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Simply, an autoresponder is a computer program that automatically sends a pre-written eMail message or series of eMail messages to anyone who "triggers" that autoresponder by sending an eMail message to a specific eMail address or fills out an online form, etc.

With our system, you are allowed to create an unlimited number of autoresponders for use in educating prospects about your products, serving clients and customers and training your affiliates.

What are a few practical reasons for using Autoresponders to grow your business online?

You can use autoresponders to deliver all kinds of information about you (or your business), your web site, your products and services automatically and, practically, without ever lifting another finger.

You can use autoresponders to deliver eBooks, eZines, thank you messages, digital product download instructions, articles, newsletters, seminar and tele-seminar registration information, coaching programs, affiliate training information and anything else you can think of that you might normally send through eMail to someone – you can use autoresponders to do the same thing, automatically!

What’s more, autoresponders can also be programmed to send out your message in a single eMail response, or a series of eMail responses set to be delivered over a period of days, weeks, months, even years.

Autoresponders are one of the single most powerful marketing and timesaving tools you can use for building your business online.

With our shopping cart system, you can create an unlimited number of autoresponders to communicate and deliver important information to your prospects, clients and affiliates when they request it, automatically!

Let’s say you want to capture the names and eMail addresses of people who visit your site, and in exchange for those names and email addresses, you’d like to offer them a free report.

With our shopping cart system, you could create an autoresponder that automatically sends out that free report immediately after a prospect enters their name and eMail address in an online form you created for your web site using our shopping cart system.

When someone fills in the form with his or her name and eMail address, the autoresponder will automatically send him or her the free report you wanted them to receive.

In another example, let’s say you wrote a book, where you’d like to give away 3 free chapters in exchange for a prospect’s name and eMail address. With our shopping cart system, you could create an autoresponder that delivers all three chapters in a single eMail autoresponder message; or one chapter every day for three consecutive days in a row using 3 separate email autoresponder messages; or one chapter every week for 3 weeks in a row ... It's all up to you!

With our shopping cart system, you can create any number of autoresponders that delivery all kinds of information according to any time interval you wish: same day, day after day, weekly, monthly, even yearly.

Sending a direct eMail to the autoresponder eMail address you created with our system. When anyone eMails one of your autoresponders directly, they will receive the eMail message you created and intended them to receive; such as a free report, your eZine, a free eBook, affiliate training information and so on.

Submitting an online form, such as an "online questionnaire" or "join our mailing list" form, or even a custom form you create with our system. System-generated forms such as a questionnaire or "join our mailing list" both have default autoresponder options, and with Custom Forms you can have a single form subscribe a client to multiple autoresponder series. Please see the Questionnaire Form and Custom Fields section for details on how to do this.

Making a purchase through your shopping cart when people buy product and/or services from you. Under Cart Setup >> Basic Options, you can select an autoresponder to go out for every approved transaction. Note, you do not have to send an autoresponder out for declined transactions. If you do nothing else with autoresponders, we recommend you do use them for this purpose. Follow-up eMail messages with new customers can always help generate repeat business and future profits. Stay in touch with new customers automatically with a shopping cart autoresponder.

Purchasing a particular item through your shopping cart. You can select a specific autoresponder to go out when a particular item is purchased from your online catalog of products and services. Go to Products >> Manage Products and select a product (you created inside our shopping cart system). At the bottom of the Product Details page, you can select the autoresponder that you would like to have the customer receive when they successfully purchase that item. Like the Shopping Cart default autoresponder, this autoresponder only goes out when that particular product is purchased and the order is approved. You could even use this feature to make the autoresponder the product itself! For example, if you offered an eClass delivered by eMail, students would use the Shopping Cart to register and pay for the eClass online like they would purchasing any other product from your online catalog and yet the autoresponder would deliver the product, i.e., your eClass lessons automatically through eMail. Wow, talk about "automatic income!"

Joining your affiliate program can trigger a custom autoresponder you created just to help your affiliates market your products and services more effectively. These affiliate-focused autoresponders can include customized marketing information or even training instructions and links to affiliate marketing tools again to help your affiliates market and sell your products and services more effectively. Remember this, the more you help your affiliates, the more they'll help you (by making more sales). Yep, treat your affiliates like gold; they hold the keys to more sales and residual income for you. Make the most of autoresponders to maintain contact with your affiliates on a regular basis all while keeping their motivation high to sell your products and services.

Manually adding eMail addresses and subscribing them to an autoresponder. You can subscribe any or all of your offline clients individually into our shopping cart system and then assign them to an autoresponder series you created within your shopping cart account with us. Or, if you have a pre-existing opt-in mailing list, you can import that list to your account on our system and then subscribe the entire group to a specific autoresponder. See the Manage Clients >> Add Client section for more information about this strategic function.

