Most
of us have been at the customer end of Direct Mail. Who hasn't had a
mailshot
from Reader's Digest, sumptuously illustrated in colour, temptingly
written
... who has been able to resist ordering, on approval, one of their
excellent
publications?
Reader's
Digest is, of course, at the top end of the Direct Mail market. There
are
many more of us who make money from Direct Mail by posting out much
less
extravagent brchures. One of my own most
successful mailings consist of
just
one sheet of white paper printed on both sides!
So
how can the small operator take $1,000,000 using Direct Mail? First let me
say
that he won't do it in a week. He won't
even do it in a year. This is not,
after
all, Cloud Cuckoo Land. But I reckon
that with a combination of luck and
skill
it could be possible to turn over this sum before you go off to the Bahamas
for
a well-earned retirement. And if you
think that's too long to wait, work out
how
much your present job will bring you in that time.
To
show you that it is possible, let's do a little thought experiment. Let's
imagine
that you go into the Direct Mail business and let's further imagine that
you
are selling, let us say, a book with a retail price of $20.00.
A
really good mail shot will bring a five per cent response. This means that out
of
every hundred letters you post, five people will actually order the goods
you're
promoting. Note I said really good. Most mail shots don't achieve this
figure. I only get it myself very occasionally. So let's say that you'll average
two
per cent during your Direct Mail career.
If
you get a two per cent conversion rate, you'll take $40 for each hundred
letters
you post. How many letters could you
post a day? Well, the big firms
think
nothing of mailing out 10,000 pieces, but they've got all kinds of
sophisticated
machines specially designed to print circulars, fold them, put them
in
envelopes, stick on address labels and frank them with the correct
postage. I
assume
that you don't have one of these machines tucked away in your garden
shed,
but have to rely on your own hands.
Shall we say three hundred letters a
day? It would take two or three hours to do this,
so it's certainly achievable.
Three
hundred pieces of mail and a two per cent return. That means $120
turnover
per day. Do this for six days a week,
forty eight weeks a year (you
deserve
a holiday) and you're taking $34,560 a year.
At this rate you'd have
turned
over one million pounds in about twenty nine years - which is less than
the
average working lifetime.
Yes,
yes I agree. That $120 a day isn't all
yours. In fact, most of it isn't. It's
going
to cost you (at the time of writing) around $60 to print the circulars and
post
letters to three hundred customers. Then
you've got to buy the books to
fulfill
orders. If you buy them for a fiver
each, wholesale, your total
expenditure
per day is $90, leaving you with $30 a day for yourself.
Doesn't
sound much, does it? But with only a
couple of hours work a day, it's
a
part time income. And if you can pocket $180
extra a week by dabbling with
Direct
Mail part-time, think what you could do if you made it a full time
occupation!
This
is all an oversimplification, of course.
We've assumed the addresses are
free,
and that the customer is paying post and packing on top. But it does serve
to
give you some idea of the eventual possibilities.
The
$1,000,000 Direct Mail Formula can be stated as follows:
1. Find something to sell which you can buy at a
suitable wholesale price.
2. Obtain some tempting promotional literature
for your chosen goods.
3. Get the addresses of people likely to be
interested in your goods.
4. Post a lot of letters.
5. Keep on mailing your buyers with details of
new offers.
6. Rent out your own list to other dealers.
We'll
consider each of those points in turn.
First,
however, a word on the subject of investment.
Anyone
starting a business has to invest both time and money. There's no
escaping
this. A person opening a shop, for
example, will have to spend quite
horrendous
sums of premises, shopfitting, stock, advertising, etc.
If
you move into the Direct Mail business, you're also going to have to invest
your
time and your money. Fortunately you
won't have to find large sums for
premises
and shopfiting. The money you invest
will be quite small sums spread
over
a period of time. It will be money spent
on postng letters to people who
don't
want to buy - or on goods which have no appeal.
The money will be
spent,
in short, on testing. Testing different
address lists, testing different
products,
testing different sales circulars.
This
means that you shouldn't, under any circumstances, give up your job to go
into
Direct Mail. You're going to lose money
to start with. This money won't
be
lost for ever. Eventually you should get
it back many times over. But in
the
early stages of your Direct Mail business, you'll need money to live.
CHOOSING
A PRODUCT
Most
of the readers of this manual will be in the Business Opportunities section
of
mail-order and will be interested in selling books, manuals, cassettes,
newsletters
- anything on which information is recorded.
We'll therefore assume
that
you're going to sell an information guide.
The general principles outlined
here,
however, are relevant to selling all goods by mail-order.
