Lord-of-the-Manor-Titles (Registered Name)
Internationally available - Buy a British ...... LORDSHIP OF THE MANOR
How
will your life change........? What difference will it make if you became
a LORD OF THE MANOR ?
MAKING
MONEY FROM ONE PAGE REPORTS
Over
six years ago I wrote TWO reports. I am still selling those reports for £1 a
time and have since written many more reports which I am also making a good
profit on.
'One
Page Reports' are so good because they are so easy to produce and are easily
sold at well over TEN TIMES the cost of producing them. They are also a good
introduction to selling large and more expensive items. Another attraction that
they have is that they can be packaged together and sold as a 'package deal'
thus giving a choice of a single sale or many sales together.
It is difficult to make
advertising pay when you spend even as little as £2 on an advert if you then
only receive one reply. It isn't until you realize the FULL potential of the one
reply that you realize just how profits are made in mail order.
Say,
for example, we sell one report for just three postage stamps to pay for the
product, further sales brochures to include with the report and what remains
goes towards further advertising. We mail the product and, hopefully, the
customer is pleased with what he or she receives. They look at the brochure and
, if it is good, order more items. However, THIS time they may spend £5, £10
or even much more.
Now,
we only need ONE reply in five at £10 a time to cover the cost of advertising
FIVE times. Then the second order can go on to produce a third, fourth and even
more orders. Each one of those orders is profit. So you can see that although it
doesn't at first seem as if you are making money from advertising, it can really
lead to quite big money on a fairly regular basis.
Bigger
orders can come from reports also. A batch of 30 reports with Reproduction
Rights for just £10 sounds very good. You can list out the reports and sell
them in batches of four for £1.50 or all 30 for £10. This will give you some
small sales and also some bigger ones. If you do the photo copying yourself, or
can get it done for 5p a sheet, it will only cost a maximum of 20p for four
reports. Your profit is £1.30 on one set of four or £8.50 on all 30. To save
postage, you can copy them double sided onto A4 size 100gsm paper which is
slightly thicker.
If
you have the facilities, you can sell them even cheaper and STILL make as much
profit. Just reduce them to A5, put four on a double-sided A4 sheet and sell all
30 for about £7. You'll get more sales and approximately £6.50 profit on each
sale.
If
you make up a brochure to sell them, be sure to list ALL the names of the
reports. It looks quite impressive. Having the brochure properly typeset and
printed is very well worth considering, as it really is your 'silent salesman'.
Of
course you don't have to write your own reports, as there are already many on
sale with Reproduction Rights. However, if you do write your own, you can keep
the copyright yourself and, like me, sell it for years
TWELVE
WAYS TO CUT ADVERTISING COSTS WITHOUT LOSING RESPONSE
1.
Cut the number of words in your classified adverts. Not only will they be
cheaper but you will also find that it gives more punch.
2.
Advertise in low cost magazines. It is not always true that you get what
you pay for. Some of the smaller magazines give just as good a response as the
more expensive ones. It pays to experiment to find out which ones give you the
best results.
3.
Co-publish a few magazines. It makes sense to do this but it also makes
sense not to overdo it. It really depends on how many mailings you do per month
and how many brochures you have.
4.
Most magazines will insert three adverts at a lower cost than three
individual adverts. If not stated, ask and they usually agree.
5.
Take advantage of free advertising and also advertising for just a couple
of stamps. Results are small but the cost makes it sensible.
6.
Join clubs where they give low cost advertising, low cost mailing or
exchange mailing. You may find your results are not worth it. Don't expect more
than a half per cent result from other people's mailings and only then, that is
selling something at a very low cost or even giving it away free. If you can
make it pay, it is well worth it.
7.
Keep responses high by only advertising good for under £1, free, or for
one or two postage stamps. It will make your response rate much better. To make
money, you need a good follow up procedure.
8.
Rather than mail out one hundred brochures, which will cost a lot for
printing, mailing, and buying mailing lists and not forgetting time, why not put
a full page advert in a magazine? If it costs you £20 for a 2,000-circulation
magazine, it is still cheaper and you can find magazines that do it for less
than that.
9.
Keep records of all your advertising results including date, order or
inquiry, what sent in return, where it came from and how payment was made. You
are sure to find them quite revealing.
10.
If you expect people to pay out £15 or £20 each time you mail them, then you
must expect your return rate to be low. If you want your response to increase,
use your brochures to sell things for £5 or under. Not only will your response
rate be higher, you will also get people to improve what you sell in many ways.
11.
