16 Topic Ideas For Your First Autoresponder Series

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Below you will find 16 Topic Ideas For Your First Autoresponder Series

Definition of an autoresponder: An autoresponder is a simple yet effective email marketing tool that allows you to send a series of scheduled follow-up emails. Based on specific parameters that you set within your email system they get triggered when someone takes the action you set.  For example: When someone opts into your email through a free offering, a follow-up email or series of emails will begin to get sent based on your original set-up. 

Many entrepreneurs have no formal email marketing system. Of those that do, many are not consistent with sending out emails. That in and of itself can lose you a lot of potential customers and of money. But what about those of you who have an email marketing system and yet, are not taking advantage of the autoresponder feature it has?

Do you realize the benefits of setting them up? What I found is that most people don’t set up email marketing and autoresponder series because they are:

1. Intimidated – The very thought of it overwhelms them
2. Don’t have a program that they use for professional emails.
3. Don’t know what to say in the emails.
4. Think social media is enough and that emails are old school.

I’m here to say that emails and autoresponders are here to stay. Recently, Tik Tok creators were in a frenzy when they were told that the social platform would be closed down. While many of them are on multiple social platforms, they got a jolt of reality that maybe their audience could be gone in a split second. Do you know what the smart creators did? They began to request email addresses from their followers so they could stay in touch in the event their connection was lost.

Email addresses may come and go, but most people keep theirs for years and years. And while social media is an awesome way to market your business, email addresses are a way you can connect with your audience and know that most likely, it’s delivered. Whether they open it or not, they heard from you and they will remember you. If an email wasn’t still the ‘thing’ then why is it still required by most companies that you do business with? Every application, every order, every optin. Why shouldn’t YOU benefit from gathering your customer’s emails as well? But that’s a whole other blog!

Today we are going to talk about setting up your very first autoresponder series. There are so many series you can set up after this one, but let’s get this first one started.

Setting the scene:

If you already offer lead capture opportunities with an optin form, that’s a great start. However, if you haven’t set up a series of follow-up emails once they optin, you are doing yourself a grave injustice and losing the benefits of that capture.

Imagine if you can touch every person who opted in with a personalized email or series of emails that are sent automatically? Can you see how much time that would save you? Wouldn’t it be great to have everyone know what you want them to know?

Hopefully, today will help with that. I want you to know that the first time is the most challenging. It was for me. Mainly because I had no clue how to do it and what to say. Do you feel the same way?

What if I told you that once you set aside the time to actually create your autoresponders, you will be amazed by how great it feels to finally have a marketing tool that is professional and efficient.

Benefits of setting up an autoresponder series:

• The marketing tool that keeps on giving – when someone signs up to your email optin, they will hear from you for a period of time even while you are doing other things. This is great time management.
• With the right emails, you will be able to tell people everything you want them to know about you and your business in short but sweet emails that go out to them.
• You build your brand and allow others to get familiar with all of you. Because if you tell someone everything about you the first time you meet, they won’t remember it and will probably get overwhelmed.
• By having an autoresponder series, you can turn prospects into buyers
• You establish a deeper relationship with the recipient
• Autoresponder follow-up ensures no one falls through the cracks once they enter your system.
• Easily duplicated for another series of emails

Tips:

• Start a folder entitled MYCOMPANYNAME autoresponders and save it in your Word or Docs file
• Prepare all material outside of your email program. (you will copy and paste later)
• Create a new contact list inside your email program – Name is something memorable such as my free eBook offer
• Set aside time to do it alone or with a partner that knows the ropes.
• Know your email program’s limits on autoresponders. Some have a maximum amount on the series (the topic of a group of autoresponder emails) and some have unlimited series but a cap on the number of emails inside the series.
• Create evergreen material – This is VITAL – Evergreen refers to being timeless. For instance, your autoresponder will go out to someone who signs up to your email list at any given time of the day, month, or year. So, keep all time-sensitive details OUT. No holiday specials (unless you remove this series right after an event or holiday) Right now we are creating your very first autoresponder so let’s consider this one, the one that will stay active for a long time with no specials.
• Decide when to begin your emails. If you have 10 emails to include in your series, then decide when the very first one goes out (many have it go out the day after they sign up unless it includes the Free offering, then you’d want it to go out immediately)
• The remainder of the emails – Depending on how often you want them to hear from you and what your content is, will determine your time between sends. For instance, if you feel they NEED to know everything right away, then you can send emails out daily, or 3 times per week. Or you can start off with a few immediate emails and then have the remainder go out once a week.
• The number of emails does not matter – you can send out one autoresponder as a thank you and that’s it! Or you can send out 3 or 5 or 10 depending on how much you have to say.
• Sign up for your own autoresponder – Before sharing your series with the world, sign up to your own list and make sure it runs smoothly. Have a friend do the same to get feedback.
• Send short emails – Sometimes the people you are sending to don’t know you well. Sending a very short read can ensure that they spend the time to read it. Adding a photo helps or a pertinent quote or statistic.
• Create a call to action – Ask them to do something simple. Click here to read more, contact us, reply to us, etc.
• This is not the place to sell them anything – Unless you make an offer that is timeless, you won’t want to present a sale or special. But you can offer a first-time buyer discount.

