Now there is no law that says you have to follow these rules, but if you are in business on the Web, you should definitely pay attention.Rule #1 - Turn off your CAPS LOCK - Some people seem to feel that if they write their E-mail in ALL CAPS it will be more effective.
Quite the opposite is the case. CAPS should be used only for emphasis. Many people consider the use of ALL CAPS as being the equivalent of shouting and do take offense at it.Rule #2 - Never send multiple E-mails without using Blind Carbon Copies (BCC). If every E-mail address you sent it to is displayed, you are making the spammers job a lot easier when they harvest addresses. But you have to address it to someone, even if using BCC, so remember, there are a lot of "kooks" in this world who will persecute anyone they can identify.When using BCC, never send the note to someone on your mailing list. If you have a second ID use that, or send the note to yourself with copies to everyone on your list. That way, if someone decides to "vent" it will come back to you and not someone on your list. It also gives you a permanent record of the E-mails you sent to your mailing list. If you don't have a second ID#, you can get one easily at Juno, Hotmail, etc.Rule #3 - Are you sure your E-mail was actually sent to your mailing list? One easy way to be sure it was, is to include your E-mail address in your file of names you send it to. A good method is to include your address at the very end of the list. If you get your copy, you can be sure everyone else did as well.Rule #4 - Don't Bore Them to Death - Advertising by E-mail is a cheap and effective way to get your message out to people, and most people don't mind getting an E-mail if it is short and to the point, but don't spam and send to people you don't already have a relationship with. Also, don't try to sell them your product or services with your first mailing. Try to pique their curiosity instead and have them either reply to your E-mail or visit your Web Site.Rule #5 - Honor Removes - if someone asks to be removed from your mailing list, do it immediately and send them a courtesy note advising them it has been done. Keeping people on your mailing list that don't want to receive your information is not only bad form, but can cost you your ISP if a complaint is lodged against you.And NEVER forge headers so they can't respond to you by E-mail.
This is the favorite trick of the scamsters who don't want you to respond to their E-mail, and give you a number to call or a form to fill out instead.Rule #6 - Be sure that you are not sending the same person multiple E-mails. This is a definite sign of spam and most people will simply delete them.Rule #7 - I still get E-mails with no text and the message they wish me to read is an attachment to the E-mail. It is immediately deleted as it could very well contain a virus - even from someone you know. Some ISP's have a top limit to the amount of text they will display, and anything larger is automatically converted to an attachment. Many people will not go through this exercise, so you should ensure that your E-mail message can be read by all the people it is sent to, without them having to open an attachment.Did you know that subscribers to Bob Osgoodby's Free Ezine the "Tip of the Day" get a Free Ad for their Business at his Web Site? Great Business and Computer Tips ? Monday. Wednesday. and Friday. Instructions on how to place an ad are in the Newsletter.Subscribe at: http://adv-marketing.com/business/subscribe2.htm.

These days email is taken for granted and used perhaps
without fully appreciating its power.For example, recently I had some concerns about whether
or not my newsletter was being properly delivered through
the automated service that I use.I decided to send a note to my subscribers and ask them
to simply reply to let me know that they received my
message which was sent through the same automated system.Very soon I began to receive hundreds of replies from all
over the world to let me know my message was getting
through. I replied to each one personally to express my
gratitude for their reply and for my appreciation of the
ease of communication through the World Wide Web.The messages I received were not limited to simple replies
to let me know that my newsletter was being received. I
began to receive the most wonderful testimonials of
gratitude!Subscribers wrote to tell me that my newsletter makes a
difference in their lives - and that they forward it to
friends they care about.I began several profound email exchanges with subscribers
who told me that something they read in my newsletter
had been a turning point for them after years of not
knowing that they could live life differently.Imagine how I felt to learn that one simple thing I
shared could make such a difference in someone's life!I was overjoyed!Email is a powerful tool and it can be used to do good
in the world. The next time you send an email, know
that you could just be putting a smile on someone's face
or communicating with someone who needs to to be touched
by something that you say.Just think! If I had not sent that one little email, I
may never have known I was making a difference in a big
way!May your email make a difference in someone's life today!Copyright 2005 Linda Miller is a Spiritual Entrepreneur
whose quest is to empower others to deliberately create
true abundance and prosperity while contributing to
increasing the consciousness of the world. This article
may be distributed freely, provided that this resource
box is included in its entirety.http://www.SpiritualEntrepreneurToday.com
http://www.MyDivineDirection.comThis article may be shared in print or electronically,
