Alright, you have a list that is growing, now you want to automate this list. To automate a mailing list and the create an "auto-pilot" stream of income, you need to master your follow-up sequence.

A follow-up sequence allows you to automatically send emails out on specific day increments after someone signs up to your list. To make this a bit more clear, we will give you an example.

The first step is obviously to get someone to sign-up to your mailing list. After they sign-up, you typically want to send them an instant email. This email will usually include an introduction along with the offer that you were giving away for signing-up to your list.

So..

Email #1: Introduction, Bonus

Then it is time to get into relationship building. This is what it could look like:

Email #2: Valuable Information That is Relevant (send 1 day later)
Email #3: Hey, here is a real story about me. (send 3 days later)
Email #4: I just created a bonus for you. (send 3 days later)
Email #5: Promotional offer (send 3 days later)
Email #6: Industry insight, follow by a promotion (send 1 day later)
Email #7: Value based information, connect on a personal level (send 7 days later)

Now you have 7 automated emails going out to your subscribers. Starting to see the power of this. This is following the format of:

1-1-3-3-3-1-7 (the number of days apart)

This can vary based on what you like, but it is best to contact your list regularly at the start and then start moving your emails a bit further apart, going to a maximum of 7-days apart. This 7 email follow-up sequence will last 19 days. Your list is automated for 19 days already!

Now for the cool part. You continue building your follow-up sequence, start incorporate your cross-promotions, and continue offering valuable information and relationship building stuff.

Many people have follow-up sequences that are 100's of days in length. This means you set-up your sequence once and everything that goes through your sequence gets automated emails. This is hands free and once you set-up a follow-up sequence that converts, it will continue to convert!

If you have a tough time thinking of relevant things and valuable information you can do a few things. First, check out this resources on finding and deliver QUALITY email marketing information.

Email Marketing - Delivering Quality Info

You can also do a couple of other things:

(1) Sign-up to similiar lists within your niche and see what others are offering. Borrow ideas from those lists.
(2) Check out ezine sites like www.ezinearticles.com. Do a search for your niche, and get some ideas from the articles people have written about there.
(3) Write promotions around cross-promotions that you have recorded. Find a product, review it and then send it to your list.

If you can master your follow-up sequence, you can master email marketing. A successful email marketer has a follow-up sequence that converts. As with anything, this is something that can be improved upon through continual testing and refinement.