[thelist] Auto-responders?

the head lemur headlemur at qwest.net
Tue May 22 10:53:18 CDT 2001


I wrote an article about forms here:
http://www.alistapart.zeldman.com/stories/money/money1.html

E-Mail Auto Responders are a real silly idea. Especially in response to
filling out a form. Rather than pursue auto responses, let me suggest a
thank you page response instead.

Most form handlers give you the ability to redirect upon submission.
Redirect them to a Thank You Page.

The most important part of a business site is the Information Request Form.

Part of the web design biz is to get the client to buy into the web. you
build a site, you slave over a form to get the client the information they
need in a form they can use, while making it easy to use and fill out,
hopefully leading to more business for the client, fame and glory for you
and maybe a few more bucks in fees when they expand as a result of the
enormous response from your work.

A 'thank you page' gives you an opportunity to thank the visitor for filling
out the form, gives you another page to bill for, an elegant exit from the
site, and one more shot at branding the client.

It also serves you well as a quick and dirty tool for site analysis.
looking at your server logs, you would look for the form page and the
thankyou page accesses.

If they are equal in number, Congratulations you are a form god.

If they are not, you can determine what part of your form(money page) is the
problem. Too Big? too many required fields. not enough explanation?

The web can be an incredibly effective marketing tool for business.

The information request form Pre-Qualifies the person who fills it out. The
client can respond to the request and close the sale. An auto responder
however cleverly worded, puts another barrier in the chain between the buyer
and the seller.

Your mileage may vary.

the head lemur
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