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134 Mailorder Success Secrets!

How to develop a personal relationship with your customers?
Successful mail order firms make every effort to personalize their mail!
What inspires people to buy by mail?
Convenience and saving of time it would take to make a personal trip. Avoidance of rush hour crowds. Many find it fun to buy through the mail. Quite often mail order products have a price advantage. Curiosity is a big motive. Many prefer to buy personal items, such as certain kinds of books, by mail. Exclusiveness of many mail order products.
How do you begin with a mail order business?
Check at the post office to obtain information on various permits and fees for bulk mailing and all the other services which will fit in with your operations. You need very little capital to begin. The main thing is to use impressive printed letterheads and envelopes. Test before you splurge. Start with just a few classified ads, then build your programs from there. It's not the money but the thoughtfulness with which it is used that is the deciding factor between success and failure in the mailorder business.
Why are most mail order ads losing money?
The product, the price, the media used, the timing of the ad and the right prospect are all critical factors. Proper items must be selected, those that will readily sell by mail. The price must be especially attractive. Ads must be simple and easy to understand; attention producing with strong eye-arresting leads. They must convince customers and make it easy for them to order. All these ingredients need to be present to get good response.
What moves well in mail order?
Good novelty merchandise and scarce items. Books of interest to a large audience. Certain Multi-level marketing plans with good, reasonably priced products as a base. However, there are a great deal more poor, worthless, MLM programs floating around than there are good ones so one must be very cautious in choosing this kind of operation.
What make customers come back again and again?
The right product with orders handled carefully and quickly. Satisfied customers always come back, even via mail.
What limits the mail order business?
There is no limit to the mailorder business if you are willing to learn and expand. A real good hot item, even at a high cost can be a real winner. Don't let your programs just sit idle. Test... Test and more tests. Keep on the top of all your activities and follow through.
After you have been in the business a short time what can you use to build confidence?
You can accumulate testimonials from you customers and use them in your ads to build customer confidence.
What one mistake costs the mailorder operator a lot of money?
It is a waste of money to present established items that people can get most anywhere.
What are the 13 most powerful words for your ads?
Free, Rush, Limited, Guaranteed, Save, Sale, New, Get, Look, Money-making, Profits, Act, Now!
How do you get income coming from every direction?
After you have built up your programs (Sale of merchandise, books, publication, MLM, or whatever) and have a good customer list, rent or sell the names. Offer big mails for SASE to build up and expand your name list. Mail circulars of others, for a fee or commission, with your own Big Mails.
What should you know about catalog deals?
Stay away from catalog deals until you can check them out with simple tests that prove them profitable.
How do you realize your dreams to be a success in the mail order business?
Keep your mind open for new ideas and don't give up. Don't throw away your dreams because of only a few failures. Proceed carefully; watch out for fraud and fast buck artists. Hang in there and you can become a great success!
What is one of the most common questions asked by the would-be customer of most any money-making, how-to, self-improvement, mailorder, idea, or success publication?
What can it do for me! With the millions of books on the market it is an difficult question, to be sure. It's certainly much easier to expound on the advantages of one book over another "because it has more pages" or "It has a more expensive cover". But those are not the answers. The foundation of knowledge is learning and the best way to learn is to simplify everything possible. Eliminate all the useless non-essentials so the reader is not overburdened with worthless detail and let them know through proper advertising what your publication or book can do for them!
What are a person's two main alternatives for success or failure?
As chaotic conditions increase in this mad money world they can crawl in the corner and let the world pass them by, or learn new methods required to format their future wealth! Waiting for the day when they will have everything they need will never come without know-how!
Whether you are in "Big Business" or just working from your "Kitchen Table", what secrets must you apply in order to find riches?
