Making Money With Voice Mail

Although this money-making is continuously being marketed as "a way to make

money with your answering machine", new technology has actually rendered

this idea obsolete.

With the proliferation of voice mail, fax-back service, and very inexpensive

computerized voice processing systems, the answering machine, with its

limited one-call-at-a-time capacity, is no longer ideal for making money.

With the advent of these new technologies, the concept has also expanded to

a variety of processes which you can use to make money.

PEOPLE MUST CALL

With answering machines, the only way you can make money is when people call

you.  Since an answering machine is hooked up to a specific phone number,

and since it does not advertise on its own, you will have to establish ways

to attract people to call your phone number so that people can listen to the

message recorded on your answering machine.

THE MESSAGE IS THE KEY

The message recorded on your answering machine is the key to your ability to

make money.  The message can instruct people to send money for information

about any subject matter, or instruct callers to leave their name and

address so you can send them a sales brochure. The information you have

recorded on your machine should be encouraging and convincing enough to

motivate the caller to do what you have instructed.

THE 1-MINUTE SPIEL

Think of your recording as a radio commercial.  Since callers have short

attention spans, and are used to hearing radio and tv spots that are not

more than 1 minute long it is advisable that you limit the length of your

message to about 1 minute, 2 minutes tops!

GETTING THE CALL & COLLECTING PAYMENT

Whatever it is you are selling, and by which you are using your answering,

your primary challenge will be in two areas:  (1) How you can advertise and

make your telephone number known to a lot of people, and  (2) How you are

going to collect payment for whatever it is you are selling. One of the most

popular topics sold on "answering machine schemes" is information abourt how

people can make money with their answering machine.  This is worn out and

very unimaginative.  More than likely, your caller will feel insulted and

not order whatever literature, report or booklet you want them to order.

Remember, if you want to have a recorded sales message over the telephone,

use a voice mail service, which may cost you around $8 a month.

How To Make Money Producing Cable TV Spots

If you have cable, you've no doubt seen local advertising on most of the

channels.  There are three ways a local business could produce a commercial. 

One, they could do it themselves (and we all know what that looks like); two,

they could have the local cable business do it for them (which can also look

quite amateurish); or they can have an outside individual do the production. 

This is where you come in.  If your video skills are top-notch, you can

produce excellent commercials for local businesses at agreeable prices.  If

you have marketing skills, so much the better, but it's not an absolute

requirement.  As long as you can clearly answer the "4 W" questions (who,

what, where and why), your commercial will be good.

The only drawback to this business is that you should use 3/4 inch broadcast

format video, which is incompatible with a home videocamera.  A camera for

this type of videotape usually costs around $3000, less if it's used.  There

is a way around this expense, though.

Most cable stations have what is called a "public access" channel.  This

channel is designed so that individuals and groups from the community can

produce their own shows, to be aired on the channel.  Contact your local

cable company and find out if they have such a channel.  You should be able

to rent time on their equipment.  This is a real boon when it comes to

editing a tape, as they will have the equipment necessary to make your tape

look professional. They usually offer short courses on using the equipment,

too.

Market your services directly to the small businesses in your area. 

Good prospects are auto dealerships, restaurants, retailers such as video,

book, and computer dealers, and, in election years, local political

candidates (hope they get elected - you can expect a return customer!). 

Your quality production, coupled with a reasonable price, should entice

prospects to become customers.

Most commercials will be either thirty-seconds or one minute, and will be

shot on location at the customer's facilities.  If they provide the copy

for the commercial, you only have to direct the commercial.  Run through

the script with whomever will be reading it, to make sure that it will fit

the time without sounding rushed.  You want to aim for a relaxed, natural

sound (unless, of course, you're working with your local crazy car dealer,

in which case they may want an auctioneer sound!).  Above all, make sure the

script tells who the advertiser is, what they do, where they are, and why

people should give them their business.  This is what the customer needs to

hear.

Likewise, make sure your customer is happy with the result.  After shooting

the video, edit it (you should be able to ask someone at the cable company

to help you), then review it with your customer.  As long as you've presented

the advertiser in a good light, you'll be in good shape.

