VerticalResponse Email Marketing Blog for Small Business

Remarketing 101 - The Basics You Should Know

Did you know that over 95% of users leave websites without converting? Ninety-five percent?! It’s hard enough getting customers just to visit your web site, so using creative tactics to keep visitors engaged is important, and that’s where remarketing comes in.

What is remarketing?

Remarketing, also known as retargeting, helps businesses like yours advertise to people  who have shown interest in your brand or website, but left without converting. A conversion can range from making a purchase, to inquiring about more information, or taking some other desired action. Remarketing allows you to keep your brand in front of your online visitors after they’ve left your website.

Why remarket?

Because most website visitors leave without making a purchase, your business could be losing potential sales. There may be several reasons why a visitor doesn't complete a purchase, which is why remarketing can be an affordable and effective way to reengage potential customers. Remarketing allows you to target specific visitors who've already shown interest in your brand, increasing its effectiveness by saving advertising costs and increasing your Return on Investment (ROI).

How does it work?

By simply adding a bit of code to your website or URLs, remarketing “tags” can be placed on your online visitors with a “cookie” or a pixel. Visitors will then be served with relevant banners, text, or video ads (that you create/provide) as they browse the internet. Here's one of our own banner ads:

For example, a customer visits your online store, browses your listings, places an item in their shopping cart, but never actually checks out. As that visitor browses the Internet, he/she will see ads that remind them to go back and complete said purchase. Their interest is recaptured and they return back to your site to complete your desired action. Effective remarketing ads can be a great opportunity to promote a sale, upsell new products, and cross-sell existing products.

What type of remarketing is right for my business?

Whether you're working with a remarketing company or utilizing self-service remarketing tools, there are many paths you can take. Here are a few examples of different types of remarketing:

Site Remarketing – The most popular form of remarketing, like the example above, is a great way to stay top of mind with customers after they’ve left your site.

Search Remarketing - When using search remarketing, you're targeting users on search engines who have searched keywords or phrases relevant to your business offerings. Keep in mind, user queries don’t always mean intent to purchase.

Social Media Remarketing – Similar to site remarketing, you can place a pixel on shared links on social networks, like Facebook, and serve relevant ads.

Email Remarketing – If your business is using email marketing, email remarketing can be a great complimentary addition. Customers who have high engagement with your emails have the potential to be great customers with the right motivation.

Why choose remarketing?

1. Stay Top of Mind – You'll stay in front of your audience after they’ve already left your site.

2. Higher ROI – Remarketing lets you reach qualified customers who’ve already shown interest in your brand, product, or website at a much lower price than traditional reach campaigns.

3. Retain Visitors – You drive users through your sales process with different CTA’s (calls to action) at different stages of your funnel.

4. Better Performance – When used properly, remarketing generally has better clickthrough and conversion rates than traditional reach ads because of its unique ability to segment users based on the specific actions they’ve taken on your website.

There are many other types of remarketing tactics that can be used. SEOMOz has a great detailed introductory blog post while Business2Community and SearchEngineWatch break down a variety of other remarketing tactics. With the holiday season ramping up, it's a great time to get started with remarketing.

 

Posted by Barney Garcia

Barney Garcia is an SEM Analyst for VerticalResponse.

Fundraising Resources That'll Fuel Your Funds

Fundraising is an important aspect for any non-profit, but it can also be pretty stressful; your next year depends on how well it goes. It's understandable that this could cause some tense moments during your workday, adding to your other day-to-day tasks. So, I've rounded up great tips that'll hopefully ease some of that stress the next time you plan a fundraiser. Here are some fundamental fundraising resources that'll fuel your funds:

Social Media - This may be one of your best resources for getting the word out about any event you're holding, and it can also help in fundraising. Many NPOs use events as fundraisers of course, but what if your non-profit was selling an item, like candy bars for example? Here are some suggestions:

• Pinterest - Create a board for your fundraiser and add enticing photos of the item you're selling, like candy bars. Share pictures of people selling them (smiling of course!), happy people eating the candy bars, etc. Also include info on how to get in touch with your organization and link to your website if someone can buy/donate from there. Pinterest is all about images, which is great for a non-profit; there are lots of things you can pin.

