Autoresponders - Which one do you use?

[Up & At 'Em]

Hi everyone.

I didn't know where else to post this question. I want to use an autoresponder to send out an ecourse. I'll probably use it for other things too, but that's my plan right now.

I've heard getresponse.com is good, but I've also read that having an autoresponder directly on your website is better than using an offsite one.

Those of you who know me know that I really don't know beans about anything technical. So, once again I'm relying on your professional and experienced advice. I see we have an autoresponder option here at hostgator too, but it doesn't look to me like it will meet my needs. I want my customers to receive the ecourse as a paid download.

By the way, just an update - A blog was added to my site yesterday. Also, I'm now doing public speaking in regard to my business. Things keep happening so fast. I'm trying to keep up! Oh yeah, and I'm putting together a themed cruise too! Can you even believe it? I haven't chosen a destination yet for the cruise, but I'm working with a travel agent to pull it all together. I must be nuts! I get seasick!

I don't know who ever said you could have a part time business online, but I haven't found that to be the case. I spend every waking moment WORKING! I'm constantly working on something, either to promote online or to promote offline. So, I guess you could say things are going pretty well.

Now if I can just get your expertise regarding an autoresponder. I'm sure some of you here must use them.

Thanks so much!

Kim

[gwyneth]

Is the idea to use the autoresponder to send a download link to people who have paid for the ecourse?

If so, why don't you just have your coder add the option to your shopping cart so that after somebody pays for the course, the thank-you page has the download link?

[Serra]

Its better to send a link and let them download it. If you put in a secure zip file, you can provide the username and password for the file so its harder to forward.

[Up & At 'Em]

Well, I could have them pay at my site, and then they would receive the ecourse the same way they do my other products - via download link. But, I really like the idea of them getting 1 lesson per week, rather than getting it all at once.

I just don't know how to set this up through my website. Is there some way I can automate it so they get one lesson per week from my site? Or is it better if I use an offsite autoresponder to do it? But, if I use and offsite autoresoponder, how will it know they have paid?

[gwyneth]

Originally Posted by Up & At 'Em

But, I really like the idea of them getting 1 lesson per week, rather than getting it all at once.

Ah, that wasn't clear.

Are you staggering the schedule--i.e., student who signs up gets lesson two a week later, lesson three a week after that, etc., while student who signs up in two weeks would be getting them at the same interval but different dates?

Or does everybody have to sign up by a certain date and therefore all recipients of lesson two would get it at the same time?

And is all of it independent of payment--i.e., do they pay for all lessons upfront or as they go?

Of course you can automate things (it's possible to automate almost anything), but how would depend somewhat on your setup.

[Up & At 'Em]

Gwyneth,

My plan was to have them pay upfront, and then they would get one lesson each week for 10 weeks. This would be ongoing, so one student might sign up today and get lesson one today, and a week from now another student signs up and gets lesson one, while the first student gets lesson two. I hope that makes sense.

Yes, they would pay upfront, not as they go. My other option is to have the ecourse be a download from my site, where they pay for it and get it all at once. But I like the weekly idea better because it gives them time to absorb the material and do the work before moving to the next lesson.

I signed up for freeautobot.com, but I haven't set anything up there yet. I don't know if this is the best way to go or not. It's nice that they are free, but I am concerned about losing my customers' emails. Freeautobot says on their site that you have to download your customers' email addresses occaissionally because they upkeep their site and there is a chance those addresses can be lost.

Kim

[gwyneth]

Originally Posted by Up & At 'Em

Gwyneth,

My plan was to have them pay upfront, and then they would get one lesson each week for 10 weeks. This would be ongoing, so one student might sign up today and get lesson one today, and a week from now another student signs up and gets lesson one, while the first student gets lesson two. I hope that makes sense.

Yes, that was what I meant by 'staggering', the first option I asked about.

One more question--hope it's phrased understandably. Am I right in understanding that the only thing that will trigger the second, third, etc. lessons is time--i.e., an interval after the one before it is sent to the individual? Thus, they do not need to take action, such as completing x lesson, to get the x +1 lesson?

If that's correct, then this is the sequence? Upon payment approval, customer is sent download link, then a week later is sent second download link, then a week later...? And that pattern is good for everybody--payment triggers the identical sequence (no matter when payment takes place, the sequence is the same)?

[Up & At 'Em]

Hi Gwyneth.

Yes, that is correct. The customer pays, and then gets the lessons at pre-set intervals, one week apart. I really have no clue how this works. My understanding is that the customer's email is added to the autoresponder, and then they begin to receive the emails. I didn't know they would be sent a code, but I guess that makes sense in this case.

I guess the easiest way for me to do this is to simply let them purchase the course from my website, and then they will get it all at once instead of at intervals. My website is already set up for this because of the booklets I have for sale there. I just really liked the idea of being able to send one lesson per week.

Kim

[gwyneth]

(Note: the most important sentence is at the end but after I wrote it I couldn't figure out how to put it up here and rewrite a bridge into the rest.)

Since you're probably not going to be selling thousands in the first month or so, you could do it semi-manually at first.

To do this, you'd just need to be organized--set up a special email address that you use only for sending the lessons.

Pay and download first lesson, with instructions, etc. Send them a greeting letter that tells them the lesson schedule and that this letter is to confirm the email address they have provided for receiving the lessons is accurate--in other words, they have to reply (tell them to just press 'reply'). Or have the greeting letter include the link for the first download, but either way you want to trigger the reply.

This would feed into your autoresponder, so that replies to your special address then get the second lesson a week later--with a letter that they reply to, indicating they got it, all is well. This would then trigger the autoresponder to send out the third lesson, and so on.

It's not a bad idea to have the confirmation at your end that they received it.

If you had to do this manually while you figure out the autoresponder, just set up a series of email addresses, so that the reply from their mail goes to the next email address. The idea is that it's easier for you to have all 'need lesson twos' in one mail folder, all 'need lesson threes', etc.. Then, every day you look at 'need lesson twos' and send out lesson two to the people who'd replied a week earlier.

Whether it's all automated or all manual, the functional process is the same: giving the people who paid the first lesson, and moving their email address into the next bucket to get the second lesson, then sending that lesson and moving their email address into the next bucket...

[Up & At 'Em]

Rather than go through all that trouble, I would just give them the entire course at once, when they pay for it. Also, I've got some people already requesting an affiliate program for it, and it's not even finished yet! I'm not sure how that would work with an autoresponder.

I like the weekly email idea because it makes it seem more like a class and it keeps my name in front of my customers/clients for a ten week stretch. But, I also like simplicity!

Kim

[Krusher]

I am currently using the EGGS autoresponder, which uses a MySQL database and runs on the server. It's almost free (you give them a donation) and its been working just fine for a while now. Do a search for EGGS autoresponder and you should be able to find it.

Cheers!

-Mark

[Up & At 'Em]

Thank you, Mark! I've never heard of that one. I'll take a look! Might be just what I'm looking for!

[esl]

Originally Posted by Serra

Its better to send a link and let them download it. If you put in a secure zip file, you can provide the username and password for the file so its harder to forward.

Couldn't they just forward the email and password too? I am sure this issue was announced in a previous thread years ago.. Ill do some searching.

[esl]

Check these out:

http://forums.hostgator.com/showthread.php?t=7904
http://forums.hostgator.com/showthread.php?t=3091

Hope they help!