If all your selling is "one and done", you're leaving a lot of money on the table that you could be putting in your pocket! If a customer buys from you, and you never see them again, you've lost a valuable asset. Then there are the people that view your offer, but don't buy and don't ever come back. All of these missed opportunities to present yourself again can be remedied. Learn how to capture your customer's contact information automatically!

It's been said that it can take up to 7 or 8 repeated exposures to your sales efforts to get a person to actually buy from you. By simply sending follow up emails to your customers and contacts, you increase the likelihood of making a sale and creating a loyal customer that will continue to buy from you and your line of products or services. The trick is to get that information and send out customized emails that reach these people.

Thanks to the miracle of modern computer programs and automation, you can do just that with an "autoresponder". This is a program or service that records a person's email and name (at the very least), and allows you to send targeted and personal email to your list of contacts. Some Web hosting services include an autoresponder program as a part of their suite of services to their customers.

There are also companies that specialize in providing autoresponder services that have just about all the "bells and whistles" you might need. You'll be able to create a truly sophisticated and targeted campaign of follow-ups, e-courses, special promotions, One Time Offers (OTO's) and customizable forms for capturing any and all information you might want about your customers or contacts. They usually charge a monthly fee for this service, but it is often very affordable for the value given.

Because of the bad behavior of a few nasty "spammers" (people who send bulk, unsolicited commercial emails), a new practice has arisen that protects the consumer and marketer from violating laws regarding spam - the opt-in or double opt-in email solicitation. By directing prospects or customers to an opt-in form, the marketer can get that contact information without being in violation of the law. A "double" opt-in is an added measure of security that makes sure that an automated program or "bot" didn't fill in the form. The customer fills in the form, then receives an email that must be responded to in a particular way, to prove that a real person asked to be included in an email list. Double opt-ins are becoming the preferred method of capturing valid, serious list members.

There's a catch to sending out autoresponder emails. Not all of them reach the person intended. Deliverability of emails is a problem most often found with private autoresponder programs from hosting companies. The big autoresponder services make a great deal of effort to work with ISP's (Internet Service Providers), making sure that their emails aren't trapped by spam filters or rejected as undeliverable.

This is, perhaps, another example of "you get what you pay for". Free autoresponder programs are free, but deliverability can be fair to poor. Subscription services can cost around $20 per month, but deliverability can be nearly perfect. Be wary of using "free" autoresponder services to build any substantial list. You may find that you cannot transfer this list to a subscription service, and must get your list members to opt-in to the new list.

No matter what you choose, in the end, choosing an autoresponder is one of the most powerful ways to increase your sales without any increases in your traffic or initial conversions.