The first few times you produce a commercial, you may feel like you're flying

by the seat of your pants.  Just relax, use good common sense, and always

remember that the job of the commercial is to convince the skeptical customer

to spend his or her hard earned money with your client.

You should expect to spend a few hours during the shoot, to get enough takes

for editing.  Get four or five good takes.  That way, any bad parts that you

find when reviewing your taping can be replaced with a good take.

A 30-second or 1-minute spot can be shot and edited in one day.  The first

one or two may take a bit longer, but that's okay.  It's better to take your

time when learning the ropes, rather than rush through and end up with

substandard results.  Because your overhead will be low (if renting

equipment, instead of purchasing), you should be able to undercut your

competition.  In a decent size city, you can expect to charge between $500

and $1,000.  Longer commercials are more negotiable, depending upon whether

or not you will be asked to write the script.  The half-hour long

"infomercials" have become a bonanza for many advertisers, and they are a

goal you can work up to, as your skills grow.

Watch commercials and listen to them.  Keep mental notes about how the

advertiser is presented, what message the commercial gives, and if you feel

the commercial is successful.  Incorporate the best elements of the

commercials you see into your own shoots!

How To Make Money Producing Special Event Videos

Special event videos are much simpler and a lot less worry than videotaping

a wedding ceremony.  In many cases, you'll only need one camera, one

microphone, and little or no editing.  You'll charge less, of course, but

your profit margin will be higher. 

You can provide this service to any professional person or group - attorneys,

salespeople, financial advisors, professional speakers _ anyone who must

give a talk, presentation or lecture before a group of people.  Workshops,

meetings, conferences, reunions, all are potential jobs for you.

As with weddings, meet beforehand with the person or persons you will be

taping, both to get their permission to tape them, if necessary, and to get

a feel for what they specifically want on tape.  If all they want is a tape

of their speech, then all you'll need is one camera (two if you want a spare

in case of problems), one microphone and a tripod.  Set your equipment up

well ahead of time, to allow for testing.  Be sure to have the subject of

the tape do a test of part of their speech, so you can be sure the microphone

is set right.  It's important to have clear sound for event taping.

       

For panel discussions, meetings and other group events, you'll want to have

a camera pointed at every person, or possibly at every two people, as well

as one at the whole group.  Make sure every person can be picked up by your

microphones.  When you edit the tapes together, try to have the speaking

person on screen as they speak, unless that would mean too many rapid

changes, which can be disorienting to the viewer.  If taping an interview,

the subject of the interview is more important than the interviewer.  While

it's good to cut in a reaction shot of the interviewer from time to time,

keep the focus of your tape on the person being interviewed.

Unless you need to use multiple cameras and heavy editing, you should charge

less for event taping than you would for wedding taping.  There are a few

reasons for this.  First, you will spend far less time on an event tape.

Second, you have a higher potential for return business.  If you do a good

job, you have a good chance of being called in again for the next meeting or

conference.  Finally, there is always the possibility of selling copies of

the tape to targeted customers.  This can either be done for the subject of

the tape, with you getting a cut, or the subject can pay you a license fee

for each that he or she sells.

An up-and-coming event to tape is the high school or college class reunion.

Offer your services to tape the reunion as a keepsake for those who

attended, or those who couldn't attend.  If you price your service right,

you may be able to work a deal where each attendee would get a copy of the

tape as part of their registration fee, with a cut going to you.  You'll

make less for each tape, but you'll be make up on quantity.  You should be

able to make $10 to $15 per tape just for copying the master onto a blank. 

Set up your VCRs, start the copying, and grab a good book.  Sounds like easy

money to me!  If you tape a reunion, try to get a class list so you can send

a personalized letter and brochure to those who didn't attend.  They are a

good market for copies of the tape.  You will need to work out details with

the planning committee of the reunion, as they will probably want a cut of

the profits, which is fair.  But, you are entitled to the lion's share,

since you did the work.

