1. Publish a newsletter. Certain quality auto responders will manage subscriptions and follow-up with interested prospects. Your newsletter can keep your visitors informed about your services or products, while building your reputation as a credible expert in your particular business.



2. Write reviews. Cover books, software, music, e-books, movies, etc., and put each review in an auto responder. Review your affiliate programs, using a link to your affiliate's page in your auto responder.

3. Distribute your articles. Writing and distributing targeted articles is a powerful tool to build your business credibility, bring traffic to your site, and increase your sales potential. If your articles contain valuable information, many editors will print what is known as a resource box for you. A resource box contains your bio and a brief description of your service or product.

It can also contain your auto responder address. Let's say you've written fifty articles. Put them on separate auto responder accounts and create a master list that contains the titles of each article, the auto responder address, and a brief abstract. Then promote your master list. Additionally, include your publishing guidelines so your affiliates can add their articles to your list, increasing the number of writers who are represented in your article list.

4. Create mailing lists. Inform subscribers of your articles when you've written new ones that they may want to publish in their own newsletter or website.

5. Distribute advertising. Let's say you sell advertising on your website or in your newsletter or e-zine. Set your auto responder to send the information about rates and how to place an ad automatically to all prospects' email addresses. Then have your auto responder follow-up. It can also send notification of any special deals you are currently offering.

6. Distribute an email course. Each day, have your auto responder send out another lesson. Just be sure that each lesson has quality content - not a sales pitch. Your content will do the selling for you, and will do it much more effectively. You can include tips centered on a different topic for each lesson, illustrating how your product will benefit the reader. Include the tangible benefits the visitor will reap by purchasing your product. Make sure to include a paragraph or two at the end of each lesson enticing your prospect to consider making a purchase.

7. Distribute free reports. This gives your visitor an idea of the type of information you can provide and the quality of your product or service. Make sure these reports are not sales letters or you will more than likely lose a potential customer than gain a sale.

8. Offer a trial version of your product. Give your prospects a sample of your e-book, course, software, membership, etc. People who are exposed to a little taste often end up wanting the whole pie. You can also capture their email addresses when you offer them a free trial from your website. Set up your auto responder to give instructions on how to obtain their free trial, and then make sure to follow-up to try and close the sale.

Now that you have proof that auto responders can be used creatively, see if you can add to the above list with some creative ideas of your own. Then, pick three ideas and implement a new idea each week for the next three weeks.