If you want to automate your business and realize the full potential of email marketing, autoresponders are a necessity. An autoresponder does just what the name suggests. It responds automatically.

If someone emails a request for more information, for example, an autoresponder can deliver an instant response. That's important for two reasons.

First, people want instant gratification. We've almost come to expect it. Whether we're waiting in traffic or standing in line, we're not a patient species! If we want information, we want it now. If we don't get it, we look elsewhere.

Interest can be fleeting. Whatever piqued our curiosity, or motivated us to find out more, can fade. And it can sometimes fade quickly. As hours or days pass, we often forget what sparked our interest in the first place.

Autoresponders help you to keep that interest alive by giving an immediate response. They can't forget all about you if you don't give them the chance!

If you want to turn a prospect into a customer, persistence is the key. People rarely buy the first time they visit a website, or read about a product in an email. Sequential autoresponders, sometimes referred to as smart autoresponders, allow you to send a sequence of emails at intervals that you specify.

A great way to market your business using smart autoresponders is by providing information that your prospect wants. Product reviews or an email course can be far more effective marketing tools than a series of sales letters. Repeated exposures to your business and informational marketing are a winning combination.

Focus on the informational aspect and how useful that can be to your prospect. Then, the links you include to relevant pages on your website will add even more value to your message. A good strategy is to link from your email to a page on your website that contains additional information on the same topic. That webpage can also feature a related product or a service that you offer.

You can also attach files to a message. Video files, PDF documents, e-books and images are just a few examples.

Attaching an e-book to your message can increase the chances of your recipient finding their way to your website. Even if your message isn't saved, an e-book has a good chance of being downloaded if it's a topic in which they're interested. Your e-book should have in-context links throughout to pages on your website.

Autoresponder messages can be of any length, which makes them perfect for ezine publishing. You can have your ezine sent out weekly, monthly, or on whatever schedule you choose. You can be asleep or on vacation when it reaches your subscribers. That's the beauty of automation. Subscriptions and cancellations can be handled automatically.

One key feature that makes smart autoresponders so smart is personalization. Address your recipient by name. You can do that not only in the subject line, but also in the message itself.

Personalizing isn't just limited to a person's name, though. Their business name, their website, the date they signed up for a course, and other data can make your message to each reader unique. That makes your message more likely to be read, and the reader more likely to be open to what you have to say.

Autoresponders can be very effective in collecting email addresses of your website visitors. This can be of benefit to both you and your visitor. People often forget to bookmark a site that they found interesting or useful.

Here's an example of how autoresponders can help keep you and your visitor connected.

You can place links on your website for your visitors to have a directory of your site's articles emailed to them. Answers to Frequently Asked Questions are another option. You can set up any number of different autoresponder messages, each with its own email address.

Your visitor benefits by having a convenient resource delivered to their inbox. You benefit because that visitor is much more likely to visit your website again. And again and again.

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Nancy Richardson publishes a resource for small businesses. Startup ideas, marketing strategies, website publishing information, money-saving tips, and more can be found at http://www.CreateYourMarket.com