Wealth will not materialize until you take action and generate the force needed to start the wealth-building process. Most people are just not oriented to do anything about gaining new wealth, while others believe it would take too much of their time and money to follow through a project to completion. They don't realize that knowledge is power and wealth favors the trained mind. This leaves the market place wide open for those who apply the proper ideas and methods. The ones who discover the ways to exploit the future. You must move ahead of the times, extend your knowledge and open up new avenues of personal growth! Expand your horizons!
Who to contact pertaining to any questions about the mail service?
Your local Postmaster or the Consumer Advocate, U.S. Postal Service, Washington DC 20260-6320, Phone (202) 245-4514.
If you suspect Misrepresentation, Mail Fraud or want to stop sexually oriented mail, who do your contact?
Your local Postmaster, or Chief Postal Inspector, U.S. Postal Service, Room 3517, Washington, DC 20260-2100, Phone (202) 245-5445.
Where to get help from problems or questions about unordered products or non-delivery?
Consumer Inquiries, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, DC 20580, Phone (202) 523-3598.
From whom can you get the most general mail order questions answered?
The local Consumer Protection Agency, or the Direct Mail Marketing Association located at 6 East 43rd. St., New York, NY 10017, Phone (212) 689-4977.
Why do a great percentage of persons fail in mail order?
Mail order is a complex business. Every phase must be analyzed and tested. The right products must be selected, the correct type of ads placed in the proper media and 1,001 other details attended to constantly. The mailorder enthusiast is led to believe they can be an overnight success with very little work. When they find this is not the case they drop out before giving themselves a chance to learn the right methods.
What is the "Inner Circle" of mail order?
A Mailorder House is commonly defined as "An establishment conducting business by Mail". A 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 to those successful professionals who have "climbed to the top" in the mail order field by long, hard work, study, knowledge and persistence.
How do you get in the "Inner Circle of Mailorder"?
As you learn and progress in the many and varied phases of mailorder business methods, you will set various goals. You must continuously change plans and programs to attain these goals. Unless you are one of those fortunate few who hit it "lucky" overnight with some special program, product, or gimmick, the best way to arrive at Ultimate success in mailorder is to "Dive" right into the "outer fringes of the Inner Circle" and start "climbing". When your successes overtake and offset your failures, as you work your way up to the "Hub of the Wheel", you will have finally reached the Ultimate height in Mailorder... The Inner Circle!
Where to Start in Mailorder?
The best way to start is to work with those who are already there. Obtain several small mailorder trade magazines. Get one page ad sheets and various circulars. You can spend a small amount on BIG MAILS and be flooded with magazines, adsheets, circulars, etc. with thousands of different offers and potential opportunities. For a dollar or two you can get listed in these various media as wanting offers and "be assured", you will get your money's worth!
What is one of the most valuable assets for the mailorder beginner?
"Junk Mail". As you receive information and various packets, analyze the offers and send for full information on the ones that appeal to you. File and keep all the information you receive by the kind of program or plan, and we don't mean to put them in "File 13". None of this "Junk Mail" is Junk; there is no such word in the vocabulary of mail order dealers. It is one of their most valuable assets, if properly analyzed, filed and used intelligently.
What must you do as your files accumulate, in order to succeed?
Don't just send off for the many deals, then wait until you accumulate a room full of files. Time is money. You can handle only a small percent of the programs available, so right away, jump in and "lightly" test several of the programs that interest you. Spend only a minimum on each plan or program, until your tests prove out, then hit the winners hard and fast!
Some great money-makers to include in your mailorder business?
Printing and publishing... publish your own mailorder books and manuals. Manufacture your own product in your garage or basement. Purchase your product direct from factories at distributors cost. Get involved in the sale of the thousands of How-To books and programs available. Make up unique How-to-reports, stories, etc., in cartoon form. Write valuable promotion deals for the millions of merchants and retailers... put it on tape. Sell or lease your name lists. Make up your own commission circular programs and adsheets. Offer big mail... Mail others commission circulars with your own mailings. i.e. Do everything possible through the mail that is legal until you find the right programs to make your million.
How to stay ahead of the game?
You must constantly keep up with what other dealers are doing! Check out the successful programs and build your own around them. Give constant attention to your ideas. Write them down and act on the good ones. Find new products, develop "solid" plans around them and test them in the market place.
How to double your earnings in mailorder?
