No
other business venture seems so inviting, or attracts so many
people
than that of selling via mail order.
On
the surface, it appears to be an easier and faster way to
become
rich than almost any other method of doing business.
All
the people in the world are your potential customers; you work
from
the privacy and comfort of your own home; you set your own
working
hours; and you answer to no one but yourself.
Ideally,
you should have a product of your own - something you can
produce
at very low cost, and sell at top price.
If
you are buying in something, advertising and re-selling it, in
order
to realise a profit, you have to mark it up by at least 500
per
cent.
This
is not an unreasonable mark up for mail order sales.
Your
product has to have mass appeal, and it has to be something
not
readily available to your prospective customers except through
you.
The
product should be such that you can "carry an inventory"
without
worry of spoilage, aging or other damage.
It
should be something you can send through the mail - deliver to
your
customer - for next to nothing in relation to your selling
price.
The
best money making product of all is a "How To" report such as
this
one.
You
don't have to be a literary genius, or even an experienced
writer
to write one of these reports.
In
fact, the easiest way is to buy a set of these reports, read
each
one other, set it aside and write a similar one with more
elaboration
or from a different point of view.
Give
your report a commercially appealing title, set a price for
it,
and advertise it widely in a number of nationally circulated
mail
order publications, and you could have something that will
continue
to bring in money for you for many years to come.
The
absolute best money maker of them all is a report you've fund
a
great need for, researched thoroughly, and written from scratch.
Discovering
these needs is not that difficult a task.
If
you don't have the time to write and market one of these
reports,
or just cannot produce one for whatever reason, the next
best
thing is to purchase one with reproduction rights!
Here,
you can have a number reprinted for as little as 20 pence
each,
and sell them for three to fifteen pounds each.
The
only problem with this approach is that after a year, nearly
everyone
in mail order will have a copy of these reports, and will
be
trying just as hard as you are to sell them.
Now,
if you have bought the reproduction rights to the reports,
you
simply rewrite them, put new titles on them, make up a new
advertising
circular, and send them out as new reports each year.
There
are a number of mail order self help reports that have been
making
the rounds for the past 25 years in just this manner.
Just
because you haven't got the time or the tools to write one of
these
reports is no reason for not producing one.
If
you get an idea or the background material, and the confidence
that
such a report will sell - get in touch with someone who
specialises
in this kind of writing, and have them put the
finished
product together for you.
Generally,
the fees will be œ20 - œ50 per thousand words.
But
this is an "incidental fee", indeed, if you come up with
something
that has the potential of bringing in several thousand
pounds
a year for the next ten years or so.
Remember,
one you have it together and written, you just continue
making
copies of your original and filling prepaid cash orders for
as
long as you wish to stay in business.
You
should also have advertising circulars, a catalogue or a
"follow
up" offer for every order you get.
Many
people make the mistake of "sending their whole store" in
response
to every inquiry.
When
you receive an inquiry to your advertising, you should have a
prepared
sales letter describing the item you're advertising, and
perhaps
a circular listing in catalogue style of some of your
other
products that tie in with the product of your sales letter.
This
is known as the "Featured Selection Plus Alternatives"
approach.
When
you receive an order for the product you've been advertising
or
featuring in your direct mail efforts, include one of your
product
catalogues in the package with the customer's order.
The
most effective practice is to include an advertising circular
or
brochure of a leader item or special of the month, and your
catalogue.
The
main thing NOT to do is include more than a couple of separate
"featured
selection" circulars.
Keep
your eyes on how the big mail order houses do it, and
duplicate
their operating plan within your own means.
The
important thing to remember here is to be sure to include
something
different, something new, something your customer has
not
seen or been offered a chance to buy - as with each successive
contact
you make with him.
Once
you've broken the ice and got him spending money with you,
continue
showing him products of a related nature that should
stimulate
his appetite for greater success.
For
sure, he'll never be more in the mood to buy from you than
when
he receives something he has ordered.
So
every time you fill and send out an order to a buyer, include
an
opportunity for him to buy even more from you.
You
can make a very comfortable income, but you'll never get rich
so long
as you're having your orders dropshipped for you.
Having
a connection with a prime source that will drop ship
orders
for you is one of the surest and best ways to "learn" the
business
of selling by mail - but if you really want to make it
big,
you'll use drop shipping sources for learning, and to back up
your
primary product with follow up offers.
If
you don't have a primary product of your own, the next best
thing
is to buy in quantity lots at wholesale prices.
A
word of caution here, though: do not buy a quantity supply of
anything
until you've seen a sample of the product and have
thoroughly
tested the saleability of that product.
Too
often, the beginner is sold a quantity of a certain product at
so-called
wholesale prices, only to find that after he had spent
his
capital he either doesn't want to put forth the effort and
time
to sell that particular product, or that he can't give it
away,
let alone sell it!
Suppliers
who operate this way, almost forcing you to buy an
inventory
to have available for your orders, generally derive most
of
their income from the sale of these initial "required"
inventories.
Always
investigate and check out the saleability before you buy
anything
more than just a single sample.
Selling
your reports depends on your advertising.
You
have to get the word out that you have "money making
information"
available for sale.
Start
out small by using short classified type advertisements.
Look
at how some of the established mail order report sellers are
doing
it, and copy their methods.
Do
not copy their ads - instead, use them as idea stimulators for
your
own original copy.
Place
an ad in one of the largest circulation publications you can
find,
and then use the income from that ad to buy and place more
advertising.
In
other words, use the money that comes in from the first ad to
place
similar ads in three or four other publications.
One
of the insider secrets of the mail order business is in
multiplying
your advertising exposure.
this
means simply that you start with an ad in one publication,
and
from there, expand your exposure by advertising in more
publications.
Be
patient, and wait for the returns from your current ads, then
use
that money to increase the number of people who will have a
chance
to see your ad.
It's
as simple as that, and it works every time.
Try it and see
for
yourself. All of this means that as you
are getting started
in
a new mail order business, you have to reinvest all your
business
income back into the business. To do
otherwise is a
straight
line to business failure.
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