Why AutoResponders can be Legally Required

Do you market your products or services via the Internet to customers in California? Many businesses do, but hardly anyone is aware of a little known law in California that is intended to keep customers from being scammed by unknown website operators.

And one effect of the law is to make it more likely that you will need an autoresponder to comply with your disclosure requirements.

In a nutshell, before selling to California residents you must disclose your real name and address. California buyers are also entitled to receive that information by email, and it must be provided within five days of their request.

Here is what the law says. California Business and Professions Code section 17538(d) states in part:

'A vendor conducting business through the Internet or any other electronic means of communication shall do all of the following when the transaction involves a buyer located in this state:

(1) Before accepting any payment or processing any debit or credit charge or funds transfer, the vendor shall disclose to the buyer in writing or by electronic means of communication, such as e-mail or an on-screen notice, the vendor's return and refund policy, the legal name under which the business is conducted and, except as provided [ in other sections ] the complete street address from which the business is actually conducted.

(2) If the disclosure of the vendor's legal name and address information required by this subdivision is made by on-screen notice, all of the following shall apply:

(A) The disclosure of the legal name and address information shall appear on any of the following: (i) the first screen displayed when the vendor's electronic site is accessed, (ii) on the screen on which goods or services are first offered, (iii) on the screen on which a buyer may place the order for goods or services, (iv) on the screen on which the buyer may enter payment information, such as a credit card account number, or (v) for nonbrowser-based technologies, in a manner that gives the user a reasonable opportunity to review that information. The communication of that disclosure shall not be structured to be smaller or less legible than the text of the offer of the goods or services.

(B) The disclosure of the legal name and address information shall be accompanied by an adjacent statement describing how the buyer may receive the information at the buyer's e-mail address. The vendor shall provide the disclosure information to the buyer at the buyer's e-mail address within five days of receiving the buyer's request.'

The best way to make sure that this disclosure information is provided, and provided in a timely manner, is to setup an autoresponder.

There are good resources available that will help you select the best autoresponder for your needs. One is located at http://affiliatemegaguide.com/autoresponder-review.shtml and the other is at http://autoresponderreview.com

One simple solution is to include an appropriately placed statement that customers can obtain the information about your company by emailing a request to a specified email address. That email address is setup with an autoresponder to automatically return the requested information.

Complying with the law can be easy. Knowing what laws need to be complied with can sometimes be the more difficult task.

Copyright 2004 Brian Kindsvater

About The Author Brian Kindsvater has been marketing online since 1994 and Brian Kindsvater's legal articles can be found at http://lawzilla.com

10 Classic Ways To Successfully Use Autoresponders

1. Use your autoresponders to conduct simple polls.

Your polls can give you valuable information that you can use to make your ezine, site or product better. They can also help you to make decisions concerning making changes to your product, site, or ezine.

You can also make your ezine more interactive by running a poll in each issue and then publishing the results in the following issue.

Using polls in this way will help you to increase your readership as your readers will be interested in seeing the results of the polls you've run.

2. Use your autoresponder to deliver an email course that shares with your visitors the benefits of owning your product.

To create your course, you could use your articles as the main content of your course or you could use them as a guide to making your course.

You could also use questions you get from your visitors and customers to write a course that your visitors would be interested in and that increases your sales.

3. Make a multipart report available by autoresponder that delivers extracts of your informational product.

Your multipart report will lead to more sales of your product as it allows your visitors to try out your product before they buy it.

To make up your multipart report you could use excerpts from a single chapter of your informational product or you could string together excerpts from several different chapters to create your report.

4. Use your autoresponders to deliver training courses.

For instance, you could offer your new affiliates a generic email training course that shows them how to make money promoting affiliate programs.

Your course would not only encourage more people to join your affiliate program but would also increase your profit by elevating the number of your affiliates that effectively promote your products to their visitors or subscribers.

5. Use your autoresponders to publish an ezine.

Autoresponders with a broadcast feature will handle your subscribe and unsubscribe requests, and provide you with an easy way to send out your issues to people that join your list.

Concentrate on making your ezine a valuable source of information for your subscribers. Also add your personality to your ezine by writing articles, adding an editors section, or by giving your views on subjects of interest to your readers.

6. Use your autoresponders to deliver a "rate card" for advertising on your website, or for purchasing advertising in your ezine.