Begin by running one or two ads in several different mailorder publications. When orders begin coming in take a full 50% of the profits and invest them in more advertising. You must continue to expand your advertising in order to double your income.
What is another method to double your income?
Multiply the number of products or services. If you are offering the right products and advertise in the right media you can be greatly surprised by the results. Continuous investment of profits for advertising and new items that generate orders are the secret if you wish to succeed in any business and mailorder is certainly no exception.
How do you get set up as a Co-publisher?
You place your ad in a trade magazine or adsheet that is "Co-Publishable". Send your ad and remittance to the Co-Publisher who will forward the same, along with 50% of your payment to the Prime Publisher. Your ad will appear in the next issue and the publisher will send you full details on becoming a Co-Publisher.
What are the usual benefits of Co-publishing?
As a Co-Publisher, you generally get your future ads placed at one-half the published rates; 50% on commission ads you obtain; 50% for subscriptions received; 50% on products advertised in the publications which are to be ordered through you, the Co-Publishers, and receive 20 to 100 or so publications for your own mailings. You simply stamp your name and address as Co-Publisher and mail them out! If the ads don't pull, you may still come out ahead from orders which come to you as the Co-Publisher. When you receive orders, retain 50% (or whatever amount is the agreed commission) and forward the balance with the order, to the Prime Publisher... He will take it from there... It's that simple. Your own ads, of course, get full circulation based on the total published and distributed.
How you can control the number of orders you get as a Co-Publisher?
The number of orders you receive will depend on who you mail them to. If you mail to other Co-publishers, orders obtained will usually be for small one inch ads. They will reserve expenditures for large ads, until they become Co-Publishers of the publication themselves, thus getting their advertising at one-half rates! If your mailings are directed to mailorder beginners, opportunity seekers, or direct to the consumer, orders you receive will probably be for books or products offered under "Order From Co-Publisher" ads.
What must you do to get started economically and efficiently as a "top" commission mailer?
Order a good rubber stamp... Send for some free commission circulars, pay only the postage for these. They are available from prime source mailorder firms... Send for some free names who want Big Mail... Buy a supply of envelopes and stamps... Address the envelopes to the names wanting big mail... When you receive your circulars. stamp your name and address in the blank space provided, put one of each type of circular in each envelope, filling to the maximum weight for each level of postage rate; mail them. When you receive orders, take out your commission and forward everything else to the Prime source... And you are in business!
How do you make $50,000 a year by working from your kitchen table 4 hours a week?
There is money in the mailorder business but not as some advertise it. Don't believe it. You won't make $50,000 a year by working 4 hours a week. NO! It doesn't work that way! If you will follow instructions, be happy with from $100 to $400 a week spending a few hours every night, five nights a week, then you too can make money in mail order.
What is one of the biggest mistakes you can make as a commission mailer?
It is good policy to never get your circulars, and your mailing list, from the same dealer.
How do you get started with your own adsheet?
Adsheets are sometimes started by the publisher cutting others ads from various adsheets or magazines and pasting these on their own adsheet without cost to the advertiser. This adsheet is then mailed to these various dealers with an offer to re-run the ads at the published rate. This is not the best method. It is better to find publishers who will send you partial page, or full page ads that pay from 50% to 100% commission. You run these ads over your name in the first few editions of your adsheet. As paid ads come in you simply replace these free commission ads with the paid ads. Until you get paid ads for your publication, you have a chance to make money whether you have paid advertisers or not. Moreover, some companies will give you substantial discounts on their various mailorder programs if you will run their ad in the first edition. Thus you can make money off of their ads and also get professionally designed mailorder programs at very little cost.
How do you keep your Co-publishing costs to Zero?
The discounts for your own ads are generally 50% with most of the mailorder publications. In return for the discount you are expected to mail a few copies. "Piggy-back" the copies in orders you fill and in your big mails, or advertise offering them free for payment of postage. Using these methods your postage cost to mail your copies can be Zero!
How can you get free printing?
Run an ad similar to the following in mail order magazines or adsheets:

