what is Email marketing and its benefits

INTRODUCTION 

What’s an autoresponder?

If you’ve ever asked for information online about a product or service, or signed up for
an e-list or group membership on the Internet, and received a nearly instantaneous response in your e-mail inbox, an autoresponder program was responsible for delivering the reply. 

Simply put, autoresponders are e-mail programs that send out a preset message in response to every incoming e-mail received. Some autoresponders, like sign-up services
for e-groups and forums, are one-shot deals: a single response for every message received. Just about every Internet-based company uses autoresponders for a variety of
purposes, from automating tasks that would otherwise take up hundreds of man-hours
to building lists and tracking prospective leads.

Multiple autoresponders send a series of messages to received e-mail addresses on a
predetermined, timed basis. For instance, a multiple autoresponder can be used to send
an instant response, then a follow-up message three days later, then another five days
after that, and so on. It can be programmed to send a message a day, one per week,
twice monthly, or any interval that satisfies the purpose of the message series.

Autoresponders are the most powerful Internet marketing tools available. They are easy
to use, and once they’re set up the entire marketing process is automated and instant.
When you use autoresponders, your Internet business runs itself 24 hours a day.
Launching an effective autoresponder campaign can mean the difference between a
struggling business and a wildly successful one.

How can I make money with autoresponders? 

Just about any online business can benefit by using autoresponders. In fact, with a
properly arranged campaign, your as-yet-unfounded business can be built around an autoresponder program. All you need is a product and an effective series of autoresponder messages, and you can start carving your piece of the Internet pie. 

Your autoresponder is your golden goose: the marketing tool that will sell your well
developed product far more effectively than any other form of advertising. Few sales
are made by impulse buyers, particularly on the internet. But if you are able to get your
message out repeatedly to people who are already interested in what you have to offer,
you will see an explosive sales response.

This book will give you all the information you need to begin profiting with
autoresponders. You’ll learn how to choose a topic that works best for you and your
situation; research your market and find or develop great content that people want to
Email Marketing Simplified
 
buy; start you own automated storefront web site; tailor your autoresponder messages
for maximum effectiveness; and build a powerful opt-in autoresponder list that will
make money even while you sleep.

Let’s start making autoresponder magic!


PICK A TOPIC 

To make money with autoresponders, you need a product. Most of the time, the
product you’re selling is information: an e-book, print book, e-course, e-zine or
newsletter, CD, or downloadable audio program. Your topic must be something that
appeals to a wide audience—you could have the world’s best book on raising Amazon
boa constrictors at home, but the only people interested in it would be people who
already own an Amazon boa constrictor, or have thought about buying one. In this
case, your sales base would be limited (to put it nicely). On the other hand, if your book
or product tells people how to make five hundred dollars a minute—well, you might
have quite a few potential buyers.

Also, your topic must be an area in which you have personal interest or expertise. If
you can put your passion into your marketing material, people will be able to tell that
you believe in what you’re selling. This builds trust and sales.

In this chapter we’ll talk about how to choose a topic that covers both these areas:
widespread appeal, and your personal interest or expertise to back it up.

Your personal in terests and areas of expertise

People who like their jobs are happier. Their enthusiasm spills over into their work, and
they often find themselves receiving promotions or raises and attracting customers
without even trying. 

If you’re comfortable talking about your product, and you are passionate about the
subject, your confidence will permeate every area of your autoresponder program. You
will receive unsolicited comments from buyers who are pleased with your service. You’ll
be able to build consumer trust because people will know that you endorse your
product 100 percent.

One aspect of developing your personal interest in a topic is to actually use the
information you’re offering yourself. That way, when you discuss the benefits of buying
your product, you’ll be able to get personal about the experience.

Another important part of choosing your topic is identifying your area of expertise. This
doesn’t mean you have to be an “expert.” It just means that it will be far easier for you
to sell a product you know a lot about—and far easier for buyers to part with their hard
earned money when they know they are purchasing from a knowledgeable source.
Think you don’t have an area of expertise? You may know more than you think you
know. The topics you’re familiar with don’t have to come from a job or college courses.

Take the following quiz to help you determine your hidden interests and expertise, or
develop and hone in on the areas you already know you’re interested in.

QUIZ: What Do You Know?

Answer the following questions as thoroughly as possible to discover the topic best
suited to you that will help you succeed in your autoresponder campaign.

1. Who are you? This sounds too simple to be useful, but you’d be surprised how
seeing your personal demographics laid out in black-and-white can provide insight into
what topics are best for you. Write down the following information about yourself:
Your name, age, and gender
Where you live: House or apartment? City or suburb? New or old neighborhood? What
area of the country?
The rest: Blue collar or white-collar? Religious or not? Any other identifying statistics
you can think of?

2. What have you done? List every single job you’ve ever held. Leave some space
between them, then go back and detail all of your job duties. Be creative—give yourself
the best-sounding titles you can think of. For example: if you once worked at a fast
food restaurant, you might have been a customer service specialist, a food service

technician, or a sanitation facilitator. These might sound extreme or over-the-top, but
no one will see them but you. This is just to help build your self-confidence.
3. What else have you done? Brainstorm any hobbies you have been into, groups
you’ve joined, topics you researched for school or work, or any subject you might have
taken a personal interest in and acted on. 

4. Where do you go? Are you more likely to spend time at the park or the mall? Do
you travel a lot, or do you prefer to stick close to home? Where have you gone on
vacations, and where would you like to go?

5. Who do you hang out with? Your choice of friends can tell you a lot about you
and the way you relate to others. Are most of your friends the same gender as you, or
opposite? Older, younger, or about the same age? Where do they live and work? Think
about the activities you and your friends enjoy together. You can even include online
friends – people you might have met in chat rooms, groups, or forums with whom you
exchange regular correspondence. Any common interests you share with your friends
can help point you toward a topic you’ll be comfortable promoting.

NOTE: Building Credibility — When What You Have Isn’t Enough

Most of the time when working with autoresponders, you won’t have to worry about
credibility. Your well-developed product will speak for itself. However, if you don’t have

background experience that relates to your chosen topic and you would feel more
confident with credentials, there are several simple ways to position yourself as an
expert in your field.
Testimonials. Testimonials are statements from customers about their satisfaction
with your product. These can range from short blurbs to full-page letters, and can be
used for a variety of purposes, including establishing credibility. A full discussion on
getting and using testimonials can be found later in this book.

Articles. If you choose a topic that you’re interested in but haven’t had much
experience working with, you will have to do some research. As you find out more, you
can write short, informative articles on your subject and publish them on the internet to
establish yourself as knowledgeable in your field. There are hundreds of thousands of
web sites looking for content that will be happy to publish articles with your byline and
a link to your web site. Look for sites relating to your topic, or try these general article
submission sites to spread your name around the internet (no, really; that’s a good

thing):
iSnare.com: Maintains a database of over 200,000 free articles. Add your own, and get
great content for your web site while you’re there.
ArticleBeach: A search engine directory of articles. Submit your article for inclusion in
their expert database.
EzineArticles: Allows e-zine or e-mail list publishers to post informative articles free for
use on other people’s sites or in their e-zine or newsletter.
IdeaMarketers.com: Free articles and web content for web site owners. Submit your
article and showcase your work, and get more content for your site.
ArticleCity.com: Another database of articles for free use by the online public.

Still have no clue where to start? Here’s a partial list of topics to choose from that have
high marketability factors:
Making money 
Investing money 
Saving money (on consumer purchases) 
Starting a business (online or offline) 
Running a profitable web site 
Dieting and weight loss 
Time management 
Relationships and dating 
Finding a dream job 
Working from home