Better copies, card covers, add an extra report. It costs hardly any more to
have neat, good quality products. The advantage to you is that people are more
likely to buy again if they get their money's worth. If they only get tatty bits
of paper, they are highly unlikely to buy from you again.
12.
Become expert at one part of mail order. Mailing, printing, duplicating, mailing
lists etc. Use what you can do best to get other things done for nothing. If you
print - print for others if they mail yours. If you mail - exchange mailing for
printing. You can get many things cheaper this way.
HOW
TO MAKE YOUR BUSINESS GROW FASTER
Always
give customers encouragement to order early. Potential customers will often
intend to buy and then put it aside to send off later. Of course, they forget
all about it. If you give the sort of inducement like 'Reply within 10 days and
buy for £2 less' or 'Order within 10 days and get an extra report for free',
people who like your advert are liable to send off immediately instead of
waiting. So you have given a double incentive to buy.
1.
They will get it cheaper or get something extra.
2.
They won't put off ordering because they don't want to miss out on the
extras.
Keep
improving your advertisements and brochures even when they are doing well.
A
slight change, just a few words can mean all the difference of just one extra
reply. That extra reply can be the deciding factor between gain and loss.
Always
put a sales letter with your brochure, it makes all the difference. I prefer to
make it a hand written letter. I find that even a copied hand written letter is
read where a typed or printed letter is ignored.
Write
and design your own brochures, leaflets and flyers. You won't get such good
results if you keep sending out brochures that potential customers have seen a
dozen times before. Make yours different so that people get a fresh look at it.
Keep re-writing and designing it until it really sells.
Vary
the offers in your package to get the right combination and the right amount.
Keep records of what you send so that you can find the best combination.
Add
a 'leader' to your brochures. A 'leader' is a piece of paper (usually coloured)
that is stapled or stuck on the top left hand corner. It makes an attractive
comment about the article being sold.
Fill
in the order form for the customer. People are basically lazy. Filling the form
in will get half the work done for them. Alternatively, design the order form so
all they have to do is enter their name and date. An addressed envelope also
helps - a pre-paid one even more so, BUT only if the response ratio justifies
the cost.
Get
other people to advertise for you. Use 50% commission brochures but offer fifty
more for every sale.
You
can buy postage stamps legally at a discount. Most Stamp Dealers have been
checked by the Police recently so any stamps that they may wish to sell are
unlikely to be illegal. You can also buy envelopes ready stamped which also
saves money on envelops.
Get
commission brochures that are only printed on one side and have your
advertisement printed on the back. Saves on the cost of paper.
HOW
TO KEEP INCREASING YOUR MAIL ORDER PROFITS
One
thing more than any other goes towards making bigger profits than anything else.
That is 'keeping and using results from records'. How many dealers spend
hundreds of pounds joining clubs, MLM's and using commission circulars yet never
find the answer to making profits? After six months or a year, they give up. If
only they had kept proper records, the few sales they had made would have led
them to finding out how they had made those sales and so enabled them to repeat
them.
There
is no doubt at all that certain brochures and certain adverts DO bring in more
replies than others. Even more important is that some sales produce follow-up
sales whilst others don't. Keeping records is so simple and so cheap that no one
can be excused for not doing it. All that is needed is some cards, index cards
and a box to keep them in. Details on the cards are very simple. You must have
the name and address of the buyer, what they bought, and date bought, what was
sent in return, where the sale originated from, how much was spent and in what
way the money was paid.
My
cards are made out like this:
Name
(surname first)
Year
Address
Post
code
Telephone number
Fax number
Order
or enquiry (O or E)
Date
What
was ordered or enquired about
What
was sent in return (Item ordered, any extras etc)
Where
originated from (magazine, own mail etc)
Amount
paid and whether cheque. P.O. or cash
This
is all there is to it. The cards are then filed alphabetically. If another sale
is made, the same information can be abbreviated e.g. Date, Order, What ordered
etc. After the first time, it only takes up two lines as the address is not
needed and neither is too much description. After a few months, even if only
about ten replies have been received, you can remove the cards and go through
them for any pattern emerging.
Mark
down on a sheet of paper what was bought and where bought from. You are sure to
find a certain pattern. They will not only tell you what sells best and what is
the best place to advertise but also what creates the best follow-up and what
should be included in your follow-up. From this information, you can alter your
mailing and advertising to create greater profits for yourself in the future.
I
know that many dealers think that there is enough paperwork in mail order and
this is a bit of writing that can be avoided. Some also believe that they can do
the same thing from memory. However, from my experience, keeping and sorting
records has been one of my greatest steps to advancement and earnings in mail
order. I don't see how the information resulting from it can be obtained in any
other way.