provided the resource box at the end is included. A
courtesy copy of your publication will be appreciated.Copyright 2005 Linda Miller

One of the best and newest tools out there for generating
revenue is the Auto-Responder. If you aren't using this
tool in your business you are *losing money*!Many times customers arrive at your website but aren't quite
ready to buy. They may not buy from you until they've seen
your product more than once. So how do you keep them in
your net until they are ready to buy? Auto-responders.I've outlined the top 5 reasons you should be using this
simple tool in your business starting today.1. CHEAP. Of course this is the TOP reason to use auto-
responders. Many times your web hosting company will offer
fre*e auto-responders with your account. GoDaddy.com, my
favorite hosting company offers fre*e auto-responders with
your paid hosting account; however, the length of the
message is limited. Another great option is Get Response,
they offer a fre*e auto-responder account with unlimited
auto-responders and up to 5 follow up messages. It doesn't
get cheaper than that!2. CONSISTENT. Auto-responders are a wonderful way to
consistently remind your customer about you and your
product. The best part of the newer services out there like
Get Response is that they allow you to send 5 separate
messages and set your own interval. So you can set up 5
messages and have Get Response send them out for you once a
week for 5 weeks.3. EASY. Auto-responders are easy to use. You plan your
campaign, the number of times you want to contact your
customer and how frequently. Type out your messages in your
word processing software, then cut and paste your messages
into separate auto-responders and send. It's that easy.4. AUTOMATIC. The auto-responder, once set up, is on auto-
pilot. Your work is done and for the next several messages
you'll be contacting your customers without lifting a
finger.5. REMINDER. The best part of the auto-responder is the
reminder aspect. Most of us don't have time to call our
customers every week but with an auto-responder in place you
can remind them about you and your product or service.
Frequency is one key to increasing sales.Did I say Top 5? Okay how about one more.6. REPEAT BUSINESS. Auto-responders encourage repeat
business. Once someone is in your system, if they like your
product or service they will likely purchase again. Auto-
responders create a way for you to encourage repeat sales by
letting those who have purchased before know you've got a
new product or that you are running a special.If you aren't employing this new viral marketing strategy
you need to get started today. Your business growth depends
on it.More information and an in-depth article can be found
here http://www.strategy-3.com/autoresponder.htmTired of watching others succeed?
Discover how to boost your bottom line.
Yolanda A. Facio, author and consultant provides you
with the tools you need to succeed.
Click Here Now to learn more => http://www.strategy-3.com

You are a home business entrepreneur. You have just built a fantastic website, acquired a host of good products but your advertising budget is small. How do you go about enticing people to your website? I know exactly how you feel because, like lots of small home business entrepreneurs, I have been right where you are now.Even if you've only been marketing on the Internet for a short time, I'm sure you've heard the saying, "the money is in the list". A good email opt-in list ? a list you build yourself, is worth its weigh in gold. It is the difference between being wildly successful and falling into the deep black hole of cyberspace. So how you go about building an opt-in list without much money?There are several ways to go about capturing leads cheaply or for free. The most common method is to offer a free newsletter on your site. People who surf the web surf do so mainly for information. Giving them what they want, works. Offer free information as an incentive to join your list. Free works! Don't' offer something that is available everywhere you turn on the Internet. Offer something of value ? a mind-blowing free report, an e-book packed with great information or an awesome free gift.There are numerous free list-building programs that offer ways you can build your list. The List Builder's Club, The List Machine, ListDotCom and Opportunity.com are just a few of the good ones available. Sign up with one or all of them and see if they are what you are looking for. If they are not, there is no need to waste time with them.Because of the spam factor, buying leads does not work as well as it used to but it is still quite effective. It just takes more leads to get the desired response. Right now lead companies are falling over themselves to sell single opt-in leads cheaper than their competitors. Some companies are literally giving them away free for a limited time at the rate of 2,000 per day. Sign up with one of these companies and find an autoresponder service still willing to allow you to import purchased leads. It is a numbers game. Let's say you only get 50 ? 100 sign-ups for your newsletter out of each 2,000, it is still not a bad deal. That is 1,500 ? 3,000 additions to your list each month at a fraction of what it would cost to buy double opt-in leads. It is then up to you to build a relationship with the ones who have agreed to opt-in to your list.Traffic Exchanges are great places for getting leads. Don't expect a huge number of direct signups for your programs from them. Most of the people surfing the Traffic Exchanges are advertising their products or sites. They are not looking for programs to join.
