If you’re using an eMail marketing application such as MailChimp or aWeber (and if you’re not, you should be!) you can take advantage of what’s known as an AutoResponder.
An autoresponder is simply a method that makes it easy to write a message in advance and have it sent automatically on a particular date or at some predetermined interval. For instance, if you’ve signed up for the Demystifying Social Media for Yarn Shops eCourse you’ll receive an email every Tuesday between 9am – noon your local time. Or, your email provider may allow you to set up a vacation autoresponder — for each message that arrives in your inbox while the autoresponder is activated, a reply that you have written in advance will automatically be sent.
After someone has confirmed their subscription to your mailing list it’s a great idea to have an autoresponder message sent to them that provides some useful information, such as:
- how often they can anticipate receiving mailings,
- the types of content typically included,
- a list of links they might want to keep handy,
- instructions for contacting you directly should they encounter any problems, and
- instructions for unsubscribing should they choose to do so at some future date.
You’ll also want to thank them for subscribing to your list.
Beyond the initial communication, you may want to set up a series of emails that are sent on consecutive days, or every 3rd day, or once a week, or any other sequence that is appropriate for the information you’re delivering. In this way, it doesn’t matter when someone signs up; they’ll receive the same set of messages in the same pre-determined sequence that you’ve already defined.
