Mail Order Made Easy

CONTENTS

Introduction

The Nature of Mail Order

So What Can I Sell?

Getting Started

Classified Advertising

Office Routine

Direct Mail

INTRODUCTION

Mail order is big business.  It can also be risky business. 

People start mail order operations in the belief that it is easy. 

After all, there are literally thousands of ads in Exchange and

Mart, so it must be easy!  The truth is, it isn't.  And the mail

order minefield is littered with the shattered dreams of those

people who thought it was.

Although you will often hear about the mail order business, the

truth is that it isn't a business at all.  In fact mail order is

only a way of doing business.  As such, it has its drawbacks, and

its advantages.  To make a success of it, you must understand both

of these aspects.  Then you can exploit the advantages, and

minimise the drawbacks.  When you are able to do this, you are on

your way.

In order to start a business using mail order, you should first

assess whether you are suited to it.  By its very nature, mail

order is a very lonely business.  If you are hoping to start up as

a sole trader, you probably won't see anyone in the course of your

working day.

They say that writing is the loneliest profession in the world.  I

would say that mail order comes a very close second.  If you enjoy

meeting people, mail order is not going to provide much in the way

of job satisfaction.

To become a success it takes total commitment.   It is not enough

just to want to be rich.  And in order to give your total

commitment, you must enjoy what you are doing.

Take stock of yourself now.  If you can't spend hours performing

the repetitive tasks which mail order often involves - you won't

enjoy it.

You should also have an interest in advertising.  This is by far

the largest part of a mail order operation, and your business will

stand or fall on the strength of your ads.

I prefer to look upon mail order as 'active' selling.  You are in

a position where your ads account for 100% of your business.

A shop owner succeeds through 'passive' selling.  His products are

there for his customers to see.  He doesn't have to tell them

what is good about them - they can see for themselves.

You will have to rely upon your advertising to pull in custom.  If

your advertising is good - you have the best chance of success. 

If it is lifeless and uninspiring - you will certainly fail.

Of course there are many advantages in mail order.  You don't have

the restriction of working to a set pattern.  You don't have to

start at 8.30 or finish at 5.00.  You don't need premises, with

all the expense that they incur.  You don't have to wear special

clothes.  Your business is not affected by the weather.  You don't

need a large investment in stock, and as such you don't need a

great deal of capital.

If you decide to go ahead with your plans, this book will show you

the very best way to start your business, to keep it going and to

develop it into a real money-earner.

There are so many ways to use mail order, both good and bad.  If

you know the best ways to take advantage of the opportunities

provided by enquiry ads, and how to enjoy the monopoly of being

your product source - the sky is the limit for you.  This book

will explain these aspects, and will guide you to success.

So, is mail order the right method of business for you?  Or to be

more accurate - are you the right person for the job?  If the

answer is yes, read on ...

1.   THE NATURE OF MAIL ORDER

This book has been written with the aim of showing you the best

way into mail order on a low budget.  Obviously there are many

forms of mail order operation, big and small.  But we are not

Great Universal, and it would not suit the purpose of this book to

show you the methods of the monsters!  Instead I will give you the

ins and outs of starting your own small mail order business.

Don't misunderstand me when I say small.  Anyone just starting in

mail order is small in comparison with the giants like Readers

Digest, and the major catalogue houses.  What I mean to say is,

here are the techniques for establishing your own mail order

operation, and developing it to the best effect.  How much further

you allow it to grow is entirely up to you.

YOUR BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESS

In mail order, most mistakes are made at the very beginning.  And

because of those mistakes, the beginning is usually as far as you

get.  The key to a successful mail order operation is to be

economical.  Start with one product.

But how can you run a business with just one product?  Maybe you

can't.  But if there is no demand for this product by mail order,

then you still have the chance to change it.  By selling one

product in the beginning, you can gauge the demand for it.  If it

takes off, then add another one if you wish.

Your main goal in the beginning is to stay in business.  If you

put all your eggs in one basket, you run a greater risk of instant

extinction!

