If only I had known that autoresponders are a necessity \rto your online business when I first ventured online, I \rwould have saved a lot of time and money. You have to \rautomate in as many areas as possible and if used \rresponsibly, autoresponders can be your best friend.

Your customers expect prompt replies to their email \rinquiries. But finding the time to answer every inquiry\rby hand will quickly eat all your time. The good news\ris an autoresponder is an inexpensive - or even free -\rmethod of quickly responding to your customers and\rprospects email.

Autoresponders are an effective and powerful marketing\rtool, allowing you to make contact with thousands of\rpotential customers. This is an invaluable asset\rconsidering how many potential customers you usually have\rcontact with before you make an actual sale.

Use your autoresponder to:

1. Publish a newsletter. Your newsletter can keep your \rvisitors informed about your services or products, while \rbuilding your reputation as a credible expert in your \rparticular business.

2. Publish a newsletter only for your affiliates. Inform\rthem of current sales you are running and of promotional\rmaterial that your affiliates can use to increase their \rcommissions. Include tips, advice, and techniques that \ryour affiliates can use to successfully go out and \rpromote your business.

3. Write reviews. Cover books, software, music, e-books,\rmovies, etc., and put each review in an autoresponder.\rReview your affiliate programs, using a link to your\raffiliate's page in your autoresponder.

4. Create mailing lists. Inform subscribers to your\rarticles when you've written new ones that they may want to\rpublish in their own newsletter or website.

5. Automate your sales process. Use an ad to insure\rrepeated exposure of your message. In your ad, put your\rautoresponder address where a visitor will be exposed to\rnumerous marketing materials. This multiplies the chances\rof converting visitors into customers. For example, if\ryou're selling a particular product, put testimonials about\rhow spectacular it is on your autoresponder, and add a\rdetailed, enticing description of your product.

6. Distribute advertising rates. Let's say you sell \radvertising on your website or in your newsletter. Set \ryour autoresponder to send the information about rates \rand how to place an ad automatically to all prospects \remail addresses. Then have your autoresponder follow-up. \rIt can also send notification of any special deals you \rare currently offering.

7. Distribute an email course. Just be sure that\reach lesson has quality content - not a sales pitch. Your\rcontent will do the selling for you, and will do it much\rmore effectively. You can include tips centered on a\rdifferent topic for each lesson, illustrating how your\rproduct will benefit the reader. Include the tangible\rbenefits the visitor will reap by purchasing your product.\rMake sure to include a paragraph or two at the end of each\rlesson enticing your prospect to consider making a\rpurchase.

8. Distribute free reports. This gives your visitor an\ridea of the type of information you can provide and the\rquality of your product or service. Make sure these reports\rare not sales letters or you will more than likely lose a\rpotential customer than gain a sale.

9. Create trivia quizzes on your site and place the\ranswers in an autoresponder. Your visitor will then be\rmotivated to request your autoresponder. Or create a \rcontest and have any visitors that enter send their \rresponses to your autoresponder. Your autoresponder \rcan be set-up to send them a confirmation of their entry.

10. Link to hidden pages on your autoresponder. For\rexample, a hidden page could be your affiliate page that\rcontains graphics, promotional articles, and text links\rthat interested affiliates can make use of. Inform visitors\rthat they may have free access to your affiliate page by\rsimply requesting your autoresponder. You will then gather\ra list of visitors who may be interested in becoming your\raffiliates.

11. Use an autoresponder on your order page. Post a request\rform for visitors to be notified of special offers or\rdiscounts in the future. This creates a very effective\rmailing list that contains the names of people who are\ralready your customers.

12. Put your links page on your autoresponder. It should\rcontain up to fifty links that would be of particular\rinterest to your visitors. Make sure to add your own\rpromotional copy at the top or bottom of this page.

Now that you have proof that autoresponders can be used\rcreatively to take you to the TOP, can you see how you \rwill implement them to benefit your business?

Copyright (c) 2005, Melanie Burns -- \rAll Rights Reserved Worldwide

Melanie Burns, founder of Internet-Business-How-To.com, has passion and dedication to assisting You to make Your Internet Business a Success! Join the weekly "Abundant Success Online" newsletter,mailto:aso-subscribe@internet-business-how-to.com (Permission to reprint this article in its entirety, including byline, is expressly granted.)