Writing
and publishing a successful newsletter is perhaps the
most
competitive of all the different areas of mail order and
direct
marketing.
Five
years ago, there were 1500 different newsletters in this
country.
Today there are well over 10,000 with new ones being
started
every day. It's also interesting to note that for every
new
one that's started, some disappear just as quickly as they
are
started...lack of operating capital and marketing know how
being
the principal causes of failure.
To
be successful with newsletter, you have to specialize. Your
best
bet will be with new information on a subject not already
covered
by an established newsletter.
Regardless
of the frustrations involved in launching your own
newsletter,
never forget this truth; There are people from all
walks
of life, in all parts of this country, many of them with no
writing
ability what so ever, who are making incredible profits
with
simple two-four- and six page newsletters.
Your
first step should be to subscribe to as many different
newsletters
and mail order publications as you can afford.
Analyze
and study how the others are doing it. Attend as many
workshops
and seminars on your subject as possible. Learn from
the
pros. Learn how the successful newsletter publishers are
doing
it, and why they are making money. Adapt their success
methods
to your own newsletter, but determine to recognize where
they
are weak, and make yours better in every way.
Plan
your newsletter before launching it. Know the basic premise
for
its being, your editorial position, the layout, art work,
type
style, subscription price, distribution methods, and every
other
detail necessary to make it look, sound and feel like the
end
result you have envisioned.
Lay
out your start up needs; detail the length of time it's going
to
take to become established, and what will be involved in
becoming
established. Set a date as a milestone of accomplishment
for
each phase of your development; A date for breaking even, a
date
attaining a certain paid subscription figure, and a monetary
goal
for each of your first five years in business. And all this
must
be done before publishing your first issue.
Most
newsletter publishers do all the work themselves, and are
impatient
to get the first issue into print. As a result, they
neglect
to devote the proper amount of time to the market
research
and distribution. Don't start your newsletter without
first
having accomplished this task!
Market
research is simply determining who the people are who
will
be interested in buying and reading your newsletter, and the
kind
of information these people want to see in your newsletter
as
a reason for continuing to buy it. You have to determine what
it
is they want form your newsletter.
Your
market research must give you unbiased answers about your
newsletter's
capabilities of fulfilling your prospective buyer's
need
for information; how much he's willing to pay for it, and an
overall
profile of his status in life. The questions of why he
needs
your information, and how he'll use it should be answered.
Make
sure you have the answers to these questions, publish you
newsletter
as a vehicle of fulfilment to these needs, and you're
on
your way!
You're
going to be in trouble unless your newsletter has a real
point
of difference that can easily be perceived by your
prospective
buyer. The design and graphics of your newsletter,
plus
what you say and how you say it, will help in giving your
newsletter
this vital difference.
Be
sure your newsletter works with the personality you're trying
to
build for it. Make sure it reflects the wants of your
subscribers.
Include your advertising promise within the heading,
on
the title page, and in the same words your advertising uses.
And
above all else, don't skimp on design or graphics!
The
name of your newsletter should also help to set it apart form
similar
newsletters, and spell out its advertising promise. A
good
name reinforces your advertising. Choose a name that defines
the
direction and scope of your newsletter.
Opportunity
Knocking, Money Making Magic, Extra Income Tip Sheet,
and
Mail Order Up Date are prime examples of this type of
philosophy...as
opposed to the Johnson Report, The Association
Newsletter,
or Clubhouse Confidential.
Try
to make your newsletter's name memorable...one that flows
automatically.
Don't pick a name that's so vague it could apply
to
almost anything. The name should identify
your
newsletter and its subject quickly and positively.
Pricing
your newsletter should be consistent with the image
you're
trying to build. If you're starting a "Me-too" newsletter,
never
price it above the competition. In most instances, the
consumer
associates higher prices with quality, so if you give
your
readers better quality information in an expensive looking
package,
don't hesitate to ask for a premium price. However, if
your
information is gathered from most of the other newsletters
on the
subject, you will do well to keep your prices in line with
theirs.
One
of the best selling points of a newsletter is in the degree
of
audience involvement instance, how much it talks about, and
uses
the names of its readers.
People
like to see things written about themselves. They resort
to
all kinds of things to get their names in print, and they pay
big
money to read what's been written about them. You should
understand
this fact of human nature, and decide if and how you
want
to capitalize upon it-- then plan your newsletter
accordingly.