Don't make the mistake of choosing the first product that comes

into your head.  You must choose your product very carefully. 

Some products are better suited to mail order than others.  Some

aren't suited to mail order at all.  Your job is to find one that

is.  And this product must also be suited to you.

A very important step to mail order success is choosing a product

that you can sell.  Remember, the key lies in your advertisements.  

You must know something about your product in order to be able to

highlight the best things about it.  The next chapter will help

you to evaluate a product for your mail order operation.  It is

important that you read it carefully.

When you have selected a product, you will then have to design an

advertisement.  This is not as easy as you may think.  You have to

appeal to the right people, and you have to motivate them into

action.  In a small classified ad you have to say the right things

in the most concise way possible.

This form of advertising is the best way to get started in mail

order.  It is not the best way of selling, but this is not the

most important thing for the moment!  If that seems like a

ridiculous statement - bear with me.

Mail order is not most people's ideal way of buying.  We have all

heard of those characters who offer you the ultimate product, ask

you to send your cash, leaving you wish nothing but a bitter taste

in your mouth.

As a result of this sort of fraud, people are always cautious of

new products or new firms.  And justifiably so.  It is for this

reason that you won't get rich overnight.  And because of this,

you need to run your ad for at least six continuous weeks.  Unless

you are selling your product for less than #5.00, you should offer

to send further details to anyone who is interested.

Now let me clarify the previous statement.  A small classified ad

is the best way of starting in mail order.  This is because it is

a cheap way of reaching a lot of people, and because it performs

the job of recruiting future customers.

As I said, it is not the best way of selling, but it is crucial to

your success.  You will use the best selling technique in six

months time, and your press ad will provide the keystone to this. 

This is when your mail order business will step up into top gear.

By using your enquiry ads to the best effect, you are laying the

foundation upon which your success will be guaranteed.  The

chapter on direct mail will fully explain the principle behind

this.

If you are still confused by my statement that selling is not the

most important thing for the moment, let me explain.  Obviously

you have to sell your product in order to stay in business.  But

when you are first starting up, it is unlikely that your

classified ad will produce the sort of results you may have been

expecting.  You won't be snowed under with enquiries.  Read that

again.  If you were expecting to be an overnight success, I'm

afraid you are going to be disappointed.

In the beginning you will generate enquiries from interested

people.  They will ask for the further details you promised them,

and you will respond with your sales literature.  If they are

pleased with your offer they may buy from you.  The majority of

them won't.  This is the truth.  But the key here is the fact that

they enquired in the first place.

For this reason, you must assume that they are interested in the

kind of product you are selling, but for some reason they choose

not to buy your particular product.

There could be any amount of reasons why they didn't buy your

product.  Perhaps the price was too high (or too low), or they

decided to look around to see what other traders were offering. 

Maybe they found a similar product in the shops, and bought that

because they wanted it urgently.

But remember, you are only trying to get established, and one of

the most important things in mail order is building up a list of

customers and potential customers.

Every enquiry, whether they buy from you or not, is another name

to add to your list.  It is this list that will ensure your future

success.  Look upon your enquiries as a success.  If they buy from

you - well, that's a bonus!  Consider your classified ad as a

recruitment officer that will establish the long-term success of

your business.

If you are still confused, don't worry.  This chapter is only

intended as a rough outline to brief you on the methods and

requirements of mail order.  The rest of this book will show you

the best way to turn your ideas into a money making venture that

should provide you with financial independence for life.

2.  SO WHAT CAN I SELL?

It is an untruth to say that anything can be sold by mail order. 

Theoretically, of course, anything could be - but to be done

successfully, it must be suitable for selling by mail.  When you

are deciding on a product (or indeed, a service), you should

always consider how much trouble it is likely to cause you when

you come to fulfil the order.

POSTAGE AND PACKING

Those little letters P&P are always a minor irritation to

potential customers of mail order.  They think, of yes - the

product costs œ5, but the postage and packing is œ1.95.  All that

extra on top just to get the product.  It hardly seems worth it!