This
information is supplied by courtesy of:
www.Lord-of-the-Manor-Titles.co.uk
Copyright © 2008 Majestic Homes Ltd. No part of this website may be copied, by any means without the express written permission of the said company.
HOT
TIPS FOR MAIL ORDER DEALERS
Advertise
a number of reports in one large advert selling five or six reports for £3.
This will bring you in more orders and open the way for more repeat sales
Make
your sales brochures the best you have ever seen. As well as the words,
concentrate on the layout, graphics, general attractiveness and ease of reading
Keep
mailing to old customers for six months so that you build up a really big
customer bank.
Keep
detailed records of advertising and follow-up results. Use them to find your
best adverts, magazines, brochures and generally your best approach.
Use
FREE advertising wherever possible. It is sometimes offered with new magazines
or there are some ad-sheets that give free advertising.
Take
advantage of 'discount' advertising. Sometimes, magazines give three adverts for
the price of two. Watch out for 'Special offers'.
If
you are having your brochures printed, print your advert up the side of the
brochure as well. Even if you only get ONE reply in a thousand, it is well worth
it.
Don't
confuse people in your advertising by selling more than one offer. Use more
space if you want to offer more.
Use
short sentences and paragraphs. It makes words sound more dramatic.
Study
other people's adverts - especially those that run year after year.
Use
words that 'pull' such as Free, New, Special Offer, Discount. You need to catch
the eye before you can sell.
Co-publish
magazines and ad-sheets to make up your 'Big Mails' and get free or low cost
advertising.
More
expensive advertising can sometimes work out cheaper because the CIRCULATION is
that much greater. However, lower circulation magazines can often give better
results. Judge on 'results' rather than price.
Advertise
as you mail. Put your BEST advert on the envelope. This will cost nothing extra
and the few results you get will be a bonus.
If
others mail for you, reduce your A4 adverts to A5. You can get four adverts on
one sheet of A4 paper and increase the circulation.
Don't
put too many brochures in your envelope nor too few either. If you put too much
in, people just don't reply because they are confused as to WHAT is best. Just
one in an envelope is equally silly because those who aren't interested in what
you are selling will have nothing else to attract their attention.
MAIL
ORDER AND THE CUSTOMERS POINT OF VIEW
How
many people start in mail order with the view, 'I want to make money'.This
product is sold by others so I will sell the same thing and ALSO make money?
Of
course it doesn't work. Why not? Because you are not giving the customer what
they want. In fact, you haven't even considered the customer at all.
To
find out what the customer REALLY wants, you must impartially study yourself as
a customer. If you then apply this study to your product, and the way you
present it, you will have a far greater chance of success.
Looking
at myself for example, only last week I started shopping at a different DIY
store. Why did I? What was my motivation? Will I continue to do so? If so, why?
I started because I thought that it might be cheaper but when I went there, I
found that it was far more friendly, better display of goods, easier to get
assistance yet it wasn't any more expensive than where I used to shop.
What
observations have I made regarding mail order?
Probably
the most important is that I personally need to see an advert three or four
times before I am likely to respond to it. I find most other people do the same.
When I receive mail through the letter-box, I find that a short hand written
letter gets read. In fact, I find it almost impossible NOT to read it. A
type-set or word processed letter doesn't stand much chance - especially if it
is long. I may read the first line but if it is obviously selling, I will
usually bin it within five or six seconds. The same goes for brochures. Layout
is more important than words although I am not saying that words are of no
consequence as they obviously are. If the layout LOOKS like a lot of reading,
then it goes straight in the bin. If it looks interesting and easy to raed, it
stands a far better chance of getting read.
A
few years ago, I went through about five hundred brochures to find out what
attracted me the most. I ended up with two brochures that seemed to attract me
more than any others and was very suprised to find that they were both exactly
the same layout.
What
makes me buy from one dealer again and again?
Price
matters as too does the quality of the goods but are they REALLY what is the
most important?
Friendliness,
ease of buying, number of times I am informed, dealing with exchanges - these
ALL go towards making a sale to me.
Take
an impartial look at yourself. Study your actions and reactions. You are not
THAT much different from any of your customers. You will find that selling to
you is very complex. You demand a lot.
Isn't
it therefore only right that YOUR customers should ALSO demand a lot from you?
TEN
WAYS TO SURVIVE THE DEPRESSION & MAKE A PROFIT
1.
