Creating a great autoresponder message series is the key to making serious money on the internet. Studies have proven that most consumers buy only after repeated exposure to a product. Having an autoresponder system is the hassle-free, automated way to put your product in front of interested buyers enough times to move them from consideration to purchase.

An approximate breakdown of the percentage of people who buy according to product exposure is:

- 16 percent after one or two messages

- 34 percent after three or four messages

- 34 percent after five or six messages

- 16 percent after seven or more messages (and the passage of a considerable amount of time for deliberation)

This means the largest percent of your target market will buy after receiving three to six messages about your product. To build an effective autoresponder campaign, you should prepare eight to ten messages to load into your program. Each message should build on the previous one, and make your product more enticing to buyers. There are several methods you can use to increase interest through autoresponder messages. You will find a complete sample of an effective autoresponder series in the index of this book.

Once you have your autoresponder messages set up, you will need to determine the timing. You can send one a day, three at one-day intervals with weekly follow-ups; one a week (this is recommended for paid autoresponder e-courses), or any interval you would like.

Following are concrete tips on creating autoresponder messages that sell your product for you. You’ll learn what to say, how to say it, how to format it, and how to avoid having your messages sent straight to the spam folder unread.

Never spam – it’s a one-way ticket to marketing oblivion.

Components of a typical autoresponder message

So how, exactly, do you go about composing an autoresponder message? Here’s a breakdown of what your messages should contain. NOTE: These guidelines are just that: guidelines. There is no concrete method and you may feel free to use your own creativity. This will simply give you a framework to build your messages on.

- Subject line. The subject line is the first thing people will see when they receive your message. Therefore, it must be compelling enough to keep them from deleting the message unread. Which of the following e-mail subjects would you be more likely to click on: “Make a MILLION DOLLARS Practically Overnight!” or “Here is your free Report #1 on boosting your web site profits through the roof”? You may have jumped at the first one, but think about it: to most internet users, the first is obviously spam and would be deleted without a second thought. The second subject line implies that not only have you requested the information (and everyone receiving your autoresponder messages will have requested the information; see the section on opt-in lists), but you are receiving something of value for nothing. Be understated, but as specific as possible with your subject line to ensure your message is opened.

- Compelling opening sentence. Let’s say you clicked on the second subject line in the preceding example. You now have the message open, and the first line is this: “Buckets of money will pour on you. Buy My program Now, for only $495. It’s easey!” Will you read further? Chances are, you’re already looking for the delete button. This opening is long on hype and short on promise—not to mention riddled with spelling and grammar mistakes. But what if the first sentence reads: “You are about to learn the secrets successful web marketers use to make a killing on the internet.” Will you continue? Probably. There is no outright pressure to buy anything; you are being given something for free that will benefit you. So far, it costs nothing but a few minutes of your time.

- Disclaimer. This should not be lengthy. Immediately following your compelling opening sentence, remind people they are receiving your message because they asked to be on your list. It will keep them from clicking the “spam” button if they decide they aren’t interested in your product, and keep your autoresponder and web site off internet blacklists.

- Introductory paragraph. Explain in a concise paragraph exactly what your product will do for the buyer. Avoid using ALL CAPS or excessive punctuation!!! This looks amateurish and will almost certainly get your message deleted.

- Subheads and further information. Write compelling subheads, set on separate lines within your message, that describe certain benefits or sections of your program, then follow up with a short paragraph of explanation. For example, using the fictional internet marketing program we began discussing, your first subhead might state: “Millions of people do business on the internet. Are you reaching them with your web site?” Tease the contents of your product, but do not give away too much information (otherwise, why would anyone want to buy?).

- A call to action. After several subheads and short paragraphs of information, reveal your product. State what it is (an e-book, e- course or audio CD or download); where customers can get it (your web site, Amazon, e-Bay); and how much it costs. NOTE: To make your price impressive, state the retail value of your product (many affiliate and reseller programs have this in place already), and then reveal your price as a deep discount. When setting your price, aim for the high side at first and be willing to lower it in later follow-up messages—this will give people an even stronger incentive to buy after message 3 or 4. For example, your call to action in your first message might read: “This amazing e-book revealing internet marketing secrets to jumpstart your web site’s sales is valued at $395. Through our program, you can order “Huge Web Site Profits” for just $49.95.”

- Reminder of follow-up messages. Let your subscribers know the next time you will contact them, which will be the time interval you’ve set for your autoresponder distribution—tomorrow, in a few days, next week. Be sure to include a teaser of what will be revealed in the next message.

- Unsubscribe link. This is critical to a successful autoresponder campaign. You must give subscribers the option to discontinue receiving messages from you, or you will be labeled as spam. Most autoresponder services will provide you with an automatic unsubscribe list for all your autoresponder series. All you have to do is make sure to include the link in your message.

Making your message irresistible

With the inundation of available products and information on the market today, you will have approximately three seconds—yes, three seconds—to hook a buyer’s interest and keep him or her reading. Fortunately, there are ways to breach this barrier and keep the consumer riveted to your message.