• Twitter - Tweet about your fundraiser. No brainer right? Sure, but make sure you include a link for people to purchase your item, or include a location they can visit to purchase. And of course, tweet a link to donate through in case someone would rather do that. Social media is fast-moving, if you inspire someone to donate to your NPO, you want them to do it right then.

• Facebook - Facebook is especially important to point out because it can be a huge help for your fundraising efforts. You probably already know that there are many Facebook accounts, around 900 million of them. That is a big number for sure, but what it means to your non-profit (or any business really) is that the people who will support your business are there waiting to hear from you. They may not be following you yet, but likes or comments on your posts will show up in the feed from friends who comment or like. Plus, you never know who your friends are. Here's an example of what I mean:
  

The Colorado Springs Down Syndrome Association participated in a nation wide movie night last year. They tweeted about the event, sent emails and posted about it on Facebook. It turned out one of their Facebook fans worked at a local news station and got the word out about the movie night. They sold out the theater and had to add another showing of the film to accommodate everyone.

They did all the right things to get the word out, and this is exactly why you want to share your fundraising on social media.

Online registration: Again, probably a no-brainer, but maybe not. We live in a society that is very mobile, so you want to make sure that when you Tweet, post on Facebook or send an email, your recipients can take action through the medium you are contacting them through, even if it's just a link. If you're having an event, allow people to sign up for it online; or donate, purchase, whatever your fundraiser is for. There are lots of online registration tools out there to help you manage this (VR Events for example), plus:

• Blackbaud/Kintera
• Dojiggy
• Causes
• Crowdrise

And a lot more, check out this article for more ideas.

Fundraising tools: Make sure the program or fundraising tools you find have what you want and need. There are a lot out there, so look at a few and figure out what features you need and what you can live without. Since very few are free, you'll want to make sure you find the features you need or can use, as some may have too many bells and whistles. Even if discounted for NPOs, you may still find that some products take more effort to get to what you need. The Fundraising Authority has some tips on what to look for in a fundraising database.

So there you have it, some pointers to help out when it's time to start thinking about fundraising.

And don't forget to check any laws in your area that may impact your fundraising before you begin!

 

Posted by Jill Bastian.

Jill Bastian is the Training and Education Manager at VerticalResponse. Connect with her on Twitter @Jillieb3.

Mythbusters: Email and Social Marketing are Only for Retailers

Mythbusters: Email and Social Marketing are Only for Retailers is part of our blog series where we tackle and debunk common myths in email and social marketing.

I do a lot of webinars and one of the common questions I hear is, "But I work at a non-profit, how does this apply to me?" (you can replace non-profit with mechanic, insurance company, or really, any business). We feature different types of businesses or industries as examples when we do webinars (or blog posts!) but we certainly don't cover them all. We thought we'd create this post to help dispel the myth that email and social marketing is just for retail or similar businesses.

Here are 3 tips to bust this myth:

Social Media - Facebook and Twitter aren't just for teenagers or pictures of cats and babies, they're for businesses too. Even if you don't have a retail business the message here is the same: it's all about engagement. Get your customers/clients to follow you and make sure you have posts that keep them interested. Posting about what's going on behind the scenes is a fun way to keep people in the know about your company. Non-profits can include posts leading up to events, trivia questions about the organization, volunteers, behind the scenes at fundraisers, or even fun pictures. Not a non-profit? How about doing posts that include a spotlight on an employee that customers interact with, new services, tips on car maintenance, home security, summer safety, crazy weather facts (this summer has been full of record-breaking heat, it's Facebook gold!), fun or funny questions, and of course, pictures. The point is to include information about your company/organization plus interesting and useful information. Think of your posts in thirds: One-third about your company, one-third useful info you're sharing, one-third fun or interesting info that has nothing to do with your company or industry. We've even got a handy, time-saving tool - VerticalResponse Social - that enables you to schedule all your social posts for the month in about 20 minutes.

Send emails - Just like with social media you want to think about engagement and keeping your company/organization top of mind. People may not need a plumber everyday, but when they do, you want them to think of your business. Your emails don't have to be about promotions or just a newsletter. Much like the rule of thirds for social, you want your emails to contain the same type of information: something about your business, tips or how-to's, interesting articles or stories, and something fun, like recipes or fun facts. Are you having a special event? Talk about that. Special sale on tune-ups? Include that as well. You don't have to include a sale to send an email, the point is to mail consistently and provide useful information that keeps your recipients' interest so that when they need your services you are the first business they call.

