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GUEST ARTICLE:
(full story)
The
Magic Of Autoresponders ...
 Although
I've been online for a few centuries (in internet
time), I've found myself guilty of not taking
advantage of one of the most powerful tools the
online real estate professional can have in their
arsenal. I'm referring to the autoresponder.
An autoresponder is a simple
tool that will automatically send an e-mail
message to someone who initiates contact with you.
The contact can be initiated in any number of
ways, according to how you have your
autoresponders set up, including:
-
As a response to email sent
to a specified email address used to promote
your listings;
mailto:moffatt@ReportsOnRealEstate.com for
example, or;
-
As a message that tells people you appreciate
their contacting you, and will get back to them
at your earliest opportunity, or;
-
As a response to submitting a form on your web
site.
The possibilities are as many
as your imagination and your programmer's
abilities. The examples above are those using
autoresponders at their most basic levels - a sort
of email answering machine. However, if you stop
there, you are really missing out on the true
magic of autoresponders - automated ongoing
prospect follow-up.
Taking the first example, if
you click on that link, you will launch an e-mail
to a series of messages that lasts eight weeks and
consists of 10 messages. The initial message is
what I refer to as an 'E-Feature' on the property.
This message contains a physical description of
the property, payment schedule, and also has links
to maps and driving directions, the virtual tour
of the property and a page of pictures based on my
web site. The next message automatically goes out
three days later, and thanks them for contacting
me, as well as provides information on one of our
unique services. Then, every seven days another
message goes out offering more information on a
topic that is likely to be of great interest to
homebuyers.
All of these subsequent
messages require the prospect to send e-mail to a
different address, so they are not receiving the
information unless they specifically request it.
After using this type of responder for six weeks
now, I have taken four listings as a direct result
of this 'E-Feature', and sold two of those
listings to people who requested the 'E-Feature'.
People are very Wowed by this surprisingly simple
marketing tool! I've also had more than 200
requests for the 'E-Feature' from people looking
to buy a home in my marketplace.
Another series of
autoresponders that is becoming very popular is a
series called 'Money Matters', which is an 8-part
series centered around the financing and offer
part of buying a home. When people request one of
my free reports that deals with any aspect of home
financing, they are automatically subscribed to
this series. So far, I have had some very positive
response to this series from my many first-time
buyer clients and prospects.
Autoresponder Etiquette
The key to autoresponder
success lies not only in the content, but more so
in the way people end up on your autoresponder and
the ease in which they can remove themselves from
same. In keeping with the wants of the IEC, it is
very important that people not only are aware that
they are signing up for ongoing communication from
you, but also that it is easy for them to stop the
flow of information easily. In every responder
message that goes out, there is a direct
'unsubscribe' link so that people can stop the
information flow without any hassles. This
"un-subscribe" is automatic and will always work
because they are unsubscribing from the email
address they just received the message at.
Sources of Autoresponders
There are several ways you
can use autoresponders, from the very simple to
the more technologically challenging for
quasi-geeks like me. I'll give some basic
information on some of the more popular ones.
One type that is becoming
very common these days is tied to the 'renting' of
a web site that includes autoresponders. One very
popular company providing these is
http://IProCenter.com, which offers a fully
integrated online contact manager/web
site/autoresponder program all-in-one. For a
reasonable monthly cost, you not only get many
fully-customizable responder series, but also a
customizable web site to work with your
autoresponders. A couple of downsides to this type
of product are that you store your contact
database online on someone else's server and you
are limited in the design of the web site that you
work with.
A slightly different spin on
this is a service offered by The Gooder Group,
whereby you can offer all of their free reports
via a section of your web site that they host for
you. See an example at
http://www.GooderGroup.com and click on the
button 'Real Estate Professionals'.
(12/01-This site is no longer
available.) Another type is a free
service such as
http://ez-follow-up.com, which again offers an
online contact management system and sends out
messages on your behalf. It also offers to send
out anniversary reminders to your database,
providing yet another way to keep in-touch
automatically. Again, the potential downsides are
privacy and accessibility of your data.
All of these services come
with pre-written message series so there is very
little work to be done to get them up and running.
The third kind of
autoresponder to consider is for the more
adventurous among us, as it consists of some
JavaScript and instructions on how to install it
onto your web site host (something best done by
your techie-type person). There are no messages
included with this type of service, so you have to
find a source for the content, or you have to
write it yourself. Countering this is the fact
that you can have an unlimited number of
autoresponder series, and an unlimited number of
messages in each series. The service I use can be
found at
http://autoresponseplus.com, but this really
is only recommended for the 'hard-core' user.
The three examples above are
all what is known as Sequential Autoresponders
—that is, they can send a sequence of messages
after receiving a single request.
There is another kind of
autoresponder which allows only a single message
per email address. While you might at first think
this is somewhat limiting, there are many good
applications for this, and it is very easy to
set-up via the web interface that most providers
offer.
With such a simple interface,
you could, in minutes, establish a new
autoresponder for each of your listings. This is a
great listing tool when you can go on a
presentation and show the prospective clients that
your last responder received over 100 requests for
information. In your print ads, tell readers to
send a blank email to the address for your
responder, and you are all set. You then have the
email addresses of a lot of people who are in the
market at some stage. Of course, if you have
written your responder message properly, you will
have driven them to your content-rich website, or
your newsletter sign-up page, so a lot of them
will be back in touch with you. The service I
recommend for this 'so simple even my 70 year old
mum can set it up' type of autoresponder is
http://InternetCrusade.com. For a sample of
how I am using this type of responder in a
different fashion, click the following link
mailto:Mortgages@Halton-PeelRealEstate.com.
So, there's a brief
introduction into the magically effective world of
autoresponders. Take some time to investigate the
resources I've mentioned here, and be prepared to
put a profitable part of your business onto
autopilot.
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