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And of course once you have their free gift, the law of reciprocity kicks in and you want to send them something back.
For our purposes, think of something unusual and cost effective, such as …
• A pebble( because of the rocky time they’ ve had, or the rocky time ahead if they don’ t get your product)
• Seed packets( to‘ grow’ their business, grow their profits, etc.)
• A compass( so they can find their way)
• A thumb drive loaded with your promotional materials
• Worry stones( because they’ re up at night, worrying about their business or how to pay the bills)
• Poker chips( because they shouldn’ t gamble on other products or providers)
• Aspirin in a packet to ease their pain
• A paper wallet because you’ ll show them how to fill it with money
• A sand timer for when they’ re running out of time
• And so forth. Again, there are services to help you accomplish this. For example, http:// lumpymail. com is a good starting point.
3: Print Ads
The trick here is to make your ad look like an article in the magazine or newspaper you’ re advertising in. Let’ s say you’ re advertising in a magazine – get an issue and see how their articles are formatted. Two columns? Three? What font do they use? What about picture placement?
Write your ad as more of an advertorial than a regular ad. You might have to put the words,“ Paid advertisement” at the top of your ad, but it will still convert better than if your ad looks like an ad.
Have a great headline and use lots of sub-headlines to keep the reader on the page.
Have a strong call to action for an irresistible offer. The offer should be so good people simply cannot resist it, whatever it is.
4: Get a local column
This is an excellent technique for local business consultants. If you live in a small to medium sized city, your local newspaper might be thrilled if you would volunteer your services to write them a column each week on a topic that interests their readers.
If not, you might consider taking out a weekly ad and making it look like a column. In some respects, this is actually preferable to writing the column for free, since you’ ll have more control over your topics.
Be very helpful in what you write. Only the last line or two should promote your business. The bulk of your column should be helpful information that people can use.
This will set you up as the authority and the person people turn to when they need your services.
5: Birthday cards
Here’ s something that used to be common and no longer is, which is why it will make you stand out from the crowd of marketers like a beacon on a hill. Send REAL birthday cards through the mail to your best customers.
You might collect their birthday( Month and day, not year) when they check out. You might even tell them WHY you’ re collecting it. Let them know it’ s optional, but you’ d really like to remember them on their birthday.
Most people will be eager share their birthdate with you. Or you can hop on Facebook and discover their birthday there if they have it listed.
If you don’ t want to send the cards yourself, use a service such as postable. com, sendoutcards. com or the greetingcardshop. com.
Now then – a person might interact with a few hundred people and companies online over the course of a year. But odds are you will be the only one who remembers their birthday. That makes you pretty special.
You might include an offer of a free birthday gift in your card, too. Perhaps a video you recorded for their birthday( you can use the same one for everyone) and a download link for a free product.
Guaranteed they will be opening your emails and following you closely on social media after that.