METHOD
No. 1. SELLING DISK(S) & TITLE LIST.
You
can make a simple package that contains one copy of
the
disk or disks together with a printed list of report titles.
You
can put the disk and printed list into a padded envelope
and
mail it to the person who placed the order. Your cost will
be
between 89p to $1.50 per disk if supplied by us (or 50p
per
disk if you have your own computer system), plus
padded
envelope (25p), plus stamp (25p), plus cost of
copying
lists of contents (20p - 30p). You can sell the disk(s)
from,
say, $19 to $49 (i.e turning 89p into $49).
METHOD
No. 2. SELLING DISK(S) & PRINTED TEXTS.
You
can sell copies of the disk(s) together with the printed
texts
of all the reports, manuals and guides. Format and print
if
you have a computer system with printer, then have each
page
reduced to fit two pages on an A4 sheet, and printed on
both
sides of the paper. This is only realistic if you are selling
a
disk with, say, 80 reports. The multi-disk 550 titles would
end
up as a publishing epic.
METHOD
No. 3. SELLING THE REPORTS ONLY.
Some
of you might want to sell the reports on a "per piece"
basis
in which case, using a computer and printer, you can
print
out any of the reports as the orders arrive. To sell these
reports,
you would send out a list of all the report titles, a
sales
letter plus an order form. If you sold one copy of each
title
in the "550 Titles" range, you would make at least $1500 in
profit.
FULFILLING
THE ORDERS.
When
you receive an order, you must send the disk(s) that
the
customer has ordered. The standard fulfillment package
consists
of the computer disk(s), standard padded envelope
plus
a list of titles.
You
can modify your package any way you choose. You can
include
sales materials for other products you market, or
include
an order form offering other computer disks you can
supply.
Have the mailing envelope and the inserts made ready
in
advance. Your inserts may be printed on plain paper or
card
stock as this may offer more protection for the disk(s)
inside
the envelope.
Make
sure you assemble your packages in advance for easy
processing
of orders when they arrive in large quantities. Put
the
computer disk(s), printed title list, further offers etc inside
the
envelope and seal. If you are offering more than one
computer
disk, you could always use coloured envelopes or
very
small self stick, coloured circular stickers to denote
which
envelopes contain which computer disk(s) you are
offering.
When
an order arrives, send the customer the computer
disk(s)
that he has ordered. Write the name and address on
the
outside of the envelope and mail. Maintain a file where you
can
keep your customer's order form as your database
copy.
In the future, if you have new titles or completely new
products
to offer, you can send your offer to your customers
in
this database.
METHOD
No. 4. GIVING AWAY FREE DISK(S).
Giving
away your disk(s) but charging for postage and
packing,
plus cost of the disk(s) and copying - i.e. the
information
on the disk(s) is free.
Put
together a gift certificate offering free money-making
software,
how many titles and pages involved and have them
printed
A6 size (4 up on a A4 sheet). If you have these
certificates
printed in volume you could pay 2p or less each.
To
distribute these certificates, have them made available to
the
general public by placing them at schools, libraries,
supermarkets,
video store and other retail establishments
and
public venues with good foot traffic.
Using
direct mail you could have your offer printed on a
postcard
and sent via use of a mailing list to potential
customers,
but this could be expensive if the disk(s) are the
only
products you are selling.
Alternatively
you could advertise on the Internet, using ads on
Bulletin
Boards (BBS's); on the Internet (WWW) or automated
E-Mail
where your 100 word advert can be electronically
"mailed"
and read by 30 million plus people who use the
Internet,
for about $20 per month. Firms offering this service
can
be found in magazines under "Business Services".
Another
method to help offset the cost of gift certificates is to
find
a company sponsor, in exchange for having their
company
name printed on the gift certificate. To the public, it
is
the generosity of the company sponsor that makes the
computer
disk(s) available to them. One of the fastest ways
to
solicit sponsorship is to split the cost between two or
more
companies. 100,000 certificates would cost you around
«p
each ($500): with four sponsors this would cost each
company
$125.
If
only 2% of your 100,000 certificates turn into orders, say,
at
$10 each you would have $20,000 without spending any of
your
own money. As ever, the more certificates printed, the
higher
the return. If you had this system running in five
different
areas, you would achieve your $100,000 in just over
3
months (100 days).
Another
popular advertising option for whatever system you
might
wish to use is placing classified ads in magazines and
newspapers,
whether they are local, regional or national in
circulation.
They are easy to get started and relatively
inexpensive.
Mention the benefits from owning the computer
disk(s):
for those wanting to copy and sell on the information
both
as disk(s) and printed reports, and in itself the value of
the
business information contained on the disk(s)
The
most important thing in any venture is getting down to
"doing
it", to give things a try. This is where so many people
get
stranded. They stare at an opportunity and find fault in it.
You've
got to give it a try. As the above examples show, you
can
start with a few inexpensive classified adverts in magazines
or
newspapers (even the Internet). On the other hand, the
more
adverts, gift certificates etc you bring to the attention of
the
general public, the greater the rewards.
See
the range of computer disks available from the publisher
to
realise just what potential awaits you.
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