E-coupons Can Improve Business

IN THIS ISSUE
1. E-Coupons Can Improve Business
2. Submit Your Articles Free Today
3. What's New at Marketing Idea Shop?
4. Quote of the Week
5. Resources for Entrepreneurs and Marketers
6. A Little Fun
7. Smell the Coffee



Don't forget to tell all your friends and business associates about this informative newsletter! You don't want to be the only smart one in your group, do you?

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SUCCESS SECRETS EZINE COMING
If you haven't already done so, please sign up for my new "Success Secrets of Women Business Owners" ezine, coming in September. Each issue will profile one successful woman business owner and include her top five tips for creating a successful business.

When you subscribe to "Success Secrets of Women Business Owners Ezine," I'll give you a free special report, "Build Website Traffic by Writing Articles: Top 10 Sites to Publish Your Articles" ($9 Value) - subscribe here by sending a blank email here.

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1. E-Coupons Can Improve Business

Have you noticed that companies that have been traditionally catalog companies, like flower and plant sales companies such as Breck's and Michigan Bulbs, are now heavily into email marketing? Since I have bought flowers through their catalogs, I'm now getting emails from them quite frequently. In fact, every couple of days I get an email from one of three such companies. And they always involve a sale or a e-coupon. But they also usually include a tip about how to take care of whatever product the company is promoting in the email. I love it. The emails are beautiful, informative, and offer me a $25 coupon to buy now. I find it very difficult to resist these offers.

This same technique can work for many companies—especially those selling women's clothing, and the travel and leisure industries—actually, anything visual. Clothing boutiques can offer a discount on a beautiful silk dress or suit and then give tips on how to care for silk. Travel agents can promote a destination trip and include tips on why working with a travel agent can be less hassle and more cost-effective in the long run. Restaurants can promote a special buy-one, get-one f~ree program or joint venture with a theater company to promote both companies. Our local Convention and Visitor's Bureau could partner with its members and create a fun photo array of things to do in and around Harrisonburg, Va. and, for example, offer a coupon good for a free ice cream sundae at Kline's Dairy Bar (a local shop selling delicious homemade ice cream).

If you are creative, this can also work for business-to-business companies. For instance, a metal fabricating company like Shickel Corp. can show one or more pictures of finished products and then offer tips on how to make sure your project runs smoothly. A medical supply company like Metropolitan Medical can show one or more specialty products and then discuss ways to save money on orders, or give tips for inventory control.

Even professional services companies such as accountants and lawyers can use this technique by designing an attractive coupon for X dollars off a particular service and then giving a record-keeping or legal tip.

Here are a couple of related resources that you might find interesting:

"The Gift That Keeps Giving" by Eric Dash, Inc. magazine,

VECTEC's PenSoft E-Business Resource Center


Okay, now it's your turn. Put on your thinking cap. What can you promote with e-coupons?



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2. Announcement: Submit Your Articles Free TODAY!

From Christopher Knight at Ezine Articles:

On September 1st at 9am CST USA time, the article portal EzineArticles.com will change to a fee-based multiple membership level article submission service designed to help increase the distribution of your articles to content-hungry ezine publishers looking for your articles, build quality backlinks and increase the exposure to your site.

Until then, submissions to the directory are still F-R-E-E ... so if you have not submitted your articles yet or wanted to send a few more in for consideration -- you may want to do it before the site goes fee-based -- that is, TODAY!

Submit your articles here.

It'll take the editors all of September to approve the articles sent in before the site becomes fee-based on Wednesday, but if you want your articles bumped ahead of the 500+ waiting for approval -- just add a link to EzineArticles.com on your website and let us know about it via the "Contact Us" link. Within a day or so, if your article meets our editorial guidelines, it'll be bumped up ahead of the line for speedy approval.


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3. What's New at Marketing Idea Shop?

Our Article Bank has many new articles to help you improve your business.
Take a look:

Marketing Idea Shop Article Bank

I'm always looking for good, informative business articles. If you would like to submit an article, send it in the body of an email to me here.


We have many new resources on our resource page.

Improve your search-engine ranking by cross linking with Marketing Idea Shop. We have a Google page rank of 4/10, which is pretty good. If you would like to link to us, please send your request for cross-linking to me here.

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AND NOW, A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSORS...


What's your definition of success?
Email your comments to me.


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4. Quote of the Week

"Protocol is not there to dictate to you. It's there to help you. You have to have the courage and security to do it your way."

Barbara Bush
Former First Lady of the U.S.



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5. Marketing Resources for Entrepreneurs

• Win $10,000 in Business Plan Contest
  
  Virginia's Technology Capital Access Forum is promoting a business plan contest. Submit your business plan to qualify for the $10,000 prize in the Business Plan Competition, sponsored by Third Security. The deadline is September 15. You'll need an electronic copy of a well-researched business plan (25 pages maximum) that thoroughly covers your business. Go here to find out more.
  
  
• Ezine Tips
  
  Ezine-Tips is a free ezine offering tips, reviews, and resources to help you produce, grow, and manage a quality ezine. Join here.
  
