40 Mail Order Success Secrets

Here are some tips to help your mail order
business be successful.24. Where to Start in Mailorder?
1. How do you develop a personal relationshipThe best way to start is to work with those who
with your customers?are already there. Obtain several small mailorder
trade magazines. Get one page ad sheets and
Successful mail order firms make every effort tovarious circulars. You can spend a small amount
personalize their mail!on BIG MAILS and be flooded with magazines,
adsheets, circulars, etc. with thousands of
2. What inspires people to buy by mail?different offers and potential opportunities. For a
dollar or two you can get listed in these various
Convenience and saving of time it would take tomedia as wanting offers and "be assured", you will
make a personal trip. Avoidance of rush hourget your money's worth!
crowds. Many find it fun to buy through the mail..
Many prefer to buy personal items, such as25. What is one of the most valuable assets for
certain kinds of books, by mail. Exclusiveness ofthe mailorder beginner?
many mail order products.
"Junk Mail". As you receive information and various
3. How do you begin with a mail order business?packets, analyze the offers and send for full
information on the ones that appeal to you. File
Check at the post office to obtain information onand keep all the information you receive by the
various permits and fees for bulk mailing and allkind of program or plan, and we don't mean to
the other services which will fit in with yourput them in "File 13". None of this "Junk Mail" is
operations. You need very little capital to begin.Junk; there is no such word in the vocabulary of
The main thing is to use impressive printedmail order dealers. It is one of their most valuable
letterheads and envelopes. Test before youassets, if properly analyzed, filed and used
splurge. Start with just a few classified ads, thenintelligently.
build your programs from there.
26. What must you do as your files accumulate, in
4. Why are most mail order ads losing money?order to succeed?
The product, the price, the media used, the timingDon't just send off for the many deals, then wait
of the ad and the right prospect are all criticaluntil you accumulate a room full of files. Time is
factors. Proper items must be selected, thosemoney. You can handle only a small percent of
that will readily sell by mail. The price must bethe programs available, so right away, jump in and
especially attractive. Ads must be simple and easy"lightly" test several of the programs that interest
to understand; attention producing with strongyou. Spend only a minimum on each plan or
eye-arresting leads. They must convinceprogram, until your tests prove out, then hit the
customers and make it easy for them to order.winners hard and fast!
All these ingredients need to be present to get
good response.27. Some great money-makers to include in your
mailorder business?
5. What moves well in mail order?
Printing and publishing... publish your own mailorder
Good novelty merchandise and scarce items.books and manuals. Manufacture your own
Books of interest to a large audience. Certainproduct in your garage or basement. Purchase
Multi-level marketing plans are good planswithyour product direct from factories at distributors
good, reasonably priced products as a base.cost. Get involved in the sale of the thousands of
However, there are a great deal more poor,How-To books and programs available. Make up
worthless, MLM programs floating around thanunique How-to-reports, stories, etc., in cartoon
there are good ones so one must be veryform. Write valuable promotion deals for the
cautious in choosing this kind of operation.millions of merchants and retailers... put it on tape.
Sell or lease your name lists. Make up your own
6. What make customers come back again andcommission circular programs and adsheets. Offer
again?big mail... Mail others commission circulars with your
own mailings. i.e. Do everything possible through
The right product with orders handled carefullythe mail that is legal until you find the right
and quickly. Satisfied customers always comeprograms to make your million.
back, even via mail.
28. How to stay ahead of the game?
7. What limits the mail order business?
You must constantly keep up with what other
There is no limit to the mailorder business if youdealers are doing! Check out the successful
are willing to learn and expand. A real good hotprograms and build your own around them. Give
item, even at a high cost can be a real winner.constant attention to your ideas. Write them
Don't let your programs just sit idle. Test... Testdown and act on the good ones. Find new
and more tests. Keep on the top of all yourproducts, develop "solid" plans around them and
activities and follow through.test them in the market place.
8. After you have been in the business a short29. How to double your earnings in mailorder?
time what can you use to build confidence?
Begin by running one or two ads in several
You can accumulate testimonials from youdifferent mailorder publications. When orders begin
customers and use them in your ads to buildcoming in take a full 50% of the profits and
customer confidence.invest them in more advertising. You must
continue to expand your advertising in order to
9. What one mistake costs the mailorder operatordouble your income.
a lot of money?
30. What is another method to double your
It is a waste of money to present establishedincome?
items that people can get most anywhere.