The best way I've found to work the Traffic Exchanges, is to join a few lead generation programs of your choice and advertise them on the Traffic Exchanges. The people surfing the Traffic Exchanges who are not getting results are open to offers from new recruiting programs.Run contests on your website and have people subscribe to your newsletter as a requirement of entry. If your newsletter is any good they will continue to receive it even after the contest is over.A fantastic list building method that requires no expenditure is writing articles. Write articles and submit them to web sites, e-zines and other places on the Internet. E-zine publishers are constantly looking for fresh content so articles will always be in demand. "I can't write"! Sure you can! If it means the difference between starvation and making money, you discover just how well you can write. Get out your notepad and sit at your computer with the TV and radio off and get something on the page. Everything improves with practice and your writing will too. Try it. You have nothing to loose and you may find you are a fantastic writer. Write about something you know are familiar with or are an expert on. If you blatantly advertise your products in your article, it will not be accepted. You can advertise your website or your expertise in your Home Business in the resource box at the end of your article.I have found that it is best to implement several methods to build your list quickly. Whatever method you use, remember that for email marketing to be effective it must be targeted. Your prospective customers must be interested in your product or service.List building is not a get rich quick method but it is still extremely effective. It takes time to build a responsive email list and it may be several months before it becomes the moneymaker you anticipate. With this in mind plan a really good lead building strategy from the outset and you should gradually see your profits soar. Your money is still in your list.Janice Sharman currently runs the Sure Profits Center.
Get ALL the Home Business Internet Marketing Information
and Resources You'll Ever Need to Profit on the Internet!
Subscribe to her 'Secrets To Sure Profits' Newsletter at
http://www.profits4sure.com

If you do business as an affiliate, then you're constantly concerned with getting your name and your business information out there. You probably send a lot of e-mails, post on message boards, and submit articles to business e-zines. These are great techniques for making contacts, but are you taking full advantage of the visibility these forums create?One of the best ways of creating new business is to include a Signature File with everything you post, send or submit. What exactly is a sig file? It's that little paragraph beneath a person's signature at the end of an article, posting or e-mail. This is your opportunity to let people know who you are and to direct them to your business.Now you may already include your url at the end of your correspondence. That's great, but is that enough? Not quite. Of course it's great to have your url so that anyone who's interested in what you're saying can immediately check out your business site, but wouldn't they be more likely to click if you included a short description of what you do? For example, rather than closing an e-mail or posting with:Manny Jacksonhttp://rockoutandrollover.comtry something a little more descriptive and catchy, like:Manny JacksonCheck out Manny's hot music publishing tips athttp://rockoutandrollover.com,or one step further:Manny JacksonManny can answer all your questions about musicpublishing. E- mail him at Mannyj@irock.com, orcheck out his website:http://www.rockoutandrollover.comThat little extra bit could be the difference between a trickle of new business and a flood.It's not enough to just give an address, you've got to give people a reason to click. You've got to spark an interest in what you do. By creating a short, catchy and descriptive sig file, you can really set yourself ahead of the pack.About The AuthorKeegan Michaels knows affiliate programs. He knows what to look for and what pitfalls to avoid. Let him show you the roadmap to affiliate profits. Contact him today at keeegan@affiliateteacher.com or 801-328-9006. Get his Extra Money Newsletter FREE at http://www.AffiliateTeacher.com

