A few days ago I was lurking on a popular marketing forum where someone asked for autoresponder tips and what they should include in that first autoresponder message after someone signs up for a report. Apparently, this person already had the rest of the messages pre-written through PLR or some other means and they just didn’t know what to write in that first email.
Surprisingly, one particular person answered the call for help by posting a very long sales letter type email template where they repeatedly asked to be whitelisted, were told that they would be receiving many more messages about a particular product, and where they were given a very detailed pitch for their product.
This template was just dripping with pushy salesmenship.
But the guy who posted it claimed that it worked very well for him… go figure! What do I know?
Anyway, the post prompted me to create a post of my own where I outline how I usually go about the whole autoresponder/free report thing… As you might imagine, I go about things a little differently.
Autoresponder Tip #1
I like to keep my email short and sweet. Generally speaking, I keep my email messages as short as possible. I rarely read one of those long email messages and I figure most other people don’t either.
If you want to know the truth… I usually just click on the links if it looks interesting.
Since that’s the way I look at email as a reader, I approach it in a similar fashion as an email sender. I write a quick sentence or two along with a link to the rest of the article, online report, etc.
The actual giveaway is where I try to build rapport with my reader… not in the email.
If my teaser sentences in the email are strong, then they’ll click on the link and be interested in what’s being offered. After all, the click through is what I’m after.
Autoresponder Tip #2
Forget about pitching in the email. If you want to build a long-term relationship with your subscriber, you want to soft-sell or pre-sell them… don’t go in for the kill in the very first message!
That’s one sure way to get them to unsubscribe immediately!
Think of it like this… You meet someone new at the gym one day and strike up a conversation with them because they look interesting. Within the first five minutes that new “friend” tries to tell you about the really great product they have to sell and tries to get you to buy one. How quickly do you think you would run out the door to get away from them???
If it were me, I might even check the parking lot to make sure my new “friend” wasn’t there before I went in for my next workout!
Remember I said in Autoresponder Tip #1 that I’m after the click? Well, I also want to build a long term relationship with my subscribers… not just get a quick sale.
Autoresponder Tip #3
In the original forum post that prompted this article, the poster was planning on sending out the initial email with the free report and then one message every 15-30 days.
That’s not the way I do it. I think you have to keep in frequent contact with your new “friends,” otherwise known as subscribers, in order to build a lasting relationship with them.
The first couple of weeks in this new relationship are the most important.
Generally, I send out autoresponder messages for at least the first few days after an initial signup, depending on the niche and the freebie offered. The general idea might look something like this:
Day 1: Here’s your report
Day 2: Did you get your report? If not, here’s the link again.
Day 3: Do you have any questions about the report?
Day 6: You’ve had time to read the report, what do you think?
Day 8: Offer some supplementary information (free) related to report like an article. (Of course there is a product pitch hidden in this supplement)
From there, I dwindle my email messages down to at least once per week… two or three times per week if I can find enough stuff to send out.
So that’s how I think an email campaign should be set up for a free report. I know there are lots of other opinions out there on how it should be done, but that’s my take.
How do you set up your autoresponders?
No related posts.
Tagged with: autoresponders • Email Marketing
Filed under: Email Marketing • Online Mistakes • Other Gurus • Podcasts
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
Would the sequence (chronology and content) be the same if the freebie was a software trial download instead of a report?
Gina
Hi Gina!
I think behind the sequence would be pretty much the same, but you might have to customize it a little for software. In other words, the way I do my sequences is to try to only send subscribers messages if I have something to say that will help them out and help build that relationship.
So a software sequence could look something like this:
Day 1: Here’s your trial software download
Day 2: Were you able to download the free trial?
Day 3: Did you have any problems downloading/installing the software?
Day 6: Now that you’ve had time to download the free trial, what do you think of the software? You could also include testimonials of what others thought of the software in this one.
Day 8: Start sending out articles that expand on how to use the software, unusual ways that others have used it, results that others have gotten while using it, etc.
Hopefully that makes sense!
Yes, that’s exactly what I was looking for.
Thank you so much!
Gina
Auto responder….
Figuring out which one fit my idea of needs best was not too hard, but getting something actually going is a challenge.
My shortage is time….there are so many different tasks that I have tried to take on while building my IM blog (and business). I know the saying, the money is in the list… I understand the importance of the above tips, but again it is setting up all the messages that need to go out in a good series. For myself this is probably my highest priority, develop a free product, develop the email series and begin to build that list.
Cheers!
Jeromy (AKA Hillbilly)
I’m totally with you on that time thing! There just aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done!