5. In discussion lists and bulletin boards

6. Autoresponder courses – a group of articles or information can be sent out separately over a period of time by email. - offer your course as a free bonus for purchasing one of your products or services. - Gain new leads by having people sign up and give you their contact information before they can receive your autoresponder course.

7. In printed materials – you can leave your autoresponder address in a printed (or online) ad.

Features of good autoresponders. 1. You get copies of each request that's made. 2. Ad-free versions for a fee. 3. Unlimited text length (though pre-formatting your message will help readers). 4. Personalization available if name data is collected. 5. Databasing of information. 6. Automatic follow-up capabilities. 7. You have control of your autoresponders 8. A firm policy on spam.

Free vs. Paid Autoresponders Free autoresponders often have ads incorporated in them and will have limited features, whereas paid autoresponders will charge you a monthly fee and will incorporate a full list of features. Suggestion – try both and see what works best for you.

Here are a few you can try: Zipresponse.com Aweber.com Getresponse.com Freeautoresponders.net Sendfree.com Rapidreply.net

If you are serious about Internet Marketing, an autoresponder is a "must have" tool, especially for saving time in following up on all your customers.

You may wonder, 'Why should I give them a discount on this second product or service? Shouldn't I make them pay full price?'

You can test it and see. But, more often than not, by giving your customers a 'special' deal for moment, you will get many more accepting your offer. Keep in mind, that profit on this additional sale is profit that you wouldn't have had.

3. DO YOU KNOW OF A GOOD RESTAURANT?

On another day, at end of a tour of a colonial home, we asked our guide if she could recommend a local restaurant.

She did better than that. In addition to her hearty recommendation, she gave us two coupons for local eatery.

Pretty impressive. This is called a Joint Venture.

The local restaurant owner obviously knows something about Give to Get and knew that tourists get hungry after a morning tour. So he approached tour guides and asked if they would like a supply of discount coupons to pass on to their tour groups who might be looking for a casual, but comfortable dining experience.

And why wouldn't guides want to provide their guests with recommendations and coupons to a restaurant that they enjoy themselves? Perhaps guides get a free meal once a week for their recommendations.

Joint Ventures, where two or more companies help one another, are an excellent way to attract business that you would not have otherwise gotten.

4. YUMMY! YUMMY! GOOD FOR YOUR TUMMY!

I'm not making that line up. We must have heard owner of a Cajun Chicken franchise repeat that line a hundred times as he handed out samples of his delicious Bourbon Chicken.

We've mentioned in past articles that a Bourbon Chicken vendor at one of our local malls attracts lion's share of lunch customers by simply handing out free samples of his bourbon chicken. It is so delicious, that it is difficult to keep walking past his stand without buying.

Well, apparently, bourbon chicken vendors in Washington, DC are aware of power of samples too. Because as we searched for a place for lunch in huge Union Station food court, we could hear in distance, 'Yummy! Yummy! Good for Your Tummy!'

We were so hungry by this time that we were drawn like a magnet to this unusual and hilarious chant.

It was difficult to see where this chant was coming from because there was such a large crowd surrounding stand. You can imagine our surprise as we edged our way through crowd to see a smiling, enthusiastic bourbon chicken vendor passing out sample after sample of bourbon chicken while repeating his slogan.

I feel sorry for other vendors in his vicinity, because they hardly stand a chance. The only bigger crowd than one around him and his samples, was one at his cash register ordering full meal.

Samples help you sell. Give people what they want. Think of how much easier it is for a person to decide if they want your product of not, when they can sample it.

We provide hundreds of marketing samples on our Web site and in our Newsletter so our potential customers can get to know, like, and trust us.

Ice cream stands provide free samples, America Online provides hundreds of hours of their service for free so you can sample it.

How are you using free samples to help sell your products and services? With a little creative thought, you can use this powerful technique to explode your sales.

----------------- Copyright (c) 2002, Joe Gracia Give to Get Marketing http://www.givetogetmarketing.com

FREE MARKETING IDEA-KIT http://www.givetogetmarketing.com Get your Free Marketing Idea-Kit, plus hundreds of free marketing tips, articles and case studies to help you grow your business at Give to Get Marketing Web site.

Joe Gracia is a marketing expert with over 25 years of hands-on experience. He and his wife, Maria, own two popular and profitable Web sites, Give to Get Marketing and Get Organized Now!