Attention Printers!
We will mail Free all circulars you print with our ads on the back.
Our mailers distribute up to ____pieces each month, etc.
(Your name and address)

There will be a few printers who respond, but one good printer is all you need. Your circular, to be printed on the back, should pay mailers 50% commission, leaving 50% for yourself. If your circulars are receiving good response you might even sell them for $___ per thousand and make money "coming and going"!

How can you start a mailorder business when you don't have anything to sell?
Contact the various mailorder dealers until you find a number of good plans to work with. There are many good mailorder printers and dealers offering commission circulars, even on a distributorship basis whereby you have the opportunity to set up your own wholesale business using the products being offered. In this way, you can have many dealers working for you and are in effect the prime source. Some of these dealer-printers offer a "Turn-Key" business. they are the "factory to you". You get camera ready copy of the publications they offer and in some cases full reproduction rights whereby you keep all the profits. One Prime Source, Publisher-Printer, who offers such programs is Prime Publishers, 1460 Boulder Ave., Crescent City, CA 95531.
How can you make money even when your ads don't pull?
As mentioned previously as a Co-publisher you generally receive your ads at 1/2 rates. You also receive 50% commission on ads, subscriptions, etc., that are placed through you, so with the copies you receive and mail you can make money as long as you stay with top quality publications carrying many articles of interest to mailorder dealers and money-seeking enthusiasts, and which offer good products or services at reasonable prices.
What is one thing you can do to increase your Co-Publishing income substantially?
Distribute your publication or magazine to people who are likely to place ads, etc. Check for firms who advertise in one co-published magazine and not in another. Send them a copy of the magazine they are not currently using. Since the publisher' name is not printed anywhere on the magazine, the readers will have to order through you. Go through all the literature and information you receive from your various ads and contacts with a fine tooth comb. You have paid for it all and somewhere within the pages of the publications you have received you should find the good programs to fit your individual business plans.
How do you prepare camera ready paste-ups for offset printing?
Your copy should be black (or red) on white paper. This doesn't mean gray on white or black on colored paper. Use liquid paper to "blank out" dirt, smudges, or anything you don't want to appear on the printed document. Preferably use line drawings, cartoons, headlines, etc., clipped from well printed magazines, but "half-tones" pictures that have grays in them such as photos) generally do not produce well. Be certain not to use copyrighted materials.
How can you get 6,000 circulars printed and mailed free?
Locate an offset printer in your area, or a mailorder printer, who will print both sides of an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet for $25.00 per thousand. (Prime Publishers, 1460 Boulder Ave., Crescent City, CA 95531 is one such publisher - printer you can depend on. They specialize in quality printing at affordable prices for the mailorder industry. Write for free printing schedule and information on their publications and other exclusive programs). Then run an ad over your name similar to the following:

Co-op Printing (Our ad on back side)
1,000 2 1/2 x 5 1/2, only $5.00.
Send Camera ready copy to: (your name and address)

or

Circulars printed (Our ad on back side)
1,000 3x6, only $5.00.
Send Camera ready copy to: (your name and address)

Put six of your ads, free, on one side of an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet and six of those received from responses to your ads on the other side. Have them cut into six 3x6's, 1,000 each. Send 1,000 to each of your customers. You now have 6,000 of your side printed free and mailed free by your customers. (Six responses to your ad will give your $30.00. $25.00 for printing and cutting and $5.00 for mailing the circulars to your customers.) As printing and postage costs go up, adjust your price accordingly, but check with other publications and stay with the going rate.

How else can you get your circulars mailed free?
Become a supplier of commission circulars. If you don't have offers of your own the easiest way to do this is to take "all-profit" offers and have circulars printed on two sides. One side for your imprint with space on the other side for the imprint stamp of those who mail commission circulars free, which means they get a commission on the one side; or if you really want to get rolling using this method, take two "all-profit" offers, one on each side, and give the mailer 100% on one side. You still make yours from the offer on the other side. Still another way to get your literature mailed free is to include this little note at the end of all of your advertising... "Stamp Appreciated"!
How can you mail 1,000 Big Mails Free?
Place at least one ad each day until you are receiving an average of 34 requests at day or 1,000 each month. Your ad will read as follows:

How to mail 1,000 big mails free!
Complete plan 50 cents. (your name and address)

The 50 cent plan weighs less than 1/10th of an ounce and it can be included in your big mail without additional postage. The main point is that ads selling the 50 cent plan will usually pull many more orders than just "Big Mail 50 cents". And what is the 50 cent plan we are referring to? It's the one you are reading right now!

How can you sell a page from your old telephone book for 50 cents?
Run the following ad over your name and fill the order yourself with your telephone book:

A page from my telephone book with names & addresses, 50 cents!

Where can you get 1" all profit ads and the information they sell?
Send a buck to Prime Publishers, 1460 Boulder Ave., Crescent City, CA 95531, and ask for their "16 All-Profit Ads And Their Information Sheet". (Also Prime Publishers will prepay 100 of these sheets to you for $4.00. There will be one of their non-conflicting ads on the back side.)
How can you get swamped with orders for your Big Mail?
Purchase 100 of the information sheets, mentioned above, then run the following ad over your name and address:

16 all-profit ads free with my big mail. Rush this ad and $1.00.

