Keeping track of auto-responder messages
19. Jun, 2010 
7 Comments
Question:
What is the best way to keep track of auto-responder messages apart from paying someone else to do it for you? e.g. If you load up an auto responder with 12months of weekly mailings how often would you have to check that things were running according to plan? and is there a business standard for doing this?
best wishes, Vince
Answer:
Great question!
The best thing to do is just to subscribe to your autoresponder series so you receive the messages that go out. That’s one way of checking.
The other depends on your autoresponder system and if it tells you how many people received each message in your follow-up series of emails.
Depending on what you’re offering in your emails you might need to periodically check them to make sure they’re converting into sales for you. Then drop the under-performing emails and replace them with new emails.
The business standard would be the procedure for this that you come up with yourself.
Got a question? Get it answered here.
If you have to check that things were running according to plan in your autoresponder, then you have to change your
autoresponder.
Hi Anatoli – thanks for your message.
I’m going to have to disagree with you because no system is foolproof and errors can and do happen with any software program.
Before you make an autoresponder live it’s a good idea to subscribe to it so you can make sure those emails are being sent out at the right times.
Here’s a quick autoresponder checklist you can follow whenever you create a new autoresponder and load it with follow up messages…
1. Make sure the from name is your name and not your companies name (this makes the message more personal and more likely to be opened)
2. Make sure each email you load into your autoresponder has a subject line that makes people curious to want to open the email.
3. Check any links you’re using in your email to make sure they work and send people to the correct website.
4. Wherever possible track your email open rates and how many people are clicking on the links in your emails.
5. Run each message through a spam checking system to make sure your email doesn’t contain any trigger words that cause spam filters to block your message.
Personally I use Aweber for all my autoresponders because they automatically do these things for you:
1. Check your links are functioning
2. Tracks your email open rates
3. Tracks the clicks on every email you send.
4. Checks your message for spam filter trigger words
Click here for Aweber.
Once you have your autoresponder system up and running for a few months it’s a good idea to periodically check the sales generated by each of the emails you have loaded in your autoresponder. Then remove those emails that don’t generate any (or enough) sales and replace them with new emails to test. If you do this you’ll soon have an autoresponder series of emails that becomes a real auto-pilot cash machine for you.
Hi Brian
Thanks ever so much for your answer. I agree with you about checking as one thing I have had bashed into me is test, test, test and keep testing. I used to work years ago in a computer manufacturing environment were I tested and fault found on what they liked to call mainframe computers i.e. pre PC. The intermittent fault was always the hardest to track down so what was working today may not be working tomorrow.
My question was as a result of someone else setting it up for me and me not testing it myself. One of my subscribers had the decency to get in touch with me to point out that the links did not work so I ended up doing it myself.
That then turned into me wanting to work out all the messages I needed to keep the campaign going or in my case starting
Thanks again Brian
vince
Hi Vince – you got it! It sounds like you’re on the right path now.
The other form of testing is split testing where you test one creative against another (the creative could be a headline or an offer). This is when you start getting into the details of successful Internet Marketing.
Here’s a free system you can use to split test your web page elements, this helps you to achieve better sales and subscriber conversions from the exact same traffic…
http://www.google.com/websiteoptimizer
Hi Brian
I just keep wondering off it.
I will never forget that you pointed me to the path in the first place
Thanks again for your response with spot on advice. I have been learning a few tricks of the trade and once I have practised with them enough I am sure I will stay on track.
Nice free tool and many overlook what is right in front of them including me.
best wishes
Vince
Hi Vince, you’re very welcome.
Are you also using Google Analytics to track your website traffic? (it’s also free)…
This way you’ll know “exactly” what people are doing on your websites. You can even use it to track overall conversions.
Yes it’s very useful.
just need to do the hard work of loading my auto responder with the appropriate follow ups.
And of course test test and test again.
best wishes
Vince
PS I liked the look of the article on the sales funnel too.