Call-to-action - I've separated this from email or social media to cover a couple of specific points. A call-to-action (CTA) is what you want people to do. In your emails you may want them to click and make a purchase, download a file, make a donation or sign up for an event. The same applies to social media: you may want your followers to do something, such as liking, retweeting, or repinning your post. And not to be too repetitive, this is not just for retailers selling something. Every email or social post should have some kind of call-to-action; you want your followers or recipients to engage and interact with you. Think about your social posts: I mentioned earlier that you want your followers to be engaged, and one of the ways to track that is if they like, comment or share. So your posts need to ask (or direct) them to do something that causes one of those actions. Your emails also should ask your recipient to do something: read more about an article you're sharing, make a donation, make an appointment, or volunteer. Keep them clear, easy to follow through on and include only one or two CTAs to keep your readers from getting confused.

These are just a few ideas to help you market your ____ (fill in the blank: non-profit, dental office, insurance company, school, or any other non-retail business). The thing to keep in mind when you're looking for marketing ideas is to take a step back and look at the big picture. You may not be selling a product like lamps or wine, but you are selling some kind of service, even if you don't charge for it. Remembering that your clients are your customers should help you apply some of the great marketing ideas and tips that you come across.

Posted by Jill Bastian.

Jill Bastian is the Training and Education Manager at VerticalResponse. Connect with her on Twitter @Jillieb3.

 

 

Related Posts:

• Mythbusters: Do Old Wives' Email Marketing Tales Hold True?

4 Tips for Managing Events for Non-Profits

Most, if not all non-profits have some kind of annual fundraising event to help raise money and keep things up and running. But getting your events to run smoothly can be tough and all that effort can be put to waste if not handled correctly. Here are 4 tips to keep in mind as you plan your upcoming event:

1. Who's invited: Who are you inviting to the event? Is this going to be a general fundraiser that includes your community? Or are you targeting a certain group or business type for your event? Are you going to need volunteers to help things run smoothly? Make sure you know who you want involved in your event before you get started. This will make getting your invite and volunteer list together easier. And knowing 'who' will be a good start to planning your marketing strategy.

2. Get the word out: This can be daunting, but there are tools to help you with this, and VerticalResponse is here for you. Email and social media marketing are easy and inexpensive ways to let people know you're having an event and can get them to sign up on the spot. But think about your overall marketing plan and what will work best for the type of event you're doing (for example, using mailed invitations may be expected for an upscale fundraiser).

Using something like the VerticalResponse Event tool will make it easy to set up a registration page for your event. Fill in the info about your event, set up tickets, and publish. This kind of system will allow you to share info about your event on social media through built-in plug-ins and send email invitations. Also, think about promoting information or fun facts about your event through social media on a regular basis. Setting up a social media campaign to regularly update your followers can help incite interest and sign-ups too.

Email is also a great way to follow up and remind people that they're attending or have volunteered for your event. Send out 1 or 2 reminders to your attendees, including the date, time, and location for the event. Send your volunteers emails about when they are needed, where to meet, what their duties are and the time and date they are doing them. You can create a list of attendees or volunteers easily to help manage these reminders. Plus, email stats will let you know who is reading your invitations or reminder emails and help you manage non-responders.

3. Ticket sales: Once you get the word out about you're event, you're going to need to manage attendance and/or donations. When your event page is live you can manage sign-ups, plus take money for ticket purchases or even accept donations for your organization. You'll need to decide what the pricing will be for the event and what that will include. For example, are there different contribution levels, group discounts, early bird pricing, VIP level or extra charges for meals or t-shirts? This is where an online management system will come in handy: once the tickets are set up it will manage all the different levels for you. 

4. Follow up: One of the most important things to remember about wrapping up your event is to send out a thank you, to everyone. This includes of course, attendees and donors, but don't forget your volunteers and staff! If this is an event you do annually, sending out a thank you can help ensure a great turnout next year. It's a simple thing to do, but often overlooked. Again, email and social media will be easy for this: post a thanks to everyone on your Facebook wall, and send out emails to everyone who signed up or helped out in some way. If you send out a monthly newsletter, give a shout-out to those who helped as well.


