I recently got this comment on my article about borrowing customers: I sell an event planning service in upstate NY. I’m not sure any event planner I know would let me borrow some customers. Suggestions? Although my original idea about borrowing customers was not to get your competitors to send you business, it is certainly [...]

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Testimonials tell potential customers that you are a good person with whom to do business trustworthy. They let potential buyers know that your product or service fulfills its promise. Testimonials build your reputation and credibility. And they tell them what they needto hear – that you really can solve their problems. Testimonials are an effective [...]

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You’ve spent hours (or days) polishing that sales letter. You’ve got a dynamite opening, powerful benefit language and a killer close. What’s missing? The P.S. Customers may or may not read your entire letter, but if they read anything it will be the P.S. Not an afterthought, the P.S. is so important it had to [...]

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Author Greg Godek claims to have invented “reverse shoplifting.” He takes a copy of his book, 1001 Ways to Be Romantic into a bookstore that doesn’t carry the book. Then, he quietly slips the book onto the shelf. Godek’s theory is that when someone tries to buy the book (and it doesn’t show up in [...]

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Do you believe direct mail is too expensive? It doesn’t have to be. The underrated postcard can be an effective way to keep in touch with customers and potential customers. Unlike traditional direct mail packages, which may include a multi-page letter, brochure, return envelope and more, a postcard is simple. Recipients are almost forced to [...]

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One of the questions I get a lot goes something like this, “How do I get customers for my business? I don’t have an email list, a popular web site or any other way to reach an audience. How can I start making money without those things?” Here’s how…

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No, customers aren’t bloodsuckers (well, maybe a few are!) and they don’t come out only at night. According to legend, vampires don’t come in until they are invited. And that’s true of customers, too. You may think you’ve invited your customers. After all, you put up signs identifying your store, got a web site, placed [...]

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Tara Hunt recently wrote an interesting blog post about influencers and it got me thinking about how many businesses approach marketing and publicity. Marketing is a numbers game, but are you looking at the right numbers? We all want to get the attention of the bloggers who have huge followings, have feature stories written about [...]

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