Only attempt to make money where you KNOW you can really make it. Don't
attempt to make money in new directions unless you can 'test the water' very
cheaply and can afford to lose the time and money that you have invested.
2.
Have a good long look at your expenses. Where can you obviously cut down?
What can you do without?
3.
Try to pay all your bills immediately. By doing this, you gain greater
peace of mind because you can always delay paying if necessary. You may need a
cushion to fall back on which you won't have if you are already paying bills at
the very last moment.
4.
Keep track of your spending and try to spend less. For example, when you
go shopping and normally spend £20, take only £19. This will FORCE you to cut
back. If you are in business, keep track of each days expenses compared with
each days takings. Never spend more than you take. Compete with yourself on the
smallest weeks expenses and largest weeks takings.
5.
Look, look, look all the time for LOWER prices on the items which you
must buy. Check the quality first; it is amazing the savings that can be made.
6.
If you have the time but little money, don't spend that time brooding or
getting depressed. Read books that will uplift you. Learn more on the subjects
that could help you make more money and plan your way to more money. Keep
active. You won't get anywhere if you don't.
7.
If you don't have time, it is still important to keep your spirits high.
Record some lifting chapters or quotes from books and play them while you are
working. Keep a note-pad handy and write down any ideas you have to improve your
situation. Try to find fifteen minutes to half an hour each day to plan your
work and make a plan for the future. This is vital as it will save you more than
the half an hour spent.
8.
Before borrowing to raise capital, look around your house and find
unwanted things that are obviously saleable. You could raise quite a few hundred
pounds this way if you are lucky.
9.
Don't go for big money fast. Only a very small minority EVER achieve it.
Aim to cut costs a little each week and increase your income a little each week.
10.
If you really need to borrow, always remember that you Must pay it back
PLUS interest. There is nothing wrong with borrowing if it is carefully planned.
Take into account your initial expenditure, advertising costs and the time it
will take before you will get paid. NEVER borrow unless you have thoroughly
tested as much as you possibly can first and even then, plan for things taking
longer than you thought as well as being much harder than you first thought.
'Slow
but sure' is a must. The good thing is that if you can survive during a
depression, you will be sure to find it easier after it.
MAKING
COMMISSION CIRCULARS PAY.
One
of the biggest mistakes that people new to mail order make is thinking that
getting commission circulars and mailing them to people on mailing lists will
pay. It doesn't. At the VERY best, you will get 4% responses but usually you
will get 1% or less.
So
how do we make commission circulars pay?
The
only way that you can make them pay by mailing them to mailing lists is to have
your OWN mailing list of people who have bought from you before. That basically
means that you have got to take a risk and lose money before you can make any.
Once you have found your own pattern of doing this, you can repeat it as many
times as you like and make as much money from it as you have time to carry out
your own plan.
I
consider that advertising in mail order magazines is the easiest, most certain
and cheapest way of building up your own list. To get results from advertising,
you need to almost GIVE something
away. You could offer a Report for just two stamps. This would cover your costs
but not your time. When you send the Report out, you include with it your
commission brochures and, if they are good, you will get a number of sales.
Another
thing worth advertising is 'Big Mails'. Make up your own Big Mail by getting
involved in as many commission circulars as you can as well as Co-Publishing a
couple of magazines which will also cut down the cost of your advertising.
Yet
another way of building up your mailing list is to mail to mailing lists or
through other mailers who can possibly do it cheaper than you can but make YOUR
offer almost a 'give-away'. You can use your brochure to get enquiries for just
a stamp or sell something very low cost that will bring in a quantity of replies
rather than large money. I don't recommend giving 'free' as in my experiments, I
have found that giving 'freebies' rarely brings follow-up sales whereas those
who give a stamp also give better follow-up results.
You
may well have realised that building-up your own mailing list is going to take
time. Most advertising in mail order magazines will only bring one, two or three
replies per issue. That is a large number of issues to get one hundred names for
your mailing list. If you have the money to invest, your best bet is to
advertise by mailing to mailing lists or through other mailers.
Once
you have compiled even a small list, you should mail to these people once a
month. It doesn't matter if you include the same items in your mailing although
do try to include at LEAST one thing that is new and different.
To
improve response, include a personal letter. I have found that a written letter
is best but you can type it. However, NEVER send a printed letter. You will
notice yourself that when YOU receive mail, YOU will read a written or typed
letter but NOT a printed one. Others are much the same as you. Your letter
should be short and point out a few advantages to be had from your products.