These are just a few suggestions to help you manage an event. There are, of course, other things to keep in mind as well. For more info on planning events for NPOs check out the websites for NTEN (Non-Profit Technology Network) and the Fundraising Authority.

 

Posted by Jill Bastian.

Jill Bastian is the Training and Education Manager at VerticalResponse. Connect with her on Twitter @Jillieb3.

 

 

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Step by Step Guide: How to Pack the House for Your Event

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Small Biz Social Secrets - Episode 1: Shauna Causey [VIDEO]

At VerticalResponse we try to bring you relevant and valuable content to make your business better. With that objective in mind, we are excited to deliver the first episode of our new video series, Small Biz Social Secrets. In this series, we'll provide interviews with top social media personalities who will share vital information to help you get the most out of your social media efforts.

In our kickoff episode , we have the pleasure of chatting with Shauna Causey, VP of Marketing at Decide.com. Shauna has an incredible social media background including key roles in developing social programs at such well known companies as Nordstrom and Comcast. Here, Shauna shares insights into what aspects of social media she would concentrate on if starting a new small business or non-profit organization. 

 

Posted by Derek Overbey

Derek Overbey is the Senior Social Media Manager at VerticalResponse. Connect with him on Twitter at @doverbey.

Social Responsibility: You Don't Need to Be Big to Make a Difference

This article by VerticalResponse CEO and founder Janine Popick originally appeared on The Huffington Post.

My marketing company, VerticalResponse, was probably in business about five years before we put a stake in the ground and said, "We're going to help our community!"

Why did it take us so long? Because I thought you had to be Salesforce.com or Google to really make a difference. But that simply isn't the case. What I didn't realize at the time is that any business, no matter how small you are, can do something in an impactful way.

Offering your products or services at a discount or for free to community organizations is a great and easy way to get started, because it doesn't involve anyone else but your company. We began our endeavor by offering 15 percent off all of our services – email marketing, online surveys and postcards – to any qualifying non-profit. Non-profits do amazing things for the community on shoestring budgets, so this was our way of making it a little easier for them.

As the company grew, we wanted our contribution to also grow. So in 2007, we made a bold move: We began offering 10,000 free email credits (equivalent to $120) per month to all non-profits, as well as 15 percent off everything else. One of the first conversations I had with my newly appointed chief financial officer, Dave, was about this new and improved non-profit email marketing program. I was excited by the fact that this would afford so many non-profits, especially the smaller ones, the ability to really grow their donation and volunteer base without spending a dime.

Today, more than 22,000 non-profits like JustGive, Bike New York and the Pacific Coast Farmers' Market Assn. (which organizes all the neighborhood markets here in San Francisco) use our tools to get the word out about their initiatives and raise funds, and it feels great to know we're helping them succeed.

As VerticalResponse continued to grow, we again felt the need to up the ante. The next step we took was partnering with Salesforce.com to sponsor their volunteer events. We would get 15 to 20 people on weekends to do something that benefited the community. One weekend we painted an elementary school (in the rain, I'll add). On another, we painted and landscaped a homeless shelter. We even helped build a local YMCA playground. It was an incredible way for my team to not only work together at doing something completely different, but it also gave them a chance to meet new people.

Because we loved these events so much, we eventually started our own programs, like donating computers to a local elementary school and reading to the children. We often volunteer at the San Francisco Food Bank as well as Project Homeless Connect, a quarterly event that helps the homeless in our city.

Beyond doing good in the community, employees get to work together in a totally new and different environment where the playing field is leveled. They can be picking weeds and shoveling dirt alongside their boss's boss; there is no more hierarchy of roles. You can learn so many new things about your fellow co-workers when you spend a day sharing an experience that's not related to "work."

Another side benefit of volunteering? Employees really love working for a company that is cause-friendly and they'll tell their friends. The best employee you can get is someone referred by one of your rock stars! You also get new customers that want to do business with a company that's giving back, which, in the end, is what you want to do.

So if you want to give back to your community, don't wait until you hit X number of employees or X dollars in sales or revenue. Start now. Even if it's something small, someone will benefit and so will you – with happy employees, great word-of-mouth and the knowledge that you're doing something to help others.