While providing minor irritation to the customer, P&P can be a

major problem for the mail order operator.  If he decides to sell

a heavy object, he has to allow for crippling postage and packing

expenses.  These have to be met by someone, and quite often it is

the trader who is forced to pay the lion's share.

If you offer a product for œ1.50 cheaper than the shops are

selling it, you have a good chance of appealing to the reader of

your advertisement.  But if, after reading through the rest of

your ad, he finds it will cost him a further œ2 in postage and

packing, he is unlikely to be so eager to buy!

When you are considering a product, always try to go for something

that won't be an expensive nightmare to pack, and that won't cost

you an arm and a leg to send.  If it can fit snugly into a large

padded envelope, or a small package, it will save you time,

trouble, and money.

BEING THE PRODUCT SOURCE

The most popular way of getting started is to find a product, and

then find a manufacturer or wholesaler from who to buy it.

If you are skilled at making a popular product, or are capable of

supplying your own product in some way, you have a much better

chance of making a lot of money.  By doing this, you become the

product source, and you should enjoy a large proportion of the

money made from selling it.

By cutting out the supplier or wholesaler, you will save a lot of

money.  If your process of manufacture is not too costly, and will

work out cheaper than buying it from either of these sources, you

should proceed in this fashion.

Probably the most common way of providing a product yourself is to

copy and sell books.  If you look through the Business

Opportunities section of Exchange and Mart you will find numerous

ads for books.  Many of these have reproduction rights (like this

book), which allows you to copy and sell the book yourself for a

profit!

Alternatively you could write your own books, hence saving you

money from not having to buy the book in the first place.  This is

where you can make the biggest profit of all.  By writing a book

yourself, and then offering it for sale with or without

reproduction rights, you will be able to make a very large overall

profit.  If this appeals to you, I recommend that you read

"Publish For Profit!" which covers this highly lucrative method of

business.

POOR QUALITY - BIG PROBLEMS

A money-back guarantee is one of the selling-points of the mail

order business.  As I said, mail order is not the favourite way of

buying, and one of the appeals of mail order for most people, is

the chance to return the goods if they are dissatisfied with them. 

Those people who are not altogether keen on the thought of buying

by mail order may be pushed into it by the money-back guarantee.

Offering a guarantee often leads to greater sales.  This is an

important part of your sales campaign, and one you should

consider.  Whether your guarantee for or against you will depend

largely on the quality of your product.

Quality is a very important consideration in choosing your

product.  If you sell a product at a low price, the chances are

you will make a lot of sales.  But if this product is of very low

quality, you can also expect a lot of returns.  The key is to

offer a good quality product at a reasonable price.  This way you

can ensure that people will be attracted to the price, and buy

your product.  The good quality will also ensure a minimum of

returns.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

In the beginning you will be advertising in the press.  This will

probably be a short classified ad, so it is important that you can

get your sales message across in the briefest manner possible.

If you are selling a strange new gadget that people are unfamiliar

with, it may be very difficult to do it justice in so few words. 

For this reason, it is best to start with a product that people

know, or can understand.  Save your complicated products for later

on.

WILL IT MAKE A PROFIT?

Obviously you need to make a profit from your product, without

pricing yourself out of the market.  The best way to generalise is

to charge three times as much as what it cost you in the first

place.

For example, if you are buying your product from a wholesaler for

œ8, you should aim to sell it for at least œ24.  This is not

blatant profiteering, just good business sense.  Remember, you

have to cover your costs as well as pay the rent.  You have to

advertise your product, you have to package and post it, and you

have to eat!

When you consider a product, assess whether or not you can sell it

for at least three times what it will cost you to buy, or produce

it.  If the price is too high for people to be attracted to it,

you should reconsider your product.  Check whether or not you can

obtain it at a cheaper price, or if you can save on your

production costs.  If not, forget it.  Look for something else.

CHOOSE A 'SELLER'

When you are choosing a product, try and pick one that you know

has a market.  In other words you want a proven type of product. 

