Looking to improve your email marketing by using autoresponders? Here we take a look a the Autoresponder feature from GetResponse, one of the most functional email marketing products on the market. This article provides all the information you need, plus a step-by-step guide for setting up and using GetResponse Autoresponder.
Email marketing is an essential component of most business marketing strategies. Autoresponders are one such form of email marketing. While they’re widely used, they are often a misunderstood and under-appreciated part of the process. An effective email autoresponse strategy aims to secure repeat custom and keep your contacts engaged.
Autoresponders are a great place to start when it comes to email automation. They’re one of the more simple forms of automated marketing to implement. Even so, they can be very effective in engaging customers and generating revenue when they’re done well, and with the right software.
Here we’ll be taking a look at GetResponse’s Autoresponder software. It offers excellent levels of personalization and customization. We’ll cover what autoresponders are, why you need them, and how to implement GetResponse Autoresponder for your own business.
What is an Autoresponder?
Autoresponders are an essential form of email marketing, enabling you to send targeted messages and newsletters to subscribers automatically. They are a set of marketing emails or e-newsletters sent automatically to your email subscribers. You set the frequency and rules of the messages sent.
Autoresponders can be used in a number of different ways to aid you in automating email campaigns. It can also help you build engagement and manage individual communications with your users. They can be set up as sequences, commencing on the day a user subscribes to your email list. Alternatively, you can set up email cycles and send messages on specific days of a user’s subscription period.
Why Do You Need Autoresponders?
Autoresponders can offer your business many benefits. These include:
- Save time: Once you’ve invested a little time in setting up your autoresponders, you can begin to reap the benefits without having to invest more time in manually sending messages. Your subscribers will receive key messages, news, and promotions from your business, all without you having to do this manually.
- Increase response and engagement: With autoresponder emails, you’re more likely to get a better response rate from your audience. Because autoresponders respond to an individual customer’s action(s), they have a much higher open rate than standard mass marketing emails.
- Generate income: If you’re smart about how you use them, autoresponders can be key in generating income for your business. When set up properly, you can focus on generating leads. Your email autoresponders will work as a marketing funnel, engaging your customers and offering them promotions.
Furthermore, GetResponse’s Autoresponder allows you to monitor and track messages. This means you can analyze which are most effective and how subscribers are engaging with them.
Why Should You Use GetResponse Autoresponder?
GetResponse is a one-stop email marketing solution. It offers data-capturing tools, the ability to create newsletters and automated emails. It also provides analytics and automated sales funnels. One of the most popular and effective features is the GetResponse autoresponder tool, which offers advanced autoresponder functionality.
Like all autoresponders, the GetResponse version allows you to send emails and newsletters out to your subscribers according to how you’ve set them up. What makes GetResponse’s autoresponder so popular is its functionality. This product offers some of the most comprehensive and sophisticated autoresponder functionality out there.
You can set the GetResponse autoresponder to send both action-based and time-based messages. Timed messages may be based on cycles, such as a welcome message, a discount message a week later, a follow-up email 3 weeks later, and so on. Action-based autoresponders may be triggered by any information given or actions completed by the user. These include:
- Emails opened
- Click-throughs
- Changes to user data or contact preferences
- Transactions completed
- Anniversaries and birthdays
- Subscriptions to new newsletters or lists
Better yet, GetResponse recently launched an updated version of their autoresponder called Marketing Automation. A key feature of this update is that you can build automation flowcharts. The flowcharts can be customized to change how GetResponse responds when a user takes a certain action. This could be clicking on a particular link or opening a particular offer.
What’s great about GetResponse’s product is that you can create highly customized user journeys, going far beyond the traditional offerings of autoresponders.
How Do You Create a GetResponse Autoresponder?
Now that you’ve got all the details, why wait? Follow this simple step-by-step guide to start setting up and sending your messages.
To create a GetResponse Autoresponder, open up the Menu in GetResponse and click on ‘Autoresponders‘. You’ll see the Manage Autoresponders page, which displays a Create Autoresponder button. Click on this button to start creating your autoresponder message, and to set the timings for it.
Step 1: Start by entering a name for your autoresponder. This is the name it’ll be listed as on the Manage Autoresponders page.
Step 2: Select the specific day within a cycle that you want the autoresponder to go out on. Day 0 is the day on which the user has subscribed, so day 1 would be one day after they’ve opted-in. Therefore, if you want your autoresponder to go out a day after a contact subscribes, you’d assign it to day 1. Simply assign the autoresponder you’re creating to a specific day in the cycle when it will be delivered.
Step 3: Select the list that the autoresponder will be sent to (e.g. one of the particular lists your users subscribe to).
Step 4: Choose when you want the message to be sent. There are a number of options for this part of the process, allowing you to customize when emails are sent. Select ‘same time signed up’ to send the autoresponder as soon as a new user is added to the list. Select ‘with a delay of’ for the message to be sent at a delayed time set by you. Select ‘exactly at’ to set the autoresponder to be sent at the specific time you enter. Select ‘enable time travel’ if you want the email to be delivered at the local time for your users.
Step 5: Pick the day(s) of the week on which you want the autoresponder to go out. If you only want them to go out on business days, for example, head to the ‘Enable on’ tab and make sure those days aren’t ticked.
Step 6: Either choose an existing message to send out or create a new message. Simply click ‘choose’ in order to pick from existing messages. You can also go to the Message Editor to begin building a new one.
Step 7: Now you can choose whether to Save or Publish your message. Hit Save and Publish if you want the autoresponder to be active straight away.
Use the above process to send the exact number of messages you want from one list. There isn’t a limit on how many you can do, but be careful not to send too many in a short period of time. This can result in users opting out because you’re clogging their inboxes.
Helpful Tips
- Avoid overkill: Be mindful of the length of time between each autoresponder. You don’t want to put users off by bombarding them with emails. Careful planning will help you avoid sending unnecessary emails.
- Make full use of automation features: Avoid simple drip campaigns that work solely on set time intervals. There are so many new ways to use automation, so make sure you’re getting the best out of them. Triggers including web page visits, clicks, and purchases create much stronger user journeys and will aid better engagement.
- Comply with GDPR: Data protection rules are important, and you need to keep yourself on the right side of them. That means gaining clear consent prior to sending autoresponders out. You must also give subscribers the opportunity to unsubscribe easily from any lists.
- Make sure emails are targeted and relevant: As with all email marketing content, always try to send subscribers the content which data tells you they will be most interested in. Users will be more likely to unsubscribe if they feel that content isn’t helpful or relevant to them.
Conclusion
Don’t neglect one of the most useful and time-saving techniques out there. If they’re not already, autoresponders should become part of your email marketing bread-and-butter. Once you’ve spent some time setting them up effectively, you can sit back and see the results for yourself. Carefully planning a campaign will not only save you time but secure you more business too.
GetResponse’s autoresponder is easy to use and offers excellent levels of customization. This makes it perfect for all levels of email marketing. Whether you’re just getting started with email campaigns, or are looking to change your software, give GetResponse a try free for 30 days. With an intuitive dashboard and message monitoring capabilities, you’ll quickly learn and improve your autoresponder sequences.