Obviously
your product must appeal to the market you're aiming at. The only
sure
way of knowing that your information guide will appeal to the market is to
try
it. Here's your first investment of
"test money". However, your
own
feelings
will give you some guide, and the longer you spend in the business, the
better
you will become at selecting a winner.
One
thing you can make sure of, however, is that the price is right. You saw
from
the example above that even with buying a book for $5 and selling it for
$20,
most of the takings were swallowed up in expenses. You're going to need
this
sort of mark-up to succeed.
SALES
LITERATURE
The
best product in the world won't sell by mail-order unless the literature wich
promotes
it is both well written and attractively presented.
Many
Business Books which you can buy wholesale already have tried and tested
sales
brochures to accompany them, and it's often possible to have your own
name
and address added to these. Check with
your suppliers.
If
your product doesn't come complete with sales literature, you'll have to get
some
done for you. This is very much a job or
the specialist and you'll need to
get
in touch with an author skilled in the art of copywriting. See the end of
this
book for useful names and addresses.
The
sales literature doesn't need to be lavish.
There's no need for expensive
colour
printing, for example - you can often achieve a very attractive effect
with
tinted paper. A typical mail-shot will
consist of the following items: a
circular
describing the book (or other goods); a letter underlining the advantages
of
the book and urging immediate action; and an order form. The mail shot
may
also include other bits and pieces - a reply envelope or some additional
incentive
for prompt ordering such as a discount or a free gift. The value of
including
these extras can only be assessed by testing.
FINDING
A MAILING LIST
This
is the hardest job of all. Finding a
mailing list which will give you that
necessary
two per cent - or whatever percentage conversion you need.
Many
professional mail-order operators build their own mailing lists by
advertising
in the press and recording the names of people who respond to the
ads. Since the whole business of classified
advertising is discussed later in this
book,
we'll assume for the purpose of this book that you are going to rent other
dealers'
lists initially.
You'll
need a list of people who have already bought a product similar to the
one
you're selling. With business
information guides there's no problem.
There
are
many lists available of "Business Book Buyers".
It's
not too difficult finding a mailing list to rent. Many list owners advertise in
the
business pages of the national papers, or in Exchange and Mart, and when
you've
been in mailing order for a few months, you'll get plenty of mail shots
from
companies wanting to rent you their address lists. See also useful addresses
at
the back of the book.
Unfortunately
only a very small fraction of the lists available are good ones.
What
do we mean by a "good" list?
A
good mailing list has two characteristics.
It's clean and it's fresh. Most
rented
lists are neither.
A
clean list will contain less than five per cent "gone aways" or
"not known at
this
addresses". A fresh list will have
been compiled in the last six months.
One
way to ensure that you get a clean, fresh list is to buy several enquiries
from
other dealers. Several mail-traders use
this approach - they write to small
mail-order
firms advertising in the Business Opportunity press offering to buy
the
actual letters which enquirers have sent, provided they are not more than,
say,
three months old. if you do this, you'll
have to pay around 10 - 12p for
each
name, but the date on the envelope should ensure that it's fresh. The only
snag
is, most advertisers now record the names of their enquirers on computer,
then
throw away the letter, so you might not get too many addresses using this
method.
How
much should you pay for a mailing list?
They are currently on offer at
prices
ranging from $20 to $100 per thousand, with the addresses on
self-adhesive
labels. And, note, this is just a rental
charge in some cases.
That's
what you pay for just one use. In point
of fact, one use is all you'll
want,
since it's buyers you're interested in.
Those people who buy from you
will
become part of your own list, of course, and you can (and should) remail
them
as often as you wish.
If
you try to use a rented list twice, or, worse still, try to sell it to someone
else,
you'll be found out in no time. You see,
the person who rents you the list
will
have "planted" it with the names of a couple of trusty friends in
different
parts
of the country. If they get more than
one mailing from you - or a
mailing
from someone else who hasn't rented the list, they'll inform the list
owner. He will have cleverly coded these addresses
in such a way that you are
immediately
spotted as the culprit. I mention this
because, as I'm sure you will
already
guessed, one day you will be renting out your own list (clean and resh,
let
us hope) and you'll be using the same techniques to prevent cheating.
O.K. You've obtained some mailing lists. Start posting your 300 letters a day -
or
as many as you can afford anyway. I
emphasise again that you are making
an
investment here - if you break even right away you're doing well. The
object
of the exercise is to build up your own list of buyers.
Let's
assume that you don't get your desired two per cent return. Let's assume
that
you only get, in fact, a one per cent conversion. You can work out how
much
money you're losing yourself (I repeat, this is your investment). My aim
here
is to show you how your own list of buyers will grow.