Multiply the number of products or services. If
10. What are the 13 most powerful words foryou are offering the right products and advertise
your ads?in the right media you can be greatly surprised by
the results. Continuous investment of profits for
Free, Rush, Limited, Guaranteed, Save, Sale, New,advertising and new items that generate orders
Get, Look, Money-making, Profits, Act, Now!are the secret if you wish to succeed in any
business and mailorder is certainly no exception.
11. How do you get income coming from every
direction?31. How do you get set up as a Co-publisher?
After you have built up your programs (Sale ofYou place your ad in a trade magazine or adsheet
merchandise, books, publication, MLM, orthat is "Co-Publishable". Send your ad and
whatever) and have a good customer list, rent orremittance to the Co-Publisher who will forward
sell the names. Offer big mails for SASE to buildthe same, along with 50% of your payment to
up and expand your name list. Mail circulars ofthe Prime Publisher. Your ad will appear in the next
others, for a fee or commission, with your ownissue and the publisher will send you full details on
Big Mails.becoming a Co-Publisher.
12. What should you know about catalog deals?32. What are the usual benefits of Co-publishing?
Stay away from catalog deals until you can checkAs a Co-Publisher, you generally get your future
them out with simple tests that prove themads placed at one-half the published rates; 50%
profitable.on commission ads you obtain; 50% for
subscriptions received; 50% on products
13. How do you realize your dreams to be aadvertised in the publications which are to be
success in the mail order business?ordered through you, the Co-Publishers, and
receive 20 to 100 or so publications for your own
Keep your mind open for new ideas and don'tmailings. You simply stamp your name and
give up. Don't throw away your dreams becauseaddress as Co-Publisher and mail them out! If the
of only a few failures. Proceed carefully; watchads don't pull, you may still come out ahead from
out for fraud and fast buck artists. Hang in thereorders which come to you as the Co-Publisher.
and you can become a great success!When you receive orders, retain 50% (or
whatever amount is the agreed commission) and
14. What is one of the most common questionsforward the balance with the order, to the Prime
asked by the would-be customer of most anyPublisher... He will take it from there... It's that
money-making, how-to, self-improvement,simple. Your own ads, of course, get full circulation
mailorder, idea, or success publication?based on the total published and distributed.
What can it do for me! With the millions of books33. How you can control the number of orders
on the market it is an difficult question, to beyou get as a Co-Publisher?
sure. It's certainly much easier to expound on the
advantages of one book over another "because itThe number of orders you receive will depend on
has more pages" or "It has a more expensivewho you mail them to. If you mail to other
cover". But those are not the answers. TheCo-publishers, orders obtained will usually be for
foundation of knowledge is learning and the bestsmall one inch ads. They will reserve expenditures
way to learn is to simplify everything possible.for large ads, until they become Co-Publishers of
Eliminate all the useless non-essentials so thethe publication themselves, thus getting their
reader is not overburdened with worthless detailadvertising at one-half rates! If your mailings are
and let them know through proper advertisingdirected to mailorder beginners, opportunity
what your publication or book can do for them!seekers, or direct to the consumer, orders you
receive will probably be for books or products
15. What are a person's two main alternatives foroffered under "Order From Co-Publisher" ads.
success or failure?
34. What must you do to get started
As chaotic conditions increase in this mad moneyeconomically and efficiently as a "top" commission
world they can crawl in the corner and let themailer?
world pass them by, or learn new methods
required to format their future wealth! Waiting forOrder a good rubber stamp... Send for some free
the day when they will have everything theycommission circulars, pay only the postage for
need will never come without know-how!these. They are available from prime source
mailorder firms... Send for some free names who
16. Whether you are in "Big Business" or justwant Big Mail... Buy a supply of envelopes and
working from your "Kitchen Table", what secretsstamps... Address the envelopes to the names
must you apply in order to find riches?wanting big mail... When you receive your circulars.
stamp your name and address in the blank space
Wealth will not materialize until you take actionprovided, put one of each type of circular in each
and generate the force needed to start theenvelope, filling to the maximum weight for each
wealth-building process. Most people are just notlevel of postage rate; mail them. When you
oriented to do anything about gaining new wealth,receive orders, take out your commission and
while others believe it would take too much offorward everything else to the Prime source... And
their time and money to follow through a projectyou are in business!
to completion. They don't realize that knowledge
is power and wealth favors the trained mind. This35. How do you make $50,000 a year by working
leaves the market place wide open for those whofrom your kitchen table 4 hours a week?
apply the proper ideas and methods. The ones
who discover the ways to exploit the future. YouThere is money in the mailorder business but not
must move ahead of the times, extend youras some advertise it. Don't believe it. You won't
knowledge and open up new avenues of personalmake $50,000 a year by working 4 hours a
growth! Expand your horizons!week. NO! It doesn't work that way! If you will
follow instructions, be happy with from $100 to
17. Who to contact pertaining to any questions$400 a week spending a few hours every night,
about the mail service?five nights a week, then you too can make
money in mail order.