When taping a reunion, make sure to get a good group shot of the attendees,

possibly panning across the group for clear face shots. Be sure to tape any

and all speeches, important class members like the valedictorian, class

leaders, sports figures, and any class member(s) who have become local or

national celebrities.  Be sure to get plenty of candid material, too, which

can be edited in.  You'll want to make sure your skills are good when holding

the camera for an event like this.

Other events you may want to consider would be family events, like birthdays,

bar/bat mitzvahs, holiday get-togethers, as well as business and school

parties, award ceremonies, etc.  You'll get these jobs primarily from

referrals, which means your marketing expenses for these occasional events

will be little or none.

Scan your newspaper periodically for local publicity events like hot air

balloon races, boat races or shows, trade shows, scouting events, or other

events that appeal to a specialized crowd.  Get permission to tape these

events, then work out one of these deals:

        -       Sell the tape to the sponsor of the event;

        -       Keep the rights to the tape and give the sponsor a royalty

                fee for each tape sold.

Also, you could tape a group of similar events and edit them together into

a compilation tape that could be sold to targeted customers.  There are many

potential profit areas in event taping, if you keep your eyes open!

Five Things You Must Do To Be Successful In Mail-Order

A mail-order business is a great business to start, either part-time or

full-time.  It's exciting, because it's always changing, and it can be very profitable, if run correctly. One important thing to remember, though, is that mail-order businesses are easy to start, but take work to maintain.

Don't believe the hype you hear about making millions overnight in mail-order.  It's happened to a few lucky fools, but that's about it.  You have to use your head in mail-order, if you want to survive.  There are five extremely crucial rules to remember when running a mail-order business.  You still won't be guaranteed success, but it will be a whole lot easier, if you follow these rules.

1)  EXPLORE FREE AND LOW COST MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES. 

    Too many people jump into a mail-order business with an expensive, flashy full-page ad in a big magazine.  That's great IF it's successful, but what do you do when your ad only pulls enough orders to cover it's cost, and you have no marketing budget left for new ads?  Lick your     wounds, and close down your business.  The smart thing to do at the start (and throughout your mail-order career) is to take advantage of all the free and low cost marketing options at your fingertips.  You say you don't know about any?  Well, here are some ideas. Send a sample of your product along with a press release to the products reviewers at the magazines your customers read.  Also, write a short article about a    subject or issue that will interest your potential customers and that has a connection to the product you sell, and submit it to those same magazines.  For example, if you sell bass fishing lures, write an article on the best times of the day for bass fishing.  Offer to talk about the subject on radio or TV talk shows regarding this subject. Cable TV, in particular, has plenty of talk shows with specific audiences that are desperately in need of guests.

    In all of these instances, include a shot paragraph with information on

    how to contact you and a general description of the products or services

    you sell. Offer your articles or expertise for free, in return for this

    paragraph either appearing at the end of your article, or being read

    after the interview.

    Marketing yourself as an expert in your business will get you far more

    publicity than placing an expensive ad, and it's virtually free, except

    for your time, a few stamps and a few phone calls.  It works for me,

    and I know it can work for you.

2)  PYRAMID YOUR PROFITS. 

    What does this mean?  It means that you should take at least half of

    your profits and reinvest it in more advertising.  When you make your

    first batch of sales, don't take your profits and throw a party. 

    It might seem like a good idea now, but you'll regret it later.  A good

    way to grow your sales is by expanding your advertising. 

    If you can only afford one or two small ads in the beginning, that's

    fine.  If those ads are successful, make sure you take the profits from

    the sales they generate and reinvest them in four or five of the same ads

    in different magazines.  Then, reinvest the profits from those ads into

    seven or eight ads, and so on.  Don't be concerned about making immediate

    money.  You'll make a larger profit LATER if you reinvest in your business NOW.

3)  TRACK YOUR ADS.  Suppose you have ten or fifteen different ads running

    in different publications.  All of a sudden, you get a whole load of

    orders.  Of course, you want to continue running the ad that pulled in

    the orders, in the same publication and in ones you haven't advertised

    in before.  This will bring in more loads of orders, right?  But, when

    you look at the orders, you have no idea which of your ads was the one

    that clicked.  When you're done crying, resolve that, from now on, you

    will KEY and TRACK your ads.