Almost
as important as names in your newsletter are pictures. The
readers
will generally accept a newsletter faster if the
publisher's
picture is presented or included as part of the
newsletter.
Whether you use pictures of the people, events,
locations
or products you write about is a policy decision; but
the
use of pictures will set your publication apart from the
others
and give it an individual image, which is precisely what
you
want.
The
decision as to whether to carry paid advertising, and if so,
how
much, is another policy decision that should be made while
your
newsletter is still in the planning stages. Some purists
feel
that advertising corrupts the image of the newsletter and
may
influence editorial policy. Most people accept advertising as
a
part of everyday life, and don't care one way or the other.
Many
newsletter publishers,faced with rising production costs,
and
viewing advertising as a means of offsetting those costs,
welcome
paid advertising. Generally the advertisers see the
newsletter
as a vehicle to captive audience, and well worth the
costs.
The
only problem with accepting advertising in your newsletter
would
appear to be that as your circulation grows, so will the
number
of advertisers, until you'll have to increase the size of
your
newsletter to accommodate the advertisers. At this point,
the
basic premise or philosophy of the newsletter often changes
from
news and practical information to one of an advertiser's
showcase.
Promoting
your newsletter, finding prospective buyers and
converting
these prospects into loyal subscribers, will be the
most
difficult task of your entire undertaking. It takes detailed
planning,
persistence and patience.
You'll
need a sales letter. Check the sales letter you receive in
the
mail; analyze how these are written and pattern yours along
the
same lines. You'll find all of them---all those worthy of
being
called sales letters---following the same formula:
Attention,
Interest, Desire, and Action on the part of the
reader---AIDA.
Jump
right in at beginning and tell the reader how he's going to
benefit
from your newsletter, and keep emphasizing right on thru
your
"PS", the many and different benefits he'll gain from
subscribing
to your newsletter. Elaborate on your listing of
benefits
with examples of what you have, or you intend to
include,
in your newsletter.
Follow
these examples with endorsements or testimonials from
reviewers
and satisfied subscribers. Make the recipient of your
sales
letter feel that you're offering him the answer to all his
problems
on the subject of your newsletter.
You
have to make your prospect feel that "this is the insider's
secret"
to the success he wants. Present it to him as his own
personal
key to success, and then tell him how far behind his
contemporaries
he is going to be if he doesn't act upon your
offer
immediately.
Always
include a "PS' in your sales letter. This should quickly
restate
to the reader that he can start enjoying the benefits of
your
newsletter by acting immediately, and very subtly suggesting
that
he may not get another chance to get the kind of "success
help"
you're offering him with this sales letter.
Don't
worry about the length of your sales letter---most are four
pages
or more; however, it must flow logically and smoothly. Use
short
sentences, short paragraphs, indented paragraphs, and lots
of
sub-heads for the people who will be "scanning thru" your
sales
letter.
In
addition to the sales letter, your promotion package should
include
a return reply order card or coupon. This can be either a
self
addresses business reply postcard, or a separate coupon, in
which
case you'll have to include a self-addressed return reply
envelope.
In every mailing piece you send out, always include one
or
the other; either a self-addressed business reply postcard or
a
self-addressed return reply envelope for the recipient to use
to
send your order form and his remittance back to you.
Your
best response will come from a business reply postcard on
which
you allow your prospect to charge the subscription to his
credit
card, request that you bill him, or send his payment with
the
subscription start order.
For
makeup of this subscription order card or coupon, simply
start
saving all the order cards and coupons you receive during
the
next month or so. Choose the one you like best, modify
according
to your needs, and have it typeset, pasted up and
border
fit.
Next,
you'll need a Subscription Order Acknowledgment card or
letter.
This is simply a short note thanking your new subscriber
for
his order, and promising to keep him up to date with
everything
relating to the subject of your newsletter.
An
acknowledgment letter, in an envelope, will cost more postage
to
mail than an simple postcard; however when you send the letter
you
have the opportunity to enclose additional material. A
circular
listing items available through you will produce
additional
orders.
Thus
far, you've prepared the layout and copy for your
newsletter.
Go ahead and have a hundred copies printed, undated.