The topic of sending attachments by e-mail is not one that is discussed as much as it probably should be. It is easy to attach a file to an e-mail. Almost too easy! E-mail programs allow you to attach almost anything, regardless of the size and format without giving the sender any sort of guidance as to the consequences of their actions.And yes, there are consequences. Like shutting down other's e-mail accounts and causing subsequent e-mail to bounce. Now, that's not a very nice thing to do, is it? And to think with just a bit of thoughtfulness you can avoid embarrassment and set an example of proper technology use!Most that forward attachments or send photos along are doing so with good intentions not purposefully wanting to cause any problems for the other side. That said, though, one has to take a moment and think before attaching files to an e-mail and clicking Send. To simply attach files without taking the time to consider the person on the other side can come off as self-serving not to mention reflecting your overall lack of tech savvy.Here are some quickies you should run through before you arbitrarily attach any file to an e-mail and send it on its way:=> What is the file's size? If you don't know, find out. If you don't know how to find out, learn. For example in Windows, you can view the file's size in Windows Explorer. Make sure the Views option at the top right is set to Details. This will allow you to see a Size column reflecting each file's size.=> If you are sending a file over 200,000 (200KB) in size consider how you can minimize the file's size either by reducing the physical dimensions or by using file compression software. And, even then, courtesy dictates you ask the recipient first if it is O.K. to send them an attachment and what is the best time of day to do so to ensure they are available to download your file and keep their e-mail flowing.Never send attachments without warning especially after business hours or on weekends when the recipient may not be there to clear out their inbox.=> Files over 1M (that's 1,000,000 bytes!) should not be sent by e-mail and will have a hard time going through the pipeline. Just because you can physically instruct a computer to attach a file of that size doesn't mean you should. You could also instruct your computer to reformat/erase your hard drive but you don't do you?=> Files should only be sent in a format that you know the other side has the appropriate software to view - because you asked first! For example, not everyone has MS Publisher, Excel or PowerPoint. If the other side does not have Excel and you send a Excel file to them, they most likely will not be able to open it.=> When it comes to graphics and photos, just assume the files are gargantuan. Whether the files are for business or personal matters, here again you need to compress either the file's size with one of the many compression utilities available or reduce the physical dimensions of the graphic or photo.Learn how to resample/resize the graphic to no larger than 600 pixels in width. 600 pixels is large enough for the majority of uses - especially if you are just sharing photos with friends or family. For use on your Web site, they need not be larger than this either. Photos thousands of pixels wide easily get up into the 2-4M range! Yikes!!=> Never send anyone an e-mail with an attachment about anything, (particularly your product or service) if the recipient did not specifically e-mail you for that information and you are responding to his or her request. By sending overly large files (even several personal photos) you can cause the other person's e-mail box to fill and all their subsequent e-mail to bounce.You have no insight into the other person's e-mail volume to assume activity to be minimal or storage capacity to be optimal to receive your files. You do know what happens when you assume? Many e-mail accounts are only 5M in size and can be filled up very easily by those who either don't care to or don't know how to determine file size.To send an attachment without notice that someone didn't ask for is the epitome of lack of courtesy for those you are e-mailing. No matter how important you think that attachment is - you now have no excuse to ignore the above issues when attaching it to an e-mail. Don't attach that file without first knowing its size, format and notifying the person on the other side that it is on its way.Just a little common courtesy can go a long way to you being perceived as a person who is a pleasure to communicate with and who also understands the technology in which they are participating.About the Author:
Judith Kallos is an authoritative and good-humored Technology Muse
who has played @ http://www.TheIStudio.com for over a decade. Check out her popular Software, Programming and Web Design
Cheat Sheets @ http://www.LearnAndThrive.com

Owning your own online business is a lot of work.
Don't let anyone tell you that it's not.Daily tasks can include reading emails, handling
orders, advertising, promotion and the list goes on.