7. Use your autoresponders to deliver sample issues of your ezine.

Providing a sample issue is a simple and effective way to increase your subscriptions by showing your visitors what your ezine is all about.

Your sample issues can also increase the sign ups you get from ezine directories that allow you to submit a sample issue for their visitors to receive by autoresponder.

8. Use autoresponders to create a list that announces when you've written a new article or articles for publication.

Your list will increase the number of ezine publishers and webmasters that publish your articles, and can also help you to increase sign ups to your affiliate program if you let your affiliates use your articles as a promotional tool.

9. Use your autoresponders to announce when your directory is updated.

For instance you could create a list that announces when your article directory is updated with new articles.

You could list the titles of the articles submitted to your site along with the URL where they can be viewed.

Creating a list like this will build up repeat traffic to your site giving you an excellent way to achieve more sales of your products.

10. Use your autoresponders to send out an "evergreen" newsletter.

"Evergreen" newsletters have all their issues already completed. Each new subscriber gets the same first issue, second issue, third issue, etc.,

Publishing an "evergreen" newsletter is a good choice for people that don't have the time to publish an ezine on a regular basis, but that would still like to reap some of the benefits of publishing an ezine.

Publishing your "evergreen" newsletter can be as simple as sending out a valuable tip every week that targets your niche audience such as an informative weekly writing tip if you sold a product aimed at writers.

Keep in mind that your "evergreen" newsletter should not be on a topic where the information you provide your readers could become outdated. Choose a subject where the information you provide your subscribers will continue to be relevant for a long period of time.

About The Author Article by writer, Ken Hill. Ignite Your Sales With Unlimited Follow Up Autoresponders! All in one list builder, follow-up manager, and ezine publishing tool. Pick up your no cost 30 day trial today at: http://www.scstats.com/r.cfm?i=5343

Do You Ponder the Automatic Responder?

* The Automatic Responder is generally referred to as an Autoresponder.

What is an Autoresponder?

Autoresponder - An automated system that sends out a prewritten email to a person who has requested information.

Autoresponders are essential for doing business online!

Here's why:

Instead of having to respond to each individual that requests information about your product or business, the autoresponder automatically sends out the information.

This frees you up to focus on other areas of marketing. Let's face it, if you begin to create a huge "opt-in email" list, you won't have time to respond to each individual person.

Opt-In Email - An opt-in email list is a list where the users have voluntarily signed up to receive e-mail about topics of interest. In double opt-in email lists the user must re-verify their request to be on a list.

This leads me to the "Autoresponder Sequence"

Autoresponder Sequence - A series of autoresponder messages scheduled to be delivered automatically via e-mail at predetermined intervals to a person who has requested it.

***Note***

You will load your "Autoresponder Sequence" to an autoresponder. Now, post an "Opt-In email" sign up box that corresponds with that autoresponder, requesting first name and email address.

O'kay, pretend for a moment that you are trying to sell cookbooks. You have an Opt-In Email box at your website where people can sign up to receive free desert recipes.

You've created an "Autoresponder Sequence" with desert recipes. You're now providing exactly what you promised, plus you're able to promote your cookbook.

You now have a list on Automatic! They are happy about receiving the desert recipes. And if you've played your cards right, you should've inserted some sales messages into the "Autoresponder Sequence"!

Autoresponders help you build trust, establish credibility, and deliver quality...

When I first came online, I signed up for information on investing in IRA's from this guy whose site sounded and looked fantastic. I found myself trusting his information. He was establishing credibility and delivering quality content.

You see, because he was utilizing the power of an autoresponder, he could continuously drip information on me causing me to take advantage on his offers!

This throws me back to the "cookbook" example. Most likely, your viewers aren't going to purchase on the first visit to your site. However, providing an opt-in box with certain offers greatly enhances the possibilities of sales.

That's what is so great about having an "Autoresponder"! You can sit back, collect names, and market to them.

Where can you get "Autoresponders?"

I suggest going to Google or Yahoo and typing in Autoresponders. You should receive several results. There are many different systems which range in price.

Do your homework and find what works best for you. However, I can't stress enough how important "Autoresponders" are to doing business online!