    Keying and tracking ads is so simple that many people miss it. 

    Here's all you have to do.  On each ad, preferably on the address, add

    a letter or number code that will indicate to you where the order came

    from.  For example, if you're advertising in the August issue of Popular

    Mudbogging, and your business name is Joe's Knobby Tires, put your name

    in the ad as Joe's Knobby Tires-PM8.  PM stands for the issue name, the

    8 is for August.  Then, you can look at the envelope and you'll know

    instantly where the order came from.  Make a table on a piece of paper

    with columns for date, item ordered, amount paid, and date the order was

    shipped.  At the top of the page, tape a copy of the ad, and write the

    ad key next to it.  Then, when you receive orders, record the information

    on the proper page. 

4)  DO SMALL SCALE TESTS BEFORE LARGE SCALE ADVERTISING.  Before you sink

    hundreds or thousands of dollars into a large ad or mailing, test the waters. Place a smaller ad with the same message in the magazine for two or three issues, and see if it pulls.  Or, if you're renting a mailing list, do a smaller mailing to a small percentage of the list, instead of just rolling the whole thing out.  Testing is important in this business.  There are two possibilities that can come out of a test.  Either the ad/mailing works, or it doesn't.  Now, it's up to you to figure out WHY it didn't work. Either the ad/mailing copy isn't effective, or you're reaching the wrong audience.  Review the whole picture, find out what needs to be changed, make the changes, then retest.  When you hit on the right combination, THEN take the big plunge.

5)  DON'T BE AFRAID TO ADMIT YOUR MISTAKES OR FAILURES. 

    Let's face it.  You won't hit a home run in this business every time

    your up at bat.  In fact, just like in baseball, you may strike out more

    times than not.  But, the times that you're either lucky, and get to

    first base on a walk, or you get a hit will make up for your strikeouts. 

    You need to keep a stiff upper lip, admit that you didn't get a hit, and

    move on.  Mail-order success comes not from overnight millions, but from

    steady trickles.  Put another way, mail-order is really a "get-rich-slow"

    business. If you keep plugging away, keep learning from mistakes, and

    keep trying new things as you find them, you'll at least be headed for

    success road, if not on it from the start.

How To Make Money Producing Discount Cards

There is a big money business that can be started for next to nothing, with

low risk, that involves giving away special cards.  These cards are DISCOUNT

CARDS, wallet-sized cards that allow the bearer to receive discounts at

participating businesses.  These businesses pay to have their advertisement

on the card.  They profit from the increased exposure and from gaining new

customers who come in for the discount and become return customers. 

The card-holders benefit from the discounts they can receive. 

And YOU benefit from the profitable advertising you sell!

       

This is a relatively simple business to explain.  Here's an overview:

  1)  Design your card.

  2)  Figure your expenses and set your ad prices.

  3)  Contact businesses that frequently use discounts or coupons (potential advertisers for you) either in person or by mail, with an information package. 4)  Gather the ads (and the money!) and print them together on wallet-sized cards. 5)  Distribute the cards to the public.

  That's all there is to it.  Of course, there are more details you need to

  know, and those will be covered in this report. This business works

  especially well if there is a college in your town, or any large number of

  people who either vacation there or move to town, but it can be run

  successfully in any area.  The best part (besides the money) is that you

  can run this business from your kitchen table!  Here's exactly what you

  need to do to make great profits in the discount card business.

 

  First, think up a name for your card.  A catchy name that has words like

  DISCOUNT, SAVER, MONEY, BUCKS, BIG, FREE or other dollar-saving words will

  stick in people's minds.  If you (or a friend) have artistic ability,

  design a logo, either with your card's name, or a picture conveying the

  money-saving feature of the card.