You've
written a sales letter and prepared a return reply
subscription
order card or coupon; go ahead and have a hundred of
these
printed, also undated, of course. You'll need letterhead
mailing
envelopes, and don't forget the return reply envelopes if
you
choose to use the coupons instead of the business reply
postcard.
Go ahead and have a thousand mailing envelopes printed.
You
also need subscription order acknowledgement cards or notes;
have
a hundred of these printed, and of course don't forget the
imprinted
reply envelopes if you're going along with the idea of
using
a note instead of a postcard. This will be a basic supply
for
"testing" your material so far.
Now
you're ready for the big move... The Advertising Campaign.
Start
by placing a small classified ad in one of your local
newspaper.
You should place your ad in an weekend or Sunday paper
that
will reach as many people as possible, and of course, do
everything
you can to keep your costs as low as possible.
However,
do not skimp on your advertising budget. To be
successful---
to make as much money as is possible with your
idea---
you'll have to reach as many people as you can afford,
and
as often as you can.
Over
the years we have launched several hundred advertising
campaigns.
We always ran new ads for a minimum of three issues
and
kept close tabs on the returns. So long as the returns kept
coming
in, we continued running that ad in that publication,
while
adding a new publication to test for results. To our way of
thinking,
this is the best way to go, regardless of the product,
to
successfully multiply your customer list.
Move
slowly. Start with a local, far-reaching and widely read
paper,
and with the profits or returns from that ad, go to the
regional
magazines, or one of the smaller national magazines, and
continue
plowing your returns into more advertising in different
publications.
By taking your time, and building your acceptance
in
this manner, you won't lose too much if one of your ads should
prove
to be a dud. Stay with the advertising. Do not abandon it
in
favor of direct mail. We would not recommend direct mail until
you
are well established, and your national classified
advertising
program is bringing in a healthy profit for you.
Do
not become overly ambitious and go out on a limb with
expensive
full page advertising until you're very well
established.
When you do buy full page advertising, start with
the
smaller publications, and build from those results. Have
patience
keep close tabs on your costs per subscriber, and build
from
the profits of your advertising. Always test the advertising
medium
you want to use with a classified ad, and if it pulls well
for
you, go on to a larger display type ad.
Classified
advertising is the least expensive way to go, so long
as
you use the "inquiry method". You can easily and quickly build
your
subscriber list with this type of advertisement.
We
would not recommend any attempts to sell subscriptions, or any
product
from classified ads, or even from small display ads.
There
just isn't enough space to describe the product adequately,
and
seeing the cost of your item, many possible subscribers will
not
bother to inquire for the full story.
When
you do expand your efforts into direct mail, go straight to
a
national list broker. You can find their names and addresses in
the
yellow pages section of your local telephone directory. Show
the
list broker your product and your mailing piece, and explain
what
type people you want to reach, and allow them to help you.
Once
you've decided on a list to use, go slowly. Start with a
sampling
of 5,00 names. If the returns are favorable, go to
10,000
names, and then 15,000 and so on through the entire list.
Never
rent the entire list based upon the returns from your first
couple
of samplings. The variables are just too many, and too
complicated,
and too conductive to your losing your shirt when
you
"roll out an entire list" based upon returns from a
controlled
sampling.
There
are a number of other methods for finding new subscribers,
which
we'll explore for you here, detailing the good and the bad
as
we have researched them.
One
method is that of contracting with what is known as a "cash
field"
agency. These are soliciting agencies who hire people to
sell
door-to-door and via the phone, almost always using a high
pressure
sales approach. The publishers usually makes only about
5%
from each subscription sold by one of these agencies. That
speaks
for itself.
Then,
there are several major catalog sales companies that sell
subscriptions
to school libraries, government agencies and large
corporations.
These people usually buy through these catalog
sales
companies rather than direct form the publisher. The
publisher
makes about 10% on each subscription sold for him by
one
of these agencies.
Co-Op
Mailings are generally piggy-back mailings of your
subscription
offer along with numerous other business offers in
the
same envelope. Smaller mail order entrepreneurs do this under
the
name of Big Mail Offers. Coming into vogue now are the
Postcard
Mailers. You submit your offer on a business reply
postcard;
the packager then prints and mails your
postcard in a
package
with 40 or 50 similar postcards via third class mail to a
mailing
list that could number 100,00 or more. You pay a premium
price
for this type of mailing---usually $1000 To $1500 per
mailing,
but the returns are very good and you keep all the
incoming
money.