What are you doing to give back to your community?

 

Posted by Janine Popick

Janine Popick is the CEO and founder of VerticalResponse. Connect with her on Twitter at @janinepopick, and check out more of her Huffington Post columns.

 

 

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Cause Marketing: Giving Profits to Charity

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Learn From the Pros: Facebook Fan Pages We Love

I spend a lot of time on Facebook. A lot. Fortunately for me, it's part of my job. And between browsing pictures of puppies, kids, and Ryan Gosling, I spend much of my time looking at fan pages for businesses of all types. There are many of them out there. So many, in fact, that it has become harder than ever to rise above the clutter and reach potential customers. You, on the other hand, have better things to do while running your business than scouring the world's largest social network for small business marketing ideas. Fear not, though, I've done the legwork for you and put together a list of some of the best fan pages out there and the marketing lessons you can steal (ahem, borrow) from them.

 

Break the Mold

One big limitation of Facebook, or really any social network, is that the look and feel of your profile is left to the whims of the network's creators. Instead of viewing this as a constraint, though, think of it as a creative challenge. Bonobos does an excellent job of this on their Facebook fan page. By doing a few simple things within the Facebook profile structure, Bonobos lets their branding truly shine:

• Picture Pane: The five pictures that appear across the top of your fan page default to the images you most recently uploaded to Facebook. If you don't pay attention to what these pictures are, it's easy for the picture pane to start looking like a jumbled mess. Fortunately, by just clicking the "x" on any picture in the picture pane you can remove pictures that you don't want there. Don't worry, you're not deleting the pictures altogether, just removing them from the pane. With this in mind, create a new album on Facebook that has pictures you specifically want to show in the picture pane. Bonobos has a fun series of images that will look good no matter what order they are displayed.
• Profile Picture: While Facebook limits profile pictures for brands to 180 pixels wide, you can use an image that is up to 540 pixels high. Use this to your advantage and don't just stick with your company logo. Have some fun and use the space to communicate something about your brand. The Bonobos profile picture does a great job of this by incorporating their square logo (important for the preview that is shown on comments) with an image that works very nicely with their picture pane montage.
• Wall Content: There is nothing less appealing than a wall full of text-only status updates. Pictures and videos are proven to spur more engagement on Facebook, not to mention the fact that they can be a huge help in improving your EdgeRank and ensuring your posts are actually seen by your fans. In this example, Bonobos repurposes content from their catalog to get people talking.

Sidenote: Facebook is due to slowly roll out the new timeline look for fan pages starting at the end of the month. While this transition will likely be a slow one, it's a good idea to start thinking about your updated visual branding strategy now. No one will know for sure what the changes will look like until Facebook lets the cat fully out of the bag, but that doesn't mean you can't start speculating!

 

Build a Killer Branded Welcome Tab

Facebook enables brand pages to specify a default landing tab for all new visitors to your page. For vistors that aren't already familiar with your company, this is your chance to put your best foot forward. A custom welcome tab can say more about your brand than your Facebook wall ever will. How To Market Your Horse Business, a company that, well, helps you market your horse business, pulls out all the stops:

• Strong CTA: It's important to make sure any welcome tab you set up encourages your visitors to like your page. Here, How To Market Your Horse Business puts that call to action right at the top with a bold green arrow drawing your eyes to the like button.
• Video: As mentioned above, using video is a great way to engage your fans. Here, a message from the company's owner is a nice way to add some personality to the page.
• Other Social Properties: Some of your customers may find you on Facebook, but want to interact with you on other networks too. Make it easy for them and link to all the social networks that you are active on as well as your website.
• Social Sharing: By including like and share buttons on the welcome tab you enable your fans to spread the word about your company on your behalf. Again, don't limit this to Facebook. Some people will prefer to share on other networks so why stop them?
• Email Opt-In Form: Just because it's social media doesn't mean you have to keep it there. In fact, email still remains the ultimate touch point for messaging your customers. Collect email addresses from your Facebook fans and watch your list grow!