There are several reasons why you should learn how to use and maximize the power of using autoresponders to grow your business online, but for now, here are two very important ones to remember:

SAVE TIME = Autoresponders save you time by delivering important information and instructions to your prospects, clients and affiliates about your products and services automatically when they request it without you having to be there and respond personally to each and every inquiry that comes your way. Wow, talk about time-management, working efficiently and serving your prospects, clients and affiliates effectively all at the same time.

MAKE MONEY = Autoresponders can sell both real and digital products (like eBooks, eReports, eClasses and coaching programs) as well as other services online at no cost to you because they were delivered online and through eMail. Very cool. Talk about making money in your sleep. This is how you do it! Sell goods and services online, deliver those goods and services online (digitally, if possible) and bam! Wake up to orders in your in-box and money in the bank!

How do you get started using Autoresponders? What’s the FIRST STEP you need to take?

The first thing you need to do is determine what “function“ you need an autoresponder to perform. For instance, what do you want the autoresponder to do?

For Prospects & Visitors To Your Web Site ...

Deliver a free report when they give you their name and eMail address?

Subscribe and deliver your eZine or online newsletter to them?

Deliver a free eClass, eCourse or series of educational eMails?

Deliver instructions on how to download an eBook they just purchased?

Deliver instructions on how to access a tele-seminar or attend an actual
live, in-person seminar, workshop or bootcamp?

Deliver a "paid-for" eClass, eCourse or series of educational eMails?

Deliver marketing tools and information to help your affiliates market your products and services more effectively?

But, before we do that, let’s review what the main link menu options you have available to you beneath the

main header within the shopping cart system.

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"Autoresponders" Main Menu
QUICK OVERVIEW & INTRODUCTION

"Autoresponders" Menu Overview 1:25 MIN

Manage Autoresponders — This link option allows you to manage (e.g., view/edit/delete) every autoresponder you create within the shopping cart system.

Create Autoresponders — This link option allows you to create an unlimited number of customized autoresponders within the shopping cart system for use on your web site and in your online business.

Autoresponder Reports — This link option allows you to view a number of statistics that relate to the performance of each individual autoresponder.

Job Status — This link option allows you to monitor the status of scheduled jobs such as eMail Broadcasts, Product/Client Database Imports, Autoresponder Subscribes, Client List Export, Inherit Autoresponders and Autoresponder UnSubscribes.

Under the "Manage Autoresponders" link option, you have the following link options available to you:

Create New Autoresponder — Conveniently placed, this link option allows you to create an unlimited number of customized autoresponders within the shopping cart system for use on your web site and in your online business.

Inherit Autoresponder — This link is for replicating autoresponders to your account from other accounts within the shopping cart system. If you don't want the autoresponders you create to be "shared" with others, then simply select the default option, "No" instead of "Yes" when it comes to the function "Sharable" when you create (each) autoresponder.

You would want to select "No" if your autoresponder contains sensitive information you only want paying customers to see. This would prevent just anyone from accidentally or intentionally securing those autoresponders (without paying for their content).

You would want to select "Yes" when you wouldn't mind the general public having access to a particular autoresponder; perhaps, you're offering a free report or subscription to your free eZine. Another reason to select "Yes" is if you wish to share your autoresponders and marketing materials (via autoresponder) with your affiliates.

Track Autoresponder Reports — Conveniently placed, this link takes you to the Autoresponder Reports section. This page tells you more information about your lists. How large your lists are, how many has subscribed and how many people who have asked to be removed.

Autoresponder Name — In this block, you can quickly scan the names of every autoresponder you've created to view/edit/delete any aspect of that autoresponder.

Msgs in Series — This block lets you know how many eMail messages are associated with that autoresponder. In the case where there is only one message, it will say "1". In the event you have a series of eMails associated with an autoresponder, it might say "2" or "3" or more!

Unique Clients — This block lets you know how many new and unique people have subscribed to a specific autoresponder.

Removes — This block lets you know how many people requested to be removed from a specific autoresponder.

Total Subscribes — This number represents the total number of people who have subscribed to this autoresponder, both unique and non-unique.

Sharable — This block simply tells you if this particular autoresponder is "sharable" (Yes or No). If it is sharable, then anyone within the shopping cart system can transfer the "content" of your autoresponders to their account. Note, only the "content" is transferred, not the "contacts" or "subscribes" (i.e., those who have joined that autoresponder).