Here are 16 Topic Ideas For Your First Autoresponder Series Choose those that are a good fit for your business. Suggested topics:

1. Welcome aboard! – Let them know you will be sending out a series of emails to help get them acquainted with you and your company. In this email, request they save this series to a folder entitled YOUR COMPANY NAME
2. Introduce yourself and your staff – Send photos, bios or even videos introducing everyone and how they can help. The more you tell them about you, the more personally connected they will feel. People love to do business owners they feel friendly with.
3. Contact information – Here is a great place to provide all of your links, numbers, emails, and other contact information. If your subject is descriptive enough, they will open it or save it. Drop us a line to say hello
4. Regular events – If you do regular events that can be measured without dates, this would be a great time to tell them. Example: Join us for the Introduction webinar – Every Thursday at 10 am via zoom. Sign up here to join us, it’s free!
5. Give them a taste of your product or service – We offer these products or services to this type of buyer. Visit here to see our inventory.
6. Survey: How can we help you? Please take a moment to complete this 2 question survey so that we can serve you better.
7. Referral program: Do you know someone who may be interested in our product or service? Have them contact us at ###-###-#### (better yet, you can provide them a form to fill out with their referrals.
8. Our company in the news – We made the local news, take a look at what we did
9. Testimonials – Many people like to know what others are saying about doing business with us. Visit our testimonial page here.
10. Social Media – Please join us on our social media pages here
11. Tour of your website, store, or another platform – You could make an actual video showing them around a brick and mortar business or a video screen share helping them navigate your webpage
12. FAQ – Have questions, please visit our FAQ page here and get them answered. Prefer to ask us in person, call or email us here (link to your contact page)
13. Article about your product or service – Send them a link or embed an article that promotes or endorses your product
14. Before and After photos – If you have a product or service that transforms, then share it with them.
15. Tips and Tricks – If you have the type of business that people can use resources, tips or information about, this is a great place to start.
16. Complete the series – You might invite them to contact you for a private call to discuss their needs or ask them to drop by for a free gift. Something that connects you even further.

Thank you for reading 16 Topic Ideas For Your First Autoresponder Series

I’m sure you can come up with other ideas as well. But don’t worry, you are not alone – Contact me if you need help setting up your email and autoresponder series.

All the best – Enthusiastically,

Fran

Follow Fran on YouTube for more How To’s for Women Entrepreneurs – 

16 Topic Ideas For Your First Autoresponder Series

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• Free 60-day trial
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• So much more!

The Lonely Entrepreneur

Gazing into her future as she relaxes into the plush leather executive chair at her second-hand vintage mahogany desk. Clasping her motivationally themed coffee cup as the rays from the sunrise gently splash the brim, deep thoughts penetrate her mind and her soul as she methodically prepares for her day.

She wakes with unprecedented purpose and drive and strategically maps out her day.  Keyboard in hand she thoughtfully schedules calls, appointments, and networking activities in her digitally organized world while filling every visible gap with the necessities she mechanically knows to include in her entrepreneurial life.

As she schedules her posts to include her well planned and meticulously created marketing memes, her day transforms from a nestled and gentle cocoon into a rolling boil of nonstop obligatory activities. Phone calls, social media communication, prescheduled video conferencing all blend seamlessly with educational webinars, audiobooks, and podcasts.

She steps back for a moment to observe her creation. Did she forget anything? Sometimes she does. Most times she does.

She knows intuitively that she allotted most of her time to her masterpiece of a day while excluding the foundational nuggets that had her become an entrepreneur in the first place.  Has she taken the same thoughtful time to plan cherished moments with herself or her family? Inevitably, she shelves those thoughts for the day that business picks up, a project gets completed or a milestone is reached.

Brilliant to the naked eye, successful on paper and empty on the inside. Fulfillment, the significant missing component to this otherwise well-oiled machine gnaws at her subconscious mind. Am I doing it right? Is this all there is? Am I doing the most valuable job I was placed here to do?