With
one person out of every hundred buying and with a mailing of nearly three
hundred
per day, after one year you'll have nearly 1000 names on your own list.
This
list will be worth far more than it's weight in gold to you. It will be a
list
of PRIME, FRESH, BUYERS. They will be
people who like to buy by mail
and
they will be people to KNOW YOU.
You'll
now have a list which will give you a much better than two per cent
return
on your future mailings. You'll have a
list which other dealers will be
eager
to rent. And if you keep it nice and
clean they'll be eager to rent more
off
you later.
With
your own list you'll now be in a position to get free mailing lists by simply
swapping
your list with another trader. You can
do this as often as you like.
You're
now spending much less money on your own mailings, so your second
thousand
buyers won't take as long to build up.
The
actual management of a mailing list is a complex subject, and there's
certainly
no room in this short manual to consider it properly. Your usual
supplier
should be able to suggest a readable guide on the management of
mailing
lists.
You
will now be aware that you only make money from Direct Mail when you
have
a list of your own. Mailing to lists
rented from other firms may not make
you
a profit, may even make a loss. The
purpose is to construct your own list.
It
takes time, it takes money. But once you
have your own list - the $1,000,000
Direct
Mail Formula will work for you.
CAN
YOU 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 $100 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
$100 a 1,000 would not be unreasonable - though you may be able to
get
them for as little as $10 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 $100 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 quantites can be a business
booster. Also offer discounts on large quantites so
you attract the attentions of
the
large buyers!
As
we have already said, $100 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 $40 - $80 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 tradining 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 $100/1,000 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 $100 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
$200,000 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!
THE
TRUTH ABOUT MAIL ORDER
Does It Really Work?
Over
the years one of the most frequently offered business opportunities has been
mail
order in one of its many forms. And,
there are certainly no shortages of
claims
as to its profitability - or books on the subject for that matter!
All
this is sure to lead you to stop and think 'But does it really work?' And
feel
it would be nice to know the facts on the business. Not information from
the
source - whose own interests are best served by you starting! That's just
what
this book is.
From
the start we can certainly confirm that mail order does indeed live up to
its
expectations - even exceeding them in some cases! It can be a truly simple
home
business - with an absolute minimum of outlay.
And it can produce
profits
running into several hundred percent!
The
rewards are certainly up for grabs. But,
as with any other business they
don't
come automatically. They need to be
earned, and be worked on. But it is
a
business that offers the chance, where many others never can.
Read
on and we will reveal some of the secrets of mail order - and some of the
tips
you need to apply to realise this exciting potential to the full.
Why
People Buy Mail Order
There
is no doubt that people do buy by mail order - and in vast quantites.
The
good mail order business can have a much higher customer turnover than
one
of the busiest shops. But, just why
should this be? Consider why people
buy
by mail order - and always apply those reasons throughout your business.
Mail
order buying is certainy 'easy' - an important reason for any business
success. So, be sure always to keep buying easy. It's far more convenient to
post
off your order - rather than trek round the shops!
More
often than not, mail order offers far greater choice than retail selling. It
can
be successful supplying even the most specialist demands.
You
will usually find that mail order products are cheaper than similar shop
bought
products. The mail order operator must
always try for this - but it's a
great
reason for the customer too! Special
offers are popular.
A
very personal and individual service - that should be mail order. You can
buy
things you won't buy in a shop. And,
there's the opportunity to return
them
without problems.
An
important reason for the success of mail order is excitement. Yes, it's a
major
reason. Waiting for that special order to
arrive can be a big reason for
sending
for it in the first place! This should
never be under estimated as a
reason
for mail order use.
You
may well be able to think of other reasons why mail order works.
Whatever
they are do remember you should make use of them in your business.
Exploit
every single advantage possible - or mail order may disappoint.
Building
Mail Order Profits
It
is also interesting to consider why mail order is desirable from a business
point
of view. After all, it seems a more
complex business that just selling
goods
in a shop. Why is it worth selling
through the post?
One
major initial advantage is that mail order has very little overheads. You can
operate
quite a large business from home. And,
you don't need equipment - or
staff
which can be very expensive. It's the
ultimate cut cost business. Indeed,
it
needs to be.
Mail
order operators also tend to build their profits by selling goods in
volume.
This
usually means specialising in a limited range - unlike a shop that sells a
full
range. Restrict what you sell so you can
obtain at more desirable prices
than
a low volume shop.
One
of the most obvious reasons for mail order profitability is that the goods
sold
are selected for their huge profit margins.
For best chances of success this
needs
to be as much as 200-300%! Unlike a
shop, which needs 15-20% to
succeed. So, do realise that mail order profits hold
no special 'mystery'. They
are
made because only products with very high margins are selected - not
because
of any major formula!