Very often at the end of the day you could have just
as many projects as you started out with and quite
possibly the list grew in the process.Typically, on a day to day basis, many business
owners end up putting most of their time and efforts
into performing these mundane, every day tasks
leaving little or no time for the things that can help
them grow their business such as marketing or
promotion.Of course, growing your business is a big part of
how you acquire customers and make sales; but
how can you focus on marketing and sales if you're
constantly tied up with the daily tasks that consume
so much of your time?The key is automation. Particularly if you promote
electronic products, however automation is important for
any type of products you market. It automates such
routine tasks of responding to emails and customer orders
allowing you to focus on the things that help bring in customers and make sales.Here are just a few of the benefits :- Customer questions can be instantly responded to creating
satisfied customers who will be impressed with your
fast, professional service.- Automated follow-up e-mails will allow you to keep in contact
with our customers allowing you to notify them of other
products you sell which can boost your revenue.- Automating your ordering process will allow you to sell your
products or services at any time of the day or night allowing
for more sales, and more profits.- Instantly confirming orders and fulfilling your
customers' orders for electronic products like software
and e-Books can produce happier customers who are more
likely to buy from you again and again.The two biggest time consumers for online businesses are
customer response and order fulfillment. Think for a moment
how much more time you would have to promote your business
if these daily tasks could be automated.What's the best and easiest way to automate this process?
By using Autoresponders.Autoresponders are automated e-mails that are pre-written to respond to incoming emails that you receive from customers or visitors to your site. The beauty of autoresponders is that
you can use them to respond to a variety of questions or information that your customers or viewers may have.
They can assist you with most any email needs you have simply by setting up different email response addresses.Here are two of the best ways to utilize autoresponders:1. Automate your customer emailsCustomers can generate a lot of email on a daily basis and
many of the questions and information needed can be the same. Email autoresponders can help because you can develop a comprehensive email, write it once and your process is automated.For example, autoresponders can help you set up a
'frequently asked questions' email by creating an email
address such as 'faq@mysite.com'. Here you can invite viewers to ask questions about your products. You can then automate
a response email that contains answers to the most common questions you're likely to receive about your products, services or ordering process. You can save yourself countless hours of responding to questions and at the same time, increase the chances of a sale immediately.Autoresponders can also help you gather email addresses for your weekly news or sales letter. Simply set up another email address such as 'newsletter@mysite.com' that will capture email addresses through a form on your website. Now you have email addresses that you can sell to each and every week.You can set up endless email addresses for whatever information you want your viewers to receive and their responses will all be automated.2. Automate your customer serviceAutoresponders can also help with order fulfillment. This is where you can find yourself spending lots of your time because, after all, orders are the bread and butter of your business It's also a very critical part of your business so automating
it can help reduce the amount of error and confusion, particularly if your business is growing at a rapid pace.Depending on your products, order fulfillment systems are an excellent idea but autoresponders can also help out particularly if you sell electronic products such
as e-books, software or online services.- Confirming Orders
When a purchase is made online, buyers need confirmation. They want to know that their order was successful and that payment was received. Autoresponders can reply automatically to all orders and can include all the pertinent order information
that you wish to send.- Provide shipping information
If you are shipping your products to your customers autoresponders can notify buyers that their products have shipped, how they were shipped and when they might expect it.- Follow-up
This is your opportunity to provide that bit of extra good will. A follow-up message is a great promotion gesture. It's
a way for you to provide a little extra customer care by following up on how your customers enjoyed their products and, most importantly, thanking them for shopping It's also
an excellent way for you to announce new products or information so they'll think of you again next time they're shopping.Once you've implemented autoresponders into your online business, you'll never look back. Emails can be written once and sent automatically. It's the easiest and most efficient
way to help grow your business, allowing you to spend your
time more efficiently and make more sales.Elizabeth McGee has spent 20 years in the service and support industry. She has moved her expertise to the world wide web helping businesses find trusted tools, enhance customer service, build confidence and increase sales.