Suddenly she feels very alone. Deeply and inexplicably alone. Alone despite her full life. Alone with her wonder, not knowing how to direct her thoughts and emotions to a place of resolve.

What she may not realize is that highly conscious people have these introspective conversations often. Processing their purpose in comparison to the work they currently do is part of personal and spiritual development. While she is not technically alone at this level of growth, she may not be connected with others who are simultaneously having the same transformational experience.

She carefully chooses whether to take on this adventure alone or hire a professional who can help her create a personalized roadmap to her self discovery. Once she realizes that her aloneness is, in fact, her private life teacher she begins to pay attention to it as the positive entity it is. Probing, internal questions help formulate the mastery of her life and then ….  suddenly … a window opens. The window revealing all she ever needed. Fulfillment.

Fulfillment ….  she sits with that for a moment. Does she feel fulfilled?  Does she even understand what that means to her? She learns that fulfillment is feeling completely satisfied with your life.  Unfortunately, fulfillment is highly understated in comparison with freedom, financial reward and fun. As they are all ardently desired and weigh heavily in the personal reward column, you can have all of them while lacking fulfillment and not knowing why you continue to fall short.

She begins to get what’s been missing and why she has felt so empty and alone. Fulfillment cured her aloneness. She couldn’t have both at the same time. She found fulfillment and began to walk with a metaphorical bounce in her step, smiling with content, feeling satiated and alive! Her puzzle is complete. She is complete.

The moral to her story – while compromise is unavoidable, selling out on that which brings fulfillment will make even the best of lives feel empty.

How did she go about finding fulfillment?

She started by doing some of the following:

• Taking note of her values and live life accordingly
• Doing things she  really loved to do more than out of obligation
• Finding things to do that were purposeful in her life (volunteering, creativity, spiritual development just to name a few)
• Listened to her intuition/heart – it knew what she needed
• She stayed open to newness
• She basked in simple pleasures
• She spent time in quiet introspection

Stay true to your joy!

Enthusiastically,

Fran

Fran Asaro is a Virtual Partner helping women entrepreneurs over 50 create fulfilling laptop lifestyles. She helps them build age-appropriate businesses that support dignity, joy, and fun.

Learn more about Fran at Thrive Any Way

 

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Pro Bono Doesn’t have to be a NO NO – 9 Ways to benefit when giving away your services

 

 

 

Do you suffer from M.B.I.? (Multiple Business Identities)?

 

 

If You Believe in Them, Invest in Them – (Be Someone’s Hero)

My Hero invested in me many years ago and changed the course of my life forever as well as the course for others. That’s why I say,

‘If you Believe in Them, Invest in Them’

Be someone’s Hero and the reason for their success.

 

Having a vision without the proper resources is one of the most restricting feelings you can imagine. Some may have a dream of starting a small business while others are fantasizing about changing the world in some way. There are those who just want to break out of the old and rebuild their lives. The reasons are endless. Motivated people may have education and no platform or others have no education but they have drive and determination Either way, when you are ready to leave your mark and you don’t have the tools, it beats down on you… day after day after day after day.

When I was 21 years old I convinced my husband at the time to open an Auto Body Repair Shop. He was well-trained in a vocational school and very good at his trade. I had the background of administration and sales. We had no clue what we were doing but we knew we wanted to do it. No formal college, not a dime to our name. Just drive and passion.

I kept saying, ‘what have we got to lose.’ Even back then (almost 40 years ago) I knew the gold in being an entrepreneur and even though the businesses may have changed, I never looked back to consider corporate America…ever.

What do you do when you have talent, drive, and desire but little or no money? For us, we called HERO, my father. We asked him to borrow $2000 to rent a warehouse. He agreed and I insisted we had a formal payment plan with interest. I drew it up and he signed it. It felt so official.

We didn’t know what to do after that but we figured it out. We got a line of credit from a really supportive paint supplier who stocked our shop with all our necessary supplies for months. They too invested in us. We purchased a beat-up old desk from the phone company and put up a shed in our 900 sq ft warehouse to use as our office because we didn’t have the money to build a real one. We improvised. We knocked on doors for business. We followed up on every lead we had. We eagerly sat outside our warehouse at the end of every day until we finally got our first customer.

Who do you think was the proudest? YES, my father was proud. He was proud from year one. He, being retired, would come in and help out. Everything from driving cars to dealerships we were doing work for, to sweeping the floor.

He was THAT proud of us.

