Here’s something that’ll put a little pep in your step:  now through March 15th get 10% off any order!! Give your business a spring boost and save today! Use the promo code ‘Save10′ ..there’s only two weeks left!!

Let’s face it:  you spend most of your time doing what you do best —-servicing your customers day in, day out.  When it comes to advertising, marketing, and promotions, most tradesmen have limited know-how, let alone time.  But that doesn’t have to be the case.

Luckily, the following four promotional strategies require little time, money, and effort.  Best of all, they are proven strategies that’ll help you grow your business and bottom line.  And who could argue with that?

Give your customers a souvenir
After completing a service, stick a business card magnet onto your customers’ refrigerator.  This will help them remember your service, all while keeping your contact information in plain sight.  Not to mention, you can never go wrong with magnets –something most people find fun and enjoy collecting!

Stay top of mind
Keep you name top of mind by sending your customers a friendly reminder every few months, and what better way than with a branded (not to mention useful) calendar magnet.  For certain months you can include helpful tips on common repairs and problems that occur during that time of the year.  For example, before hurricane season people may want to check their roof to avoid unnecessary and costly damage and leaks.

Spread your knowledge
To garner good will, send your customers helpful informational magnets that have guidelines and advice on how to maintain their homes during severe weather conditions such as tornadoes, blizzards, and heat waves.  This will show your customers that you care about their well-being, reinforcing the value of your expertise and business.

Get out in the neighborhood
When you or an employee is working at a customer’s home, take a few moments to stick some magnets to neighborhood doors and mailboxes.  This is a fun, easy, and eye catching way of getting your contact information out in the community.  But don’t just take our word for it…give it a try!

We’re unleashing our inner Willy Wonka: *any and all* orders placed today through Tuesday, August 3 2010 will be shipped with your very own Golden Ticket (an actual magnet, why of course), good for 20% off your next order. Pretty sweet, huh?

To redeem your savings simply use the promo. code found on your Golden Ticket when placing your next order. It’s that easy!

Note: The Golden Ticket promo code expires on 12/31/2010, and is only good for one order.   Savor the sweet savings, and make your message stick with Magnets.com.

Laying the puns on thick, save some green this St. Patty’s Day:  whether your magnets are 100% lime green, have a splash of forest green, or are spotted sea foam green, we’ll take 10% off any green magnets!

Simply use promo code StPattyMagnets at checkout.

This special is only good for one week, so paint the town green while you can.  Have a happy St. Patty’s Day, and make your message stick with Magnets.com.

The second of our ‘How to Get the Most Out of Your Magnets’ case studies looks at longtime Magnets.com customer RockAuto, a Madison, WI based online auto parts supplier.

Founded in 1999, RockAuto ships thousands of auto parts from over 100 manufacturers to customers on every continent except Antarctica -including APO/FPO addresses.  In fact, the company sells so many products it’ll soon be possible to build an entire car using parts from RockAuto!

Since 2003 the company has been including a branded business card magnet with all customer orders.  In 2005, to generate greater interest and brand recognition RockAuto decided on a slightly different strategy.  “It dawned on us that creating a collector series of 2”x4” magnets with the RockAuto name and an image of a customer vehicle, shipped with each order, would remind our customers that we’re a resource for pretty much any and all auto parts,” says Jessa Torvik, marketing manager for RockAuto.  “Additionally, allowing our customers to submit their vehicle for consideration on future magnet series certainly generates further buzz and excitement.”

To date there are over 50 different RockAuto collector series magnets, with well over 350,000 magnets being sent to customers each year.  In fact, all it takes is a simple Google search to see just how popular the collector series magnets have become –there are numerous message boards and Web postings with customers displaying their collection and seeking missing ones.

“At the end of the day we were looking for a simple, fun, cost effective means of getting a tangible branded item into the hands of our customers,” says Ms.Torvik.  “Seeing what the collector series magnets have become does a great deal for our name recognition, brand, and overall sales efforts.”

Stay tuned for additional Magnets.com custom case studies!

Now that you’re interested in promotional fridge magnets (Magnets.com ones, of course!) and/or already have some laying around your home or business, why NOT put them to work to:

• Grow your business and bottom line
• Get your customers talking about your brand and services
• Generate better brand awareness and recognition

How you ask?

The next several posts will detail real Magnets.com customer marketing and advertising strategies involving magnets, along with their results.  From professional services firms to online clothing stores to auto part  suppliers, each case study will be fully outlined with the goal of arming you with the knowledge needed to tailor your own strategies and rein in additional customers and revenue.

So, sharpen your pencils and stay tuned!

We’ve had several smaller sized erasable magnetic memo boards on our Web site for sometime now.  However, several customers have been asking for larger ones, and we’ve come through!

Whether you have your own art, want us to create your design, or prefer to use a stock template, we’ve just added 25+ 8.5”x11” erasable magnetic memo boards to our Web site.  What’s more, each memo board comes with its own erasable pen and strong adhering magnets to ensure your message and company information stays around for the long run.

Should you have any questions or new product ideas we’d love to hear from you!  Simply click here to contact us.

Get your groove on and be the envy of your neighbors with a brand new, 2GB iPod Shuffle!

Any order over $700, excluding shipping and applicable taxes, will automatically be shipped with your very own iPod!  Whether you’re looking for calendar magnets, business card magnets, mailer magnets, or anything else, there are *no* product limitations or exceptions.

Just make sure you type in promo/coupon code iPodGiveaway at checkout.

Don’t Wait:  the music will surely stop soon. Drum up extra business all while getting a little something extra on us. Visit our Web site to view our products.

NOTE: Cannot be combined with other offers or discounts.

The New York Times just ran an article detailing the resurgence of matchbooks as a means of promoting and advertising restaurants.  All fine and well, this got us thinking about a local pizza shop owner who recently generated a ton of new customers and sales using business card magnets and a bit of ingenuity.

Instead of advertising in the Yellow Pages or in the newspaper, this pizza shop owner wisely decided to print 5,000 business card magnets reading ‘exchange this magnet for 10% off your next large pizza’.  He attached a magnet to each and every pizza box and literally overnight had customers new and old exchange the magnet for a discount.

All said and done, we’re told 80% of the magnets were exchanged –that’s a whopping 4,000 orders totaling over $40,000 that otherwise would probably not have been placed.  Just think -what can your magnets do for you?