What is an Autoresponder?

Autoresponders are an extremely powerful automated tool that sends an email, or series of emails, to someone who has opted in to your email list via a web form and requested information from you.

Here’s how it works:

1. Visitor to your web site fills out a form, usually including their name and email address.

2. They receive an email (that you set up in your autoresponder system) asking them to confirm that they did indeed request information from you. This is called double-optin. This reduces spam complaints greatly and is a marketing best practice.

3. If they click and confirm that they do want the information, then they will receive your autoresponder message(s) that you’ve set up.

The cool part is that you set it up once in your autoresponder system, and it handles everything automatically from there.

Imagine the time-savings. For example, let’s say you want to send the following;

1. An immediate welcome message once they confirm their subscription

2. A followup message in 7 days highlighting some of your key services

3. An “ask for the order” message in 14 days.

You can set up all of this once – and it will go out like clock work. You can also broadcast a message at any time to anybody on your list. And guess what? You can schedule these as well.

The main system I use for autoresponders is called Aweber. It is best in class. You can set up unlimited web forms (do I hear multiple web sites?), unlimited messages, and it keeps you in compliant with all of the spam laws (CAN-Spam Act).

Aweber is a monthly subscription service. It is available for around $20/mo. You can purchase through my affiliate link or purchase directly by going to Aweber.