An auto-responder simply sends your messages out by email when you want them sent - automatically.   If you have used Microsoft Outlook on your computer, you may have used the out of office message, which is an auto- responder.

Auto-responders like this are very simple - for instance, allowing you to  send one message to a big list of people at a set time.  But if you have a large mailing list, a good auto responder can save you a great deal of time and be a really powerful tool in communicating with potential clients.

One thing is certain - you do need to use a system that allows people to opt in and out easily of your mailing list.  Otherwise you will be breaking spam laws. So, make sure you familiarize yourself with spam laws before starting your email list!

Lots of things are possible with a good auto-responder system:

• Personalizing your messages with people's names
• Setting up a series of messages to be sent out automatically
• Setting up messages to be sent out with attachments
• Tracking of who has opened your messages and downloaded the attachments

Once you have got used to the system you choose - it can be as easy as  ‘set it and forget it'!  This makes the sending out of newsletters, e-courses and top tips very straightforward.

How to choose an auto-responder

There are two main choices:

1       Use a mailing list management script that works on your own website server

If you host your mailing list on your own server you may be labeled as a spam source.  So you need to take some professional advice from a web developer.

2       Use a hosted system

Here you pay a company who specializes in running an auto-responder system to use their services.

The main advantages of this are that these companies work very hard to stay up to date with deliverability issues so more of your email reaches its intended destination.  These companies often offer a range of different ways of presenting your messages to your clients - including HTML - which can make your messages more appealing.

At Coaches Plus we use AWeber.  This is because of the incredible customer support we have experienced, the reliability of the service and the fact that we can use our RSS feed to update our messages. You can click on this link to take you to AWeber to have a look at what they offer.

There are also a range of other companies offering auto-responder services -all you need to do is to type email auto-responder into any of the search engines to get a list.

A good starting point is to identify the functions you would like to use in your auto-responder and then look at what is on offer.  Some examples are:

• the facility to add an opt in form to your website - so people can sign up to your list on your site
• the option to send RSS or blog broadcasts to your subscribers
• the ability to add attachments to your automatic emails
• tracking and reporting of email opening, and clicks through to your website
• being able to send both plain text and HTML emails
• a send to a friend option on emails so your messages are shared

It also helps to have an idea of what you will be using the auto responder system for so you can decide whether you want a newsletter function or a payment function included in the system.

It's also a good idea to test drive a couple of different systems and see which best meet your needs before making up your mind.  Why not do some research today and sign up for some free trials or speak to your web designer for some advice on using your own web server?

This article is based on an extract from our ebook -  "7 Simple Steps to Getting More Clients by Email" - which is free to all our members.

Author:                 © Sonia Thomas August 2008

                               Coaches Plus

                               www.coachesplus.com

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