PERSONALISING
YOUR MAILING
A
good sales letter will be short, to the point and say for example;
'Dear
(give their name if possible),
I
have included some of my latest offers and would like to point out that you can
get reduced prices on a few of them if you answer quickly. In particular xyz is
very good and I would thoroughly recommend it. However, if you are interested in
abc, then I would recommend xyz as well. I hope you will take the trouble to
thoroughly read the information on these and others for which I very much hope
that I will hear from you again.
Yours
sincerely,
(Your
Christian name).
With
a litte thought, you can, probably come up with a much better letter than that.
Most of my letters are either personally written or written with a purpose in
mind. Therefore, it is difficult to write one that will suit ALL purposes. Once
you can write letters quickly, you will find that it is little trouble to write
a page that really WILL be read. The personal letter makes a lot of difference.
I like people who buy from me to feel that I am their friend. Once they trust
you, they will buy more from you and follow your advise and recommendations on
what is worth buying. Never try to fob someone off with something that they
obviously don't want.
The
packaging of a mailing is also very important. It doesn't , in my opinion, need
to be expensive but it DOES need to neat. I use 9"x6" white envelopes
so that all the A4 brochures can be folded in half . Each brochure should be
folded indervidually and the fold should be at the side it is opened. Letters
are usually opened from the back and for that reason, your brochure should be
arranged so that the titles are seen when withdrawing the mail so make sure that
it comes out the right way up. Your letter must be at the front. It is a good
idea to include a self-addressed envelope or a 'Freepost' one.Try to make the
whole package neat and interesting when it is opened.
Keep
records of all your sales and what you sent back in return. You will find some
brochures sell better than others. Keep them going. You will also find that some
brochures give a better follow-up response than others. They may not bring in as
much money but they are a better sale than any other. Watch for them. Records
are VITAL to the mail order dealer. Don't try to do without them. I have a
computer but I still find it easier
to keep my records in a filing box so don't think that you are at a disadvantage
if you don't have a computer. Make certain that you learn from your records.
Every six months, go through them and work out which are your best sellers,
which sales generate follow-up sales and any other patterns that may appear,
Getting
results from mail order is hard work but it can be done with little equipment
and a cost of around £20. 'Repeat Orders' is what it's all about. Be honest and
only sell the best. A good business can be built up if you take it slowly and
carefully. Plan how you are going to go about it and learn after you have done
it.
EASY
WAYS TO GET FREE ADVERTISING
Place
copies of your circular on bulletin
boards throughout your community such as in coin-operated laundries, grocery
stores, barber shops etc. Concentrate on Fridays and Saturdays when shopping
increases.
Check
with local newspapers. Before going to press, many smaller newspapers have space
left that needs filling. Your advert may just be the right size to occupy the
unfilled space and they may well agree to run your advert for free.
Place
your circulars on the windscreens of parked cars. Youngsters will be happy to do
this for a few pence. Check first with your Local Council or car park operator
to see if this is permitted as regulations do differ quite considerably from one
place to another.
Leave
sales literature on doorsteps of homes and businesses in your area. Do this on
weekends in residential areas and weekdays for businesses.
Have
your best pulling 1" and 2" adverts made onto a rubber stamp. Then
stamp it on envelopes of all your outgoing mail.
When
you have envelopes printed with your return address, have them also print your
best advert directly beneath your address. It costs nothing additional to have
this advert printed on the front of your envelopes. Check with the Post Office
before doing this as they do have certain restrictions which vary from time to
time.
Take
advantage of advertising 'specials'. Many publishers offer adverts on a three
for the price of two basis. Use the free advert and pocket the difference.
In
your adverts, always request an S.A.E. then insert some of your other offers in
the outgoing mail. This is the same as getting free advertising. Never miss an
opportunity to get your offers out to your potential customers - particularly if
you can save money at the same time.
Become
a 'Mailer'. Get your Printer's lowest price for printing circulars on both sides
of the sheet. Contact other dealers and state that you will print and mail their
circulars for this price 'with no conflicting adverts on the back'. Then print
your circulars on the reverse side and distribute them with your outgoing mail.
There is no extra cost for postage or envelopes and your side of the circular is
paid for by your customer.
Offer
free commission on circulars. Print one of your regular offers on one side, a
small commission offer on the reverse and leave space where the mailer can
rubber stamp his or her own name and address. Your offer then gets a free ride.
If
you use a postage meter machine, use the space directly to the left of the stamp
imprint for placing a small advert. This way you get a FREE message to your
potential customer.
ADVERTISMENTS
THAT SHOULD NOT BE REPLIED TO.
How
to get free advertising.