Another
form of co-op mailing is that where you supply a charge
card
company or department store with your subscription offer as
a
"statement mailing stuffer". Your offer goes out with the
monthly
statements; new subscriptions are returned to the mailer
and
billed to the customer's charge card. The publisher usually
makes
about 50% on each subscription. This is one of the most
lucrative,
but expensive methods of bringing in new customers.
Direct
mail agencies such as Publishers Clearing House can be a
very
lucrative source of new subscriptions, in that they mail out
more
than 60 million pieces of mail each year, all of which are
built
around an opportunity for the recipient to win a gigantic
cash
sweepstakes. The only problem with this type of subscription
agency
is the very low percentage of the total subscription price
the
publisher receives from these subscriptions, plus the fact
that
the publishers are required to charge a lower subscription
rate
than they normally charge.
There
are also several agencies that offer Introductory, Sample
Copy
and Trail Subscription offers, such as Select Information
Exchange
and Publishers Exchange. With this kind of agency,
details
about your publication are listed along with similar
publications,
in full page ads inviting the readers to send $10
or
$20 for trail subscriptions to those of his choice. The
publishers
receive no money from these inquires list of names of
people
interested in receiving trail subscription. How the
publisher
follows up and is able to convert these into full term,
and
paying subscribers is entirely dependent upon his own
efforts.
Most
major newspapers will carry small, lightweight brochures or
oversized
reply cards as inserts in their Sunday papers. The
publisher
supplies the total number of inserts, pays the
newspaper
$20 per thousand for the number of newspapers he wants
his
order form carried in, and then retains all the money
generated.
But the high costs of printing the inserts, plus the
$20
per thousand for distribution, make this an extremely costly
method
of obtaining new subscribers.
Schools,
civic groups and other fun raising organizations work in
about
the same manner as the cash-field agencies. They supply the
solicitor
and the publisher gets 25% or less for each new
subscription
sold.
Attempting
to sell subscriptions via radio or TV is very
expensive
and works better in generating sales at the news stands
than
new subscriptions. PI (Per Inquiry) sales is a very popular
way
of getting radio or TV exposure and advertising for your
newsletter
or other publication, but again, the number of sales
brought
in by the broadcast media is very small when compared
with
the number of times the "invitation commercial" has to be
"aired"
to elicit a response.
A
new idea beginning to surface on the cable TV scene is "Product
Shows".
This is the kind of show where the originator of the
product
or his representative appears on TV and gives a complete
sales
presentation lasting from five minutes to fifteen minutes.
Overall,
these programs generally run between midnight and 2 AM,
with
the whole program a series of sales presentations for
different
products. They operate on the basis of the product
owner
paying a fee to appear and show his product, and also from
an
arrangement where the product owner pays a certain percentage
from
each sale generated from this exposure.
Newsletter
publishers often run exchange publicity endorsements
with
non-competing publishers. Generally, these endorsements
invite
the reader of newsletter "A" to send for a sample copy of
newsletter
"B" for a look at what somebody else is doing that
might
be of especial help etc. This can be very good source of
new
subscriptions, and certainly the least expensive.
Last,
but not least, is the enlistment of your own subscribers to
send
you names of people they think might be interested in
receiving
a sample copy of your publication. Some publishers ask
their
readers to pass along these names out of loyalty, while
others
offer a monetary incentive or a special bonus for names of
people
sent in who become subscribers.
By
studying and understanding the information in this report, you
should
encounter fewer serious problems in launching your own
successful
specialized newsletter that will be the source of on
going
monetary rewards for you. However, there is an important
point
to remember about doing business by mail---particularly
within
the confines of selling information by mail---that is,
Mail
Order is ONLY another way of doing business. You have to
learn
all there is to know about this way of doing business, and
then
keep on learning, changing, observing and adapting to stay
on
top.
The
best way of learning about and keeping up with this field of
endeavor
is by buying and reading books by the people who have
succeeded
in making money via the mails; by subscribing to
several
of the better periodic journals and aids to people in
mail
order, and by joining some of the mail order trade
associations
for a free exchange od ideas, advice and help.
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