Autoresponder: Can It Help Your Business!

  Copyright © Jerry D Rivera

If you have a web-based business, an e-newsletter, or a large base of members that you keep in touch with through email, an autoresponder is something that would be a good investment for you.

A program that automatically generates a pre-recorded response when it is activated, an Autoresponder historically has been used to respond to emails sent to a specific email address. When the email address holder was not available, away on business or on vacation, the autoresponder let anyone who contacted that person or companies know by way of an automated response. Today autoresponders can be found on many websites also, and can be a powerful communication tool for everything from internet marketing to sales generation, profile management and branding.

Interestingly, the autoresponder was first designed to return an ‘error’ message when an email address was either not correct or was no longer in service. After a certain number of attempts had been made to contact a specific email address with no response the autoresponder would automatically go into effect, ‘contacting’ the sender and informing them that the email address was not responding, out of service, or not valid. Depending on the email address and where it originated the autoresponder could offer up detailed information about the cause of the error.

Within a short period of time this concept was adopted by internet users looking to inform their contacts of a certain number of important facts, including that the email was received, when a reply could be expected, and other important info. On sites that are selling services or products an autoresponder is often used to tell customers that their requests have been received, are being processed, or have been sent. Marketing companies have successfully adopted the autoresponder to keep in touch with possible customers by sending out a quick, automated response that asks for certain basic info and lets the customer know that they have gotten their info.

There are a number of different types of autoresponders. The one that is right for you will usually be based on a number or criteria and certain aspects of the type of on-line business that you have.

A simple or basic autoresponder simply sends an automated response when someone sends you an email. Whatever pre-written message that you want to send can be included in the body of the response, such as that you are out to lunch, away from your desk, or on vacation.

If you use an Advanced or Intelligent Autoresponder things work a little differently. When a customer or contact sends you an email your intelligent autoresponder will reply with a pre-written message and also automatically add the name and email address to your mailing list. It can also be programmed to respond instantly or at a specific time in the future.

Sequential Autoresponders are often used by internet marketing firms that want to send a series of timed responses to a certain group of people. For example, if your company has a particular program that is broken up into 9 parts these 9 parts can be sent out to a specific recipient list at pre-determined intervals like once a day or once a week. The timing can of course be pre-set by the owner of the autoresponder program. Other "follow up" messages can also be sent out after your customer asks for information, asks a question, or buys a product.

Autoresponders can also be used to generate leads. For example let’s say that you sign up for a newsletter because you want to keep up on the latest news about widgets. The website owner can set the autoresponder to automatically send you the newsletter and also to send you other, pre-written emails, offers or information related to widgets. The autoresponder software manages the list for you and automatically sends out the correct email to the correct type of email sent. If you have a web business that is information related this is an excellent way to generate information automatically to many people, bringing in revenue and freeing you up for more important duties.

Finally, autoresponders can also be incorporated into electronic mailing list software and used to confirm subscriptions, un-subscriptions, member posts, and any other list activities that you want to set as a parameter.

Whether you’re an internet entrepreneur looking to increase revenue or just want to let your contacts know that you’ve stepped out to get a coffee, an autoresponder can add simplicity to your daily routine or a whole lot more.