Perhaps
the major reason for mail order profits is that the trader is so dependent
on
repeat trade. For example, once the
customer has been obtained the trader
hopes
to make more and more sales to that same person over a period of time.
Profits
are made by a satisfied customer buying again and again. Not by a
string
of new customers. If your mail order
business does not exploit repeat
sales
it just cannot thrive.
It
is so important to realise that there are definite reasons for building mail
order
fortunes. The truth is that these
fortunes are possible - but only if you
follow
cedrtain accepted procedures. Mail order
success does not come by chance
or
'just doing it'.
Once
you've grasped the basics then 2 further points are vital to success. These
are
deciding what to sell - and then selling it correctly. Both parts of a
business
must be done correctly for a chance at success.
Let's now consider the
truth
on some of these points!
What's
Best to Sell?
Those
who tell you a mail order business can be successful selling virtually
anything
are wrong. Quite simply, for the best
chance of success a mail order
trader
just sell certain types of goods.
Ideally, choose things that are already
sold
by mail order, and have been for a long time - since they are without
doubt
winners!
There
are certain set characteristics a mail order product must have to succeed.
Consider
this list:
-
High profit margin essential.
-
Must look/sound exciting - and be able to be advertised in an exciting way.
-
Should be something that appeals to a very wide customer group.
-
Fairly light, small and portable.
-
Doesn't require any back-up.
-
Should ideally have potential for complementary sales.
-
Should be 'used up' and require re-ordering if at all possible.
-
Has absolute minimum chance to give complaint.
-
Ideally not available easily, if at all, in shops.
-
Exclusive in some way.
-
Proven - or if new based on something proven.
-
Reasonably priced - and cheaper than any other source.
You
may be able to think of other qualities that would make a good product for
selling
by post. And, although no single product
will meet all the requirements
it
is a question of the more the better!
When
considering specific products to sell by mail order you must think in terms
of
the products that are already successfully sold this way. New ideas might
work
- but they could just 'flop'. To be sure
of profit stick to the old
faithfuls. Just because you sell a product by mail order
doesn't mean it is
automatically
lucrative!
That
successful mail order product should be exciting to buy by post. Make it
something
everybody wants. Make it a better idea
to buy mail order than buy
from
shops. And, not least, make it something
yu can easily buy in and handle.
That
makes a big difference to your products - and your profits!
You
will no doubt be able to think of some existing mail order 'successes' - so
why
not copy them. Some of the most popular
are:
Clothes
- Books - Kitchen Items - Gadgets/Gifts - Small Furniture - Gifts -
Office
Equipment - Garden Products - Hobby Items - Services, e.g. Printing -
Household
Goods.
Of
course, there are many others! But it's
important to realise it is not
'anything'
that sells profitably by mail order.
Only certain things sell well.
When
you have decided what to sell it is vital to arrange a reliable supply. This
way
you don't need large capital-eating stocks.
You must get a good supply ata
really
cut price. Bulk orders are a must. Wholesale sources are rarely suitable.
Look
at the cheap sources - like importing of buying direct from the
manufacturer.
For
a good mail order business you've got to take some stocks. Don't be
tempted
by the idealistic thought of 'dropship' selling.
If,
once tried, it doesn't sell successfully then forget it. Be ruthless!
How
to Advertise
A
really crucial part of mail order selling is advertising. It is perhaps the most
difficult
part to get right. Having said this it
doesn't need to be expensive.
And,
getting it right can lead to a runaway success - even for the newcomer.
Don't
expect just to 'advertise and sit back' though!
An
important matter is deciding where to advertise. The answer to this is where
mail
order traders already advertise - don't try anywhere new. Both newspapers
and
magazines can be equally good. Make sure
they are national publications
though. Local advertising will not work.
The
publication should be one more than likely to be read by buyers of your
product. And, you must advertise in the appropriate
sections. A continuous
plan
of advertising is necessary - so allow the capital.
Evidence
shows that classified ads. are by far the most economic and successful
for
most mail order products. So, take some
time to devise the very best you
can. Don't think large display ads are always
better!
An
important principle of mail order advertising is 'testing'. This means that
you
must keep trying, and improving, difficult wordings until you find one that
gets
the very best result. Place a 'key'
(code number) in each ad, so you know
which
works best. Never believe that you can
get a best selling ad first time
round. All the best are the results of many weeks of
testing and improving.
Once
you have found that illusive ad though you should stick with it - it could
earn
thousands!
New
mail order traders usually underestimate the importance of advertising - and
allow
too little capital for it. The truth is
that it can sometimes take more
money
in advertising than the cost of your products.