* Article can be downloaded at http://www.govisitors.com/jb/article1.html

About The Author Jason is one of the owners of © GoVistiors.com which offers website traffic and the best traffic education. Your free 5 day ecourse is waiting for you at http://www.govisitors.com/epackage.html © 2003 GoVistiors.com jasonblackston@govisitors.com

Why Does Your Business Need An Autoresponder?

Suppose you have a website with 500 visitors a day, and one in fifty of them requests information. That's ten e-mails you're going to have to send manually for the next few days or weeks. And tomorrow you get another ten, and the next day another ten... can you imagine how complicated managing this process could be?

Each visitor to your site who requests more information is a hot lead for your home business. Don't ignore these people. Don't let these prospects fade away because you don't have time to personally contact them. Persistently go after the sale. These potential clients will likely be buying from somewhere. It should be from your site. Frankly, if you don't follow-up, you will be losing sales.

Do you know this list ? :

• 2% of sales are made on the 1st contact
  
• 3% of sales are made on the 2nd contact
  
• 5% of sales are made on the 3rd contact
  
• 10% of sales are made on the 4th contact
  
• 80% of sales are made on the 5th-12th contact
  

Before your future customers buy from you, you must address all their concerns and demonstrate the value you offer. You must make it easy to buy from your site and provide your potential customers with the assurance they need. You need to show them how to use your product and you must prove that they will be getting all the features they need to do the job.

That means that you must send multiple follow-up messages to your leads of yesterday, and to your today's leads, and to the leads of tomorrow and ...

Do you think you can handle that manually, without losing control? Maybe you think you can, because you still have a small number of visitors to your website. But you want your home business to grow, do you?

Sure, you do! So take my advice :

If you don't set up your home business to run itself from the start, you will have big problems later. You will struggle to manually do chores that your computer should be handling for itself, and your home business will never really grow!

Why? Because, you will be so busy handling your daily chores, that you don't have time for the most important thing : "Your Marketing!"

Alex Simpson, the creator of Explosive List Building, ( http://www.my-autoresponder-secrets.com/listbuilding.html ) said this as follows: "Your business lives or dies by how well you make consistent targeted efforts at selling more and more stuff, to more and more persons, more often!"

And tell me, how can you concentrate on your marketing, when you are full time busy with your daily concerns, that can easily be done by a computer. And more, what is the fun of doing all those things manually?

Do you want some samples of every day tasks for your Autoresponder?

• Handle the routine FAQ
  
• Provide free "Special Reports"
  
• Send detailed product information
  
• Send a series of lessons on how to use your product
  
• Establish and build rapport
  
• Encourage prospects to become purchasers
  
• Email a series of discount coupons
  
• Tracking the response of different ads you run
  
• Encourage purchasers to buy additional products
  
• Send "thank-you" letters
  
• Send information on shipping, payment, warranty
  
• Ask your buyers for testimonials
  
• Follow up with Joint Venture Partners
  
• Sell back end products
  
• Subscription tool for your newsletter
  
• List handler for your newsletter
  

Please sit down for ten minutes with a piece of paper, and write down how YOU can use an Autoresponder for YOUR business, and the list will be much, much longer.

So do yourself a favor, and start automating what ever you can! If you're not using autoresponders, you better start as soon as possible! You want to work at home? Do it Smart directly from the Start!

About The Author Albert Hoogendoorn is the publisher of Autoresponder Ezine, a free bi-weekly email newsletter about Autoresponders and email marketing. Signup and get four valuable bonusses. http://www.my-autoresponder-secrets.com

What Good Is An AutoResponder?

A term that confuses just about everyone is "autoresponder". When I mention that to friends or associates, they almost always reply with a blank stare, a "what the heck is that", or "I don't like those at all". Even though the concept is very simple, autoresponders are very, very powerful if properly used.

Okay, here's the short answer: an autoresponder is an automatic response. More precisely, they are an automatic email sent to someone in response to some action.

Still confused? All right, in their simpliest form an autoresponder is just an email acknowledging a guestbook signing, a comment or something like that. I'm sure just about everyone who has been on the internet for any amount of time and done anything has received quite a few of these.

You can get more complex with autoresponders. A good autoresponder package will allow you to send more than one email at specific intervals. They will even allow those emails to include custom information such as names, dates, time and so on.

Understand? Now, what the heck are they good for?