Visit Elizabeth's websites at: http://www.pro-marketing-online.com; http://www.homenotion.com

If you are serious about adding email to your marketing mix, you should take email seriously enough to develop a plan for it. Too many organizations launch a half-baked email program and then are disappointed when it doesn't live up to expectations.The plan does not have to be as long as War And Peace, but it must include a few key elements so that you can develop a focused, targeted, measurable program that gets results. At a minimum, here are the elements that Hoover ink recommends:* Objectives* Audience Definition* Key Messages* Format* Tactics* Timeline* Budget* MeasurementFirst, determine what is it that you want the email program to achieve from marketing and communications perspectives. Is this a newsletter designed for relationship management purposes, or is it a sales-oriented vehicle? Are you trying to build awareness, generate leads, increase web traffic, encourage loyalty, or close sales?Next, you need to define audiences. Who are you trying to reach? What do you know about them from demographic and psychographic perspectives? Are you addressing multiple audiences? If so, do you need to segment your audiences and develop emails with different messages? How will each audience profit from our communications.Now, what is it you want to say to each audience? What's the nature of the content? Will this include just editorial information or will it also contain some sales-oriented material?Closely tied to messages is your format. Are you producing a newsletter with a lot of editorial material, or does it contain just brief snippets of information? Is it an announcement list, a discussion list, or just commercial messages? Think about your audiences as you develop the most appropriate format.Your tactics section lays out tasks and who is responsible for them. What technology do you need? Do you have in-house email capabilities or should you use an application such as nTarget? How will you build and manage your list? How will you acquire new subscribers? Who will create content, design and distribute the email?After you answer those questions, it's time to turn to your timeline. Develop a schedule for having your technology in place, building your list, creating content, designing and distributing the email. Determine if this will be a one-time mailing, or if it will recur on a weekly or monthly basis.Your budget may help you answer many of the questions above. Small budgets may mean you complete a lot of the work in-house.Finally, it's time to establish criteria for measuring the program. An awareness program may call for some baseline research so you'll know how you are doing. A relationship management program may measure customer retention. Increased click-through from your email to your website is also a measurable element. Sales-oriented programs might measure total sales from email, or incremental sales increases with individual customers.No matter what your objective in using email, spend a little time cooking up a plan so your results won't be half-baked.Harry Hoover is managing principal of Hoover ink PR, http://www.hoover-ink.com. He has 26 years of experience in crafting and delivering bottom line messages that ensure success for serious businesses like Brent Dees Financial Planning, Duke Energy, Levolor, North Carolina Tourism, Ty Boyd Executive Learning Systems, VELUX and Verbatim.

Most Websites are gathering e-mail addresses. When you submit your e-mail address, you will be redirected to a thank you page. There is nothing wrong with it, but that page can do more than saying "thank you."--The Result--A while ago, I added some affiliate links to my thank-you-for-subscribing page. (You can see it at http://www.thatswise.com/popups/redirect/thanks_subscribe.html .) Even though you can close the window or go back to the home page, 98.8% of viewers of that page have clicked one of the links listed. This is astonishing when compared to the click-though ratio of banner ads on my site, which is about 0.9%. And, 98% is not a stat of one lucky day. It's an average of one year.--They Will Listen--98% sounds unrealistic, but it makes sense. Visitors subscribe to your newsletter because they liked your site in some way. So, they will listen to you as they listen to their friends. When you recommend some places to go, most people will go.Additionally, you will get better results if you link to a page with one product rather than linking to a page with a lot of products. People who have submitted to you an e-mail address are open minded. This is the time to tell them your recommendation (your favorite product), not to show them options (list of your products).--Note--However, do not use this technique on a thank-you-for-ORDERING page. If you send buyers to another Web page asking them to buy more things, visitors will feel you are trying to suck all the money they have. You may add links on this thank-you page, but be selective which pages you'll send buyers to. I am not saying up-selling won't work. Up-selling does work. You have to up-sell before receiving payments, not after you received payments. Chasers at McDonald's ask, "Would you like to have French fries with that?" when you order a burger, not after you have paid for your order, don't they?About The AuthorThough his Web site, http://www.thatswise.com Akinori Furukoshi has been providing e-commerce related information since 1998. His unique way of thinking has helped online businesses to improve their performance. More detailed bio is available at http://www.thatswise.com/about_us.html

If you've reached the point of exhaustion trying to keep up
with answering the mountain of emails that threatens to
bury you alive every single day, you're ready to learn
about autoresponders.The bad news is that people expect prompt replies to their
email inquiries. However, unless you can figure out how to
work continual twenty-four hour shifts, or hire enough
people to constantly monitor incoming emails (while they're
eating up your revenue), you have a problem. The good news
is an autoresponder is an inexpensive - or even free -
method of quickly responding to emails. What these programs
do is automatically respond to incoming emails as soon as
they are received.Emails are essential to your business for many different
reasons. Most importantly, these invisible email voices
give you their feedback about your website - for free!
However, if you spend all your working hours answering
these emails, how are you supposed to run your business?
