Welcome back to Part 2 of my introduction to autoresponders; one of the most powerful tools yet invented for web marketing

An autoresponder is a piece of software that sends out a pre-written e-mail or series of e-mails, automatically on request. It is usually triggered by someone sending an e-mail to a specific address, or more commonly, by entering their e-mail address into a form on a website.

That software can either sit on your computer and you administer it your self, or it can sit on your web hosting servers and be run by your ISP or, most commonly, its a web based service run by a specialist provider, who you pay a monthly subscription to.

The last method is by far the easiest to setup and manage. You will find my recommendations for the best providers on the Links page of my website. Both of my favourites offer a truly comprehensive service from basic autoresponders, through sophisticated list management, to ad tracking and broadcast capabilities (more on that later) and will give you full control of your campaigns for very reasonable monthly fees.

You can set up multiple campaigns; decide the exact sequence that e-mails go out, control which days they are sent and also give your customers have the full ability to unsubscribe at any time they choose very important if you dont want to be accused of spamming.

How to use them

The key to successfully using an autoresponder is to try not to think of it only as an advertising medium, although, of course it is; but more as an information channel.

People put a high value on useful information; thats why they go to the web in the first place, so if you can give them information that is completely relevant to their search, then theyll lap it up for as long as you can hand it out.

Heres an example lets say you are running that shoe store we mentioned in the first article. A customer comes to your website, or into your store and doesnt buy first time. However, she likes what she sees, so you give her the chance to be put on your list to receive special offers or news about new lines. She thinks that sounds cool and gives you her e-mail address and in return she gets a free gift of an elegant shoe-horn, maybe.

The same day she receives a friendly e-mail from you saying, Thanks, it was nice to meet you, did you know were open late on Thursdays and that privilege customers get invites to special previews of new lines and early admission to the sales?

A week later, she gets another e-mail telling her what is so special about the Fabulous.Range, which is your most expensive line. The e-mail explains how well these shoes are made, how comfortable they are and that theres a new line every spring and fall.

Now you are beginning to plant seeds. She now knows that you are the leading local stockist for Fabulous shoes, and now your store has a bigger place in her mind than your competitors.

The next week she gets an e-mail reminding her that you always have the full range of Fabulous shoes in all the colours and all the sizes, even halves and you include a discount coupon she can print out at home and bring with her to the store, so that she gets a 10% discount on her next purchase.

In the next part well take a look at the result of all this clever activity.