Well, every webmaster wants to get people to not only visit his site, but to come back time and again. Repeat visitors are the most valuable visitors. In addition, if you are selling something, the classic wisdom is it takes more than one exposure to an ad to make a purchase - usually the number mentioned is seven!

Those simple thank you messages for signing a guestbook are actually critically important. You see, a visitor has stopped by your site and left you a message. Not only are you thanking him, but you are doing so later, after he has left your site. This means he will be reminded of his visit, and perhaps visit again. He may save the email because he wants to remember the URL or some other information. If you advertise something in this thank you message, your visitor gets to see it.

Of course, sending messages later is even better. If you can send, say, a message immediately, one a day later, one a week later and perhaps one a month later, you are doing great. Don't overwhelm them, just send them something useful and remind them of your site or product or whatever.

Oh yeah, always, always give your recipient a way to opt-out of the stream of messages (unless you are only sending a single message, of course). Most good autoresponder packages will do this for you.

A final note: this is the important part so listen closely. This is all done AUTOMATICALLY. This means you, the webmaster, are communicating constantly with your visitors without lifting a finger. Whatever message you are attempting to deliver is made a hundred times more powerful by these simple techniques.

About The Author Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets. This website includes over 1,000 free articles to improve your internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge. Web Site Address: http://www.internet-tips.net Weekly newsletter: http://www.internet-tips.net/joinlist.htm Claudia Arevalo-Lowe is the webmistress of Internet Tips And Secrets and Surviving Asthma. Visit her site at http://survivingasthma.com

Interview With Michael Murray: "Autoresponder Basics"

This interview is with Michael Murray, the author of a top selling ebook titled “Autoresponder Basics.” Michael is also involved with many excellent affiliate programs.

Terry: Michael, this is a real pleasure to talk about your experience and business on the Internet. To start off, how did you get involved with the Internet?

Michael: I’m disabled and I always figured I’d get a job with computers. In 1996, my dad got the Internet hooked up and I loved it. At the time, I was 13 and a big fan of Goosebumps (the popular book series back then). I would search for information on it. When I was 16, I started seeing lots of “Get Rich Quick” schemes and fell into it and wasted a lot of money. Fortunately, I learned through trial and error the right way to make money online.

Terry: That is an interesting beginning. What led you to develop your top selling ebook "Autoresponder Basics"?

Michael: For a couple of years, I only promoted affiliate programs. I didn’t have my own product. I was in the very competitive Internet marketing niche and there was already an overload of information. People were writing “How to Make Money Online” ebooks who weren’t even making a dime themselves! I didn’t have anything new to say about the subject. I became a critic of other people’s work and wrote honest reviews about it to my email list. They would save money by buying only quality products. My reviews led people to ask me how to use autoresponders. They realized the need to “build a mailing list” but had no idea how to technically do it. I did some research and discovered that a lot of good guides existed about email marketing techniques and list building strategies. However, the guides all assumed you knew how to use autoresponders. That was a bold assumption. After some encouragement from a fellow marketer, I researched and wrote “Autoresponder Basics.”

Terry: Great! You benefited on an opportunity to develop a product that people wanted. What types of products/services do you believe sell well on the Internet?

Michael: First, information products (i.e., ebooks, tapes, videos, coaching, seminars, etc.) are the #1 item to sell online. Information products have low overhead and high markups. To sell information products successfully, you need a tightly targeted niche market to sell to. You need not only a niche but also a sub-niche. My ebook is the perfect example. I chose a specific subject in a niche that very few other people were marketing.

Terry: Sounds straightforward. Find a market niche and pursue it. In your pursuit, what well-known Internet marketers helped you the most with your business?

Michael: Terry Dean was the biggest help. I have almost all his products. He taught me the importance of email follow-up. Yanik Silver, Jim Edwards and Stephen Pierce have great products that have educated me.

Terry: It is very important to have guidance from a qualified coach. What is your opinion on the best way to market products/services?

Michael: The best way to market your own products is through joint ventures. The JV is a partnership formed to share risks and rewards. For example, one person develops a product and another sells it for a percentage of the profits. This is usually 50% or higher. If I have an ebook on car repair, I’d go to other car websites and ask them to put a link to my website on their website.

Terry: The implied message is to use JVs to your advantage. Do you advertise in an ezine?

