Have you ever had a salesman on your doorstep trying hard to sell you something? Even if you really needed it, you feel equally determined not to buy what they are selling. There’s resistance inside you. You have no relationship with this person so how can you trust them?

It’s been said that business is all about building relationships. So how can you build a relationship with your website visitors? Suppose you have 100 visitors a day to your website. How can you get them to return, read some reviews, perhaps buy a product you’ve recommended?

You need to build a relationship of trust with them. But how do you achieve this if they arrive and are gone in an instant, never to return?

How about using email, after all, just about everyone on the Internet uses email. It’s a terrific way to communicate. But the real power of email is not harnessed until you use autoresponders.

Autoresponders are automated email distribution and contact management software systems. You can collect 100’s of visitor email addresses, store then in a contact database and send emails to all of them at the click of a button, at regular intervals, or whenever you choose.

It’s the perfect relationship building tool. You can build a database of many thousands of visitors or customers and send then a regular newsletter, advice and support, updates, free reports, or perhaps send them a tip of the day.

Marketing wisdom tells us it takes 7 contacts, on average, to make the sale. So you will often see autoresponders used to entice the reader to offer his email address in return for a short course, which is emailed, once a day, for 7 days, during which time the product or service is promoted.

It’s true. Not everyone is ready to buy at the same time. Automated emails can build a relationship of trust. This technique works. Instead of just a visitor, you have a prospect, and eventually a customer. Internet marketers say ‘the money is in the list’. A big list of customers, responsive to offers and special deals, can be more valuable than the website.

If you want to read more about autoresponders and what they can do, read how to make autoresponders work for you. And in my next post I will help you choose the right type of autoresponder for your needs.