In this edition of the Affiliate Buzz, host and Instructor of the Affiliate Marketers BootCamp, James Martell, is joined by Arlene Martell to talk about developing an automated email follow-up system so you don't leave sales and the resulting commission on the table.

James talks about autoresponders, which he and Arlene have been using for over a decade. He points out that it’s a profitable topic if it’s put together well because it can generate revenue for you for a long time. He also discusses the visitor buying cycle and the visitor profile. In addition, he provides an autoresponder blueprint that you can copy.

What are Autoresponders?

James kicks off the episode by talking about a student of his who hadn’t got his email list in order yet. The student thought that there were more important things to a business, but James points out that getting the email list sorted should be a priority.

James reminds listeners that the money is in the follow-up. Merchants have a limited cookie duration, which will determine if marketers get paid for the purchases of customers they redirected to merchant sites. For example, if the merchant’s cookie duration is 30 days and the customer returns to the site directly on the 29th day after first getting redirected to the merchant site, the marketer will get paid.

James says that autoresponders are a way to follow up with the customer to get them back to the merchant.

He also states that once autoresponders are set up, it is automated. You will have a series of emails that will work for you once a subscriber submits their email address.

How Often Should You Send Out an Autoresponder Email?

James states that some marketers send out emails every week while others send one every day. The frequency of emails depends on how aggressive you want to get. He and Arlene have successfully done it with less frequent and less aggressive emails.

When an email comes in every day, he tends to ignore them because it’s tiring to get marketing emails every day, something that the listeners probably experience too.

How to Organize and Structure an Autoresponder Series

1. The Opt-In Offer.

You need to give them a good reason to subscribe. It needs to be really simple. The customer needs to be able to consume it in five minutes. James’ previous mistake includes putting together 30- to 40-page eBooks with too much information.

His tip: Put together a one-pager that solves an immediate need. This will get them engaged.

Arlene adds that there’s shouldn't be a big gap between the opt-in offer and the actual product you’re selling. James says that it should actually be something that is a part of the product.

James further discusses the autoresponder series using the grand dogs as an example:

Let’s say Justin has a new puppy. What does the puppy need? What do you know that Justin has actually bought and paid for?

Arlene says Justin has bought a lot of new things such as a dog bed, collar, leash, food dish, etc.

James then starts working on an opt-in for someone who has a new puppy. An example he comes up with is The Top 10 Things You Must Have for Your Puppy. This list would contain the things that Arlene mentioned. James then says that the list could be grouped into things that are needed upfront and the things that could be bought separately. You can then put a link to the merchants of the things mentioned on the article.

The Lead Magnet Checklist

James discusses the checklist that he received from Ryan Deiss, one of the marketers that James follows.

Ryan Deiss' lead magnet checklist has eight points:

* It offers an ultra-specific solution to an ultra-specific market

* Promises one big thing

* It speaks to a known, desired end result

* Offers immediate gratification (No multi-day email courses in a lead magnet. No podcasts. No newsletters.)