It’s an auto-responder series, a marketing collateral that has caught up in an age when time is short and the impact on the consumer’s mind has to be quick and powerful. The trick that content writers play often when writing an auto-responder mail series is to ‘literally’ chop the client requirement into logical solutions and then providing a copy for each solution with minimum words but maximum effect.

Auto-responders, as they are auto-generated with customized content offer a very cost effective and time managed solution to developing marketing copy for a product. They work almost always in creating an impact because they are scripted such that they hold the reader’s attention instantly and if the copy is well written the idea stays in the reader’s mind longer. A good auto-responder series will always have the following taken care of:

The sequence of the auto-responders- Before writing the content for the auto responder, it is important that the content writer and the client reach the same page with regard to the number of mails they would need to sequence in a series. Auto-responders could vary from five to seven to more depending on how long the client would want to engage with his target customers before targeting conversion. It is generally not the method and neither is it advisable to have more than 7 or 10 mails in a series.

Brevity of content- How effective a unit of an auto-responder would be will to a large extent depend, not on the length of the mail but what engages the reader’s attention. It could be a length of two brief lines that could very efficiently convey the seller’s thought across to the buyer and hold his interest for a while.

Focus of content- It is always important to draft the series in terms of priority as to what goes first and what goes next and then sit down to writing the mails. Each auto-responder mail is like a rung of a ladder, the progress is only forward or upward as you may. Each Auto-responder is like a quintessential mini soap-opera in itself, always ending on a note that keeps the reader wanting to know what happens next.

Import of timing- Marketers who use the auto-responder technique will tell you that timing is the name of the game when it comes to auto-responder series. The intent is to hit the iron when it’s hot and keep the suspense in the content just about that much that will hold the reader’s attention but not be so vague as to misdirect him. The right words put across at the right time almost always make the right impact.

Structure of content- An auto-responder is the most cost effective way of potentially engaging with the customer and nurturing him with the future prospect of a conversion. Hence, it is imperative that the brief content is put up in a manner that draws attention at once. Placement of content with the design, deciding on the font size and style and finally making sure that the structure follows a gradual logical pattern are the fundamentals to keep in mind when working on an auto-responder series.

A hint of humor- Though an auto-responder is invariably toned with a sales pitch, it is always good to have it colored with a dash of humor. This is an approach that goes down well with almost everyone, and in a time when unidentified mails hit the trash it is always good to have an edge in terms of what you are offering the reader.

It’s important to acknowledge the fact that what makes one auto-responder different from another though both may be marketing the same product is the CONTENT that goes into it. So keep it short, but hit the target with the content that you script for auto-responders.