Whilst
the Heading may LOOK very tempting, the Report itself contains no more
information, once all the padding words have been stripped away, than telling
the reader to place advertisments in 'FREE ADVERT' publications and also
checking through magazines such as the Exchange and Mart for sections that are
FREE to private advertisers. It's unlikely that anyone receiving such a Report
will be very impressed.
How
to get free artwork.
Again,
the Heading looks very tempting but one would have to have a very low standard
of ethics to consider such a scheme. There isn't anything clever in telling
someone to take their draft artwork to a print-shop for a 'quotation' and then
asking for the proof for checking before going ahead with the order. The proofs
are rarely crossed 'sample' and usually of a good enough quality to permit
photocopying. Paying good money for such a report isn't going to bring 'friends'
or repeat orders.
How
to get free business opportunity magazines.
This
report advises that once the magazine (or magazines) of your choice has been
selected, write to the publishers Mailing List department to ask for their
latest price list. The Circulation department of the magazine wil automatically
be given your name and address to then forward you a sample copy
of the magazine in the hope that you will subscribe. By writing each
month using a different names and addresses, the magazine publisher will be none
the wiser. Alternatively, by using different names and addresses each month,
simply write to the magazine under the pretext of considering subscribing and
wanting a back copy for perusal - you will inevitably be sent the latest
edition. It's hard to see that such hassle would be worth the amount of saved
subscriptions BUT - there is no doubt that the information does balance with the
report's title.
Summary.
Reports
with such eye-catching titles as the above ones will easily attract large
numbers of unsuspecting buyers but I am of the opinion that if someone is
prepared to stoop to such low levels of ethics then 'self respect' can have no
meaning to such people. I would
strongly advise that such reports should NOT be purchased nor sold on grounds of
ethics and also as there is always the possibility that some dissatisfied
'crusader' could take legal action as a point of principle.
Warning.
This
information has been provided on the strict understanding that it is for
'information only' and NOT to be acted on.
THINKING
YOUR WAY TO RICHES
It
sounds daft to say that the way you think can make you either rich or poor yet,
to a very large degree, it is perfectly true.
'Aim
for the stars and reach for the rooftops' is just one commonly voiced saying
that almost sums up the right attitude.
I
am sure that 90% of people live just beyond their means. It doesn't matter what
they earn, they always need just that little bit extra. It amazes me that a
person who only has themselvs to cater for is just as badly off as some friends
down the road to me who need £800 per month for a mortgage AND they have three
children.
In
building up my business, I used psychological stepping stones.
I
knew that I couldn't make the business work in just one year so I set myself
specific aims. To start with, it was just a matter of getting work so I aimed to
do just that. I realised that my redundancy money wouldn't last forever so I
aimed to get enough work to make at least half a weeks wage. I managed to do
that for a few months so I steeped up the amount that I needed.
By
gradually enlarging the amount that I needed, I stepped up my takings in little
bursts.
A
few mistakes made me realise that just earning enough to live on wasn't anywhere
near enough. So, in my private accounts, I put in extra payments that didn't
really exist. The idea was to con myself into believing that I needed more than
I really did. It worked.
Although
I knew that I had more money than I really did have, I still had that sense of
urgency to find even more.
Another
little psychological trick which I found extremely helpful was to pay all my
bills as soon as possible. This meant that when I was in any financial trouble,
I could always leave a bill a little longer before paying it.
Earning
more money is not the only way to become richer. Another way is to spend LESS.
Living within your means is just the same as being rich. Always wanting more and
more only leads to misery.
It
seems to be human nature to always want to work less, have less problems and
have more money. It is only a little twist of the mind that can help us to want
to work just a little more, handle just a few more problems and accept that we
have enough money.
If
you can develope that attitude, then you are RICH.
Working
with the right attitude is very rewarding. Problems are a part of everyday life
and finding answers is very satisfying. Except in a very few circumstances,
living within your means isn't really as hard as many people make out and it
certainly leads to greater peace of mind.
TEN
BIG SECRETS OF SUCCESS IN ADVERTISING
I
have always considered that learning any subject is really the learning of
secrets. Well, they aren't REALLY secrets but they are rules that contain a main
basis or subject.
Consider
spelling. To know the rule, 'I before E except after C' tells you how to spell
more words than learning that ceiling is spelt as I have just spelt it.
Learning
mail order is no different from learning any other subject. Certain rules or
'secrets' will bring you more success than experimenting your newest ideas. I am
about to outline some of the secrets which, after many years in mail order, I
have learnt about advertising. I must point out though that these secrets will
not really be known to you until you have actually PROVED them to be right for
yourself.
