Separating Email Marketing Opt in From Autoresponders
Some people are so eager to start using terminology that they don’t ever spend the time necessary to actually learn the difference between something such as an autoresponder service and an email marketing opt in system. The truth is the two services both have some things in common however they are largely different from one another.
Email Marketing Opt In
When you participate in permission based email marketing you are gathering names for your list with the permission of the person. Optin email marketing is just another way of saying the same thing. Perhaps you offer someone a discount or a free item for signing up, but either way they are signing up willingly and on their own.
An email marketing opt is simply a quick form that you can place anywhere on your website to get this done. There’s nothing fancy about it, usually it’s as simple as two text fields for name and email address and then a submit button. After that, a message might pop up telling the person that they were successful or they may be taken to a thank you page or receive a confirmation email, providing a double opt in system.
Email Autoresponders
Autoresponders are the next step in permission based email marketing past that. They do much more than just sign a person up, they automatically release messages of your choosing at appropriate times after a person signs up from your list. You can send out one original email saying welcome to the list but you can also send out dozens of planned emails to list members.
This significantly reduces the work that you have because you don’t have to recreate emails or manually send them out. Email autoresponders are ideal when you are selling products or reviewing products or if you are offering list members a training course of some kind where they receive weekly updates. They are great for converting prospects into paying and returning customers and clients.
Combining the Two
Autoresponders don’t have to be connected to optin email campaigns. They can be viewed entirely separately and used on their own as you send planned messages to already existing list members. But the two separate concepts can be combined into a successful and comprehensive marketing strategy.
If you want a powerful permission based email marketing campaign you can begin it with an email marketing opt in, and then progress into a series of autoresponder messages that works on converting your new list members into clients. Some people think that this system is what an autoresponder is, but as explained above, that’s not necessarily the case.