This gives you the knowledge that there is a market for it, and

you can aim your advertising at that.

Take a look through Exchange and Mart and see what products are

being offered.  The more advertisers there are - the bigger the

market for that type of product.  You want something that is

selling now, and is likely to continue selling for some time to

come.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that you can make a killing by

selling something that no one else is selling.  You will soon find

out why no one is selling it - because no one wants to buy it!

Avoid the latest 'fads' and fashions.  These tend to be 'ten day

wonders', and you won't be able to develop a profitable business

by constantly changing your product.  Aim yourself at an

established and thriving market, and proceed to carve a niche for

yourself in that.

SECURING YOUR FUTURE

In order to maintain a good steady demand for your product, you

should choose one that has good follow-up possibilities.  this

means that the people who buy from you will come back to buy more,

or similar, products from you again.

Some products offer great follow-up possibilities, while others

don't.  In order to establish your business, it is wise to choose

something that will guarantee repeat custom.

Your press advertising will bring in many enquiries from people

who are interested in your type of product, and even if they don't

buy from you now, they are still potential customers.

If you decide to specialise in computers, then you will generate

interest from people who are hoping to buy one.  If they don't buy

from you, then you can assume they brought one from someone else. 

But this is not the end of the story for you.  Later, when you add

further products like computer discs and other software to your

range, you can write to your enquirers, and offer them these.

It is the follow-up possibilities that will secure the future of

your business, so choose a product accordingly.  Once you have

built up a good name list of customers and enquirers, you will be

in a good position to introduce further products related to what

you are currently selling.

You will be able to see the importance of this in six months time. 

This is when you will apply the selling method most likely to

bring in big business.  In the meantime, choose a suitable

product, and start out by selling it in the classified ad section

of Exchange and Mart, and any other magazines that cater for your

particular product.

And when you get an enquiry, write their name and address on your

list ...

3.   GETTING STARTED

Having chosen your product, the next step is to set up your

business.  The basics of actually starting a small business is not

within the scope of this book, and I direct you towards another

book for this.  That book is Up and Running.

This book goes into great detail on the ins and outs of starting

up in business, and is to be recommended if you are starting up

for the first time.  It will also give you a lot of valuable

advice and inside secrets on making a success of your venture.

Whatever you do, get professional advice from the beginning.  This

is vital.  Make sure you open a business bank account, and talk to

an accountant and a solicitor.  You will need these people at some

point or another.  You will also need to notify your local tax

inspector of your intention to start up in business, as well as

the DHSS.

I also recommend that you obtain copies of the Fair Trading Act,

the Sale of Goods Act, and the Trade Descriptions Act, all

available from HMSO bookshops.  These will give you guidelines on

some of the legislation governing mail order selling.

LOOK LIKE A SUCCESS - BEFORE YOU ARE

Your first purchase should be good printed stationery.  Nothing

has more immediate influence than a good letterhead and envelopes. 

Good quality here is essential.  Try and stretch to 100 gms paper,

and incorporate some colour into your letterheads.  This will give

an impression of success and reliability long before you have it.

In the beginning you will be approaching suppliers and other

important business organisations.  Do it on your letterheads.  If

you can, wait until you have your letterheads before you approach

them.  You will be surprised at the respect they will show you

when you look professional.  This can be especially valuable in

getting credit facilities with suppliers.

Depending on what product you decide to sell, you may need

compliment slips and business cards.  Have them all matching your

letterheads.  You can often get a discount on 'business packs' of

matching letterheads, envelopes, compliment slips, and business

cards.  Make sure you get off to the best start here.

If you are unsure of what to put on a letterhead, ask the printer. 

He will always be happy to help you in designing a layout, and

choosing a typestyle for your stationery.

YOUR OFFICE

The beauty of mail order is that you don't need premises.  As such

you can run a successful mail order operation from your back

bedroom at home.  All you need do is have a typewriter and a

telephone installed there (even a telephone is not always

essential), and away you go.

