Autoresponder

{{short description|Computer program automatically answering e-mails}}

An autoresponder is a computer program that automatically answers e-mail sent to it.{{Citation|title=What is an email auto-responder?|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-aiJUUMGbI|access-date=2016-09-06}} They can be very simple or quite complex.

The first autoresponders were created within mail transfer agents that found they could not deliver an e-mail to a given address. These create bounce messages such as "your e-mail could not be delivered because..." type responses. Today's autoresponders need to be careful to not generate e-mail backscatter, which can result in the autoresponses being considered e-mail spam.

An autoresponder allows you to send email messages automatically to people who have elected to receive them (your subscribers).{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M3MCklXYV-UC&dq=Autoresponder&pg=PA5 |title=Autoresponder Profit System |publisher=Rowdy Rhodes |language=en}} For example, if you've created a free report, a template, a guide, or other helpful piece of content, you can let your website visitors access it in exchange for their email address.{{cite web|last1=Jacob |first1=Sherice|title=AWeber review 2021|url=https://mailfocus.com/aweber-review/|website=MailFocus|date=31 December 2020 |access-date=10 January 2021}}

Such follow-up autoresponders can be divided into two categories:

• Outsourced ASP model – these autoresponders operate on the provider's infrastructure and are usually configurable via a web-based control panel. The customer pays a monthly usage fee. This is easiest to implement for the end-user.
• Server-side – enables users to install the autoresponder system on their own server. This requires technical skills.

Autoresponders are also incorporated into electronic mailing list software, to confirm subscriptions, unsubscriptions, posts, and other list activities. Popular email clients such as Microsoft Outlook and Gmail contain features to allow users to create autoresponses.{{cite web|url=https://support.office.com/en-us/article/send-automatic-out-of-office-replies-from-outlook-9742f476-5348-4f9f-997f-5e208513bd67 |title=Send automatic out of office replies from Outlook - Outlook |publisher=Support.office.com |access-date=24 April 2018}}{{cite web|author=Justin |url=http://emailstopwatch.com/how-to-setup-an-autoresponder-in-microsoft-outlook/ |title=How to Setup [sic] An Autoresponder in Microsoft Outlook |publisher=Emailstopwatch.com |date=1999-02-22 |access-date=2018-04-24}}{{cite web|last=Tschabitscher |first=Heinz |url=https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-send-canned-replies-automatically-in-gmail-1172080 |title=How to Auto Reply in Gmail |publisher=Lifewire.com |access-date=24 April 2018}}