               

  Next, design how your card will look.  It should fit easily into a wallet,

  so stick to credit card size.  On the front, your logo should appear, along

  with, at most, six ads, in three columns of two.  The back should be

  divided into, at most, twenty ad spaces, again in three columns (7 on the

  sides, 6 in the middle).  This might sound like a lot, but they will be

  readable.  Don't forget to put your business name, address and phone on the

  front or back, at the bottom of the card.

  You should also put together a poster with your logo and information about

  the card.  Leave space for a list of locations where the card can be

  obtained, and for a list of the advertising businesses.  This poster will

  be inexpensive for your printer to produce, and can be produced on your

  computer, if you have one, reducing your expenses even further.

       

  Now figure your costs.  The major cost to you will be printing, so check

  with a number of printers for price quotes.  You will want a one or two

  color glossy card, with price quotes for quantities for 1,000 - 10,000

  cards.  Find out at what quantities significant price breaks occur.  This

  can help determine exactly how many cards you want to produce and

  distribute.  This number will be important when it comes to contacting

  your advertisers.

  Don't be put off by how much the cards will cost!  You won't have to

  worry about laying out a lot of money for the production of the cards,

  because you should require that advertisers pay at least half of their

  advertising price at the time they decide to advertise, the remainder when

  cards are distributed. Some businesses will prefer to pay 100% upfront,

  which is just fine!  You shouldn't deal with businesses that won't pay

  anything upfront, unless you have some desire to deal with collection

  headaches.

       

  You should be thinking about how to distribute these cards.  If there is

  a college in your town, here's a few ideas.  Contact the admissions

  department at the college, explain your discount card, and see if they

  would consider putting a card into the orientation materials each incoming

  student gets.  Also, find out places where you may put a stack of cards

  for students to take.  Prime locations are cafeterias and dining halls,

  snack bars, libraries and any other places where students group.

For the general public, great distribution spots are similar to the college

spots.  Restaurants, grocery stores, theaters, apartment buildings, anywhere

where there are large groups of people.  Don't forget that you can give a

good supply to each advertiser, to give free to their customers.  All you

need to do is a few good, persuasive phone calls, and your distribution will

be taken care of easily.  Stress to the person you're speaking with that

making the cards available to their customers will be good business for them,

even if they don't advertise on the card, because their customers will

appreciate being given these discounts and will look upon the business as

their friend for doing so.

Now that you have your printing quotes, determine how much you can charge for

advertising.  Estimate what your phone, advertising, driving and postage

expenses will be.  Lump these all together and you have an idea of what your

costs will be.  Now, multiply that figure by five.  Divide that figure by the

total number of advertisers you will have on your card.  The number you end

up with is the average price you could charge per ad.  Does this sound

reasonable, considering the number of cards you'll be distributing?  If so,

it should make a good starting point.

For example, if you are planning to distribute 8,000 cards with 26

advertisers, and your estimated expenses will be $1200, the formula is

($1,200 x 5)/26, or $230.77 average ad price ($28.85 per thousand), and your

profit would be $4,800.  Considering the benefits the advertiser will get

from the cards (they will be kept and used for a long time, usually 3 to 6

months, and 5,000 people will be exposed to their ad repeatedly over that

period of time), this will probably be reasonable.  You need to consider the

economy in your area, the size of your area, and any competition you might

have, as this can effect what you may be able to charge.

When you decide how much to charge for ads, here are a few things to keep

in mind.  Ads on the front of the card should be much higher priced than on

the back, and, as a result, should be slightly larger.  On the back, you can

set two different ad rates by putting using "boxed ads."  An ad with a black

box around it will be noticed more than one without, so it can be slightly

higher. A good example of ad prices corresponding to the above average ad

price would be $200 for a plain ad on the back of the card, $230 for a boxed

ad on the back, and $260 for an ad on the front of the card.

Now's the time to contact potential advertisers.  Here's a short list of the

types of businesses that will be most likely to take advantage of your

service:   Restaurants, particularly fast-food and snack establishments +

Theaters +  Printers +  Dry cleaners +  Oil change and auto parts businesses

+  Travel agencies +  Clothing stores +  Hair salons +  Formalwear stores

This is not a complete list, but it should give you an idea of the types

of businesses you need to contact.