YOU
CAN MAKE MONEY SELLING NAMES AND ADDRESSES?
Yes
- it's true! You can make money simply
buying and
selling
names and addresses - and there are many successful
businesses
about to prove it! It's easy too - and
the demand
for
your service is considerable!
Anyone
considering any business will know that one of the
best
ways of selling can be by mailshot - that is, a personal
sales
approach through the post. Writing to
potential
customers
for your business can be very effective - and
certainly
it is quite cheap compared to other techniques.
But
- just where do you get names and addresses of potential
customers
from. For success, you just can't 'make
them up' -
nor
compile them from the telephone directory.
The answer,
quite
simply, is that they are bought from list brokers.
List
brokers are small, efficient businesses who buy names of
'consumers'
and then allow other firms to use the names for
the
despatching of mailings. It's a simple
buying and
selling
operation - and a service in great demand!
Although
such services may not seem to have a great deal of
potential
- they do. Good name and address lists
can earn as
much
as œ100 per 1000! So, dealing in them is
very
desirable. And, when you realise its often a simple
administrative
part time business from home - even better!
For
best results keep your list broking business on a simple
'buying
and selling' basis. That is, you are
buying names
and
addresses (little capital required) from customer lists
of
suitable firms. Then, you just sell them
to firms
requiring
names and addresses for sales purposes.
For
example,
many of the large mail order houses derive a huge
proportion
of their business from mailing list mailshots.
Maybe
you could even sell to them?
Buying
Your 'Stock'
To
set out in this business you will need to buy in some
stock. That is, your names and addresses suitable
for
resale. Many mail order businesses operate a
lucrative list
broking
sideline - so mail order makes a good addition in
that
you get your stock free! Why not
consider it?
Initially
decide what sort of names and addresses you are
going
to deal in. A popular type is of 'opportunity
seekers'
i.e.
people looking for business opportunities.
Another type
of
'mail order buyers'. You can really deal
in anything
though. For example, why not deal in mailing lists of
'car
buyers'
or 'tyre and exhaust buyers'. For this
there would
certainly
be a lot of interest in purchasing - from motoring
associations,
insurance companies etc. - indeed any firm that
sells
to motorists. It is best to deal in just
one category
to
start with - later you can expand to offering hundreds of
different
lists!
With
a category decided you can proceed to obtaining actual
names
and addresses to make your lists. Do
note that you
cannot
usually buy names from existing list brokers for
resale
- except by special arrangement. In any
case it is
best
to develop your own original sources.
The
best way to get stock is to write direct to businesses
who
may have customer name and address lists you can use.
For
example, if compiling a mailing list of 'furniture
buyers'
write to furniture stores. Incidentally
such a list
would
sell well to those who supply fitted kitchens,
bathrooms,
etc. There are many other good
possibilities!
Write
and explain what you are doing to potential list
suppliers. Some will prefer to keep such lists confidential.
However,
effort should reveal those who are willing to sell
their
names. If you further explain the
financial benefit
they
should be even more interested.
When
finding suitable names you could offer a fairly high
price
for them. Around œ100 a 1,000 would not
be
unreasonable
- though you may be able to get them for as
little
as œ10 per 1,000 - negotiate! If you
have no capital
then
agree to pay the supplier when you first sell the lists.
You
may need to obtain the names from the suppliers records
e.g.
copy invoices etc. And, it is generally
a matter of the
more
addresses you can buy the better.
Several thousand
would
provide an excellent business - though you could
probably
start with as little as 500.
The
obtaining of new stock should be made a continuous
process. Ask your suppliers to keep you informed of
new
names
they obtain. Every extra name and
address you can add
to
your list means direct extra profit!
Organising
Your Lists
With
names and addresses obtained it is necessary to organise
them
into formal mailing lists. This makes
your service look
more
professional. But, it also means that
your work is the
very
easiest it can be.
If
you have a computer, or can obtain one, then this is an
ideal
way of sorting and storing mailing lists.
Even quite
basic
machines are capable of the task.
However, when
starting
a computer is far from necessary. You
can build a
considerable
business without the need for any 'technology'
at
all!
A
manual system can quite easily cope with a large number of
names
and addresses. Quite simply, all the
names and
addresses
should be typed up on an A4 sheet - 24 entries in 8
rows
and 3 columns is the usual format. Each
entry should be
given
a code number - and each sheet a code number.
This way
you
can refer to any particular name/address easily.
When
a customer wants to buy your mailing list you just have
the
necessary number of A4 sheets photocopied (at a local
copy
shop) for them. An added service is
having these copied
onto
special A4 sheets of labels which can be obtained from
printers
suppliers. Saves work in that the labels
can be
stuck
straight onto mailshot envelopes!
With
careful organisation selling the addresses need not be a
difficult
or tedious business. For a fee of
approaching œ100
per
1,000 your customer is just buying a set of valuable
information!
To
get the very best results it is necessary to keep mailing
lists
in good order - or 'clean' them as it is called. This
is
done by asking your customers to return any envelopes they
receive
marked 'Gone Away' for which you credit them.