The answer is simple: use autoresponders. Autoresponders
are programs that automatically respond to your emails
without you so much as having to click on your mouse.There are a number of good reasons why you need an
autoresponder besides just answering your email. For
example, autoresponders can be used if you need a way to
send information about your services or products, price
lists, or if there are repeated questions asked across
large numbers of emails. Maybe you want to offer your site
visitors a special bonus of some kind, such as advice or
relevant articles. All of this can be handled by an
autoresponder. Additionally, you can advertise your
business and then build stable relationships with your
customers by using autoresponders.Autoresponder programs vary from software that runs with
your email program to a specialized script that runs on
your web hosting company's server. This kind of script may
use a web page form or simply operate with your email
account. This kind of script is programmed to send out a
standardized message whenever an email is received. The
message is sent to a particular script or email address.Some autoresponders can do more than simply send out
standardized messages. They can send out an unlimited
number of follow-up messages sent at predetermined interval
of time. For example, you can set your autoresponder to
send out a new message every day for as long a period as
you desire.There are numerous companies who offer autoresponders free
of charge. Your website hosting company often provides
autoresponders as a free service. If this is not the case
with your web hosting company, there are numerous companies
who offer this service for a small fee, or free of charge,
providing you attach an advertisement for their company to
your emails.To personalize your autoresponder messages, you can attach
a signature. Signatures in this case are much like business
cards. You can include your name, company, all your contact
numbers and addresses, and a brief message.It's a good idea to attach a signature to every email that
is sent out. This works as a repeated reminder of your
business identity every time a customer sees it. The more
they look at your signature, the more likely your company
will spring to mind when your particular service or product
is needed.You can create a standardized signature that every employee
in your business uses, or you can go wild, and let every
staff member create their own personal signature. Of
course, like everything in life, there are some rules and
guidelines to creating a personal signature.Keep the length of your signature between four to six lines
of text, with no more than 70 characters in a single line.
Make sure that your email program does not cut off your
text! The content should include your name, your company
name, your email address, fax number, and any other contact
details, such as 800 numbers. Lastly, always include a
short personal message about your company. It should be a
subtle sell of your services or your products, and possibly
your company's reliability and longevity.Another specialized use of autoresponders is to create
courses that you can then offer your site visitors for
free. You must choose a topic in which you are an expert
and that precisely targets your potential customers.Once you have carefully chosen your subject, divide it into
a number of different sub-topics. Then offer your site
visitor a free 10 or 15 day course, each day offering a
different sub-topic. The first topic should always be a
welcome message to your site visitor and an explanation
about what is to follow. Your explanation should be
enticing, getting the point across that you are offering
free, quality information that your target audience will
find of great value.With every lesson, include the number of the lesson, the
topic title, information about your company and its
services or products. At the end, include a few blurbs
about the next lesson to entice the subscriber to continue
on.Make sure each topic is packed with essential and valuable
information, and leaves the visitor lusting to know more.
Otherwise, you may lose them in the very beginning.Of course, you have to write up your course before you can
offer it. Once you have done this, and gone over the
material carefully, employing a professional writer or
editor if necessary, you must transfer your text to your
autoresponder.There are a number of free autoresponders you can use. Try
http:/www.getresponse.com, or http://www.fastfacts.net. Or
go onto Google and you will find a long list of free
autoresponder companies. Then sign-up for your chosen
autoresponder. Once you do, you will receive instructions
as to how to set it up and transfer your text.Email is an excellent marketing tool; it is inexpensive and
it is fast. Use it to advertise your business by choosing
your email address carefully. Your website should contain
different email addresses for different contact requests.
For example, use info@yourdomain.com for information
requests, or sales@yourdomain.com for questions about
sales. It's a good idea to set up one for the owner, such
as president@yourdomain.com. This presents your company in
a personal, approachable light and insures that direct
contact is provided.Autoresponders are an effective and powerful marketing
tool, allowing you to make contact with thousands of
potential customers. This is an invaluable asset
considering how many potential customers you usually have
contact with before you make an actual sale. Essentially,
an autoresponser allows you to automate part of your
marketing campaign.Chris GeldofChris Geldof is owner and publisher of the free special
report "How To Build Your Own Profitable Opt In List".
Get this report for free at http://www.reach-for-money.com