4 New Ways to Clip Coupons

If you are tired of clipping and organizing coupons from the Sunday newspaper supplements, or you do not seem to be able to keep track of the coupons sent to you in the mail, here are four news ways that your can get coupons, almost any time you want.

1. Online coupons.

Online coupons are all over the place. They are in the form of coupon codes, which you just insert into a retailer's purchase form and get the discount immediately. Or free printable coupons that you download and take with you to the advertiser to redeem for their value. Both are great ways to get coupons and are available 224 hours a day, 7 days a week. All you do is type in your address bar or Google if you like, the type of coupon you are looking for and up will come a number of options.
If you just type in the word coupon or if you are from Chicago like I am, type in the words " Chicago Coupons", and up will come various coupon sites that you can take advantage of.

These nice thing about online coupons is that the places where you find them are always updating their offers, so the content is fresh, most offers are available, the coupons a free, and almost all coupons have bar codes and tracking devices, so you do not have to worry anymore about their authenticity.

2. Mobile coupons.

There is a new service offered now, where coupon offers can be texted to your cell phone. You just bring your cell phone into the store or restaurant, so them the offer on your cell phone screen and redeem it. This is a very easy service to use. All you have to do is subscribe with you name, email address, telephone provider service, and telephone number. This service is currently free and the only thing you will have to pay for is data usage charges on your cell phone. The deals and codes you may receive are national or local. You can get deals on everything from fast food hamburgers to fill up your stomach to cheaper gas to fill up your car.

3. Loaded Reward Cards.

A relatively new technology makes it possible for retailers to load rewards and monetary discounts onto a plastic card that looks just like a gift card. It has the company's logo and usually shows the monetary award right on the face of the card. Grocery stores also have cards where you can load food and beverage discounts right on the card and use them at the checkout counter.

4. Coupon Kiosks.

Now customers can take their reward card and print out coupons right in th store at in-store coupon kiosks. The coupons are based on a customer's past spending habits, how often he buys, and how much he spends. At certain stores, customers can look up coupon codes on interactive coupon kiosks and send them via text message to their cell phone. This employs the technology in item 2 above.

The retailers are finally understanding that coupons help create loyal customers and are smart additions to a professional marketing campaign. As time goes on, it is going to be easier and easier to get coupons either online, or in the stores. It appears that the days of people getting the Sunday newspaper and clipping away are numbered. It will always be an option for people who have made it a hobby, but for the majority the new ways of getting coupons will flourish.

Joel Helfer is an online advertising expert. He is a creative teacher, who shows you how to create compelling online and offline offers. He has 40 years business experience and has been involved in several successful businesses. He can be reached at helfer217@aol.com. Search his website at http://www.rewardchicago.com/