• The entrants need to send you a letter detailing what they like or dislike about your particular service or product when they've dealt with another company. What their experience prior to doing business with you.
• You could enclose a survey that was designed to address specific questions that will allow you to better market to that target audience.
• You could set up a free recorded information line and have them call and respond via voice mail so they don't even need to write or mail something to you.
• You could even simple enclose a BRE (which is a postage paid card or envelope) on this It could simply say, yes I have an interest in _____, please enter me in your drawing.
• Also write that no telemarketer will call you and all winners will be notified by first class mail.

Now from all the respondents you pick a winner. Unless you've got a lot of cash in your marketing budget, you'll need to pick a winner in your geographic location for the next part to make economic sense. You notify that winner and mail them out a packet that explains the deal.

You go to the house of the winner and take lots of pictures, before and after, pictures with them in front of their house, you send a press release to the local media to tell them about the blessed event and then you get ready for phase two.

Phase two comes by sending out letter #2 in the sequence to all the people who didn't respond to letter #1. But on the front page you have a big headline and pictures of you and the winners of the contest. Then you add a page with some of the other photographs in with it and a bunch of testimonials from other clients as well.

This should create a lot of attention and will definitely give your offer credibility. Now phase three kicks in. You hopefully will have gotten the newspaper to write up a story on this, by this time if not then pay to have a small article published and then make copies of it and enclose it in your third letter with a headline that makes the reader think, Gosh, I'm the only one missing out on this, I don't want to be left out, I'd be an idiot not to call these guys.

With this combination you will have a powerful way to use comments and pictures of those who have already used your services to compel those who haven't yet, to give you a try.

Testimonial Do's and Don'ts

1. Don't use the first name and last initial only. Anybody could make that up and it won't hold credibility
2. Do reprint letters that are sent to you as is, provided they are glowing testimonials.
3. Do use as many as you can get, you never know which one will convince the skeptical prospect.
4. Put your most powerful testimonials up front where they are seen first.