sometimes the large wings do them more harm than good, hence the variable geometry wing technology of the latest military fighter planes.

So, what’s the difference between them?

Speed and power, I’d say.

The modern state-of-the-art Automatic Responder needs the same:

  • speed – to be able to send many emails per second, hence the nickname bulk email blast mailer
  • power – to be able to deal with large lists of customers and email prospects it gathers in its database

The Automatic Responder evolved… Meet the new generation of Autoresponders.

Autoresponders come now in two ‘flavors’

Autoresponders – software or service?

This a debate for at least two different posts, I guess.  But suffice it to say that both email marketing solutions have strengths and weaknesses, pros and cons – all depending rather on the user than the technology itself…

Very briefly, as I cover this topic in depth elsewhere: How to choose an autoresponder – service or self hosted script?

The third party service would take care of all the technical burden.  If you are technically challenged, it is the best way to go.

Just be what you are, John – the owner of “John Smith & Son Bakery” – who better knows to make bread, not deal with software…

The self hosted autoresponder script however, gives you a better grasp at all the data you are gathering.  It is all in your yard, no worries about the flops of any other business than yours.  Now, if I recall correctly the “John Smith & Son Bakery” has a little ‘Son’ in there, meaning that there might be, after all, a younger geek somewhere?  If so, you should carefully consider the second option too.

BUT, being given this background, let us see John… what exactly can an autoresponder (be it a software/script on your own hosting account or a rented third party email management service) do for you and your business.

Benefits of using an Autoresponder to automate your online business

Here is a list I compiled for you, John:

  1. free up your time
  2. make more sales
  3. follow-up with prospective customers
  4. keep in contact with past customers
  5. automate your business

Do not be mistaken… all that automation comes for a price, though.  BUT it’s worth every penny!

You will have more time to take care of what you do best and you are an expert at:  your own business.  While there will be always ‘someone’ to reply-to your customers’ email requests, send them follow-up email sequence messages to keep reminding them of your business and maybe… yes, maybe… but rather certainly at some point, convert prospective customers into buyers…

..and all this time you were baking bread, John!

Isn’t that wonderful?

Just imagine having even a modest 1-2% rate of success.  Could you afford to employ a salesman with the same results?  I bet you can’t!

But the AR (as the autoresponder is usually referred to) doesn’t need to eat, to drink, to sleep, to play, to ****, to take a break and make a vacation trip somewhere…  even when YOU have to do so yourself, John!

Work on your follow up e mail sequence only once – then enjoy all the benefits.

Build a targeted email list of prospects and have an always fresh pool of new leads for your business.

Seems to precious of a word (leads) for a bakery?  It might be John, but no matter if you call them so or any other way, they will still add more to your bottomline in the end…and that is what counts, after all.

Ok, I’m a bit tired now and this tends to become too long, so I will add more thoughts about mass email marketing employing automatic auto responders on some future articles.  Happy email blast (or blasts?) to you all!

Steve Lorenzo, SEOVirtuoso
Email Marketing Specialist

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