autoresponders Archives - Barbara Genest

You may wonder what your autoresponder sequence has to do with getting more subscribers. After all, you’re building the list before anyone sees what type of emails they’ll receive. What happens once your ideal customer joins your email list is just as important as what happens before. You want to keep engaged members on your list in order to build a robust list of hungry customers, and the type of messages you send can help.

First, you need to know the goal of the list. You may have goals such as keeping contact with your subscribers, promoting other products and services (yours or an affiliate’s), and providing more content to your subscribers. Not only that, you can use your list to bring people back to your content on your website so that they can see your offers.

The best way to choose a goal is to go with the goal of the opt-in you create. So, if you have an opt-in designed to build your list and promote your signature product, it’s a lot easier to figure out what needs to be said once you attract a subscriber. Who is the person who wanted that opt-in, and why did they want it, and what do they hope will be accomplished by acquiring it?

The order of operations looks like this.

Marketing Content

This content markets the lead magnet or opt-in. This can be a landing page, a blog post, social media posts, and more. In fact, the more points of entry you can create to lead to the opt-in, the better. Always create a landing page for each lead magnet just like you do for each product or service you sell.

Opt-In or Lead Magnet

The freebie you’re offering will need to be created before you start anything. The freebie itself is going to help you choose the messages to follow the opt-in. For example, a Yoga instructor might offer a freebie PDF download with drawings of 5 daily poses that help lower back pain, or perhaps you might want to offer a download that is a guided meditation to help reduce anxiety.

Whatever it is, the problem you want to solve with this freebie is essential to understand in order to create the follow-up autoresponder series. From there, you can better understand how each email will help guide your subscribers to take future actions such as reading more of your content, buying your signature product, or using products you recommend.

Welcome Email – The welcome email should be particular based on how the new subscriber has signed up. If it’s due to the freebie, you need to mention that freebie. If it’s due to a product, they purchased that should be mentioned too. Whatever it is, mention it by name and explain to your subscribers what to expect from you going forward from the first email.

Download Page – You can include a link to the download page in your welcome email, or you can tell them in the welcome email to be on the lookout for the download link for their freebie or product. However, it’s always best to send them to a download page instead of attaching the freebie. You can use automation to deliver it immediately, too, if you use software like Leadpages.net, for example.

Content – Send them some information about their problem, or the product that they downloaded and the ways in which it can help them. Ensure that the information you send is relevant based on how they got on your list.

Content – Send more content related to the reasons they downloaded or received the freebie. For example, a blog post with tips regarding relaxing to reduce anxiety that goes along with the freebie and helps them get the most from the freebie.

Related Promotion – After you’ve warmed them up, you can send related promotions of products and services you have created or that others have created as an affiliate marketer. For example, you might want to send them a link to that awesome app you are using that helps you stay mindful all day.

Content – Do the same thing. Keep sending them related content, articles, news reports, blog posts, and tips related to the initial issue you wanted to help them solve while tipping them off on the next problem you can solve.

Content – Keep teaching, informing, and engaging with your subscribers by sending only relevant information via email. Keep the emails clear. You want to avoid being long-winded in email. Use subject lines that make them curious but are straightforward. Cross-promote your social media platforms to help your audience engage with you more.

Related Promotion – Every couple of regular emails that you send, you’ll want to send a promotion for a product or service that you recommend whether you’ve created it or not. Remember to set up your autoresponder service to automatically tag or segment the list members based on their behavior.

Create a new sequence like this for each product, service, or behavior you want your subscribers to perform.

For example, if you ask them to read a blog post and they click through, your email marketing software can allow you to tag that person differently from someone who did not click through, which can enable your system to automatically send even more messages to them designed to move them through their buying journey and your product funnel.

The reason this works is that the more engaged your subscribers are, the longer they stick around, the bigger and stronger you can build your email list, earning that first 1000 subscribers or next 1000 subscribers in no time.

Once you have created your freebie, you need to create and set up autoresponder messages based on that freebie and based on the goals you have for the people who downloaded that freebie. You can use these ideas to get started with ideas for your autoresponder series.

Thank You Email – Once your target fills out the form to get the freebie, they should receive an email right off that thanks them and gives them a link to the download page. If you have a good system that delivers the download right away, that is even better, but you still want to send the thank you page with another link to the download.

Get to Know Me Email – Once they’ve gotten on the list, it’s your chance to tell them more about you. Tell them about what you do, why you do it, who you do it for, and invite them to get to know you more by sharing your books, your blog, or other platforms where they can find you.

Get This Offer While It Lasts Email – Set up another message for the next day or in a day or two that gives them another offer based on what they downloaded. For example, if they’re trying your free trial, you may want to give them a chance to sign up now for a discount.

How’s It Going Email – You want to find out how they liked the freebie, so send an email asking them how it’s going and ask if they need any additional assistance. Invite them to a group of others who are using your advice to get more help. Ask your list member to reply to the email directly to get more help.

Here’s a New Blog Post Email – If you have blog posts relevant to the freebie, set up a message sending them to the relevant blog posts and information.

Do You Need Additional Help Email? – When they’ve had enough time to consume and use the freebie and form an opinion about it, send them an email offering additional help. Ask them for feedback. You can send an email or a survey for this one.

Cross Promotional Email – Let your subscribers know where you are on social media, what books you’ve written, or where you guest post, and so forth. The more information that you can provide about what you’re doing, the more they’re going to trust you.

The Next Offer Email – Don’t be afraid to make offers in email based on your list member’s behavior. The next offer in your product funnel is a good option, as are other affiliate products that relate or complement what you do.

A Great Product or Resource Email – Send your subscribers an email telling them about the products and services they need to be successful based on your niche. Use affiliate links to monetize this email and list. Hint: You can make this a stand-alone page on your site and just send them the link.

An I Want to Know More About You Email – Don’t forget to send an email asking them about themselves. You can ask one question, or you can send them a survey to get to know them more.

My Resource List Email – Send them an email telling them about your sources of products and services and so forth if it relates to them. For example, if you teach others to build an email list, send them a resource list of all the products you use with affiliate links to build your email list.

A Reminder Email – Send an email reminding them of why they downloaded the freebie, and where to get more information about their issues, and how they can solve their problems.

An Upsell Email – Make them an offer for the next level product or service you have in your funnel.

A Down Sell Email – If they don’t take you up on the bigger product or service, offer them something smaller.

The main thing is to send emails at least every day but make sure the emails are worthwhile and useful. If you send information to them that is not relevant, they are going to be trained not to open your emails. Make each email worthwhile to open, and soon they’ll be opening all your emails.

More info: What you need to make it all Work