A “Must Have” in My Email Marketing Toolbox

Casually sending an email and email marketing are two very different things.

The latter, in essence, is almost like a science. Why? Because there are a ton of different variables in play that impact performance and engagement with your audience.

But there’s one aspect of email marketing that I’m pretty big on; it also happens to be an element that is often overlooked or completely ignored: the autoresponder.

The Autoresponder

In short, the autoresponder works for you while you are sleeping. It’s a message that you create and then schedule to be sent after an initial email is sent. These are excellent ways to simply check-in with your audience, or to follow-up to a previous pitch.

Allow me to share an insanely simple example that I currently use on my fashion blog, Fashables.

If a visitor signs up today to receive the sites email updates, they will immediately receive a basic welcome email. From there, I have an autoresponder scheduled that is sent to this individual 10 days after they signed up to receive updates.

These autorespodners are wildly impactful and are something I wouldn’t dream of not using in most situations. Here’s a quick look at the 10-day message set up for Fashables,

“Hey, I hope you are doing great. You’ve been receiving the Fashables emails for a couple of weeks now, and I wanted to send you a quick note to see how things are going.

If you happen to have any feedback (good or bad) on the emails, or the site in general, I’d love to hear what’s on your mind. Want more of something? Want less of something? Love the site?

Thanks again for being a Fashables subscriber!

Ryan”

That’s it. Nothing crazy going on. But the thing is, people, for the most part, get these emails and often respond. Here’s an example of a recent response to the autoresponder above,

“Hey Ryan,

Loving that I’m a person, not a number!

Your posts are great.  I love seeing what catches your eye and would really like to hear more about your views on why you’ve chosen to photograph specific people.  Often I notice it’s because they remind you of something else – a piece of fabric, a pattern etc.

Also, it would be great to see a little more diversity in your posts and a bit of the personality behind the look.  I liked when you took images of the look from a number of different angles and the girl played with the camera a little.  I read the Get The Look section of The NY magazine
emails because they often pick someone who’s aesthetically ugly, yet they have made themselves supremely attractive by putting real personality into their outfits.  I like to see what style is for different people and I think that’s what you seem to be about too.

Finally, keep up with the personal touches-it’s nice to hear your journey too.

Thanks & good luck!”

That’s amazing feedback! By using an autoresponder I was able to connect directly with a reader on a 1-1 basis and learn more about their thoughts/ideas on the site. And that’s just one of many examples.

Personally, I utilize Aweber.com for email marketing because they have a very reliable system and have the tools (forms, opt-in, autoresponders, rock solid customer service) needed for successful email marketing.

The next time you get set to launch an email marketing campaign, make sure an autoresponder is in the mix and figure out the best way to leverage the added touch point.