16 Auto Responder Features Most Important For Your Online Marketing

An Responder is the most important Internet marketing tool for anyone who wants to keep in touch with customers and potential customers. This invaluable tool will automatically inform, train, and remind a potential customer he needs your product or service. Responders do this by sending a series of pre-written emails based on a schedule you define in advance.

For example, you could use the first email to instantly send a free report to anyone that completes a registration form on your web page. Then two days later, your auto responder will send another email explaining the benefits of your product or service. The next day, the auto responder sends another email, and so on. Meanwhile, you could be soaking up the sun at the beach or boating on the lake next to your second home in the mountains.

What Features Are Important In Selecting Your Auto Responder?

Regardless whether you select a free service, a professional service, or your own auto responder software, the important features you need are the same. The primary difference is which features are available for any particular auto responder. In this section, I will identify and briefly discuss the important features to consider.

1 - Number of Campaigns:

This and the next three features are by far the most important to consider. The number of campaigns is how many different series of emails you are allowed to create. For example, if you offer three products and/or services, you might need three campaigns (one to sell each product or service), or you might need six campaigns (one to sell each product or service and one to train your buying customers on each product or service). Ideally, your selected responder will allow unlimited campaigns.

2 - Number of Messages:

The service you select must have no less than seven messages allowed per campaign to be really worthwhile. The good thing about this is I have never seen one that limits you to less than 10 messages; even the free responders typically allow 10 emails. Ideally, your selected service will allow unlimited messages or emails per campaign.

3 - Number of Subscribers:

Another extremely important feature is the maximum number of subscribers allowed per campaign. This is one of the truly discriminating features of all three types. Free responders tend to have a fixed limit on the number of subscribers. Auto responder software is typically NOT limited by the number of subscribers, but your web host probably limits the number of emails your account can send per hour which is effectively a subscriber limit for your software. Even many pro responders have a virtual limit on the number of subscribers by charging you a monthly fee based on the number of subscribers (either per campaign or total across all your campaigns). The ideal responder will allow unlimited subscribers per campaign with no increase in price.

4 - Broadcasting:

I mentioned broadcasting earlier in this article. Broadcasting is an important feature that allows you to send impromptu, one-time emails to everyone on your list. As previously stated, this is invaluable for announcements, special offers, and just keeping in touch. I would not join any service without the broadcasting feature.

5 - HTML Capable:

HTML is the language used to display websites, and using it in your emails tends to capture the attention of your customers better than simple text emails. If you can build a web page ... Or even just format text in Microsoft Word (e.G., bolded, underlined, and colored text) ... HTML is an important feature to consider. I find the easiest way to use HTML is to build your email as a web page in Microsoft FrontPage, and then click the HTML tab and Select All. Then copy it and paste it into the HTML message field of your auto responder service. Be sure to send yourself a copy of the campaign so you can ensure your formatting translated properly.

6 - Importing & Exporting:

The Autoresponder you select should have the ability to import and export your customer list. Importing is important for adding customers manually, and exporting is important to backup your customer list in case the computer system fails. Make sure you choose your auto responder service carefully since most services will not let you import from another service due to spamming concerns.

7 - Personalization:

I think every auto responder under the sun offers personalization, but verify this before you buy one. Personalization means you can enter a wild card field in your emails, and the system will read that field from your customer data and insert it in the email (preferably in both the body and the subject of the email). For example, if your prospect name is John Doe, the responder will insert John everywhere you use the wild card field, **FIRSTNAME**. NOTE: The personalization fields are different from responder service to another. So be sure to read the instructions for your service before using this feature.

8 - Customer Support:

This is another really important feature. I recommend you send an email or call the customer support for any service you are considering before you buy just to verify they are responsive. I have not used customer support very often, but when you need it, it is very frustrating when you get no reply for several days. Make sure it is unlimited and free; Run away - do not walk - from any service that charges you for customer support.

9 - Spam Check Analyzer:

At least one professional service offers the Spam Check analyzer feature. First, you write your email and then run it through the spam analyzer. The spam analyzer will highlight any words or phrases likely to get classified as junk mail by a spam blocker. This is a nifty feature, but most services do not have it. NOTE: You can get standalone software that will analyze your messages before you import them into your auto responder service.

10 - Track Email Open Rate:

This is a slick feature that tracks how many of your emails are actually opened and compares it to when people drop out of your sequence. A noticeable drop-out trend can flag you to take a look at the email where most people get out so you can assess why and then correct the problem.

11 - Referral/Affiliate Program:

This is a really nice feature where you can refer others to the responder service and you get compensation for the referral. Some of the pro services are essentially free after you have sponsored three referrals. You can even make a monthly profit if you sponsor enough referrals. The best plans offer substantial referral compensation on multiple levels; in other words, you get compensated when people you refer sponsor others.

12 - Lead Generation or Capture Pages:

When you create a campaign, your auto responder should allow you to create a sign-up form you can put on your web page(s). This is the primary way you will get people on your customer list. Every responder I ever seen provides this feature.

13 - Email Registration Links:

Some services (generally only the pro versions) allow you to embed a simple link in an email that will automatically add customers to your list when they click on the link. This is a nice feature not available on all auto responders.

14 - Traffic Options:

Some pro responders allow you to purchase leads to add to your campaigns. Some services also offer other free ways to get sign-ups on your email campaigns. This is always a nice option to have.

15 - Works With Your ISP:

An ISP is your Internet Service Provider (i.E., the company that provides your Internet access). I have only seen two pro services that offer this free service. Basically, what they do is work to keep ISPs from blacklisting emails sent from the auto responder company domain name. For example, my auto responder service works with ISPs to keep emails sent from their accounts from being blocked as spam. This is a fairly rare, but very valuable service.

16 - Price:

The last, but certainly not the least, feature I am including here is the price. Prices range all over the place primarily because many of the pro services charge per campaign and/or by the number of subscribers. Some of them can cost thousands of dollars per month for very large customer lists. However, you can get the exact same service, and in some cases much better service, with much lower cost providers. Once again, however, the trick is to assess cost versus # of campaigns, # of messages per campaign, and # of subscribers allowed.

About the Author

By Dr. Bryan Stoker. Read more articles about Auto Responders, and browse Dr. Stoker's directory of free ebooks, courses, and software at http://www.Autopilot101.com/free/index.htm And do not miss the Free Video on the Top 6 Internet Marketing Strategies on the Internet today.

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