Update Autoresponder — This sections offers you a number of ways to test, edit, add a new message and delete autoresponders:

Test – This function does not process mail the same way that a live subscription works – there are no unsubscribe links, and the from name, and from eMail are not applied

Edit — Simply, this link takes you to a screen where you can edit a specific autoresponder; such as the Autoresponder Name, From eMail Address, From Name,

Add Message — This link takes you to a screen where you can add another eMail message to a specific autoresponder.

Delete — Lastly, this link takes you to a screen where you can delete a specific autoresponder. In the event you no longer have any use for a specific autoresponder, you can delete it from the list; hence, keeping your list clean and current.

Autoresponder ID — When you first create a new autoresponder, the ID# displayed will be "<new>". After the autoresponder is created, it will be assigned a unique autoresponder number by the system. This number will be important when assigning autoresponders to specific custom forms created by the shopping cart system.

Unsubscribe Autoresponder — Which autoresponder should the client be unsubscribed from upon subscribing to this one? For example, if they're subscribed to an autoresponder aimed at prospects who have never purchased, and they just made a purchase, you can automatically unsubscribe them from the first sequence.

From eMail Address — The custom From eMail Address allows your clients to reply to your autoresponder messages just as if it came from you. The system will handle your bouncebacks automatically whether or not you fill in this field.

From Name — Who is sending the message in this sequence? By default, the system fills in the company name in your account contact info, but if you use your Shopping Cart Training account for multiple companies, you should enter the appropriate company name here.

Sharable — Setting this option to "Yes" allows you to import or inherit this Autoresponder into another account using the "Inherit Autoresponder" function.

Save Button — When you're done creating your new autoresponder and you're now ready to create the body (or text) portion of the autoresponder message, click the SAVE BUTTON to save your work.

Back Button — The BACK BUTTON merely takes you "back" to the previous page (i.e., your complete list of current autoresponders). If you do not click the SAVE BUTTON, before hitting the BACK BUTTON, you will not save your work; hence, you will lose any data entered on the "Create Autoresponder" screen.

Depending on your business model, you might consider utilizing the power of autoresponders to help automate your business by performing the following functions on your web site:

Deliver a free report when a visitor provides their name and eMail address.

Subscribe and deliver your eZine or online newsletter to a prospect/client.

This page tells you more information about your lists. How large your lists are, how many has subscribed and how many people who have asked to be removed.

Original List Size — This number represents the total number of people who subscribed or who are associated with a specific autoresponder before requesting to be removed from a list.

Remove Requests — This number represents the total number of people who have requested to be removed from a specific autoresponder.

Current List Size — This number represents the total remaining number of people who have subscribed to a specific autoresponder.

Unique Subscribers — This statistic gives you the total number of unique subscribers who signed up for a specific autoresponder.

Conveniently placed, this link option allows you to monitor the status of scheduled jobs such as eMail Broadcasts, Product/Client Database Imports, Autoresponder Subscribes, Client List Export, Inherit Autoresponders and Autoresponder UnSubscribes.

Our system generates autoresponder eMail addresses with your Username and an ID code associated with each autoresponder you create with our system; for example, username-98345@autocontactor.com. Caution: If you ever change your username, you will also change the name of your autoresponder.

Why is this important? Well, if you created alias eMails at your web hosting company to email these system generated autoresponders, then you might need to go back to your hosting company and update those eMail alias accounts. An eMail alias is simply an eMail address you create that forwards eMail sent to it to another eMail address.

If you'd like to give out a free report, eCourse (or the like) via eMail when talking to people in the open (like at seminars, meetings or on the radio), you might consider creating an eMail alias (or request one from your webmaster); something like "_______@YourDomain.com" (or other descriptive name) and have it forward to a specific autoresponder eMail message that contains that free report or eCourse. Why is this a great idea? Hey, any way you can entice people to give you their name and eMail address the faster your database of prospects will grow ... The larger your database, the more people you can create relationships with and sell them products and services.

There's an easy way to collect the names and eMail addresses from people who visit your web site (or register for a class or tele-seminar) and track them using autoresponders. The autoresponder doesn't even have to have an eMail message attached to it to be of great use to you in this example. Did you know you can use autoresponders to keep track of people and then later eMail them anything you want (i.e., newsletter, special offer, announcement, etc.)? Simply create a form and assign a specific autoresponder that doesn't contain an eMail message. Then, as people fill in this form you created, their names will accumulate in a list associated with a specific autoresponder. This is a smart technique you can use when you need an opt-in box or registration form and all you want to do is to collect and organize names and eMail address but you don't want to send them anything.

In all, autoresponders are one of the most powerful and most cost-effective marketing tools you can add to your web site and overall marketing plan for serving customers, delivering information (hands-free) and selling digital products at zero-cost levels for almost pure profit! If you have any further questions about how to use autoresponders, please contact us. We're more than happy to help you.