No Excuses (Part 2)

As promised, here are 11 more reasons to write your customers to let them know you're thinking about them

11. Anniversary. Celebrate customers' anniversaries with your company. People appreciate the acknowledgement that you know they've been doing business with you since _____.

12. Announcement. Tell your customers about new products, new people, new services, new store hours, new partners or new lower pricing.

13. New and similar. Amazon is a master at cross-selling by keeping customers informed of new book releases that are similar in topic and/or author to customers' past purchases.

14. Early bird. Early bird offers with enticing rewards (which don't have to be discounts) encourage early response.

15. Celebrate Third Thursday …or First Friday or any other reoccurring day of the month. Turn it into your organization's special event celebration to offer sale prices, focus on little known facts about your products or unique customer reviews.

16. Sneak preview. The better the customer, the more he/she likes to get the inside scoop. Give your most avid fans a sneak preview to build brand loyalty. It's a great opportunity to use video or augmented reality.

17. Special recognition. Recognize special relationships, such as those you have with preferred customers, new donors or 10-year members.

18. Welcome. A first-time buyer is a trier. Transform that trier into a multi-buyer with a special welcome note and offer.

19. We value your opinion. Everyone has an opinion, and most of us enjoy sharing them. So give your customers the opportunity to engage with you by sharing theirs.

20. Enter to win. Need customer photos for your website? Have a contest and tell people about it through every channel.

21. Time is running out. Remind readers that time is running out to take advantage of sale prices … enter your contest … or RSVP for a special event.

22. Deadline extended. While it's not a good idea to extend every deadline you set, when you have good reason to give people more time to respond, make sure to tell them.

23. 'Introducing …' is a powerful word. It implies something's new, sounds a bit social and sets up the start of a relationship.

24. Success story. Share a success story, case history or series of customer reviews. People love to read stories.

25. Surprise! Everybody loves a good surprise. Yours could be a new product announcement, preferred customer reward or return of a favorite that was discontinued.

26. Open house. Give it a name or reason for being, then mail or email invitations.

27. Limited. Make a limited time or limited edition offer. Scarcity=extra special.

28. Friends and family. Extend the reach of your message by making your offer available to your recipient's friends and family.

29. Post-sales event. There's always a way to capture the attention of those who missed on a sale mailing or email.

30. Confirmation. It's reassuring to receive a confirmation of anything, from an order received to a password change. Confirming a customer's action reaffirms that you are paying attention.

31. Historical milestones. In a world filled with milestones, celebrity birthdays and other less well-known special events—such as Bed Bug Awareness Week, April 22-26—check out "Chase's Calendar of Events 2014." It offers more than 12,500 events in 196-plus countries, covering every day in the year.

Still at a loss for ideas? Take a look at Trish Witkowski's month-by-month calendar of 50+ marketing ideas on Page 6 of her e-book, "Direct Mail (Simplified): Track & Measure." It's a great checklist of more reasons to write.