Brought to you by Concept Marketing Group, Inc.

Unsubscribe instructions, past issues, and additional information can be found at the bottom of this email or by visiting http://www.marketingsource.com/newsletter/

In this issue:
• Marketing Article: Easy Postcard Marketing Checklist
• Marketing Article: Publish or Perish

Start the new year out right!

Purchase a new business or consumer list by February 5th and request a free set of mailing labels*

We also offer printing and mailing services. If you're looking to reach your target market using postcards or print material, let us give you a quote on your next project. Take full advantage of discounted automation rate postage and a complete mailing solution that is less expensive and easier than doing it yourself.

Call 800-575-5369, email printing@marketingsource.com, or visit http://www.marketingsource.com/printing for more information.

* Up to 5,000 records - shipping not included

Easy Postcard Marketing Checklist
by Bob Leduc © 2008

Generating website traffic, sales leads and even sales with postcards is easy when you follow a proven system.

This 10 point checklist lays out a simple step by step process you can follow to get your postcard marketing campaign off to a fast start ...and produce highly profitable results.

1. Define the Purpose of Your Postcards

What do you want your postcards to accomplish? Do you want to generate website traffic, new customers, sales leads, repeat sales or something else?

2. Describe Your Audience

Who wants or needs what you will be offering? Make a list of all the characteristics of the perfect prospect you can think of.

3. Find the Best Mailing List

If you're going to mail the postcards to your own customers you already have the list. Otherwise contact a mailing list broker with the description of that perfect prospect you developed in Step 2. Almost any mailing list you can think of is available through most mailing list brokers.

4. Settle on 1 Idea to Promote

You only have enough space on a postcard to promote 1 product, 1 service or 1 idea. If you want to promote more than 1 thing, develop a separate postcard for each.

5. Determine the Best Format to Use

Some advertisers use large oversize postcards (5 1/2 inches x 8 1/2 inches for example). But keep in mind that you can send your postcards by First Class Mail for only 26 cents in the US if you keep them between 3 1/2 x 5 inches and 4 1/4 x 6 inches in size.

6. Compose a Captivating Headline

Postcards get delivered open and ready to read. A captivating 3 to 5 word headline that can be read with just a quick glance at the postcard guarantees almost 100 percent readership ...especially if it promises a major benefit to the reader.

7. Create a Powerful but Easy to Grasp Offer

Try to state your offer in just one sentence. If you use more than one sentence, leave blank lines between them. If you have more than 3 sentences, consolidate several into short bulleted lists to save space and reading time.

8. Provide a Simple and Easy Way to Respond

Briefly tell the reader exactly what you want them to do in response to your postcard. Make it simple and easy. For example, visit your website, call you on the phone or come to your store.

9. Develop a Compelling Incentive to Act Fast

You can boost the number of responses to your postcard by giving readers a compelling reason to take action right NOW. For example, reward them with a discounted price, a special bonus or something else if they respond by a deadline.

10. Print the Postcards

You can have your postcards printed professionally or print them yourself using your own computer. An online search for "postcard printer" will return a huge list of professional printers you can use. Or, print them yourself on paper suitable for postcards such as 90 pound or 110 pound index paper available in most office supply stores.

This 10 point checklist does not cover everything about postcard marketing. But it provides a proven guideline anyone can follow to create profitable postcards ...fast.

----------------
Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards ...and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You'll find his low-cost marketing methods at: http://BobLeduc.com

Get the word out!

Our press release writing and distribution services generate buzz about your business at a much lower cost than other advertising methods. If you have an upcoming product launch, new partnership or contract, public event, or other news-worthy announcements to make, we can spread the word in the media on the local, regional, or national level.

Find out more about our services at http://www.marketingsource.com/pressreleases or call 800-575-5369.

Publish or Perish
by C.J. Hayden © 2007

When you place a call to a prospective client, does the person you are calling already know your name, even if you have never met? When new clients are referred to you, do they often say that they've heard of you from several different sources? Are you frequently contacted by people who are ready to work with you and don't question your qualifications? These are just some of the results you can expect when you make publishing part of your marketing plan.

In the academic world, the phrase "publish or perish" reflects the common knowledge that people must know who you are in order to hire you, promote you, or fund your research. No matter what niche you do business in, experts agree that publishing your work accelerates your ability to gain clients. According to Tom Lambert, author of "High Income Consulting," winning some level of fame is the surest way to higher earnings as a professional.

Here are some guidelines to help you start getting published or expand your publishing efforts:

1. Publishing is easier than ever before. In the pre-Internet age, most publishing took the form of articles in newspapers and magazines or full-length books. Getting your work published usually required a lengthy process of approaching (and being rejected by) numerous editors. Now it's possible to write an article in the morning and have it in the hands of thousands by afternoon, often with no editor's stamp of approval.

You can publish your own articles on the web via email broadcasts to your own mailing list, posting them on your website or blog, or submitting them to the thousands of independent websites and ezines eager for fresh content to inform or entertain their visitors. In addition, many print magazines and newsletters accept completed articles sent by email. Just check the submission guidelines of any publication that interests you to see if they require queries before sending.

Electronic publishing also makes it possible to easily publish shorter-length books as ebooks, web-based manuals, ecourses, or short-run printings of workbooks, booklets, and white papers. If you can put together ten pages of material, you have enough to publish in one of these shorter forms, and begin referring to yourself as "the author of..."

2. Write what you do. The best articles or workbooks are not those describing the type of work you do; they are the ones that actually help the reader do that work themselves. Instead of writing how life coaching can help people complete important projects, a coach should write about tips for ending procrastination. A professional organizer could write about dealing with junk mail, and a sales trainer could write about motivating salespeople when business is slow.

If you're feeling stuck for writing topics, make it a habit after every client meeting to mentally review each of the subjects you discussed with your client and note which ones might be good for a future article. Or, think of the ten questions that clients or prospects most commonly ask about your line of work. Each one of those questions is likely to be an excellent article topic or chapter in a book.

3. Make all your writing count. Steven Van Yoder, author of "Get Slightly Famous," encourages his clients to get their articles reprinted as many places as possible. If you're going to take the trouble to write a good article, why not reuse it over and over? Steve has helped many clients get a single article posted on up to 100 different web sites, as well as in multiple print publications.

Many sites and publications happily accept articles that have already been printed. If you want to write for an outlet that insists on "first rights" of publication for a certain length of time, no problem. Write a new article for that outlet, then concentrate on getting it reprinted elsewhere after the time period has expired. Remember, too, that every piece of writing can be re-purposed. An article can be expanded into a white paper; a collection of articles can become a book.

4. If you're not a writer, work with one. You don't have to be able to write well in order to get published. You can hire a ghostwriter, editor, or proofreader to strengthen and polish your writing. If you're better at expressing yourself out loud, you don't even have to write. You can speak your thoughts and have them transcribed and edited by a professional.

5. Get started now. The more writing you publish and the longer your work has been out there, the more you will increase your visibility, credibility, and reputation as an expert. Clients will come to you instead of you having to seek them out. Your sales cycles will be shorter, and the fees you charge can be higher. Each publication will become a salesperson to whom you never have to pay a commission, working tirelessly to bring you more clients.

----------------
C.J. Hayden is the author of Get Clients Now! Thousands of business owners and salespeople have used her simple sales and marketing system to double or triple their income. Get a free copy of "Five Secrets to Finding All the Clients You'll Ever Need" at http://www.getclientsnow.com