This is one of the most expensive forms of Internet marketing available. However, it’s also one of the most effective.

What is opt-in email marketing? Simply put, you purchase a targeted list of email addresses and start sending them advertisements. Sounds like spam, right? Actually, the addresses you receive with an opt-in list purchase are people who have expressed interest in the types of products or service you provide, and have agreed to receive advertising. With an opt-in list, you are already a step ahead of the marketing game.

Before you purchase an opt-in list, there are two steps you should take. The first is to investigate the list provider and make sure their company is legitimate. If you purchase a list from a company that doesn’t use opt-in confirmation, you will end up spamming thousands of potential customers and probably turning them away from your business forever.

Second, you need to road-test your marketing message and ensure that it is effective before you purchase a list. You will end up wasting money if you obtain a list of targeted customers and fail to impress them with your material. Make sure that your advertisement has already produced results for you, and then invest in an opt-in list.

Autoresponders

When it comes to Internet marketing, autoresponders are your best friends.

Autoresponder systems do just what their name implies: they automatically respond to incoming messages. In your online business, you can use autoresponders for a variety of purposes. You can set an autoresponder to:

• Reply to requests for more information
• Acknowledge receipt of messages
• Auto-send invoices when customers place orders
• Let people know when you’re away on vacation
• Send out an initial message and several follow-up messages on a timed, preset basis

There are many more uses for autoresponders, and you may discover some of them as you move ahead with your Internet business.

Basically, there are two types of autoresponders:

Single follow-up autoresponders automatically reply to every e-mail sent to a particular address with the same message. If you have multiple e-mail accounts, you can program single follow-up autoresponders with different messages for each one. For example, you may have an info@mycompany.com address that replies with a general sales information package; a sales@mycompany.com address that replies with specific product information; and an invoice@mycompany.com address that sends receipts when customers have completed sales.

Multiple follow-up autoresponders are often referred to as sequential autoresponders. These programs are a bit more complicated, and can be set to send out several messages in preset time intervals, such as once a day, week, or month, or with varying intervals according to the type of messages you’re sending.

Some of the features of sequential autoresponders include:

• Message personalization
• The ability to send a copy of each incoming message to your e-mail account
• Online form creation
• Support for HTML and plain text messages
• “Full list” e-mail update capabilities for sending messages to everyone signed up to your autoresponder simultaneously
• Support for attachments such as documents or images
• URL tracking for following click-throughs
• Ad-free messages (some free single follow-up autoresponder programs are ad-supported)
• Automatic “Unsubscribe” link added to every outgoing message

There are many web companies that offer autoresponder software, usually for a low monthly fee similar to web hosting services. You can also get a total package with a web host and an autoresponder program for one monthly price.

Once you have obtained an autoresponder program, follow these steps to set it up on your website:

1. Create a website form to capture visitors’ contact information.

2. Write compelling, personalized follow-up messages regarding your offer. You should create three to seven different messages that either promote your sale or cover different aspects and/or bonuses associated with it.

3. Load the messages into your autoresponder program and specify the intervals you want them sent out at. You can have them sent every few days, once a week, or whenever you would like.

4. Set up a confirmation page that your visitors arrive at after they have successfully subscribed to your autoresponder.

5. Set up an error page for anyone who makes a mistake on the form, and place an e-mail link on the page so the visitors can still send requests to your autoresponder address.

6. Upload or make active your main order page, confirmation page, and error page to your web host.

7. Inspect your live web pages and test all the links. View the sites at different resolutions and in different browsers to ensure they are consistently readable and clean.

8. Launch your marketing campaign!

Setting up an autoresponder is not a fast and easy process, but with a little research and work, you can create a successful autoresponder series that let your products or services sell themselves.