17 features that make your autoresponder an **AUTORESPONDER** - Part 1

By Terry Telford
Posted Sunday, October 31, 2004

If you are selling anything on the net, you are most likely using autoresponders. If you aren't, you are losing sales by the truckload. There are lots of good articles outlining the need to use autoresponders, so we are going to focus on the difference between autoresponders and **AUTORESPONDERS.** This article gives you the first nine features your **AUTORESPONDER** should include. Part 2 will give you the remaining eight.

Autoresponders come in two flavours, autoresponder and **AUTORESPONDER** If you only want to send information to a prospect once you can get by with an autoresponder. These versions are basic, no frills, get the job done, units. They are great for archiving articles, but a bit basic for a marketing campaign.

If you are running a marketing campaign, you need an **AUTORESPONDER.** Multiple follow-ups are essential, personalization is a must, and maximizing sales is the whole point.

When you need an **AUTORESPONDER,** shop around. Most of the paid units also offer a FREE, basic version for you to try and kick the tires. Most importantly, if you are paying for an **AUTORESPONDER,** make sure you get all the bells and whistles.

1. An affiliate or partner program that allows you to make a sideline income. If you refer a few other people, you can cover the cost of your own responders and make a little extra spending money on the side. It's a nice little benefit.

2. Easy to use control panel for setting up and managing your responders. Every **AUTOREPONDER** company is different. If the control panel is difficult to figure out and the instructions are sparse, you risk sending out the wrong responses, in the wrong order to the wrong people.

3. Multiple responders at an affordable price. One **AUTORESPONDER** just won't do. Even if you are only selling one product, you are likely running more than one campaign. Each campaign should have its own **AUTORESPONDER**. If you are paying over $20 per month for less than 50 **AUTORESPONDERS,** you are paying too much.

4. Unlimited follow up messages from each **AUTORESPONDER**. This really puts your business on autopilot. You can choose to send out follow up messages once a month, once a week, or once a day. Remember that it takes an average of 7 impressions before you turn a prospect into a customer.

5. Changeable send addresses. This is a very handy feature if you have more than one online business. You can send all your **AUTORESPONDER** messages right from the same **AUTORESPONDER** service and use whatever company name and address you wish.

6. Signature file. Your signature file is one of your biggest FREE advertising spaces available. Make sure that your signature file is automatically included with each **AUTORESPONDER** message. Your **AUTORESPONDER** should automatically include your signature file the same way your email program does.

7. Filters. This feature works the same as on your email. If you don't want to receive mail from a specific address or addresses, simply filter them out.

8. Redirect pages. Once your **AUTORESPONDER** has been clicked on, and your message is on route to its recipient, you can redirect your prospect to another page of your site, a thank you page, or a new sales page, perhaps.

9. Form generator. Having the HTML code automatically generated for a professional form takes all the hassle out of form creation.

And that's not all. In Part 2 of this article there are another eight features that your **AUTORESPONDER** should be offering you. Most of these features are only found in paid responders, but there are good FREE ones on the market as well. My two favourite **AUTORESPONDERS** are:

SendFree - FREE **AUTORESPONDER** with some of the bells and whistles, (http://www.sendfree.com/affref.php3?ref=39695)

Automarketic - **AUTORESPONDER** with all the bells and whistles at an affordable price, (http://www.automarketic.com/?terry)

All autoreponders/**AUTORESPONDERS** are not created equally. The ones mentioned above, in my humble opinion, are two of the best on the market. Take a look around an select the one that is best for you.

Good luck with your marketing and God Bless.

About the Author
Terry Telford is the author of the popular ebook, Website Ladder, and the founder of bpc publishing, where you can pick up your FREE and almost FREE website marketing and traffic tools. Visit (http://www.bpcpublishing.com) today!