  
  
  Women's Entrepreneurship Conference, October 15, 2004, 8:00 am - 3:45 PM, Governor Dodge Inn, Platteville, Wis., $45 (includes lunch and snacks)
  
  If you are thinking about starting or expanding a business and you live in Wisconsin, this is the conference to attend. It's a full day of workshops to help you succeed, and my good friend, Jo DeMars of DeMars & Associates, Ltd. is one of the presenters. To register, call Kathy Polich at 608-348-8888 or email Sunny Kessel
  
  
• Greatest Marketing Secrets
  
  If you've been around the Internet in the past few years, I'm sure you know who Yanik Silver is. If not, let me tell you a little bit about him. Yanik is probably the best copywriter and direct marketer around today. He's a young guy, just 30 years old, but he has made milli0ns selling his and other people's products on the Net. He speaks all over the world and mentors would-be marketers. Here's a short ebook that Yanik told me I could give you. I think you'll find it interesting. In it he tells you about tried-and-true marketing techniques and strategies from days gone by and how you can apply them to your business today. Take a look. It's FREE.
  
• The Little Black Book for Every Busy Woman
  
  Want to get a referral for a good carpenter, or the best place to shop for upscale women's clothing? Check out the online version of the Little Black Book for Every Busy Woman, and also find out where to pick up a printed copy.
  
• Want to view an old web page?
  
  Have you ever typed in a web address and gotten back the dreaded "404-Page not found" message? Of course you have. What happens to all the old web pages that are now off in 404-Land? Some of them, of course, have simply been moved by the webmaster; others have been yanked from cyberspace for various reasons. But what if you wanted to see one of these old pages? You can go to one of the archive sites like Internet Archive and use its "Wayback Machine" to look it up. For instance, I used to have a company called Technology Marketing Group and our web address was http://www.tmgllc.net . We have closed the business and this website now rolls over to my new site, but if you were interested in viewing the site's content before we did this, you can go to archive.org and look it up in the Wayback Machine.
  
  
• 2004 Venture Funding for Women Entrepreneurs Available
  
  Are you looking for venture capital? Here's a terrific resource for you! In this 400-page downloadable ebook, you'll find all of the contact information for 200 venture capital firms and investors who recently invested in companies that are women-owned or women-led. You'll also have access to all contact information for the 671 women-led companies that received funding. This is a wonderful tool for you. And you get it all for just $249. Read more about it or buy it here and begin your financial investment ride.
  
  
• Traffic Secrets FREE Teleseminars
  
  An added, unannounced benefit of John Reese's new comprehensive "Traffic Secrets" is that John has created a private forum -- Traffic Secrets Owners Club -- and teleseminar series to help his students make the most of the course. So if you've been sitting on the fence about buying this revolutionary product, now's the time to jump off and get your own copy of "Traffic Secrets!" You'll love his teleseminars. View his blog and a multitude of testimonials about it. Read more about the Traffic Secrets course here.
  
  
  
• Looking for a great shopping cart system? HOW TO PICK A SHOPPING CART SYSTEM THAT MAKES YOU MONEY is an ebook that explains all the important features. You can get it here, FREE.
  
  
• Do you like these resources? There are plenty more like these in my ebook, BUSINESS SUCCESS SECRETS: HARD-WORKING TACTICS & RESOURCES. 37 pages, packed with ideas you can use immediately... to get more business, generate more traffic to your website and improve your bottom line. Over 135 hyperlinks that can take you directly to marketing resources or ideas you can use right now...so you can save time and money. Beginning and advanced tactics to really make a difference in your marketing results...and you can make more sales with much less effort. Learn to save money on your advertising. Get a list of websites that would LOVE to post your articles. Read more about it or buy it here.
  
  

6. A Little Fun

Thanks to B.L. Ochman at What's Next Online for pointing this out. Here's an interesting commercial that is quickly becoming the newest viral marketing campaign. Take a look. I think you'll enjoy it.

Take a look here.

Help keep the smiles coming ... please send me your marketing, PR or sales jokes. I'll be happy to give you credit and list your website! Email me.


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7 . Smell the Coffee...

The kids are back in school and we finally have a bus that comes up to the "kettle" area of Massanutten Mountain. When we moved here, we were quite surprised to find that the school here was not required to provide transportation to and from school (within a reasonable distance) for students. (This is because the main road coming into the community is a "private road.") So, for the past two years we have been shuttling the kids to and from a bus stop that's a 10-minute drive away from our house. What a hassle. Now it's about two minutes away and if necessary, the kids can walk home. But since the backpacks are so unbelievably heavy, I still pick them up most of the time.

I've been slowly working on my "brain dump." Have you? Remember, I told you about it a couple of weeks ago? If you didn't read that issue of Brainy Tidbits or you'd like to review it, you can read about it here. John Reese was correct. It does feel good to get everything I have to do listed on a piece of paper, and it especially feels good to cross things off the list. Be like Mikey...try it, you'll like it! (Life Cereal commercial)

Lois


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Published by:
Lois Carter Fay, APR
Marketing Guru, Marketing Idea Shop, LLC
411 Rainier Road, Massanutten, VA USA 22840
Voice 540.289.3840 or 800.203.8660

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