1: Broadcast Monthly – As a rule I send out at least one message
per month just to keep communication lines open. You don’t
want to constantly be barraging your customers with sales every
email1314 so in my monthly broadcasts I usually inform my customers
of new resources that have become available at my site. I often
upload free articles that I source from copyright-free places or
websites that I partner with. If you can, try and create unique
resources of real value – writing articles yourself is an option
if you have knowledge about the industry your business operates
in. I inform my customers about the new resources and end with a
small reminder about our services – 10% sales pitch, 90% good
content.

2: Offer Discounts – I have a list of people that have yet to
become customers, my prospects list. For this list I have an
automatic series of responses sent out, first starting weekly,
then turning monthly that offers them enticements to join. Once
a prospect has been subscribed to my list for a long time I have
an automatic email1314 go out offering them a discount to try my
business out. I even cut the price to the point where I don’t
make a profit just to get the prospect to trial the service. I
know if they like it they will use it again so often the act of
converting them into a customer is the final roadblock that a
discount offer removes.

3: Encourage Referrals – One of my favorite techniques is to
offer incentives for my present customers to bring in their
family and friends. The easiest customers to acquire are from
current customers recommending your business. Word of mouth is
always the best marketing method so why not encourage it as much
as you can? Each current customer is potentially the best
salesperson you could ever find and sometimes all it takes is an
offer, like a credit for services/discount voucher or even just
an email1314 suggesting they tell friends about your business. Happy
customers are happy to spread the word, they just sometimes need
a little nudge to do it.

4: Market Research – Are you considering launching a new product?
Maybe you want to know what your clients think of your customer
service? How about gathering statistics about your customer
demographics to help with future marketing efforts? All these
questions can be answered by sending a survey to your list.
Perhaps you can offer incentives to fill out a survey such as
discount vouchers, two-for-one deals or free samples. However
you do it, your current list is a fantastic store of minable
data just waiting to be accessed. Services like SurveyMonkey.com
give you the tools to create online surveys easily, which can be
linked from or included in one of your broadcast email1314s to your
list.