Your basic equipment needn't run to great length either.  As well

as a typewriter, you may consider the usual stuff like a stapler,

paper punch, a couple of ring binders, a date stamp and some

postal scales.  You will need to make some provision for filing,

but some of the best files I've seen are nothing more than

ordinary cardboard boxes!

Don't consider anything expensive at this stage.  You can always

have any photocopies you need run off at any local copy shop.  The

key here is in keeping your costs down until you are actually

making money.  Don't make the mistake of splashing out on a

computer or photocopier unless you can really afford to.

You will also need adequate storage space for your stock.  How

much space you need obviously depends on how large your product

is.  It is always wise to keep a reasonable amount of stock, but

again you don't have to pile it up.

INCREASING YOUR RESPONSE

At this early stage you might like to consider using some of the

facilities offered by the Post Office to increase response to your

advertising.

A good method of increasing your enquiry rate is to use the

freepost service.  By using the word FREEPOST in your advertising,

your enquirer doesn't have to use a stamp when making his enquiry. 

This is a good way of catching those 'borderline' enquirers, who

put their enquiry in their pocket with the vague intention of

sending it off, but never seem to get around to buying a stamp. 

Freepost is always a second class postage service.

As well a freepost, there is another method of paying for your

potential customer's postage, and this is the Business Reply

Service.  With this you enclose a business reply envelope in

response to an enquiry, so all your potential customer has to do

is put in his order and post it off.  You have a choice of first

or second class in this service.

Ask your local postal sales representative for information on

these, and other services which can help you in your mail order

venture.

If you intend to take advantage of the freepost offer, do it now

before you start to advertise.  This way you can ensure the best

possible response rate to your advertising.

As soon as you are ready, your next step is to advertise your

product to the nation.  The next chapter will cover classified

advertising in the press.

4.  CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING

Once you have set up your office, and acquired a reasonable amount

of stock, you should then proceed to advertise it.  In the first

instance your best bet is to use classified advertising.  This is

cheap and will reach a lot of people, which is your main

intention.

THE RIGHT PLACE TO ADVERTISE

Your obvious choice of publication is Exchange and Mart.  There

are many categories in this magazine, and there is bound to be one

to suit your product.  Buy a copy and turn to the section which

covers your product.  If there are other traders there selling

similar products to your own, then this is where you should start.

You can, if you wish, use only Exchange and Mart for your

advertising.  But if there are any specialist magazines for your

product, then it would be a shame to miss out on the chance of

appealing to these readers.  Have a look at the classified ad

section in specialist magazines and consider placing a small ad

there.

Remember who you are trying to reach.  It is customers you are

hoping to attract, not other traders.  Don't place an ad in a

magazine that caters mostly to the trader.  You want one that is

widely read by the people actually buying your product.

CREATING AN AD

Your ads are your salesman.  In mail order this is your first

contact with any potential customer.  Therefore your advertising

must be up to scratch.  A classified ad can be as long, or as

short as you wish.  But regardless of its length it must do one

vital thing - sell.

There are four components in an ad.  The best way to remember them

is to use an acronym.  This is a word formed from the initial

letters of another group of words (as in NATO).  In this case we

have:

              A                ATTENTION

              I                INTEREST

              D                DESIRE

              A                ACTION

Every good ad will encapsulate all of these components.  To see

how they apply, we will take them one by one.

ATTENTION

The reader of any magazine is a moving target.  He will only read

what appeals to him, or what grabs his attention.  For this reason

you must make your ad shout at him.  To do this you must grab an

intriguing or exciting introduction.  Use words that grab the

attention.  Examples of such words as "MONEY", "CASH", "POWER",

"SUCCESS", "FORTUNE", "SEX", "LOVE", and so on.  Anything that can

grab the attention of your reader will draw him into reading your

ad.  If you don't achieve this, you have lost a potential

customer.

Try to offer your reader a benefit - something that can make his

life more rewarding.  If he can't see what's in it for him, he is

unlikely to want to take up your offer.

