I don’t know a thing about you, but I’ll bet that you want to coax more sales from your site and from a higher proportion of your visitors. One way you can do that is to study the mind-set of your average (or ideal) visitor and set up an autoresponder with a short series of emails that does something helpful for them.

What I mean is, try to think what your average visitor must be thinking when he comes to y our site. Then write down three or four things that would be helpful to anyone thinking that. OK. Next, jot down 100 or 150 words of helpful information on each point.

Your notes could be as simple as:

• a list of three or four web sites you know of that have helpful information on the topic.
• a review of a book on the topic.
• your comment on a news item on the topic.

Anything. And just seven or eight short sentences.

Done that? Good … you now have an autoresponder series. Put an intro onto each one, and a one sentence ending that reminds the reader of the benefits of your site.

Promote your helpful information series on your home page, link it to a good autoresponder program and watch your visitors get help. You’ll see the results in return visits and more sales.

People like to get personal emails. So when you set up an autoresponder see if you can find a way to make the messages sound personal.

Of course they are not. Your sequence of emails was written before your customer emailed you. They are canned messages. And your readers will probably realize this. But a chatty, personalized e-mail is certainly going to work more for you than a cold, formal, official note with a stern, no-nonsense tone.

Am I right? Which of the two would you prefer to receive?

You can make your e-mail messages look personal by doing two simple things.

First, write with one, real customer in mind. Think that you are writing to them, specifically, when you write your autoresponder sequence. My old drama teacher at high school used to say we should speak from the stage as if we were addressing a little old lady in an old, frayed coat sitting in the back row, clutching her handbag. Not to the audience in general, but to one particular person. He said when we thought about our lines that way, we would find ourselves delivering them effectively to everyone in the hall. And a few years later, at journalism school, our broadcasting tutor used to tell us to read the news bulletin as if we were speaking to just one listener. This would make our delivery personable. If, instead, we spoke as if addressing an audience of tens of thousands, we would sound wooden and, he taught us.

Both these men were right. And you should apply what they taught when you write your e-mail sequences. In your mind’s eye picture a single reader, and write for them.

Second suggestion is to make use of all the information fields in your autoresponder. When a visitor fills in your e-mail form on your web site you will certainly be asking for their name and e-mail. But you can ask them to give you more information about themselves. Consider asking for more, personal information. And then when it comes time to build your autoresponder e-mail sequence you can put some of these personal details right into the body of the message. Just what details are appropriate will vary from business to business. But they might include things like location, age category, preferences and so on. Merge them with your message, and while people will know your e-mail has been generated by the computer yet they will appreciate the warm touch.

Try this and see what difference it makes.