Autoresponders: Your Friend

How often have you subscribed to a new ezine, forum or newsletter and when the initial issue appears in your Inbox you're wondering how in blazes your address ended up on the list?

Sometimes when this occurs, we simply click to unsubscribe, being unable to recall what compelled us to register in the first place, and the first issue does nothing to rekindle our initial enthusiasm.

As publishers, autoresponders can serve us well. When used properly, they can strike while the iron is still hot, cementing the subscription for the new subscriber.

If your ezine, newsletter or forum has been online awhile or even only for a few issues, consider taking the time to do a "Best Of" issue and be certain to list subscription instructions near the top of your "Best Of" and ask people to forward it to their friends and customers.

This special issue should be placed into an autoresponder email address and then given away at every opportunity. The instant the issue is hot off the presses, you can notify subscribers of its availability. In the ezine information area of each issue, you can also remind subscribers that the "Best Of" is available at so and so address.

The most important reason for a "Best Of" issue, ironically, is not for the benefit of your current subscriber base, but for new subscribers.

When someone subscribes, they will receive the usual opt-in welcome confirmation. As they read this message, their enthusiasm is usually high. In this welcome message, you should let them know if they want to get started immediately, they should send a blank email to your autoresponder address for the "Best Of" issue.

New subscribers will flock to the "Best Of" site like ducks to water and, more important, remember and look forward to each subsequent issue of your ezine or newsletter.

Walter Pfarr has over 30 years experience in the media field, most notably as an award-winning reporter and columnist. He also has done work in grant writing/administration, special events coordination & facilitation, PR, development, fundraising, Internet marketing and now is writing his own ecourse, ebook and has launched the PfarrOut Ezine at http://pfarrout.biz Subscribers welcome!

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