INTEREST

Now you have caught the attention of your reader, you must

immediately arouse his interest.  To do this it is best to go into

further detail about your headline.  Explain more about the

benefit waiting for him.  A common mistake here is to lose the

excitement generated by the headline.  Keep the reader interested. 

Tell him more about what you have just described.

DESIRE

The next step in your ad is to create desire in your reader.  This

is where you make him realise that he would be doing himself a

favour by responding to your ad.  Tell him how his life would be

bettered by having your product.  This is where you must create

sufficient desire to make him want to part with his money, or

write a letter of enquiry.

ACTION

This is the finale to your ad, and it is where you tell the reader

what to do.  Be it an enquiry, or payment - tell him what to do,

and how to do it.  tip him over the edge, and into action. 

Reinforce your sales message by telling him again how he would

benefit by responding to your advertisement, NOW!

Don't falter now, because this is the last thing he will remember

about your ad.  You must be firm and confident here.

EXAMPLE

In order to clarify these components, let's see how all this

applies to an example classified ad that might be run by someone

in the business of selling a body-building course:

ATTENTION

              MASSIVE MUSCLES FAST!

INTEREST

              See the body of your dreams taking form within

              days with the fastest muscle-building system

              there is!

DESIRE

              Imagine the looks of admiration when you walk

              onto the beach!

ACTION

              Get the revolutionary Muscle Manual, NOW!

              Send stamp for free exciting details, to:

Notice the mention of 'fastest muscle-building system there is'.

This is another important part of a good ad.  This is a USP

(Unique Selling Proposition).  This manual can boast something

that no other can.  It produces results in the fastest time.  You

may not always have a USP, but some can be found from the most

unlikely source.

For example, did you know that oral painkillers such as aspirin

and paracetamol are absorbed into the bloodstream at the same

speed?  Because of the manner of absorption, all painkillers work

at the same rate.  Now, how many of you are immediately thinking

of Anadin?  Do you think that works faster?  Perhaps you do - but

why?  Because of their slogan - "Nothing acts faster than Anadin!"

Now sit and think about that slogan for a moment.  What does it

actually mean?  It doesn't mean that Anadin is faster than the

rest.  It just means that nothing acts faster, precisely because

they all act at the same speed.  It was a very clever advertising

slogan that did little harm to the sales of Anadin.  So, even when

you are selling the same as hundreds of others, there is still a

USP to be found!

SUBMITTING A NEW AD

When you have prepared your ad, you must then send it to the

appropriate magazine.  When you do this, it will save you

considerable time if you also send details of your business and

product.  Magazines like to know something about new advertisers

and their products, as well as any literature you will send to

people who will enquire about your product.

Send them a brief description of your business, and the product

you are selling.  Also send them some copies of the literature you

will send to enquirers.  This will save you the time and trouble

of having your ad delayed while they wait for this information.

DURATION

In the beginning, it will be best to run your ad for six

continuous weeks.  This will give you a good indication of its

success as an ad.  Assess your ad after four weeks.  If it is

pulling in plenty of enquiries, then you can continue running it

unchanged.  If you are getting very little response, then you can

change it in plenty of time, so that your new ad can take over

directly from when your old is due to finish.

Keep a note of advertising deadlines.  Some magazines will require

ads to be at their offices weeks before your planned first

publication date.

Keep running your good classified ads, making a note of all your

enquirers' names and addresses.  In six month's time, you will be

able to use your list of names to mount a direct mail campaign,

which should boost your sales dramatically.

5.  OFFICE ROUTINE

When you start to generate enquiries, you should be prepared to

handle them in the swiftest way possible.  Eventually you will

also be receiving orders, so good office routine is essential to a

smooth operation.

ENQUIRIES

You should already have prepared some sales material and an order

form to send to those who will enquire of your product.  When

enquiries come in, add the name and address to your list, and

prepare your sales package.

Write or stamp the date on the back of your enquiry letters and

put them into a file marked 'ENQUIRIES'.  Always put new enquiries

at the back of the file, so they run in date order from oldest to

newest.  This is so you can write a follow-up letter after a few

weeks if they haven't responded to your first sales package, and

you will know who to write to first.

