You may be more than capable of generating business leads and provide your clients with a quality product. However, you aren't optimizing your resources unless you add your leads to a well-structured system of follow-up aimed at proving your worth to the potential client.

Using the automation powers of The Internet, this task is entirely programmable to run on automatic pilot. All you need to do is set it up and push the right buttons. It will then do what it's told. It works like this:

1) Write & edit sales letters
2) Subscribe to a timed a/responder provider service
3) Upload letters & program delivery to your plan
4) Market for leads and the server will send scheduled information automatically
5) Track your results and amend where required.

1) Write & Edit Sales Letters

This is always an interesting stage, as you need to put together a series of letters, which will cover various angles and aspects of your offerings. Generally, they comprise an initial autoresponder followed by seven additional letters sent out at pre-programmed intervals.

Your product/service needs to be presented in several different forms of light during the forthcoming eight letter series. If you merely present the same product, the same way repeatedly, without testing other possibilities, you will attract very little additional interest. Conversely, if you publish different benefits & solutions in each letter, you are more likely to strike a positive chord. This will arouse interest and probe action from potential clients/customers.

Not every letter should be a sales letter. You will want to close the sale as often as possible. However, if you do so without educating the reader as to the benefits and what's in it for them - they'll stop reading your letters and maybe even unsubscribe. The opportunity cost maybe too great.

If the reader sees each letter purely as a sales pitch, it becomes less likely the remainder of the series will be well received. Try to keep a happy balance with selling and educating. As you educate your expertise begins to shine. Many, as a result, will come directly to you to enquire about providing services for them.

Now that you have put your masterpieces together, how do we deliver to those within your target audience in a professional, timely and automatic manner?

2) Subscribe To A Timed Autoresponder Provider Service

You have two options here. Your choice depends on how many products/services you wish to set up with this powerful emailing system.

If you are marketing quite a number of commodities, it may be prudent to set it up on your own server. This involves having a specific script written for your requirements. You may purchase a pre-written script and adapt it accordingly or you may prefer to have one written purely for your needs. Either option is expensive in comparison to the next choice. This option gives you total control and removes many upper limits that may be imposed by using a third party.

Alternatively, you may elect to use an independent service provider. Service providers carry out everything on your behalf. They host the messages, scripts, details, etc. The works! Most reputable autoresponder services will provide you with a real time demonstration online. This allows you to take a test run, experiencing their reliability & accuracy without having to expend a penny. Some of the reputable providers are:

a) Aweber
b) Bamboobizonline
c) Get Response

It's paramount to have your marketing robots sent out by a highly reliable server. Sometimes servers get backlogged and can take longer than they should to send your literature out. This cannot happen. Your professionalism is at stake here and entirely at the hands of the service provider.

Autoresponders need to be sent out as you intended, not when the provider gets around to it. Check them out and opt for the provider that best suits your needs. They all provide a quality service - try them out and judge for yourself.

3) Upload Letters & Program Delivery To Your Plan

Once you have decided who will present your products and services according to your high standard, you need to upload your literature formatted to email protocol and program the dispatch dates of each letter. A typical schedule may resemble the following:

You can then send personalized email messages using the strong capabilities of email merging. You may individualize each letter using first names, full names and email addresses wherever you wish. This humanizes your presentation in a way that appears to be written personally for the individual receiving the email.

This can all be programmed to run entirely hands free. Ensure it's set up to optimize your responses from the outset.

4) Market for leads and the server will send scheduled information automatically

Now that you have set up your automation sales wizard, you will want to market your wares to a very specifically targeted audience.

I assume you are fully aware of the diabolical repercussions of spam mail. Your online marketing future is a dead set certainty if you send email ad hoc to the masses. It's over! Do not even consider it. Do not toy with the idea. This article has been written to improve your chances of success whereas spam will destroy everything you are doing and possibly everything you have done. Spamming will cause your web presence to be shut down.

Marketing is the biggest part of any business. We are all product/service specialists but this is only ever the half of it. Marketing has an integral role to play in any business - arguably the biggest. Without efficient and effective marketing, no one knows who you are or where to locate you. You must promote your top quality offerings using your well crafted, results probing literature. Construct a brochure, publish some advertisements and create an affiliate program. Take action.

Now that you have embarked on a full-strength promotional strategy, you can sit back for a minute (a very brief minute) and closely monitor the fruits or misgivings of your labors.

5) Track Your Results And Amend Where Required.

This is based on all known quantities you undertook during steps one to four. It is shrewd to track your results. It is imperative to discover the clickthrough impressions. This translates to ascertaining how many people have responded to your promotional methods expressed as a percentage.

To simplify this further you may have advertised through a sponsorship promotion in an ezine of 200,000. You may have received 4,500 responses requesting detailed information regarding your wares. This would translate to a 2.25% response.

The secondary step is to establish a conversion rate between those requesting your literature and those actually purchasing from you. You need to establish at which stage of follow-up most are coming aboard. This will reveal strengths and weaknesses within your campaign.

Continuing with our above example - 4,500 had requested info. During the eight letters (initial autoresponder plus seven follow-ups) let's assume 345 purchased from you. This could have been broken up like the following:

From the above you could surmise that your initial responder and the first follow-up were okay. The fifth follow-up letter comprises your future. More than 50% climbed aboard after reading its contents. Success leaves clues. Establish what you did and create more of it. If you can get similar success with a couple of other letters, you are exponentially increasing your revenue.

Similarly, you would need to amend some of the letters due to poor response. Don't just do one test, do a couple and compare results before changing them. This is just as important for your initial advertising campaign designed to create a primary response.

You may need to change your wording several times before you find a winning mix. Creative, well-written methods of promotion supported by well-presented, benefit oriented sales literature will give your products and services the longevity they deserve. Grab your future now. Market to win and use Net Automation to make your appearance and method of fulfillment as professional as possible.

Ideas for success

Darren Roberts

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