HOW TO START YOUR OWN MAILORDER BUSINESS The mailorder business can be a very lucrative business. However, it does take persistence and it definitely does not happen overnight, as some would have you believe in their advertisements. It also isn't as difficult as others portray. Hopefully, after reading this introduction to mailorder and analyzing the inexpensive offers contained within, you will be able to begin your successful start toward financial independence. WHAT SELLS BEST? One of the safest and easiest products to sell by mail is information. It is probably the best product for a beginner to start merchandising. At the same time, there are many people who earn their entire income from this type of product. Informational books and reports are always in demand. They are timeless. They can't be damaged in the mails, and there are few returns, if you are marketing useful information. CHECK OUT THE COMPETITION Take a look through any classified section in an opportunity type magazine or a national tabloid. In fact, look at almost any magazine that offers a classified ad section. Even go back several years. Many ads will be selling informational reports and booklets for $1.00 to $5.00. Why? Because there is a constant market for them. Mailorder advertising is just about the only form of advertising that can be tracked. You will learn how to code your advertising. You will know exactly what advertising is working and what isn't. Even though this is a pre-printed booklet, whoever sent it to you will know exactly which of their ads you responded to. They probably had several slightly different ads running at the same time. They will know the publication and the date. All responses are placed on a chart. They will know which ad copy and which publications are the most responsive. This is an ongoing process in the mailorder business. TEST BEFORE YOU JUMP IN Think about it. Large (non-mailorder) companies spend thousands and sometimes tens of thousands of dollars for just one display ad in a given magazine or newspaper. They have no idea whether or not a particular ad helped to sell a particular product. In mailorder, you know exactly what is working and what is not. it doesn't matter what you're selling: reports, books, gifts, gadgets, records, tapes, novelty items, etc. You should test the response to your ads in smaller and less expensive magazines before investing in large publications like House Beautiful, Income Opportunities or any of the supermarket tabloids, just to name a few. If you have an ineffective ad, you don't repeat it and you haven't lost much. With the ads that are pulling responses, you upgrade to a publication which has a larger circulation. Obviously, it will cost you more to advertise there, but you are now working with an ad that you know is effective. ADVERTISING THAT WORKS Naturally, you have to have effective sales literature and circulars along with a useful product, to eventually make the sale. The reason many people fail in this business is that they try to start at the top. There may be nothing wrong with their product or its price. They put together an ad campaign they think is good. Then they place an ad in a publication like the National Enquirer, Star, or Income Opportunities. A small, twenty to thirty word classified will cost them between $125 and $200. If their ad is successful, they're off to a good start. If it turns out to be a dud, they've lost over $100. One or two losses like that in the beginning and they quit. USE THE "LITTLE GUYS" FIRST It would be much safer to place a few variations of the same ad in much smaller and less expensive publications. When you determine which is the most effective ad, then place it with the larger publications. Another couple of points to remember: contrary to what you may be thinking, use a publication that has a sizable classified ad section. Don't be afraid of competition. In fact, look for it. If a publication has a decent sized classified ad section that usually means people are reading it. If it has only a few classified ads, you probably won't get much exposure. AIM AT THE RIGHT PEOPLE That's a general rule. There are always exceptions, and you'll have to make a few tests. Also, be sure your product is aimed at the type of readership that magazine enjoys. In other words, if you have a cookie recipe, don't advertise it in Popular Mechanics. Many products may have "general appeal". Again, use some common sense and run a few tests. There is some risk and experimentation necessary in this business. It "comes with the territory", but it can be limited. However, when you find a winning ad, it will more than make up for several losers. READ ALL ABOUT IT! In the beginning. be satisfied with small gains, Start small, test and grow. My advice is to read as much as you possible can on the subject of mailorder. A couple of excellent authors on this subject are Carl T. O'Shea and ray Thomas. They each have more than 20 years of experience selling a variety of products through the mail. They don't "just write books". You can also purchase many money making reports and booklets at reasonable prices. In many cases, you may be allowed to reprint and resell them for almost 100% profit. Use them to get your start in the mailorder business and build a mailing list for future offers. Anyone can make big money in this business if they are willing to learn, are able to be persistent, and are willing to take limited risks. There are no special skills or talents required. The potential for earning money is mind boggling. It's happening to me as I write. You'll learn something every single day in this business. Always give more than you advertise.It'll pay you dividends in the long run. ASK QUESTIONS Also, especially in the beginning, as you purchase material from other dealers, if you have questions, ask them. If your questions don't require lengthy written explanations, most dealers will be happy to answer them with your order. In addition to the written matter I've purchased, I've gained much information from other mail order dealers. As you become active in the mailorder business you will find there is a lot of buying and selling of printed matter between mailorder dealers. That is an entire market within itself. Sure -- I've made mistakes. I've wasted advertising dollars and sales literature. Not all of my ads produced orders. Some never will. Sometimes, I've advertised in the wrong publications. Many times it took several attempts to get the wording right so as to get my message across. I'll probably make more mistakes in the future. The point is: I learn from my mistakes. I never felt there was a problem with the product I was marketing. It was the manner in which I was presenting or advertising it. Even the millionaires in this business don't always have winning ad campaigns. They'll be the first to admit it. But if you test your ads in the less expensive publications first, your losses will be minimal. GIVE MORE THAN YOU OFFER Your winning ad campaigns in the higher circulation publications will more than make up for your small losing ones. Again, remember: if you always give more than what you advertise, you'll build a satisfied customer list, which will become your most important asset. As you expand your business and add new and different products, you want your customers to remember the name on your letterhead. Both Stanford Research and the Wall Street Journal have said that between 50% and 65% of all goods and services will be sold through direct market- ing methods in the 1990's. That doesn't mean just Sears and J.C. Penney. In fact, today there are literally thousands of people, each quietly earning thousands of dollars a month, from their homes. You can do it, too. In the last few minutes, I hope I've been able to give you a little insight into the potential in the mailorder business. There is no way I could explain everything. First of all, I don't claim to know everything. After all, there are literally volumes of information from which you can gain knowledge on this subject, written by persons more experienced than I. As mentioned before, Carl T. O'Shea and Ray Thomas are two excellent authors on the subject of mailorder. Melvin Powers is another, and there are many more. These people write from experience, not theory. Besides learning from my own practical experience, I am continually reading books about the mailorder business. This is a business that can be started from your home in your spare time. It can be expanded into whatever you want it to be. Very possibly, this could be your main source of income a few years from now. And a very lucrative one, at that. Now it's up to you.