How to Use an Autoresponder to Publish Your Own Ezine

When most people think about autoresponders, they simply think of a "follow up" tool as the main function. While this is obviously one of the most popular functions there are also many other uses. One such use is the publishing and distribution of an ezine or newsletter. Since auto responder services usually are set up to send automatic responses to the people on the list at certain intervals after they sign up, setting up an autoresponder for the purpose of send out an ezine might be a little confusing to a new marketer.

In this article I will outline the "broadcast" feature that many systems offer and how to use this function to deliver your ezine content to your subscriber base.

Depending on the service or auto responder that you are using, you will need a "broadcast" feature (Aweber Offers This Feature). The broadcast feature works essentially the same as the auto response feature, with one big difference. The messages are not sent out at intervals. Broadcast messages are "one time" messages that are only sent to your current mailing list. People who sign up for your list after the broadcast has been sent do not receive it, unless the specifically request it with an autoresponder address, which you must set up.

Another cool thing about broadcasting is that you can schedule a broadcast to be sent out right away or some time in the future which has no bearing on when the subscriber was actually added to the mailing list.

Using the broadcast feature of most services, you can simply go and either type your newsletter, or copy and paste it into the editor, then choose to send the broadcast to your entire mailing list. More advanced autoresponder services will usually have broadcasting features.

Using an auto responder to maintain a mailing list and to distribute a newsletter is a wonderful idea. Your subscribers can easily opt-in, or opt-out, and all of the distribution is handled for you, based on the schedule that you set. List maintenance can become very difficult without the automation that these services provide. You can write each issue of your ezine or newsletter well in advance, and have it delivered to your mailing list, no matter where you are or what you are doing. That is the beauty of automation!

Since all past broadcast and auto response messages are saved, you can easily refer back to old issues, or allow people to request past issues. You can also use the tracking feature throughout each issue of the newsletter to determine how many clicks you are getting for the various products or websites that you promote in your ezine.

Not all autoresponder programs or services have this feature so it's important that you find this out before you make a purchase. As your marketing progresses, you will find that this is one of the most useful features of the service or program.