Last Sunday's Times featured a fascinating article about the unusual, innovative and sometimes downright risky approaches various small businesses have taken to get their mailshots past the usual stumbling blocks of the bin and the 'to be read' pile.

These include:

• Events company Smyle, which compiled a list of the 500 richest people in the UK, and sent them each a personal letter with a £20 note attached. The stunt cost £10,000, but it worked - almost 70% of recipients responded, and over half even donated the money to the business owner's chosen charity. The company turned over £1 million in its first year.
• Online law firm Lawyers Direct, which filled the goody bags at a DTI event with peanuts, the company's logo and the slogan: “These days you have to be nuts to pay for overheads.â€? This time the stunt cost just £1,000.

The article explains why small firms have to make the most of ingenious marketing tactics like these in order to get noticed - and shows that because they usually have specific, niche markets, these eye-catching campaigns can be more cost-effective than one might think.