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In this issue:
Marketing Article: Tracking Prospects with Customer Codes
Marketing Article: Top 10 Ways to Promote Your Practice Using an E-mail Newsletter

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Tracking prospects with customer codes for postcard marketing is easy—and there are many advantages to it (even with lists of a few hundred). The key is consistency, and using only what you need. Pieces of information you can track include:

1. Origin of the prospect and the date acquired

2. Types of products/services purchased

3. Frequency of purchases

4. Date of last purchase

How do you do it? Start with a unique identifier. For mailing lists under 1,000 number your list from "001" to "999." Want to track where you found the customer? Use a letter code (e.g. "A" for "Association" or "JD" for "Jane Doe").

Need to record your first contact with the customer (i.e. a purchase or when you put them on the mailing list—whichever is earlier)? Use "1001" for 10/01(inserting days gets you "101601" for October 16, 2001). A letter code, such as "NC" (for new customer) before the date is perfect to help identify what the date means.

Record what they buy from you with a letter or number code ("P" product). Do you have regular purchasers among your customers? Use "We" for weekly, "BiM" for bi-monthly, "BiA" for biannually, etc.

The last time they bought something from you is another easy date—stick it on the end to remember what it stands for (i.e. the last info you have on them is their last purchase).

Do you put the customer tracking code on the postcard? That depends on your offer/system. Will you ever see/use that card again (i.e. does it get "redeemed," will you ever ask a prospect for the number, or will you use it to sort postcards by offer/customer segment before the mailing)? If you answer "yes" then definitely put it on the card. Even if you are unlikely to see the postcard again, you still may want to put it on just in case you get a "return to sender" from the post office.

Finally, keep a list of your customer codes and information on a neatly typed word processing document or (preferably) a spreadsheet—more technologically advanced mailers can take advantage of database/contact management software (like Access, ACT!, FileMaker or GoldMine).

Here's what a mailing label might look like for a customer (#367) acquired May 1998 ("NC0598") from a trade show ("TS"), who makes monthly purchases ("Mo") and last purchased my services July 2002 ("0702").

___________________________

367NC0598TSMo0702
Spencer I. Profitt, Mngr.
Always-On Apparel
2 Grace Court
Lincoln, NE 68508
___________________________

*NOTE* You can put the customer tracking number elsewhere on the label, but make sure it is distinct from the address information and, especially, the ZIP code.

Tracking codes have numerous uses in accounting, including making invoicing easier—you can use the entire code with the date of purchase as your invoice number. However, for accounts, make sure that you use the "root" (i.e. non-changing) portion of the customer tracking code.

If you already have account numbers/codes set up, then use them for the base of your customer code on mailings. The example above has the root portion of the code "367NC0598TS." Notice I put the non-changing portion of the code first—something that is highly recommended.

For mailings, tracking codes help produce more purchases at a lower cost, increasing your profits. These benefits come from:

Better Mailing Lists Identify sources that produce the best prospects (the ones who buy)—and get more leads from them! Eliminate prospects who never buy from you.

Targeting Offers Avoid pointless offers—track what your customer responds to—and give them more of the same! (You can also split your mailing list and test offers to see what works.) Know who to reward for frequent business. Know who to send "We've missed you" cards.

Profiling Customers Find the most profitable customer-types you have (e.g. monthly purchasers of "X" service)—and try to attract more prospects like them. Identify prospects for up-sells—if they share characteristics with more profitable customers, try to turn them into that type of purchaser.

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Martha Retallick, "The Passionate Postcarder," hails from Tucson, Arizona, USA. She is the author of Postcard Marketing Secrets, a downloadable PDF manual will show you how to put postcards to work for your business—profitably. Learn more about it at: http://www.PostcardMarketingSecrets.com

If you publish an e-mail newsletter, or "e-zine," it's important to realize that it WON'T attract and keep subscribers without offering practical content. If you only drone on about how wonderful you and your services are, your readers won't stick around for long.

But you CAN toot your own horn, as long as you don't drown out the useful content your readers are looking for. This careful balance is the key to increasing your response rates and increasing business.

Here are my top 10 tips on how to accomplish this:

1) Make sure your MAIN ARTICLE always provides information that your readers will find valuable.

By having a main article as the foundation of your issue, readers will feel they got what they came for - helpful information. Try a "how-to" article, a list of resources, a list of top 10 tips, a review of a trend in the industry - that sort of thing.

2) Begin each issue with an "EDITOR'S NOTE" or "PUBLISHER'S NOTE."

I have found this is the perfect place to let readers know about what's happening with me and my business, give them a taste of my personality, and announce any upcoming events or workshops. Because this is a personal message from you to them, and because it's NOT your main content, you have more leeway in being direct and self-promotional.

3) In your article, throw in LINKS to related articles you've written or been featured in, when appropriate.

Your readers will appreciate the additional information and resources, and it's one more chance for you to demonstrate your expertise and credibility.

4) Make sure your links are "clickable."

To ensure your links come through as hyperlinks on your reader's end, make sure you put the "http://" prefix before them. And to make any e-mail addresses clickable, insert the prefix "mailto:" before them, with no space in between.

5) Directly after your article, give a quick PROMO BLURB, mentioning your services, books, reports, or workshops.

Why right after the article and before anything else? If someone reads your article and says to themselves, "Gee, that was great information!" They'll be ready to hear what else you have to share on that subject.

A great lead-in for your blurb is: "Did you like today's article? If you did, you'll LOVE my [services, book, report, upcoming workshop, etc.]..."

6) In each issue, offer a TESTIMONIAL or success story from one of your clients.

I saw another e-zine publisher doing this last year and thought, "What a great idea! She's giving her readers further reason to try her services."

After your article and promo blurb, put a small section that says "What My Clients Are Saying." In each issue, feature a short but raving testimonial from one of your clients here.

7) Tell us what YOU'RE all about!

At the end of your e-zine, take at least 10 lines and give a concise description of YOU, what you have to offer your readers, why they should hire you, and what they should do next (e.g. call you or e-mail you).

8) End your e-zine with a "call to action."

What would you like your readers to do next? Call you for a free consultation? Sign up for your teleclass? Buy your book online? Tell them what to do and they'll be more likely to do it.

9) Don't forget your contact information!

This may seem like a "duh-duh," but it's amazing how many e-zines I've seen that don't tell me how to contact the publisher. Give us your name, title, business name, phone number, e-mail address, Web site URL, and street address (optional). The phone number is important, because some folks will want to speak with you instead of writing you.

10) Occasionally, make a special announcement in a SOLO MAILING.

If you have something very special to announce, send it out separately from your regular issues as a solo mailing. A solo mailing is any mailing you make to your e-zine subscriber list that is NOT a regular issue of your e-zine. Keep these to a minimum of two a month, and make sure your announcements are truly newsworthy. Perhaps one of your special discounts is coming to an end, you need your readers' help, or you're offering a last-minute workshop and need to fill seats. Get the idea?

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Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen," is author of the award-winning manual, "Boost Business With Your Own E-zine," available at http://www.ezinequeen.com. For *hundreds* more great tips like these, visit her site and sign up for her FREE biweekly newsletter, "Tips from the E-zine Queen." Don't miss the next issue -- subscribe today!