 

Don't Just Ask, Compel

Whether in a TV commercial, email signature, or anywhere else, have you ever seen a company ask you to like them on Facebook and thought to yourself, "yeah, I get it, you're on Facebook, do you want a prize?" Maybe that's just me. Anyhow, as we've already established, there is a ton of noise on Facebook competing for customers' attention. People no longer like pages willy nilly. You have to give them a good reason. Minted uses their welcome tab for just this: 

In this case, Minted is incentivizing likes with a discount. Once you click the like button the tab changes to display a promo code for your next purchase. Minted is doing three very specific things here.

1. The incentive they are offering is centered around their actual product. If you offer, say, a chance to win an iPad in exchange for a like, you're sure to see a huge spike in fan growth. Who doesn't want an iPad? The problem is that you want your new Facebook fans to really be potential customers, not just Facebook junkies looking for an iPad fix. On the contrary, give away some of your product as an incentive and you'll be identifying genuine leads. 
2. The promo code, just like any other sale you run, spurs incremental purchases. You know, revenue. What's not to love about that?
3. By using a promo code specific to your welcome tab you can begin to tie back individual transactions to your Facebook efforts and (gasp) start to measure return on investment.

 

Create a Recurring Feature

One of the biggest challenges for marketers using Facebook is that very few of your fans ever return to your page itself. Your customers may occasionally see your updates in their newsfeeds, but without actually visiting your fan page they could be missing out on the bulk of your messaging. Help combat this by giving them a reason to keep on visiting. Best Friends Animal Society does this with their Pet of the Week feature:

This example works for many reasons. Best Friends Animal Society is appealing to their supporters' interests by featuring animals that the organization has rescued. While not every business will have as furry or cute of a feature, all companies have something that interests their customers. Maybe you have new projects you can highlight or employees doing interesting things outside of the workplace. Of course, one of the best ways to keep your fans coming back is to feature them. Pick a fan of the week or do a customer profile in the form of a case study. Not only will you be giving recognition, but you'll also be providing potential new customers with actionable use cases for your product or service.

Have you tried any of these Facebook techniques for your business? Are there any other fan pages out there that you love? Let us know in the comments!

 

Posted by Ellery Long

Ellery Long is the Social Media Manager at VerticalResponse. Connect with him on Twitter at @EL.

 

 

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Awesome October Webinars

Believe it or not, there is more to do in October than carve pumpkins, plan your Halloween costume, or pray your company will finally let you take Columbus Day off. October is the time for planning your email marketing campaigns for the upcoming holiday craziness… and VR has the webinars to help you get started!

As part of our Fall Webinar Series, we have many free and informative Webinars and Demos to help you kick off your email marketing for the holiday season.

Social Media and Email Basics

Thursday, October 13, 2011 - 10:00 AM PDT
Social Media has become a very important part of doing business. Join Marketing Team experts from VerticalResponse as we discuss the basics of how to use social media and email marketing together.  

Holiday Copywriting and Content

Thursday, October 20, 2011 - 10:00 AM PDT
Now is the time to get holiday ready! Join VerticalResponse marketing team members as we share some ideas and approaches for effective holiday emails. Learn great tips for copywriting and content that will make your emails shine this holiday season!

Creating a Successful Email

Thursday, October 20, 2011 - 1:00 PM PDT
Your newsletter is a tool that helps you stay engaged with your customers and prospects as well as helping you grow your business. You can strengthen your relationships and customer loyalty with an effective newsletter. Do you have an effective newsletter? Do you have a newsletter at all?  

Join the VerticalResponse marketing experts as they discuss how to build a valuable newsletter.

Holiday Email Tips for Non-Profits

Thursday, October 27, 2011 10:00 AM PDT
We get lots of questions from Non-Profits asking about Email Marketing and Social Media specific to their needs. This webinar will help guide you through what you need for both, with tips, tricks and some great examples to help inspire you. We will also have a guest speaker from a non-profit on the webinar with her own tips for NPOs. Bring lots of questions for our experts!

Oh, and here is an easy Time Zone Converter in case you want to double-check that you have the right time for your neck of the woods.

Related Posts:

• Essential Fall Holidays to Recall
• Email Marketing for this Holiday Season

Brendan Hill is the newest Lifecycle Marketing Coordinator at VerticalResponse. Connect with him on Twitter at @BrendanHill

Free Stuff = New Customers + Great Word of Mouth

The word "free" is a wonderful word, isn't it? Risk-free, free shipping, buy one get one free - they're all tried and true in the world of marketing. But have you ever thought of really giving something free up front to gain a customer or great word of mouth?

