There are dozens of companies to choose from but what’s important is to choose a service that controls everything for you and allows automation and unlimited emails. Also check that they allow affiliate links.

Examples: Aweber offers Aweber FREE - up to 500 leads and 3,000 emails a month. Getresponse offers a free 30 day trial. I use this service

Once you’ve picked the right autoresponder for you create your first list

Use a professional email address. The best is one related to a domain you own - e.g., (yourname@yourdomain.com). It is recommended to not use Google, Yahoo, Hotmail.

You will be asked to complete the From Name & From Email Address.

This can be as simple as a popup box on your website and blog with something like Join Our Newsletter For Updates, but if you really want to build a large database we recommend providing something of value for free.

An easy way to find something is to buy some Private Label Rights (PLR) in your niche - often this will include a landing page

Create a landing page with a simple headline for the best conversions. Simple place to start is to use one from your autoresponder supplier

Create a thank you page so when someone signs up you can deliver the free content. You can use this page to make a direct offer. I prefer to deliver the free content by email - that gets people used to clicking your links.

You will need to configure the optin form so it directs to the thank you page and ensure the form is connected to the correct list inside your autoresponder. Depending on what you are using, it might be configured inside WordPress, or your page builder software.

After a new subscriber joins your list, they should receive a welcome email thanking them for signing up and reminding them what they signed up for. It also helps to map out what they can expect from you.

This is the time to introduce yourself, your business and make a good impression.

Depending on your business model, you decide how often you would like to send emails. 3 – 5 emails per week is a good number for most businesses. In the first week you can have 3 automatic follow-up emails introducing your products, services and even offering a special discount deal.

Set up a series of welcome and introduction emails say 7 to 10 days worth.

Once you have those set up plan another 7 to 10 days worth

While there’s value in most types of email lists, those who purchase products and services are the ones who bring in the money and should be treated a little differently. Hence why it’s important to segment them into different list or set tags.

At a minimum you want to know who is engaged and who is not.

Using your autoresponder, create a new list of all the products and services you offer. Consider 3 lists for each product

1. Interested in the product
2. Bought the product
3. Abandoned shopping cart

Configure your payment processor and autoresponder so that new buyers and abanadoned carts, go to different lists. You can also add tags to your leads. This process will vary a little depending on the services you are using, but is a very important part.

It’s important that you regularly email your subscribers updates and offers in order to profit from email marketing.

Use broadcast newsletters for these. Decide if you want to add these to scheduled emails.

Set a schedule of promotional emails you plan to send every week or every month. Using your autoresponder, you can preschedule these emails in advance.

Track reports, open rates, clicks and unsubscriptions for all emails.

At a minimum look at remailing offers and promotions you have made to non-openers - say at the end of the day of the offer

Put effort into building and engaging with your subscribers and watch your profits grow

Ask questions. Be sure to answer all emails sent to you.