It took us about 2 years to pay back that $2000. We struggled. We ate fish almost every night that my husband had caught and ran up a department store credit card to buy dog food and necessities. We had a blast!! After all, it was OURS and we got to build something amazing.  We had a blast even before the break came when all of a sudden we found that we could afford things. First, we bought a car, then a new boat. THEN we took a cruise to Alaska and bought a bigger home. That all began only 5 years into our launching the business.

Do you think my father took responsibility for our success? You’re damned right he did. I am sure he shared about us with his friends all the time! My ex, Frankie and I still reminisce about those good times. Our friends still share about those times. It was something special.

I share this story with you because imagine if my Hero / father hadn’t invested in us. Where would we be? Working jobs. Yes. Earning a nice income, I’m sure. But what we got from having someone believe in us and growing something from a seed was priceless. Since then I had a lucrative Real Estate career and a wonderful coaching business. And guess what? I help others start new businesses. It’s a gift I want to give everyone who has that passion.

As someone who is approached by many entrepreneur wannabes, the part that frustrates me is when they can’t afford me. I kept my fees the same for 12 years to help. I have had my share of ProBono clients to help out. I have become creative to offer affordable support to those who want it. I created groups at my home for women entrepreneurs to teach them about business. All they paid was $5 and if they didn’t have it, they were invited anyway. I do what I can. Today I would like to go a step further.

I’d like to invite the loved ones of these Superstars to come forward and help them out.

They may have asked you for financial support in the past and you declined or they may be too proud to ask. Either way, if you know your loved one has a passion and is challenged by financial resources, offer them help. They may need schooling, coaching or just someone to encourage them to go forward.

Who Invested in You and Changed Your Life Forever? Who was YOUR Hero?

If someone else invested in you, and gave you a future that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise, then this may be your opportunity to pay it forward. If no one invested in you, this maybe be your opportunity to give to someone what you wish had been given to you and change a life forever, including yours.

If you or someone you know has a loved one who needs a partner to help them move forward don’t ignore a creative mind. We need them. If you don’t know how to help, there are many ways. One is that you can consider my Virtual Partner program. It’s a one on one video call experience where we walk through all phases of their needs. I hung up my coaching title and took on this title because its a less authoritative experience. Still, it has a leadership level of support with resources beyond your imagination. It’s just gentler and more freedom based. It consists of all my years of entrepreneurial wisdom combined with fun, empowerment and motivation.

If you think this is something your loved one would love to have, then let’s talk or just go to my Virtual Partner site and take a look at some of what I offer. If this is NOT what they need, contact me anyway and I’ll help you find what works for your situation.

Please be the hero in someone’s life, believe in them, be proud of them, INVEST in them. They are not the only ones who will benefit. YOU too will be rewarded with the fulfilling feeling of making a difference in someone’s life.

Let me hear from you

Enthusiastically,

Fran

 

Receive this Customized Digital Gift Certificate when you purchase a Virtual Partner Package

Do you Suffer from M.B.I.? (Multiple Business Identities)?

Have you heard of this ‘affliction’ called M.B.I., Multiple Business Identities?

Conflicting messages about having M.B.I. If you’ve been around for a while then you’ve been introduced to the idea of the benefits of having multiple streams of income. It’s encouraged by many and yet, it becomes a double-edged sword for some. If you thought you were doing the ‘right’ thing by having a few sources and then were criticized by others who felt you were too scattered and probably unsuccessful, then you may want to read on. You’re probably reading this because you either know someone who fits this title or you are in fact the person who does.

As a business coach and a fellow ‘victim’ of M.B.I., I know many people who have it. They either have a job and a business they are building on the side or they literally have several businesses that they run simultaneously.  Depending on who the observer is, this could cause the person with M.B.I. to feel shame or as if they are ‘doing something wrong’ because after all, most people focus on one business at a time. (I don’t know how they do it and I don’t want to) So, when I say are you ‘suffering’ from M.B.I. it’s because many who have it are suffering from what they think about it, hear about it or the way they manage it. Not because they have it.

I personally have several business identities of which I am proud of, think of as my ‘babies’ and am building at the same time. Part of the reason I have M.B.I. is that I research online businesses for my clients and I like to provide resources, educated advice and even opportunities when needed. The other reason I have M.B.I. is that I fall in love with great ideas, projects or concepts and I am not willing to let them go just because I already have 10 others.

Multiple Business Identities, while very common, are usually kept secretive due to the fact that most do not want to be distracted by outside influence – hey! we are way to busy to be distracted!