Bear this in mind when
stocking
up!
There
is nothing really good about writing a good ad - almost anyone can do it.
But
you should note that a successful ad is usually the work of careful work,
over
time - not necessarily skill, and never chance!
An
interesting way of selling by mail order is selling by mailshot. That is, you
mail
out attractive circulars to potential buyers - the names and addresses of
which
can be hired from 'list brokers'. This
can be very successful. Though,
ensure
your product has sufficient profit to stand the cost. It's also not quite as
easy
for newcomers as the established mail order trader.
Once
your advertising starts working then you can sit back and bank the cash -
just
like all the promises you hear! Though
always keep improving your ads.
Despatching
orders is the easy part. But, it must
all be done with care. Above
all,
keep careful records of all your sales - and your customers. Based on that,
mail
order can expand from strength to strength!
Something
You Must Know!
It
is true that you can make a great deal of money from mail order selling of
just
a simple product. But, as with any good
business, it is never as simple as
that!
As
we have already said success in the business does depend on repeat custom.
You
can never thrive on all new customers. Once
you have sold one item to a
customer
you must try to keep selling to them.
The main result of this is that
you
must gradually expand your range. And,
you must add only complementary
products
- products the initial buyer is likely to be interested in. This might be
an
awkward, but essential, governor on your business.
And
remember, if you are to get repeat sales you must satisfy customers. They
must
get a good service and good value. You
won't get away with a poor deal!
One
final tip is that you must always make full use of past customers by mailing
news
of new products to them. They are much
more likely to buy than
'unknowns'. You must make use of them to succeed
financially. There is a
lucrative
spin-off of this in that you will need to compile a mailing list of past
customers. This can then be hired out to other mail
order operators for
considerable
extra income.
Just
like a shop a mail order business depends on its 'clientele' - Cultivate your
customers!
The
Final Word
It
would be possible to go on for ever giving tips about mail order. And, if
you're
seriously interested there are many more sources of advice on the 'nuts
and
bolts'. This guide has just tried to
show you some of the ins and outs you
rarely
find elsewhere!
With
confidence, we can say that mail order can be a hugely successful
business.
It
almost certainly will do well - but you can't take it for granted. There's no
'magic'
in mail order - but it's certainly very sound!
HOW
TO MAKE $100,000 FROM A SMALL CLASSIFIED AD
Sounds
crazy doesn't it? How could you possibly
make that sort of money from
a
few lines of small type which are buried, along with hundreds of other similar
lines,
on a page of cheap newsprint?
It
has been done - many times over. And to
show exactly how it's done, we're
going
to analyse a real "case history".
The advertisement we're going to discuss
is,
at the time of writing, still being run in various newspapers and
magazines.
The
person who wrote the advertsement reckons it brings in currently about
$25,000
a year. It's been running for a few
years, and they reckon it will run
for
another few years. After that time the
ad should have brought in
approximately
$200,000. Subtract from that the cost of
advertising, cost of
fulfilling
orders, etc, and we should still be over $100,000 in profit.
Allright,
even though it's over eight years, and it's run in several magazines, it's
still
pretty good for 20 words. If you'd like
to do the same for yourself, read
on.
But
first, let me say a word or two on the subject of goldmines.
I
want you to imagine, just for a moment, that you are prospecting for gold in
the
Californian gold rush of the nineteenth century. I want you to imagine that
you've
actually found a piece of ground beneath which is a rich lode of the
precious
metal. Naturally, you stake your claim
immediately. This means that
only
you can enjoy the profits yielded by mining the gold beneath that piece of
ground. If anyone else attempts to do so, he is
acting illegally.
What's
all this got to do with writing classified ads?
Well, the ad I'm going to
tell
you about is a gold mine. The writer has
staked a claim on it - and owns
the
copyright on that particular set of words.
So, if you're tempted to use this
ad
yourself - don't! Someone else got there
first.
Actually,
it's well known in mail order circles that copying someone else's
advertisement
never works well. Your own success will
come when you hit on a
winning
ad of your own composition. This section
is designed to help you do
just
that.
A
SCAM FOR SUCCESS
No,
I'm not suggesting you get involved in confidence tricks. SCAM is a
mnemonic
- something to help you remember the keys to writing good lineage
ads.
Here's what you must do:
SELECT YOUR MARKET.
CAPTURE THE READER'S INTEREST.
AWAKEN HIS DESIRE.
MAKE HIM TAKE ACTION.
If
you can do all these things with one sentence, so much the better. When
you're
paying so much a word, or so much a line, the shorter the ad the better
-
provided it produces the result's you're looking for.
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