Your local Postmaster or the Consumer
Advocate, U.S. Postal Service, Washington DC36. What is one of the biggest mistakes you can
20260-6320, Phone (202) 245-4514.make as a commission mailer?
18. If you suspect Misrepresentation, Mail Fraud orIt is good policy to never get your circulars, and
want to stop sexually oriented mail, who do youryour mailing list, from the same dealer.
contact?
37. How do you get started with your own
Your local Postmaster, or Chief Postal Inspector,adsheet?
U.S. Postal Service, Room 3517, Washington, DC
20260-2100, Phone (202) 245-5445.Adsheets are sometimes started by the publisher
cutting others ads from various adsheets or
19. Where to get help from problems or questionsmagazines and pasting these on their own
about unordered products or non-delivery?adsheet without cost to the advertiser. This
adsheet is then mailed to these various dealers
Consumer Inquiries, Federal Trade Commission,with an offer to re-run the ads at the published
Washington, DC 20580, Phone (202) 523-3598.rate. This is not the best method. It is better to
find publishers who will send you partial page, or
20. From whom can you get the most generalfull page ads that pay from 50% to 100%
mail order questions answered?commission. You run these ads over your name in
the first few editions of your adsheet. As paid
The local Consumer Protection Agency, or theads come in you simply replace these free
Direct Mail Marketing Association located at 6 Eastcommission ads with the paid ads. Until you get
43rd. St., New York, NY 10017, Phone (212)paid ads for your publication, you have a chance
689-4977.to make money whether you have paid
advertisers or not. Moreover, some companies will
21. Why do a great percentage of persons fail ingive you substantial discounts on their various
mail order?mailorder programs if you will run their ad in the
first edition. Thus you can make money off of
Mail order is a complex business. Every phasetheir ads and also get professionally designed
must be analyzed and tested. The right productsmailorder programs at very little cost.
must be selected, the correct type of ads placed
in the proper media and 1,001 other details38. How do you keep your Co-publishing costs to
attended to constantly. The mailorder enthusiast isZero?
led to believe they can be an overnight success
with very little work. When they find this is notThe discounts for your own ads are generally
the case they drop out before giving themselves50% with most of the mailorder publications. In
a chance to learn the right methods.return for the discount you are expected to mail
a few copies. "Piggy-back" the copies in orders
22. What is the "Inner Circle" of mail order?you fill and in your big mails, or advertise offering
them free for payment of postage. Using these
A Mailorder House is commonly defined as "Anmethods your postage cost to mail your copies
establishment conducting business by Mail". Acan be Zero!
Mailorder Dealer is simply one who sells by mail.
The circle of mail order relates to the thousands
of mailorder dealers operating throughout the
country. The "Inner Circle of Mail Order" refers to39. What colors are the most appealing to
those successful professionals who have "climbedwomen, in order of preference?
to the top" in the mail order field by long, hard
work, study, knowledge and persistence.Red, Violet, Blue, Green, Orange, White, Yellow.
23. How do you get in the "Inner Circle of40. What colors are the most appealing to men in
Mailorder"?order of preference?
As you learn and progress in the many and variedBlue, Red. Violet, Green, Orange, White, Yellow.
phases of mailorder business methods, you will
set various goals. You must continuously changeCopyright 2004 by DeAnna SpencerNote to
plans and programs to attain these goals. Unlesseditors:To show my appreciation to the editors
you are one of those fortunate few who hit itthat use my articles, I offer a free solo ad. Simply
"lucky" overnight with some special program,send an email to me by using the form on the
product, or gimmick, the best way to arrive atcontact me page on my website to tell me the
Ultimate success in mailorder is to "Dive" right intourl the article was used on or send me a copy of
the "outer fringes of the Inner Circle" and startthe ezine it was used in.DeAnna Spencer is a
"climbing". When your successes overtake andvirtual assistant that helps entrepreneurs run a
offset your failures, as you work your way up tosuccessful business by providing affordable
the "Hub of the Wheel", you will have finallyadministrative help. She also publishes a blog for
reached the Ultimate height in Mailorder... Thesmall business owners. Visit this small business
Inner Circle!resource today.