Before we go into the how to design an auto-responder campaign we first need to define what it is. An auto-responder is typically an e-mail campaign that you write and set up in advance it’s set up to go out at specific times in the future.
When someone puts their name and e-mail address into a form on your website or landing page they will receive a series of e-mails automatically. Sometimes the auto-response will look so real that people will literally think you are sitting at your computer responding to their e-mails How do I know that? Because I see people reply to our autoresponder e-mails on a regular basis.
Here’s an example of one I use on one of my sites for our real estate investment company. To set the stage first, this seller filled out a form on our website about selling their home. I removed their e-mail and their actual address. Here’s what the auto-responder sent to them.
From: Selling Your Property <youremail@yourwebsite.com>
To: prospectemail@theirwebsite.net
Sent: Saturday, August 11, 2018 4:45 PM
Subject: Re: offer on your house
Hi, my assistant just forwarded me your info that you submitted on our site a few mins ago…
and I wanted to reach out… quick question… the house on 1234 Oak Lane, if you got
the right price… how fast are you looking to sell it?
If you have time tonight lets chat. I’d love to answer any questions you have and make ya
an offer that works for you.
Thanks!
BDM Properties of Florida LLC
Sent from my iPhone
(End of e-mail)
This auto response is made to appear that I sent it from my iPhone, see the trademark iPhone signature at the bottom. Notice also in the last sentence it says “ya” instead of “you”. I know that may seem a little hokey but you want to make it seem like you are a real person because you are. By using a little shortened word like “ya” it seems more like something typed on a phone. You are setting up e-mails in advance to look like you are responding on the spot. I think this is where a lot of people get off track. They seem so robotic and corporate that they forget they are talking to people and if you were actually responding to an e-mail on the spot you would actually be talking to the person on the other end. This is step one when writing pre-made scripts for e-mails, talk to the person on the other end. You are not a machine and neither are they.
Set up as many as 52 e-mails in advance to nurture your prospects and further build the relationship.
So how much is too much when it comes to sending e-mails to your prospects and customers? I wish there was a hard and fast rule here but there isn’t so I will simply give you some simple examples of what is working.
The more e-mails you send that get read, the better your relationship will be with your ideal prospect. If they are not your ideal prospect the will opt out of your list.
In my opinion once a day is way too often unless you are doing some type of product launch, then it could be as many as 3 or 4 in a single day. Consider Apple, when they are launching a new iPhone, they send lots of e-mails sometimes multiple times a day to their list. They do not do this all the time, only when they are launching a product.
The better you know your ideal customer the better you will know how often you can talk to them.
The best part about auto-response campaigns, once you build a good one it will bring you customers for many years to come.
Start by writing 2 emails a day in a Word or Pages document. By the end of the month you will have a year’s worth of e-mails prewritten to talk to your prospects.
If you don’t know what to talk to them about, think about what result your prospect will receive by using your product or service.
People don’t buy a drill because they want a drill, they buy a drill because they want a hole. Talk to them about the hole if you are selling drills.
To your lifelong prosperity,
David Mulvaney