Before we go on, let’s find out if you truly suffer from M.B.I. Because while you may ‘think’ you are afflicted, it may just be a passing fancy. A person with TRUE Multiple Business Identity will recognize themselves in one or more of the symptoms.

Symptoms of M.B.I.

• If you have several business cards with your name on them and they are all current
• If your LinkedIn Profile looks more like a lifelong resume
• If you have several Facebook groups/pages and multiple twitter / social media accounts in order to profile all of your businesses.
• If you wake up in the morning and say ‘Which business should I work on today?’
• If you go to a Networking Group and you hesitate for a moment when someone asks what you do. (trying to figure out which of your business identities best suits the person you are speaking to)
• If your coach is telling you to choose ONE business and build only that one, but you don’t know which to choose and your heart tells you not to.
• If you are wildly passionate, talented or just plain interested in many things
• If your friends and family are worried about you and might even think you have a ‘serious problem’
• If you are REALLY taking the ‘you should have multiple streams of income’ statement very seriously.

Causes of M.B.I.

The causes of M.B.I. vary among those afflicted. It occurs mostly with having a particular mindset similar to those listed below.

• Inspired by others with M.B.I.
• Loves money and wants several platforms for earning
• Passionate about so much, not willing to choose
• Multitalented and doesn’t see why they have to choose only one
• Wants to be a disrupter in the world and doesn’t want to choose (are you seeing a pattern here?)
• Doesn’t think living 85 years is enough time to get it all done so they must overlap

So, obviously, the common thread in the cause of M.B.I is the fact that those who have it, want it all, and are not willing to choose.

Treatment for M.B.I.

While there may not be a cure for M.B.I. mostly because those afflicted don’t want to ‘recover’ from it. There is a way to live with it more comfortably.

• Stop listening to those who don’t GET YOU! – You won’t change their minds and let’s hope they don’t try to change you.
• Unless it’s bothering you, there is nothing wrong. Be proud of your M.B.I.
• Know that it’s possible to manage them all and make money
• If you are suffering from overwhelm, lack of support, structure or knowledge on how to manage your M.B.I., find a fellow M.B.I.’er who can share their experience, strengths and hopes with you and help make M.B.I. more doable, lucrative and fun.

Final words for those with M.B.I.

While it may not be fully supported in the mainstream, yet, M.B.I. is becoming more and more common among entrepreneurs. Maybe you have M.B.I. or maybe you just need to earn with one business while building another. It can range from having a Main business and a network marketing business to having several of each. I myself manage my consulting business, an e-commerce store, an affiliate marketing business and a few network marking businesses and I have a few more in the pipeline. Whatever your reason, I would like to say, it’s OK. For some, that’s all they need to hear. It’s OK and you are not crazy. (OK, I really don’t know if that’s true)

So my advice to you is to come out of the closet and seek out others with Multiple Business Identities There is nothing to be ashamed of, especially if you are muli-successful!

Fran Asaro is a Virtual Partner bringing humor and companionship to entrepreneurs  and multi-preneurs who don’t want to do it alone. Along with a lifelong entrepreneurial bank of resources, wisdom and secrets, having Fran as a Virtual Partner will help provide many levels of support to your personal and professional life

Contact Fran if you’d like to find out more about her and to see if having a Virtual Partner is right for you.

More about Fran and having a Virtual Partner

 

A message from a fellow M.B.I. – After reading this article, a friend/colleague of mine wrote the following comment. I asked her if she’d allow me to post it here and she agreed. I thought it was important enough to profile it and not lose it among any comments.

From Patricia Hartfield Thanks so much Fran Amendola Asaro I read this entire article it was very helpful as a few weeks ago my mom advised me that her friends supposedly see me on FB and won’t do business with me or buy from me cause I’m all over the place. I’m like Really-and it was hurtful in a way as I don’t advertise a lot about my businesses that I’m involved I mainly share Wellness info as a Self-Care Wellness Educator… I’m in doTerra and used to share that but now only use for Personal aspects of things not as a business. I’m in Nikken but I work and share it Part-time something I could not let go and now I’m in training and starting a Skincare and Facial Exercise business. One thing that I have noticed that no matter what businesses I have been plugged into they all have been consistent in ways of Wellness and Fitness is what it all comes down to. Now if I go from Wellness and Fitness to doing jewelry then I can see the complaint but at this point, I don’t. So your article of being an MBI person was well-needed today-one of my dosha’s in Ayurveda is Creativity-and that I can definitely agree with thank you. 

~ Patricia Hartfield – Nikken Site