1.
One order from one small advert in a mail order magazine is about normal.
Two is good and three is excellent.
It isn't really the number of replies that is important so much sas what to do
with the replies.
2.
Never try to sell anything in a small advert in a mail order magazine for
over £1. Anything advertisied for over £1 will normally (not always) receive
no replies at all.
3.
You will rarely ever make a profit from a small advert. It is the
FOLLOW-UP that makes the profit.
4.
Advertising something FREE will bring most replies but asking for one or
two stamps will bring the best results. In my experience, I have proved that
this is true no matter WHAT other articles may say.
5.
Always give more than the customer actually expects to receive as this
creates a good position to follow up from.
6.
Try to make the wording of your advert leave the potential customer
wanting to know more. e.g. The above title left YOU wanting to know 'The Ten Big
Secrets' - didn't it?
7.
Aim your advert to the reader. Readers of mail order magazines are mainly
mail order dealers and NOT Opportunity Seekers although there may well be some
others.
8.
Always put a personal hand written letter in your follow-up unless of
course your handwriting is on the down side.
9.
I have never found that MORE words mean MORE success although more words
can be used to advertise more than one thing which can bring in more money from
the advert itself but it does not increase the overall number of replies.
10.
Rules can be broken BUT it is a good idea to stick to rules in the main until
you really know how to break them.
HOW
TO CREATE YOUR OWN CIRCULARS
Very
effective circulars can be created using a very minimum of equipment. A
typewriter or word processor, some large rub down transfer letters such as 'Letraset'
and imagination.
The
reason why so many homemade circulars look so un-professional is due maily to
two things. Lack of writing ability and not enough knowledge of layout.
Writing
can be improved by taking longer over producing the script and splitting it into
manageable parts. Successful circulars are not written in an evening. They
usually take weeks of alteration and improvement. Consider first the ideas that
should go into the message. List your basic ideas and try looking at them from
the customers point of view. List more ideas than you need.
Once
you have your ideas, pick out the best and put them into the order which you
want to write them. Writing will now be much easier and far more effective. Put
it aside and the next day, try to improve on it. Alter words, paragraphs and
sentances if need be. You may even want to cut some out or add to it. Do this
about three or four times until you have something that makes sense and has some
real 'pull' to it.
Spend
some time on creating the right headline to your brochure. These are the most
important words as they will be read first and make the potential customer
decide whether to read on or not.
Just
typeing the words and adding a large heading is all that is needed although it
will look poor if it is done poorly so be sure to get a new quality ribbon for
your typewriter/word processor and take your time producing it.
If
you want to do 'paste-up', only glue them in place AFTER you are fully satisfied
with their positioning. To stop the edges creating a line on the photocopier,
turn the paper over and run something fairly sharp or pointed along the edge of
the new piece so that the origional sheet is brought level with the new one. A
paper knife is usually ideal for the job.
If
you want to add pictures to your circular, this can be done by using 'clip-art'
books. The pictures in these books are 'copyright free' so you can photocopy
them and paste them where you want.
To improve the pictures, it sometime helps to go over some of the areas with a
felt tip pen to bring out the blackness. Graphics are very good at drawing
attention to your circular and arousing interest in it. If possible, try to use
graphics that bare some relation to your message or product.
If
you want to know more about creating better circulars, the guide 'Beyond Basic
Brochures' goes into details of layout, writing, ways to bring in more sales and
much more. It also gives examples of successful brochures and points out reasons
for their success. Further details of this guide are available from any
'Exchange Mailers and Remailers Club' member.
THE
TWO HOTTEST "USED" PRODUCTS TO SELL.
An
easy business to get into is selling used products. Many things, from books to furniture, are commonly sold when
used. However, there are two
products which are exploding into the "used" market. These are Compact Disks and Video Game Cartridges.
Compact
Disks (CDs) have almost totally replaced records and tapes as the most popular
way to listen to music. They have
all the advantages: they provide
the highest quality sound, and won't wear out, like records and tapes will. The
only disadvantage is the price. CDs
retail for around £9 to £12, depending upon the local competition.
The fact that they won't wear out, though, makes them ideal for the used
market. People frequently buy CDs
and either don't like them, or get tired of them. What you can do is buy them
for resale. Advertise in a
classified ad that you will buy CDs for £2 to £4.
Pay the higher price for the more popular and newer CDs.
Be sure the booklet insert that came with the CD is included, and the CD
is relatively free of scratches. You
can then easily resell them for £3.50 to £7.50.
Selling used CDs can be done by mail, or in a retail store.
