Autoresponder Rant
- Posted February 20, 2010 at 4:05 pm
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This is a bit of a rant but I believe that most people that are building and using autoresponders are copying bad practices and are not doing the right things to build a real business with their autoresponders.
I have a few autoresponders going and one of the great things about an autoresponder is that it is truly a set it and forget it type of internet marketing work. You set up your autoresponder and then let here run for a few years.
If you have been on any of the internet marketing gurus lists you have probably seen that all you get is a bunch of pitches for products but that is not the real way to run an autoresponder, instead you are supposed to build on the reason why people subscribed in the first place. I remembered that this week when I bought a simple report and got placed on a list. I got a pitch but not before I got 4 or 5 personalized and really short messages asking me how I had used the report that I had bought and a couple of testimonial from past users.
The real idea is to establish that the buyer or subscriber to your list made a good decision and get them to build more trust in you as well as their decision. I remember listening to an audio from Armand Morin a few years ago where he talked about this and at the time all I could think of is sell sell sell to the people that would eventually join my list.
Now that I have a big list and lots of people signing up I have them go through 10 messages in 20 days learning with a few non pushy affiliate links. Now I make sure that in between pitches for products I always have a few messages that are teaching new principles. I think that I have a good relationship with my list and I have built that through non pitching 20 day process and then adding these pitches later after my opted in new friends have trust in me.
Are you willing to do this? I know a lot of people do not do this at all. Almost every autoresponder message that I get is from people selling me something and I am sure it does not work out well per 1000 emails at all., I bet they get nearly no sales without building any relationships whatsoever. Make sure that you trust your people well and they will buy from you in the future.
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It may be a rant but I fully agree with you. I’ve been around this Internet Marketing arena learning from Armand Morin, Marlon Sanders, Yanik Silver and many more. I too tire of constant autoresponder pitches and will less likely buy and more likely unsuscribe. When I sign up for information…I want good useable information and also as you practice, send me offers mixed in with information and I will buy.
It would be helpful for many to learn this helpful advice you provide.
Leslie
I too agree with your ‘rant’. I think many companies are mis-using their autoresponders and are simply using them to send out junk to potential clients, when really they should be used to secure leads and let returning customers know about special offer etc. Instead they are being wasted and in many cases companies have lost custom due to their irresponsible autoresponding techniques.
Hi, spot on post. The key here is that the value of your list is the relationship you can build with them – not the size of the list.
People are unwilling to invest the time in gradually building a relationship with their list – which is best done by sending them out useful content which they can actually read and then put into use straight away.
I have lost count of the number of lists I have been on which constantly send me out spammy affiliate link emails with subjects like “what do you think?” – I wouldn’t even bother opening this as it clearly isn’t offering me anything I am interested.
On a related point – I know of people with lists of 3,000 (small) pulling in much more profit from their list than those with 100,000.
If more people joined your rant then perhaps we would all start getting less spam!
Excellent post. Every time I receive an auto response on Twitter, I almost immediately unfollow that person…it’s so annoying and unprofessional to me!