Time tracking blog

Due to a technical snafu at a site I agreed not to name, I ended up getting a repeated “Hey, thanks for commenting on my site.  If you’ve never been here before, and enjoyed the post, why not sign up for my RSS feed?” etc. etc.  A quick email back and forth, and she’d solved the problem, but this got me to thinking about the importance of personalization.

We’ve all received these automated messages, and while the first 3 or 4 might slip by, after a while, the auto-responder is a real turn off.  If you’re going to make the effort to make the experience personal – don’t do it with an Auto-Responder.  Carve out the time to actually make a connection with someone who signs up for a subscription, or makes a ‘value’ comment.

Let’s look at this from a different angle.  Let’s say you’re having a dinner party – a really, REALLY big dinner party.  You head off to the printer to have invitations printed.  Cooking preparations start weeks in advance of the big feast.  GaryVee himself has selected the wine.  In other words – you’ve got a AAA dinner all set to go.

The table is set, the wine is decanted, the candles are lit…..and the guests begin to arrive.  Now, you’ve got two ways to handle that doorbell.

1. You promptly answer the door, smile, greet your guests, take their coat, and offer a drink and a place to sit.
2. You send your automated robot to the door welcoming guests.

Right.

Your site is your dinner party.  You’ve made all the preparations.  Your CSS is clean and crisp.  You’ve checked your feedburner feeds thrice.  Your appetizers (twitter) and main course (blog) should all lead towards dessert (the sale).  Imagine sending your Auto-Responder bot to the front door to greet your guests.  Yes, it’s better than not answering the door at all, but still not quite the overall effect we’re going for.

First impressions count.

So do yourself a favor, and go that extra mile, find the time to respond to each of your new commenter’s and/or subscribers.  My first experience with this approach came via Julian Seery Guide from Local Na8ion.  I left a comment on his personal blog, and got a human typed, actual ‘thank you’ note within the hour directly from Julian himself.  A back and forth ensued throughout the day, and low and behold, I’ve got a new follower on twitter, a facebook group request, and a new subscriber on YouTube.  Total time invested by Julian?  I’d reckon anywhere between 15-25 minutes tops.  Time invested on my end?  Approximately the same amount.

Once I started doing the same with my commenter’s and subscribers, I noticed a whopping 20-40 percent response rate to my handcrafted ‘hey thanks buddy!’ emails, which in turn has precipitated a number of great conversations, knowledge sharing and learning, and garnered a number of new connections across various social networking platforms.  Could your Auto-Responder accomplish that?

While I know that responding to each incoming message is going to take some time, it’s not a question of having the time, but rather making the time.  Agreed, not all responses are going to lead to a gold egg, but chances are, you’ll catch more flies with honey than vinegar.  Or Auto-Respond bots.