Looking for help with Automation before my upcoming Mini-RETIREMENT!!

[kevkos]

Hi!

I'm probably 80% of the way to automating my Muse!

However, I'm still answering some emails and attending to things that I should not be doing. I'm off to Australia for 2.5 months in March and will need to shore up my automation!

My site is: www.triswimcoach.com

I sell books, ebooks, and DVD's.
I have a contact us form that mostly gets directed to my VA- so all order trouble and download issues will go to her.

However, when customers buy my products, they pay through paypal, and they see my email address right at the top while placing their order. So I get 1-2 emails per day with questions on orders and support help. It's not huge but it's something I need to deal with soon!

I would like to do an autoresponder with FAQ's. However, I am using this email address with several business contacts and it would confuse them to suddenly get an FAQ page sent to them when they email me. If someone is emailing me and they get the autoresponder, they will have to cut and paste their same email and send it again- which is an annoyance to them I'm concerned with.

Any ideas here?

Thanks in advance!

Kevin

[Peter Bowen]

Get another email address and use it for sales and sales queries. (Sorry, I might be missing the point totally).

[kamakiri]

Auto responders suck. Never use one. That aside, did you read Tim's recent blog post? Here is a link to: The Holy Grail: How to Outsource the Inbox and Never Check Email Again (http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2008/01/21/the-holy-grail-how-to-outsource-the-inbox-and-never-check-email-again/)

It is very timely for your question, and will definitely shed some light on your situation.

Peter did have a great solution though. Just get another email.

[kevkos]

Get another email address and use it for sales and sales queries. (Sorry, I might be missing the point totally).

That would make sense but it's nearly impossible to change email accounts in Paypal...trust me, I've done it before and it's a terrible experience!

Customers SHOULD be using my contact us form for support questions but they can see my email address when they checkout in paypal.

Thanks for your input!

Kevin

[kevkos]

Auto responders suck. Never use one. That aside, did you read Tim's recent blog post? Here is a link to: The Holy Grail: How to Outsource the Inbox and Never Check Email Again (http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2008/01/21/the-holy-grail-how-to-outsource-the-inbox-and-never-check-email-again/)

It is very timely for your question, and will definitely shed some light on your situation.

Peter did have a great solution though. Just get another email.

Why do you say autoresponders suck? I use them for selling my products and they work quite well. I'll check out that article, looks interesting, thanks!

Kevin

[kamakiri]

Auto responders generally create useless spam. If you are checking your email more than once every ten days, there is no reason to even think about one at all (and even there it is a bad idea). People hate spam, and getting a constant auto responder reply when sending someone email is more of a deal killer than whatever benefits you might have in setting one up to begin with.

Now, if you are going to be away for an extended period and put a CONTACT number in the auto responder for emergencies, it might be useful. It doesn't sound like you were interested in getting contacted though.

If you have something that automatically sends out a single sales email to everyone who signs up for your product, that is a completely different story. A one shot email to someone who typed their email into a 'send more info' box is a good sales tool. You kill two birds with one stone there, thanking the person for signing up and giving them more detailed info that they asked for. The kind of auto responder I am talking about is one that sends off auto-spam every time you get an email with some sort of useless message like, Thanks and I will get back to you soon.

[kevkos]

Auto responders generally create useless spam. If you are checking your email more than once every ten days, there is no reason to even think about one at all (and even there it is a bad idea). People hate spam, and getting a constant auto responder reply when sending someone email is more of a deal killer than whatever benefits you might have in setting one up to begin with.

Now, if you are going to be away for an extended period and put a CONTACT number in the auto responder for emergencies, it might be useful. It doesn't sound like you were interested in getting contacted though.

If you have something that automatically sends out a single sales email to everyone who signs up for your product, that is a completely different story. A one shot email to someone who typed their email into a 'send more info' box is a good sales tool. You kill two birds with one stone there, thanking the person for signing up and giving them more detailed info that they asked for. The kind of auto responder I am talking about is one that sends off auto-spam every time you get an email with some sort of useless message like, Thanks and I will get back to you soon.

Good points and I actually hadn't thought of this- I do have an automated email generated but it needs to give them more info to avoid the temptation of asking me direct questions.

Thanks for your help!

Kevin

[kamakiri]

You are right on with that idea. Having a detailed initial email with s tag line of: Please keep this for future reference, really does eliminate questions and time spent answering them in the future. You might not want to include a FAQ right in the email, but for sure, have one up and running and include the link. Also give the link a prominent, but unobtrusive spot on your web site, so it is easy enough to find that people go there instead of to the email option. Basically in doing that you make it easier and faster for them to answer their own questions, not unlike most equipment at MacDonald's where it is easier to use properly than to use incorrectly.