Voice-mail marketing

Nation's Business, March, 1998 by Thomas Love

If you want your firm's voice mad to be an efficient marketing tool, says Ilise Benun, author of the handbook 133 Tips to Promote Yourself and Your Business, the message should contain these elements:

* A seven-word blurb about the services and products you offer.

* All the various ways someone can contact you -- address, fax, and electronic mail, for example.

* Announcements about upcoming events, such as sales and promotions.

* Any special discounts you're offering.

* A time when you win be available to return calls.

* Whenever possible, an option to speak with a person.

* A way to skip past your message.

Benun's handbook is $8 but is free with a subscription to her quarterly newsletter, The Art Of Self-Promotion, available for $30 a year. Write to P.O. Box 23, Hoboken, N.J. 07030-0023; or call 1-800-737-0783.