- Passion. Remember when you were choosing the topic for your product? Personal interest was a key element in that decision-making product. Now that you have a topic you believe in, let that passion show in your autoresponder messages. Mention those aspects of your product you find particularly fascinating and give them your personal endorsement.

- Write casual. Make your message read the way a conversation in a restaurant would sound. Big words might impress some people, but most of them just want to know what you have to say—and they aren’t going to rush to the dictionary in the middle of reading your message to find out what you’re talking about. Use short sentences and keep it straightforward and direct. Don’t be afraid to use contractions instead of the more proper two word phrases. Do, however, make sure your spelling and grammar is correct. You want to seem friendly, not sloppy.

- Be personal. You are writing a message that will be read by thousands of people, one at a time. Each person who opens your message is an individual, and will be far more at ease if you address them as a person rather than a piece of the collective public. Use the word “you” as often as possible, and limit the use of “I.” You don’t want to tell them why you’re so great. You want them to know how purchasing your product will benefit them, and why they should part with their hard-earned money to hear what you have to say.

- Eliminate extra words. As previously mentioned, keep your message simple and clear. If you have an “effective web site marketing technique,” don’t say it’s a “wonderfully amazing, mind-blowing web site marketing extravaganza method.” No one wants to try and cut through all the fluff and hype to try and decode your message. It’s also annoying.

- Use decisive language. Try to use action verbs whenever possible—this means replacing as many instances of “are,” “is,” “was,” and “were” in your message with stronger wording. For example: instead of writing “If your web site has been languishing with low sales, this program might be able to help your business grow,” say: “Your web site sales will increase dramatically with this program.” Write your messages with the confidence that your product is worth paying for, and your subscribers will be more comfortable buying.

- Give reasons and incentives. Don’t be afraid to repeat the benefits of your product throughout your message. Just as repetitive contact is effective in converting prospects to buyers, repetitive reminders of benefits—without bludgeoning people over the head with them—can reinforce everything they stand to gain from a purchase. Also, reveal some of the information in your product within your marketing message without giving everything away, and then state that even more exciting information can be found when you purchase a product.

Testimonials: A marketer’s best friend

Testimonials are a great way to build consumer confidence in your product. Hearing from other people who have purchased the product and are satisfied with the results goes a long way toward making sales. Testimonials can range from short blurbs (a sentence or two, or a paragraph) to letter-length endorsements. The blurbs are great for interspersing with the text of your autoresponder messages; longer testimonials are excellent for posting on your web site.

How do you get testimonials? Once you start selling your product, you will likely receive unsolicited notes from buyers who are pleased with their purchases. But at the outset of your campaign, before you have actually began selling anything, there are several ways to get testimonials:

- Friends and family. Ask friends and family to review your product and write a few sentences describing what they like about it and why they would recommend it to others. This may seem like cheating, but no one has to know you’re acquainted with your testimonial writers—and besides, if they actually like the product, there is nothing dishonest about it.

- Colleagues and experts in your field. If you work or have worked in a field relating to your topic, ask your coworkers (or former coworkers) to write up a testimonial blurb for you. If you don’t work in a related field, look up people who do online (groups or forums are good places to start) and e-mail them to ask if they would mind reviewing your product in exchange for a free copy. Most reviewers work on a free-product basis and will be happy to do so.

- Other affiliate members and resellers. Think all people trying to sell the same product as you are bitter enemies? Think again! Many internet marketers working with affiliate and reseller programs are happy to help other entrepreneurs, because believe it or not, there is plenty of market to go around. Of course, they will expect the same courtesy from you. Since they are already familiar with the product, they will have no trouble coming up with a testimonial for you.

NOTE: Always make sure you have the permission of the person who wrote the testimonial to use their name and words in your marketing materials. Get it in writing or by e-mail, even from friends and family. Make that especially from friends and family—you never know when a disagreement will result in a rescinding of an offer to help. If you get permission via e-mail, simply end your disclaimer message (I hereby give [your name] permission to use my name and remarks for marketing purposed, signed X) with a line that states: Typing my initials here constitutes my official signature___. Then just ask them to reply to the message, add their full name and initials, and hit send. Most people will be willing to do this.

Spam-Me-Not: Avoiding too much hype

Keep in mind when constructing your messages and building your subscriber list that there are two types of marketing: “cold selling,” or unsolicited e-mail; and opt-in selling. It is highly recommended that you do not engage in cold selling. This is considered spam. If enough people report your address as spam, you will be banned from ISPs and search engines. The occasional sale you see from cold selling will not be enough to compensate for your being blacklisted on the internet.

On the other hand, building an opt-in list is a perfectly acceptable and highly successful method that will keep you from being labeled bad business. With an opt-in list, people ask to be added to your subscriber database because they’re interested in your topic. Opt-in subscribers should always be given the option to opt out…but you would be surprised how many people don’t bother clicking the unsubscribe link, and eventually make their way to your site to investigate your product further.