Then,
locate
the out of date address in your mailing list originals
and
cover it with a new address. This way
your lists are
always
fresh and will command the best price!
The
way to considerable profits in this business is just to
keep
building and improving your lists. As we
have already
said,
every single address you add is extra profit!
Selling
Your Service
A
well prepared set of mailing lists is indeed a valuable
commodity. So, market it with this in mind. Despite some
complaints
about 'unsolicited mail' direct mailshots are
still
a very important way of selling all sorts of goods.
They
are also generally accepted as very successful.
Many
firms
will pay highly to get good quality names and addresses
for
sales use.
Before
selling decide on a price for your lists.
Names and
addresses
are usually sold in multiples of 1,000 - though
offering
smaller quantities can be a business booster.
Also
offer
discounts on large quantities so you attract the
attentions
of the large buyers!
As
we have already said, œ100 per 1,000 names and addresses
is
quite reasonable (at the time of writing) for good quality
data. Though, if you feel your names are not yet of
the best
type
there is lots of demand in the œ40 - œ80 per 1,000
bracket. As your service improves the more you can
charge!
You
will find all types of businesses are interested in
purchasing
mailing lists - or could be persuaded to try the
idea. Try and aim your service at businesses that
already
sell
by post. They have a definite need for
your services.
A
reliable way of getting business is to contact potential
customers
in person. Some may be interested in a
long
standing
arrangement to supply names. A good way
of getting
customers
is to mailshot potential buyers. And,
you can even
buy
mailing lists of possible mailing list buyers for your
own
use! Sure to illustrate the success of
the system.
One
advantage of this business is that it is a strictly cash
with
order operation. Another is that orders
are easy to
fill. Just select suitable sheets from your
original mailing
list
and have copies made to send to your customers.
Keep
careful
records so that you know which entries have been
sent. This avoids duplication, if they order from
you again
-
which is more than likely if you have good lists!
And
now, just why is the trading in mailing lists so
profitable? There's a simple answer! Although you buy
mailing
lists outright - you do not sell them outright - you
only
rent them out. So, although you can sell
the lists as
many
times as you like, your customer only buys one time use
for
their œ100/1,000 or whatever. Make it
quite clear your
prices
only allow for one time use - and no resale by the
customer.
Quite
simply, although you might have to invest something in
compiling
the list - it can then keep earning and earning for
you
- at up to œ100 each rental. As many
times as you like!
And
that's just for 1 list - consider the potential if you
have
many (maybe hundreds) of different mailing lists!
This
is the beauty of selling mailing names and addresses.
Individually
they are worth very little. But
collectively
they
can be worth a fortune! Never
underestimate the
potential
of this simple product.
Making
More from Names and Addresses
Throughout
this book we have talked about a basic '1000'
names
and addresses. And, even at this level
you can develop
quite
a good sideline income. Obviously though
there is much
more
potential than that!
The
usual development for the list broker is to expand lists
in
quantity. However, you can also consider
expanding them
in
quality which will allow you to charge even more! One
idea
is to test mail your lists yourself first.
From that
list
select only those who respond best to compile one select
'superlist'. Such a work would be an extremely valuable
item!
An
alternative is to expand into highly specialised lists.
Because
of the rarity of these they tend to be much more
costly. For example you might compile mailing lists
of 'Bank
Managers'
or 'Managing Directors' or 'People with salaries
over
œ200,000 pa'. Such lists can be highly
sought after and
lucrative
for you. Because of the value sell in
smaller
batches
e.g. 100 or 250.
A
rather less exclusive expansion is to deal in mailing lists
of
'enquirers' - not necessarily purchasers.
These are less
valuable
but you can make money from the sheer volume of
names
and addresses sold.
In
fact, there are many different ways of compiling and
trading
in mailing lists. The great advantage of
this is
that
there are so many opportunities left unexploited. You
may
well be able to think of and compile a list or lists that
no
other broker has thought of. Hence, you
can have the
market
for that list all to yourself!
An
interesting expansion of the business lies with those who
use
mailing lists for mail order business - which is by far
the
biggest use. That is, to establish your
own mail order
business
in conjunction with list broking. This
is also very
lucrative,
but when combined has a special double-edged
impact. You not only get to use the names and
addresses
free,
but you get suppliers of names and addresses from your
business
and to hire out to others completely free to you. A
truly
unbeatable mixture!
You
may be able to think of many variations on the theme -
and
further uses for the list broking.
However, quite
simply,
the fact remains that the name of a potential
customer
is of immense value to any business. As
a collector
of
that information you are in a very lucrative position!
A
FINAL WORD
Many
people in search of a business opportunity know or hear
of
the idea of list broking - but they don't take the matter
any
further because they don't believe the potential that
exists. As we have already said a name and address
does not
mean
much individually - but when assembled with others in a
useful
list it suddenly takes on an enormous value.
And,
it's
so easy to collect, compile and sell this valuable
information.
If
you've been looking for a lucrative product to sell in a
business
then think again. It could be something
as lowly as
your
name and address!
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