In my city, there is a store that sells ONLY used CDs, and they are
ALWAYS packed full of buying customers. If
they can do it, so can you!
Along
the same lines, Video Game Cartridges are a goldmine. New games for the Nintendo and Sega systems go for up to £40!
Yet, people buy a game and get tired of it, or figure it out.
Offer them £3 to £12 for their old games, depending upon the popularity
of the games they want to sell. You
can then resell them for £6 to £20. Make
sure the instruction booklet is included with the cartridge.
Both
CDs and Video Game Cartridges take up little room, and can easily double your
investment upon sale. Ideally, you
should handle both, so you can expand your potential markets.
THE
RUBBER STAMP BUSINESS
Rubber
stamps are one of the necessities of a mail order business.
You need to have at least a rubber stamp with your name and address on
it, not only for envelopes, but also for commission circulars and ad sheets that
you co-publish. Other rubber stamps
you may want to have on hand are ones that say, in large block letters, things
like "SPECIAL!!!," "ORDER NOW!," etc. If you read ad sheet and mail order publications, you may see
dealers selling rubber stamps. How
are they doing this?
There
are three ways to sell rubber stamps. The
first, and easiest, is to act as a broker for a rubber stamp producer.
This is similar to being a printing broker, outlined in an earlier report
in this series. Contact a stamp
maker in your area, and outline your plans for selling rubber stamps by mail.
Explain that this will add business for him that he wouldn't otherwise get. The
stamp maker should offer a commission to you (or free stamps) for taking orders.
Then, advertise your stamp-making business in ad sheets and other
publications that mail-order dealers regularly read.
When you receive an order, take your commission off the top and forward
the rest with the order to the stamp maker.
The
second way is to produce the stamps yourself.
This is something you can set up in your basement or a spare room. Spread
the word around the printers in your area that you are looking for used rubber
stamp making equipment. If you can,
find someone who is currently in the business who is thinking of getting out.
Learn the process from them, and you can probably get good terms on the
equipment.
The
third way can be done if you have a computer and laser printer, or access to
one. There is a company called
Grantham's Polly Stamp (418 Central Avenue, East Grand Forks, MN
56721 218-773-0331) that
sells a machine called the Polly-Stamp.
This machine makes rubber stamps from your laser printed artwork.
Anything you can print on your laser printer can be made into a stamp in
20 minutes. It uses a light
sensitive rubber-like liquid resin and is very easy to use.
A new unit costs $1095, but you can get a good refurbished unit for under
$500.
Rubber
stamps are a vital tool for mail order dealers. If you offer this service, you will greatly expand your
customer base. Be sure to send your
latest and best offers with the customer's stamp, and you'll get even more
orders.
SELLING
CLIP ARTS
Have
you ever seen an ad in a publication that was just text?
Just a big block of words. I'm
sure you have, and wasn't it boring? If
you're scanning quickly through ad sheets, your eye won't stop at a block of
grey text. It'll skip right over.
To make your ad interesting
and eye-catching use ready-made graphics called
CLIP ART.
Clip-Arts
are ready-to-use pictures, borders, headlines and other little pieces of art,
printed in groups on a page, that you can clip out and use in your ads and
publications. Clip art can be found
at office supply stores, and from mail order dealers. Here's how you can get into the business of selling clip art.
First,
you need a source of clip art. If
you, or a friend, are artistically inclined, draw your own.
Don't worry about having to draw it small enough, you can reduce whatever
you've drawn with a photocopier. It's
a good idea to make your art relatively free of small details, since they'll get
lost when you photocopy the picture. Draw
items that would be useful in mail order ads (business related pictures, money,
mail, etc.). Then, reduce them and
assemble them on one page. You now
have a product you can sell!
Another
source of clip art is other dealers. Many
dealers sell copyright-free clip art packages that you can resell, either for
100% profit or for a commission. The
only drawback is it will be the same clip art that others are selling.
That's OK, though, if you make sure to advertise it in places where other
dealers aren't.
Finally,
if you own a computer, you have a wealth of clip art at your fingertips.
Many graphics and sign-making software packages allow you to create your
own graphics. These can be printed out and used as clip arts.
A laser printer will produce the best, professional quality clip art
you'll ever see.
HOW
TO MAKE MONEY AS A PARTY PLANNER
Let's
Plan A Party! "MAGIC" is
the buzz word that usually describes what this business offers.
No - the Party Planning business we're talking about has very little to
do with Goof-Doop The Clown or serving cake and ice cream to 6-year old kids.
CORPORATE
SCENE