Michael: Yes! Paid ezine advertising is a great way to make money quickly. However, I would not sell a product in the ad. Instead, I would give away a free report in the ad and get prospects onto an email list. Sell to the list.

Terry: That makes sense. Build your list! Is it important to have a lot of money to spend when starting a marketing business?

Michael: No! The only thing you’ll need is a good autoresponder. A website is a good resource but not mandatory if you have a good autoresponder.

Terry: OK! With regard to follow-up sales, how important is it to sell a back-end product/service?

Michael: Very. Why should you continually find only new customers and not profit from old ones? Also, back-end doesn’t necessarily mean high-end. A very good back-end product would be a recurring billing program. One of the back-end products for my autoresponder ebook is the promotion of an autoresponder service. It pays $5 a month per member signup through me. This is monthly residual income.

Terry: Back-end sales are very nice. With that in mind, how often do you contact the individuals on your opt-in prospect list and customer list?

Michael: I publish a weekly newsletter to my newsletter list to keep me on their mind. Whenever I have a good offer, I contact my customer list. I don’t want to keep bothering them unless I have an important announcement.

Terry: Quality versus quantity! How important is the promotion and sale of affiliate programs?

Michael: It’s very important! The majority of my income comes from affiliate programs. Even if you have your own products, affiliate programs are a great way to earn extra profits.

Terry: The returns from promoting affiliate programs are worth the effort. What strategy do you employ with the affiliate programs you promote?

Michael: I promote programs at different price levels but not to just make money. The program has to be a good, something I can talk about and of interest to my list. If affiliate programs are going to be your main business, develop a free report to get prospects on your email list. Next, promote the affiliate programs in your newsletter.

Terry: Sounds simple enough! Do you recruit affiliates to sell your products/services?

Michael: Most of my product sales come from affiliates. However, you can’t sit around and wait for affiliates to come to you. You must go out and actively recruit them. You want affiliates to have large email lists and credibility in your niche. Give these affiliates a free copy of your product and a large commission for each sale.

Terry: Results depend on successful recruiting. What do most Internet marketers do wrong in trying to build a successful business?

Michael: They forget the main purpose of Internet marketing! Find a hungry niche market and provide customers with good products. Some marketers get lost in the “hype” of the Internet and forget basic economic principles.

Terry: You have very thoughtful insight. Moving along. How can you tell if an affiliate program is legitimate?

Michael: I always buy the product before joining the affiliate program. If it’s a good product it’ll generally be a good affiliate program. Be cautious of any programs that focus more on selling than on the product itself. Troubles lie ahead if you have to pay to be in a program but have no clue about the product!

Terry: Know the product before committing to a program. How should a newcomer determine what field to pursue in Internet marketing?

Michael: Research a potential niche market carefully. Go to the website GoodKeywords.com and see how many people search your topic area. Select a niche area with high traffic.

Terry: Excellent recommendation! In your judgment, what are the most effective things a newcomer should do to develop an affiliate strategy?

Michael: Pick a strong niche market and 3 good affiliate programs to promote. The individual affiliate needs to brand themselves (i.e., take on a unique identity) and not the affiliate program.

Terry: Therefore, branding is critical! What key things would you recommend to a new Internet marketer to achieve financial success?

Michael: Concentrate on building a list! Learn from the people who have already succeeded. There’s no shame in asking for help. Keep a cool head and have patience. Success won’t come overnight but it will happen. Don’t give up! You may be one failure away from success.

Terry: That is good positive encouragement for all marketers. Do you have any other comments you would like to add?

Michael: If you are a newbie, you have a long road ahead of you. However, the destination is worth the wait. Everything is a learning process. Remember the main objective is to solve someone’s frustration. There was a person out there banging his keyboard in anger and trying to figure out autoresponders. My ebook solved his problem. Find a frustration and solve it! You’ll be on your way to riches!

Terry: Michael, thank you very much for your valued inputs.

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Copyright © 2003 F. Terrence Markle – All Rights Reserved

FREE 7-Day Ultimate Affiliate Marketing eCourse at http://www.QuikSystems.com/uam/FreeCourse.htm

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About The Author F. Terrence Markle has worked for over 20 years with public and private companies. He has an MBA in finance and marketing. He has been involved with internet-related businesses for over 3 years. His primary focus today is marketing of affiliate programs. terry@quiksystems.com