Where can you get Free information for mail order programs that don't cost an arm and a leg?
There are many good dealers offering programs and plans of every variety. You can find them in any of the various mailorder magazines and publications. As a courtesy and to make certain you will receive their information, enclose a stamped envelope with your return address affixed (SASE). Prime Publishers (see address above) is one such publisher-printer, offering free information on various programs they have available.
How can you get free postage for life?
Whenever you advertise a good pulling mail order plan or program, at the end of the Ad put: Rush $1.00 and one or two first class stamps."
What is a good way to shrink your printing costs?
When possible, without destroying the effect of the message in your ads, circulars, adsheets, etc., have your printer shrink the material so it will fit on a smaller space.
How can you get set up as a circular mailer earning commissions?
There are many mailorder publications that will list your name under this directory... "Commission Circulars Wanted". List your name under this classification and dealers will mail bundles of circulars to you with a blank space at the bottom of the ad in which you stamp your name. You mail these out and the ads "appear" to be your own. Next, you can also run ads in different magazines saying that you mail circulars for others. Always mention in your ads that you mail commission circulars free!
How can you graduate from a part-time mailer to a full time money-maker?
The best plan to follow is to keep growing. Run an ad every chance you get. Take on new commission circulars, test them keep the ones that pull, omit the ones that don't. Before you realize it you can be working full-time making good money.
How to make money without ever seeing the product you are selling?
Many offers you will receive will be opportunities to sell information, merchandise or services for other dealers on a commission basis. You may be asked to buy the merchandise them resell to your customers at a higher price. You may offer the item and have it shipped from the supplier or factory direct to your customers. This method is known as Drop-shipping. You carry no inventory and merely act as "Middleman" between your supplier and your customer. Upon receiving orders, retain your commission, type or print your customer's name and address on your shipping label, with the product properly identified. Mail the label and/or order together with the balance of the remittance to your supplier. He will ship it immediately, direct to your customer under your label. The supplier's name will not appear on the package. Thus you can sell products you have never seen.
What are 5 good mailorder projects for your own publication?
Selling information, instructions, name lists, advertising and novelty or specialty merchandise. Get prospects with classified ads and sell with display ads.
What colors are the most appealing to women, in order of preference?
Red, Violet, Blue, Green, Orange, White, Yellow.
What colors are the most appealing to men in order of preference?
Blue, Red. Violet, Green, Orange, White, Yellow.
What appeals to people universally?
Price, style, characteristics and service. Tell your prospect what the product will do for them. Let them visualize the product and feel ownership. Discard items that do not sell within a reasonable time or in sufficient quantity. Stay with light weight products that are non-breakable and easily shipped.
Where is the best place to advertise your mailorder product?
Your best advertising will be wherever competitive advertising appears on a regular basis. Check for the many magazines which carry large numbers of classifieds and space ads. Where others continuously advertise heavily for the same kind of product you are offering indicates they are getting good results and so should you. A great many of the small mailorder magazines and adsheets get good response.
How is the easiest way to write an ad for selling information?
Determine what kind of information you intend to sell by mail. Then go to the news stand and purchase magazines carrying ads selling that kind of information. Write for their free offers. Most will run ads inviting people to "write for more Free Details". Once you begin getting an influx of material, you carefully file it away and use it as a "model" for developing sales material for your own offers.
How to get free advertising?
It is possible to get free advertising if your product has a unique appeal or interest to the editor. Some magazines carry a special column of free or editorial ads and if your product deserves special interest it may be carried at no charge. There are many other ways of obtaining free advertising, detailed in various mailorder offers.
What is the simplest, yet most important thing you will need to get your mail order program off the ground?
All you really need to get started on your mail order program, product or service, is a small classified ad in the right publication for your particular offer.
If your ads aren't paying off, what is a quick way to remedy the situation?
Write an attention-getting headline... Not with phrases such as "Attention Please!" Let people know immediately just what you are selling. For example, if you have envelopes for sale at a discount, use a headline which says "Discount Envelopes!".
What is one thing included in an ad that will kill response?
Don't confuse the reader with several different offers in one small ad. Use more space if you intend to advertise several offers. If only one inch of ad space is being used, then sell only "one inch of offers".
What is the best media to use for advertising general merchandise or general services?
