An autoresponder is the most important tool for internet marketing success. Auto responders will automatically inform, train, and remind a potential customer that they need your product or service. They do this by sending you a sequence of pre-written emails based on a schedule you define in advance.
3 types of autoresponders
Basically, you have 3 options to meet your autoresponder needs: free autoresponders, professional autoresponders, and your own autoresponder software. Later in this article, I’ll introduce what I consider to be the best of each type of autoresponder and why. Obviously, there are pros and cons to each type of autoresponder.
The main advantage of free autoresponders is that they are free. However, free autoresponders often place ads unrelated to your message in your emails, detracting from your business. The other really big downsides of free autoresponders are:
(1) typically limit the number of subscribers you can have on your list, and
(2) They often limit the number of messages you can use per campaign.
Your second option is to use professional autoresponders. In my personal opinion, this is the best option for most online sellers. Professional autoresponders tend to offer the best features with no maintenance and installation hassles and no weird ads. This frees up your time to focus on marketing and product development. The main disadvantage is the cost… which varies widely. We will discuss this more in a moment.
The third option is to use your own autoresponder software. If you use good software, this is also a good option. The price is a one-time expense, but you do need to know quite a bit about the software and how to fix it when your Internet Service Provider changes your settings, which can be annoying and sometimes bewildering.
How to select the best autoresponder for your business
Determining which answering machine is best for your business starts with understanding how you plan to use it and understanding the various features available. If you don’t fully understand the features of autoresponders, you should read the Features article available at the following link.
So how do you plan to use your answering machine and what features do you value the most? Planning to build a huge list of subscribers? If you plan to build a huge list and cost is important to you, you absolutely need an autoresponder that doesn’t limit the number of subscribers per email campaign and doesn’t increase prices as your subscriber list grows.
Do you expect to write a sequence of emails (ie campaign) or do you plan to write more than one? If you think you may want more than three campaigns, you should select a service with unlimited campaigns.
How many emails do you plan to have in your campaigns? Virtually all autoresponders allow you to have up to 10 emails per campaign. If you want more than 10 emails, free responders are basically not an option.
Do you need broadcasts? There’s so much power in the drivetrain, I’d recommend you don’t hesitate on this one; just make sure you have it.
Do you have good computer programming skills and does your web host limit the number of emails you send per hour or per day? If you’re not comfortable with programming, prefer not to spend time on installations, or have email limits from your web host, you should probably avoid autoresponder software that you install and maintain yourself.
If other advertising options such as FFA pages, banner ads, ad tracking, and guaranteed traffic are valuable to your business, you should consider an autoresponder that includes all of these features or at least the ones most important to you.
Interested in earning extra money by referring others to join your autoresponder service? If so, check out the referral commission opportunities.
Finally, all companies strive to minimize costs. Therefore, you should also consider joining an autoresponder service that offers override fees if you refer others to join the service. Many of these services essentially allow you to travel for free if you refer 3 other accounts. If you refer more than 3 or if your referrals make referrals, you can even make money with your autoresponder service.