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How to Use Auto-responders to Boost Web Sales
A web site with products but no traffic is a liability. It
costs time and money to set up and maintain a site. Then,
it takes more effort and usually more money to generate
traffic. Which leads to the key question that a profitable
web site must answer: Once you get traffic to come to your
web site, how can you maximize the value of their visit? A
very important answer is to use an auto-responder.
Auto-responders - a definition: an auto-responder sends an
instant response via email when somebody makes a purchase
on-line, sends an email to a particular address, or fills
out a web site form. The auto-response might contain an
electronic receipt, an e-course, or information. Prospects
are gratified by immediately being given the information
they have asked for at a web site.
What makes an auto-responder such an effective marketing
tool is that when prospects make requests for information
and give their email address, that allows you to send
follow-up emails.
How can an auto-responder facilitate follow-up with
prospects? You can automatically contact the prospect after
the initial reply if you have properly set up an opt-in and
an auto-responder series. The messages in the series are
all pre-written, and pre-programmed to be sent out at
intervals that you've determined~. so that the auto-
responder in effect is a sales force working for you round
the clock, on auto-pilot. You set it up one time, and it
works for you over and again.
What is the best content to present in an auto-responder
series? Each set-up would contain messages relating to the
initial request for information made by the prospect.
Example: a visitor at a site about dieting fills out a form
requesting a special report (a page or two in length)
describing some effective foods and food combinations that
inhibit blood sugar from turning into fat. The prospect
gives their email address to receive the report, and the
auto-responder tied to the form sends the fr~ee information
immediately. Furthermore, the visitor learned at the site
that in addition to the special report, they will receive
further weight loss suggestions and encouragement in a
series over the next few days or weeks, whatever time frame
is suitable for the type of products in question.
How does the e-course or auto-responder series boost
sales? Email is a critical element of online marketing, and
one email message is simply not enough. Standard marketing
wisdom is that most people must have something put before
them seven times before taking action. Seven times! Now,
that isn't true of everyone; there are impulse buyers.
Still, the majority of buyers online and offline need
repetition before they really absorb a new advertising
message and then act on it. If you don't have a system for
follow-up 4 to 7 times in a way that is timely and
consistent, you are losing money.
What is a good balance of information and marketing in the
auto-responder series? Depending on how the form is worded,
the visitors usually give their email address because they
want to receive targeted information, not advertisements.
First, earn their trust by delivering information that is
useful, specific, and interesting to read. Then, let them
know how your products and services might be of benefit to
them. A ratio of 75% information to 25% marketing is the
maximum, if you want people to keep opening the subsequent
emails in the series. Always remember, the visitor isn't
interested in what you want, but in what is in it for them.
Author and Marketing Consultant Loren Beckart is Vice
President at ClickTracs, a premier
advertising service, specializing in driving highly
targeted visitors to internet businesses. For information:
www.ClickTracs.com
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