ORDERS

You have two choices when you receive orders.  You can either wait

for their cheques to clear before filling the order, or you can

send them immediately.  This will usually depend on you who are

dealing with.  If you are selling to the public, you are probably

best waiting for cheques to clear.  This saves you the hassle of

cheques bouncing, after having parted with the goods.

Just as with the enquiry letters, write the date on the back of

the order and file them in an 'ORDERS' file, newest to the back.

If you have more than one product, enclose details of the others

with the order when you send it off.  This is the best form of

free advertising there is, and is something you should always take

advantage of.

RETURNS

If you get a return, that is someone sending your product back for

a refund, write them a cheque for the appropriate amount (minus

production costs if it is in a bad condition), and send it with a

brief letter or complement slip, explaining what the cheque is

for.

FOLLOW-UP LETTERS

If, after three to four weeks after sending details, you have

received no order, prepare a follow up letter.  Send them the same

details as before, and remind them once again of your offer.  You

may at this point offer them an inducement.  This is a further

offer to their benefit if they reply with their order promptly.

This could be in the form of a discount voucher, entitling them to

money off of the original price if they reply before a certain

date.  You may think up your own inducement depending upon your

product, but make sure you can afford to do it.

It is up to you how many times you issue follow-up letters in the

hope that someone will eventually buy your product.  Some firms

send up to ten follow-up letters, with even further inducements

and discounts, but be careful here.  Obviously a sale is

preferable to no sale at all, but you don't want to get to the

stage where you are almost giving your product away.

6.  DIRECT MAIL

After six months of solid advertising, you should have built up a

good list of names and addresses.  When this time has elapsed, you

should consider adding a further new product to your range.  You

will then advertise this using direct mail.

The companion book to MAIL ORDER MADE EASY is a comprehensive

treatment of this, called INSIDE DIRECT MAIL.  Intended as the

partner to this book, it is to be recommended for when you are

ready to take up a direct mailshot.  This form of advertising is

by far the most effective, allowing you to speak directly to those

people you know to be interested in your products.

When you have a new product, prepare your sales material and send

a copy to every person on your mailing list.  Enclose details of

any of your other products if you have any, but don't advertise

too many, or your sales target will be lost.  During this time,

you should still continue to advertise as normal in the press.

If you have less than one hundred names on your list, which is

unlikely after six months of advertising, or you would prefer a

much larger mailshot than the one you have, your next step should

be to find a good mailing list.  This would be a list brought from

an established trader in your field.

If you do decide to buy a list, make sure you are getting one that

is up to date, and has existing buyers of similar goods to your

own. Some firms use lists that are years old, which means they are

as good as useless.

Remember, people move away, die, or lose interest, and lists get

less effective with age.  The list is the most crucial part of

your mailshot.  It doesn't matter how good your sales literature

is if it's going to 'dead' names.

Make a regular habit of sending a mailshot.  The best way is to

send a mailing to new names every couple of months.  If you

introduce another product, then you can send a mailshot straight

away.  Direct mail is a very powerful advertising technique, and

can be very profitable when it is done correctly.

Don't forget to keep your own list up to date.  When a customer

moves house, change his address on your list so you can ensure

your sales literature is still going to the right people.  In time

you will be able to offer your own mailing lists for hire, giving

you a secondary income for little expense!

Keep tabs on your advertising as well, so you know if its working

as it should.  If your enquiry rate should start to decline to the

point where you are making a loss, change your ad.

Always stay on top of things, and be aware of any new product that

you can add to your range.  Don't make the mistake of becoming

complacent.  Get off to the best possible start, and plan

carefully.  In this way you can be assured of building up the good

regular custom that will guarantee the future of your mail order

business.

Take time to study the points raised in this book, and then apply

them to your own product.  Very soon you will feel the excitement

of waiting for your post to come, knowing that somewhere amongst

those letters is a few more orders!