What to know about autoresponders is that they come in real handy. They can be an integral part of helping you build your business, your brand, your audience and your influence.
What is an autoresponder? (The answer may surprise you.)
An autoresponder can refer to a couple of different things. In it’s basic element, it is an email that gets sent to someone automatically in response to an action that they take. For example, they send you an email and you have an automatic reply email sent back to them telling them you’re on vacation in Maui.
An autoresponder can also refer to an email that is sent to an email subscriber when they join your newsletter. They join your list, and then they receive an email from you welcoming them to your tribe.
An autoresponder has also come to be known as an email service that can manage your subscribers and send out your email newsletters for you.
The word ‘autoresponder‘ can mean several things. The main thing you want to know is what you need an autoresponder to do.
What can an autoresponder service do for me?
At this point, I am going to refer to an autoresponder as an email service that handles your subscribers and your follow up emails for you.
With an autoresponder service you can…
- Send a series of follow up emails automatically
- Schedule email campaigns to go to your list(s) at specific times
- Automatically send an email to your list when you publish a blog post on your site
- Send specific emails to certain people in your list based on actions they take
- Track who is opening your emails
- Track who is clicking the links in your emails
- Lots more!
Which autoresponder is right for me?
There are, of course, a number of autoresponder services out there all competing for your business. Which one is right for you? Before you discover the answer to that question, you’ll want to determine what you need your autoresponder to do for you.
- Do you want it to be super simple to use? Of course.
- Will you need mobile email templates? Of course.
- Do you want impeccable customer service? Of course.
- Do you want to manage products and robust customer profiles?
- Do you want to be able to send a series of follow up emails based on one action, or do you just want to send out a newsletter to your subscribers from time to time?
- What’s your budget?
- Do the emails get delivered? (Do they make it past the spam filters and get to your subscriber’s inbox?) May seem like a dumb question, but you’d be surprised.
Knowing the answer to these questions will help steer you in the right direction.
Why can’t I just use my personal email account, like Gmail or Yahoo?
First of all, if you’re serious at all about your business, you’d better not be sending your email recipients an email from your personal email account. After a while, you will not be able to anyhow. You certainly do not want to send emails to an undisclosed group of recipients in the BCC field. You want to address each subscriber by name. Gmail offers a plugin that allows you to send emails to a group of people and address them each by name, but it will only go so far. You’re limited to 100 emails a day with a personal Gmail account.
Make the investment in your business. Your email list will be one of your most important business assets. It’s worth doing it right.
A few examples
Here’s a few different services out there…
- InfusionSoft – A complete funnel system and CRM software solution. Very complicated and expensive.
- 1ShoppingCart – A robust solution which includes product management. Quite complicated. Does not integrate well with other online services. Moderately priced.
- Aweber – Basic autoresponder. Simple. Clean. Easy to use. Awesome support. Fairly/Competitively priced.
- MailChimp – Free for up to 2500 subscribers. No autoresponder series option for free account. Confusing user experience.
- MailerLite – Free for up to 1000 subscribers. Complete automation capabilities at all levels. Free landing pages. Amazing experience!
My recommendation
If you’re looking for the most amazing customer service and support in the world, I would suggest you check out Aweber.
If you’re looking for an incredibly robust and easy-to-use platform on a budget, I would suggest you check out MailerLite.
All the best!