I'll ask all CFOs or bean counters to stop cringing, I know, I've had the discussions with many of you. And I understand that most businesses are in business to MAKE money, not give away the store. But done right, giving away something for free can really make a difference and help your business grow (not go away).

Here are some ideas of how a few industries give things for free to gain customers.

Software Companies - What's great about online software is that you can do a lot by giving your product and digital content away to get people in the door in a limited fashion.

• Give full access to your product for free for a limited time. This takes away any tough sell questions if people can get in and really play with it.
• Offer a free downloadable guide or something that you email that adds value.
• Offer free webinars to potential customers.
• Give the first month of an online service totally free or give a few months of a service contract free. These are usually pretty inexpensive to give away.

At VerticalResponse we take it one step further, we give our email marketing product away for free to smaller non-profits. This works in many ways; Our non-profits talk us up to their friends and colleagues, and we love the fact that we give back to the community. Free is good all the way around.

Restaurants & Bars - Getting and keeping costs in line is important to all restaurant owners, but there are some things you might try to generate some neighborhood buzz.

• Offer a free appetizer of your choice from 4-6pm to get the crowds in the door early.
• Give free cookies for dessert.
• In Europe most cafes give you olives, chips, and nuts for ordering a few drinks.
• A restaurant in the Bay Area gives you free hamachi shots and free cotton candy at the end of your meal. Cotton candy is quirky enough to cause some word-of-mouth and out of 251 Yelp reviews, 70 of them mention it!

There's a restaurant in Lake Tahoe known for giving a "doggie bag" of a turkey sandwich and a pumpkin pie slice after you eat there for Thanksgiving. You still get the feeling you're eating leftovers without the hassle of cooking!

Clothing Retail - Give a cool, free reusable shopping bag for customers to carry their stuff around in. Scoop in NYC does a great job at generating buzz from the free durable shopping bags they give away plus they get some nice advertising out of the deal when people are walking around town carrying the bags. Ambaince, a women's boutique clothing store in SF, does the same thing.

Health Clubs - Health clubs can get really creative to attract customers. You can come up with a nice package to get people in the door. Here are some ideas of things to give to get people to sign on the dotted line:

• Give free SIGG gym-logo'd water bottles.
• Offer a free hour with a trainer.
• Offer $50 worth of free food at the gym's cafe.
• Give a $25 gift certificate to the gym's spa.
• Have a monthly "mixer" for your guests if they bring a friend who isn't a member.
• Offer free gifts and some healthy smoothies.

The Sports Club LA gives free guest passes to get newbies coming to the club to try it out for a few days.

These are just a few ideas for these particular business types to get customers by giving something for free. Is there something you can give away to get people in your door?

4 Quick Ways to Give Back and Prosper!

It's the season for giving so there's not a better time for your business to give back. First of all, it's just a good practice for any business. Secondly, it just might give you an upper hand to increase your sales. People like to patron businesses if they know that a specific business gives back to worthy causes and the community. Plus it's could be a great generator of "buzz" for you.

Here are 4 ideas we thought of for how you can use "cause marketing" in your business.

1. Donate dollars to a cause of your choice for each survey taken up to some number of surveys you need to analyze. We just did a product survey where we gave $10 for every survey taken up to 300 surveys to the Susan G. Komen foundation in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. We got the number of surveys we wanted in two days.

2. Donate a percentage of all revenue generated from all sales in a specific time period like a few hours or a specific day. "From 12-2pm this Saturday all profits go to the American Cancer Society."

3. Give a percentage of all revenue generated from a specific product purchased for a specific time period. "All profits from our new set of Widgets for the next two weeks will be donated to the SF Food Bank."

4. Donate dollars for each purchase made over some specific amount. "For any total purchase made over $200, we will donate $20 to Parks and Recreation of the Bay Area."

And to prove that you actually "gave back" it's a good practice to send an email marketing campaign to all of those that "contributed" telling them that you just wrote the check to your cause. To top it all off, you can even show the receipt in your email (just make sure to block out the credit card number you used to make the donation!)