Five Types of Autoresponder Email Series

Autoresponder Email SeriesAutoresponder Email Series: One of the purposes of these blog posts is to encourage RocketResponder users to really think about how they use email communication.

We want you to think about how you use your email to communicate with your subscribers or customers.

For example we recently covered why you want to send emails when people join your list and went on to discuss the types of things you might say in an email series.

However did you realize that there are several different types of email series such as there are different breeds of cats or dogs?

Here are some that I have noticed:

  1. In your face – I have called this ‘In your face’ because it is pretty blunt and to the point. Here you promote a product and link to a sales page. You might do a short series of emails all promoting different aspects of the same product and link to a sales page each time. If you use this then be careful that you don’t just promote one affiliate product after another as people will think you have no focus at all and think you just want to get affiliate commissions at any cost. This is most effective if you are getting behind one product or service (especially if you use it yourself) and want to show others why you feel it is so beneficial.
  2. Reel ’em in slowly – This is a more ‘softly softly’ version of the previous method. You might still be promoting the same products or services but this time your approach is more subtle. So instead of even trying to sell from the start you might write two or three emails explaining your frustrations with a common problem people in your niche need to solve. Then the next email can tell how you use a certain product or service to solve that problem and only at that point do you link to the sales page.
  3. Show the real you – This would be a series that nobody else could copy. There is no real agenda here as each email is not leading up to anything in particular such as working towards a sale. You might give information about products or services, chat about your life, write about milestone events or talk about how you overcame problems. People will either love this or hate it. If they love it then the “know, like and trust” factor will be extremely strong with your subscribers and when you do recommend products or services they are likely to be extremely receptive indeed.
  4. Give and take – Just because you are sending out emails to a list, an autoresponder series need not be a one way street. Many people are content to just talk and talk to their subscribers but you can also ask for their thoughts, views and opinions as well. If you blog ask your subscribers what sort of content they would like to see, or whether they like video blogging or what they think of the products you promote or own.
  5. Mix and match – You don’t have to stick to one type of series. Mix and match from the ones above as seems appropriate. Remember there are no hard and fast rules. How you communicate with your list is entirely a matter for you.

Do you have a different approach? We would love to hear about what works for you so feel free to leave a comment below.

 

 

Seven Different Uses Of An Autoresponder Series

Autoresponder email series tips

Autoresponder email series tips: There is nothing complicated about an autoresponder series.

In fact the whole idea behind RocketResponder is to keep everything about autoresponders as simple and functional as possible.

An autoresponder series is a number of pre-written emails which go out to your subscribers in sequence from the time they sign up to your list.

It might last a day, (although strictly speaking you can’t have a series of just one thing can you?) a week, a month or several months.

I heard of one pre-written series which went on for an entire year!

Your series can be about anything you choose and we have already given some ideas on previous blog posts on this site.

However here are seven different themes you might like to consider for a RocketResponder email series:

  1. e-Course or e-learning – Your subscribers will love you for this. Provide a free course of learning or training in your specialist area or niche. You can link this to your own products or affiliate products but make sure the focus is on providing quality information.
  2. Product promotion – Use an autoresponder series to promote your own or your affiliate products. Be cleverer than just pleading with people to buy from you. Do a short series, for example, explaining the benefits of the products you promote and links to buy.
  3. Providing great content – People love quality content. Maybe they get it from your blog or website. Consider giving even more content just for your subscribers. Make them feel special because they are special and you value them.
  4. Remember Me – You can use an email series to keep in contact with your subscribers. If you don’t send an email in months then the next time you do your subscribers may very well have forgotten ever having joined your list in the first place and hit the “unsubscribe” button without further thought.
  5. Reheat and serve up – Just because some of your existing content may be old does not mean it has lost its value. Use an autoresponder series to introduce older – but still valuable – content to your new subscribers. Yes they could find it for themselves on your website or blog but use the tools you have already got to make life easier for them.
  6. Ask questions – There is nothing better than great feedback from your customers and subscribers. Let them tell you what they want and then give it to them. A real win-win situation.
  7. Run a competition – Run a competition – maybe to publicize a forthcoming launch or promotion and build up hype and a buzz about the launch or promotion as you do so. People love winning prizes, especially if they are worth winning. New smartphones or tablets make great prizes for example.

These are just some examples, there are many, many more that you could use. Perhaps you could list some of  your favorite uses for an autoresponder series too?

Keep Your Emails Short And To The Point

email writing tips

Email writing tips from RocketResponder

Think of the emails you get every day.

If you are like me, something like this will probably happen…

  • A percentage (perhaps a large percentage) will be immediately deleted without ever being opened
  • Others will get kept in your inbox to be read but will still end up being deleted because you decide you don’t have the time or the inclination to read them after all
  • Some (perhaps a small percentage) will actually get opened.

Let’s concentrate on the ones you actually open. Again, if you are like me, if the email looks overly long and complicated then you might read a sentence or two and then give up.

So to get the best chance of getting your message read keep it short and to the point.

Say what you have to say and nothing more.

Try and give the reader just one thing to think about and take action on and you will have the best chance of getting your message read and understood.

If you have lots of different points to make then it might be better to make a short mini-series with each point made in a separate email.

If you do this then you can refer to the next email in the last line of the one before. Say something like: “So now that I have introduced our exciting new product to you, tomorrow I will tell you three ways it will change your life for the better.”

Now go ahead and use your RocketResponder account to use these techniques for yourself.

Your Subject Line Has One Purpose And One Purpose Only

good email subject lines

There is one thing which seems to cause a huge amount of problems for anyone who writes emails for business…

What exactly makes a good email subject lines?

Some people agonize over this for far longer than it takes to write the entire body of the email itself.

Others have no idea what to say and others manage to mess it up completely.

Here is all you need to know about the subject line or header for your email message.

It serves only one purpose and that is to spark sufficient interest to get your email opened.

So when you write your RocketResponder emails remember that that the header plays a vital role…it can make the difference between whether your message is even seen or not.

Here are some tips:

  • Always remember that the header serves to get your email  open
  • Take time to get the header right – don’t just write the first thing that comes to mind
  • Don’t lie or be misleading in your header – it will make your subscribers angry
  • The header should relate to the main body of the email in some way, and finally one tip I never thought I would have to write…
  • Don’t drop the f-bomb in your header…honestly this has happened to me in the past. Do this and not only will I not open your email, I won’t ever take anything you say seriously ever again.

Subject lines are so important that we will be returning to this topic again and again so don’t forget to subscribe to the RocketResponder blog so that you never miss a single post.

Scrapple is just as bad as Spam!

spam email concerns

Spam email concerns: When you talk about email marketing everyone knows the difference between Ham (good) and Spam (bad). But seldom do we talk about Scrapple.

Yum. We all know what scrapple is. That really tasty awesome meat you can’t wait to have right? Not really. But it’s also not the worst thing in the world either, people eat it afterall.

In email terms, scrapple is email that’s not good email but it’s also not spam. It’s the mediocre email that gets sent out all the time. Email people subscribed to but really have no desire to even open and read because it’s that bad.

The problem with scrapple is it’s harder to detect if you’re sending it. Sure, spam we have feedback loops, spam checkers, bounce logs, everything makes it easy to block spam. But scrapple? You have no idea if your readers think your email is lame.

So when you send email your best bet is to always send email you would open and you would read, from your first email in your series all the way to the end. You want your readers to open every email and get excited when they see the next one!

Article courtesy of Tim Linden Blog