When preparing your autoresponder messages, it is imperative to strike a balance between excitement and hype about your product. You must avoid wording your messages so that they look, feel and smell like spam, even if they have been requested. This means following the rules of creating direct and simple messages as described above (no writing in ALL CAPS, or putting seven exclamation points at the end of every paragraph). There are also a few other deadly spam sins to avoid:

- Do not write your message in 18-point Impact Red or other “flashy” font styles and sizes. This does not draw attention to your product; it draws attention to your inexperience. It’s perfectly acceptable to use color in your autoresponder messages, and in fact may help to strengthen that three-second lead time by pulling attention to those compelling subheads you wrote (you did write compelling subheads, didn’t you?). But for the most part, keep your entire message in the same font and type size, using emphasis like color, bold and italics sparingly for effect.

- Do not stuff your messages with “cool” graphics, animated smileys, or a dreaded Flash presentation. This slows down load time considerably, and many people won’t wait for your incredible pictures to appear on the screen.

- Do not use chat language, or “leet,” in the text of your message. Even to people who know what LOL, IMHO, IOW and ROFLMAO* stand for, this is not professional and does not score you any “friendly” points. And if your subscribers don’t know what these abbreviations stand for, they will be quick to dismiss you as inept. (*In case you don’t know yourself: LOL=laughing out loud or laughing on line; IMHO=in my humble opinion; IOW=in other words; and ROFLMAO=roll on floor laughing my a** off.)

- Do remind people that 1. they are receiving your message because they requested more information (or a friend suggested they would like to receive the information; see the following section on name squeezing for further details), and 2. they can opt out of further messages using a link you have provided at the end of the message.

Spam filters: Is your message zap-proof?

Just about every e-mail program has built-in spam filters that route unwanted messages to a separate folder, often called a “bulk” folder, whose contents are routinely deleted by either the program or the owner of the account. Following the suggestions above for avoiding spam-type messages will go a long way toward ensuring your autoresponders don’t get diverted to an early grave. Here are more tips on beating spam filters and verification programs:

- Subject line don’ts: Never begin your subject line with ADV: or include the word “advertisement.” Do not state “this e-mail sent in compliance with…” And never use the word “free” in the subject line—especially in all caps.

- In fact, never use the word FREE (in all caps) anywhere in the message. If possible, avoid using all caps altogether.

- From address: When you set up your web site and associated e-mail accounts, do not name any account sales@yourdomainname.com – this guarantees you an automatic trip to the bulk folder.

- Within the message: Never say “for free?” or “for free!” or use the words “extra income” in the body of your message. Recently, many internet marketers attempting to bypass spam filters have begun breaking up the word “free” anywhere it appears in their sales copy: f-ree or fr.ee are the most commonly used methods.

Keep your messages out of spam oblivion by adhering to these guidelines, and you will see your sales and response rates climb.
Formatting your autoresponder messages
If you use the internet regularly, you have probably received at least a few e-mails that look something like this:

Dear Friend,
Congratulations! You have been selected
>>to receive a free
>>>laptop,
>during our promotional giveaway here at
>XYX Company…

This is either the result of multiple forwarding, or poor formatting on the part of the sender. Not many people would try to interpret this kind of mess if it was sent to them by a stranger, even if the information was requested. How can you avoid giving your autoresponder messages that choppy, I-can’t-use-a-computer feel?

First, you should understand why this occurs. Every e-mail program is different, allowing different line lengths for their viewing windows. If your e-mail program allows 75 characters per line, it may look fine on your screen—but when you send it to someone whose program allows only 70 characters per line, those last five characters get moved to the next line and break up your message with those pesky > signs. Another potential problem is the font you choose. Fonts like Courier New are fixed-width: every character takes up the same amount of space. But fonts like Times New Roman (the default font for most word processing programs) and Arial have varying width according to the character: an “i” takes up less space than a “w” and so forth. This variance in space creates the same broken effect as the line length problem.

Keep your messages in a fixed-width font (10-point size is best in nearly every case) and make sure each line is 60 to 65 characters long. When you reach the limit, use a hard return to start the next line rather than allowing your word processing program to wrap the text. If you’re using Microsoft Word to compose your messages, there is a counter at the bottom of the window that tells you what line and character number you’re on as you type (this reads Ln ## Col ##) which you can use to ensure you’re staying at 65 or less. You can also create a guide at the top of the page you’re working on (you will delete the guide after you finish your message) that will allow you to determine your line length at a glance. Your guide should look like this:

———1———2———3———4———5———6—–

Another way to avoid sending garbled messages is to save them in a universal format. Many people mistakenly believe ASCII works on all computers, but this is not the case. You should save (and copy and paste) your messages in either Plain Text (this is almost always in Courier New font) or Rich Text format (the format every word processing program can open, which allows you to preserve color, bold and italicized text). You will find these file formats listed in the Save As dropdown box on your Save window.

It’s really worth the time and effort to craft your autoresponder series in the right way – it’s a surefire tactic of generating sales on autopilot.