Just about any publication. Stamps are another category that can be advertised nationally in many different media as well as specifically in magazines and publications dealing with stamp collectors, etc.
What kind of ad gets no response?
Any ad that is not directed to the right audience. Stay with the media that is read by those who purchase the particular products or services you offer. You can spin your wheels and bury a lot of money with ads placed in publications which don't fit your offer with the readers.
What are your prospects most interested in?
The manner in which you "layout" your ads is of the greatest importance. Your prospects are not particularly interested in you, your firm, or in monotonous details. They are mainly interested in the benefits they will derive from your products or service. Therefore your headlines must promise the reader some kind of benefit with as few words as possible. Keep "talking" about the benefits, not about yourself or the product, but make it believable and keep the prospect's trust.
Where should illustrations appear in your ad?
They can be placed anywhere in the body of the ad next to the written word to which they relate. If illustrations are used at the top of the ad they should usually be placed above the headline in such a manner they will be the first part of the ad to attract the eye but will not detract from the headline that follows. Any illustration should be carefully prepared to show your product in its most attractive state, perhaps even being used by someone, but not to the extent that people dominate the situation. Photos can be used effectively.
How to write the body copy of your ad?
Write your message "person to person". Follow a pattern: Start with the opening; state the offer; give the advantages; prove your claims; urge action; and finally close to get the order. It is very important that the opening (the first sentence and first paragraph) be carefully written to retain life and action. You must grasp the attention of the reader and promise more to follow. Use "Sub-heads" to break up the heavy appearance of the body copy and invite the reader into the copy.
Where should the price appear in your ad?
When announcing price, never feature price in your ad unless it is your single most important selling point. Never put the price in the headline unless it is very startling and the biggest bargain of the century. It is generally better to bury the price in the body copy toward the end of the ad. It will be on the order form or coupon, so instead of stressing price in the main body of your ad, go back to "Benefits".
How many lines should an ad contain?
There is no set rule for the length of the copy. It will vary from one line to four pages, or even more, depending on the product or service and what is needed to do an adequate job of advertising and selling.
How to keep the attention of the reader of your ads?
You are always in danger of losing your reader at the end of each paragraph so you must keep your copy interesting and moving. Make your entire message easy for the eye to follow. Avoid reverses which detract from the main theme, or type so small one has to strain to read. Use narrow enough columns so the readers eyes can follow easily. Every word, and the placement in the sentence, is important if you are to reach prospects at a low cost per customer.
How to get your ads and circulars typeset free?
Place your ad in several of the better publications that have superior printing, clear and sharp detail; the ones that give you free typesetting services when you advertise with them. You simply clip out your ad and use it as a Camera Ready copy. Also, a 3x6 ad makes a beautiful 3x6 circular and you can have thousands of copies made from the ad once it has been typeset in an adsheet or magazine.
When should you consider preparing your own circulars?
When you have acquired an exclusive product or developed your own with sufficient Markup, then the time has come to prepare your own circulars.
How can you get others to pay a substantial portion of the costs and expenses of preparing your own circulars?
Advertise that you print and mail circulars. Print your own 50% commission ads on the back side and mail in packets of 50 to 100 to mailers who will send you postage for a free supply of commission circulars.
How to get a mail order "perpetual motion" program going?
When you make up a circular or adsheet, include one ad offering to print and mail another ad offering free commission circulars for postage or for a self addressed-stamped envelope, the more stamps or the larger the envelope, the more circulars they will get. There will still be plenty of space on the circular to offer your own product. When you send these circulars out in the right combination you may discover Perpetual Motion!
What must you do when you solicit for 3x6 or $2.00 ads, and you get little or no response?
You must be prepared to print something along with only one measly ad that may dribble in. You have advertised for and accepted you customer's money so you must print it within a reasonable time. Maintain a flexible position with all your circular and ad programs. Be prepared to vary, substitute, add, delete, change, etc.
Per request you send out good commission circulars with space for dealer stamp. Nothing happens. Why?
Generally, if a dealer or mailer pays to get your circulars they will mail them; however maybe some of them just realized that unless they mail these circulars to out of circle prospects, they may not be the ones to get the orders. After a couple of weeks of "nothing" if you start getting orders direct at the mailers price instead of retail you will know the buyer has "Gone Around" your mailer. Your printed label on the one side v/s the mailers rubber stamp on the other side has tipped off those experienced operators who the primer source is and they will try to go direct!
How are one way Co-Publishers cheated?
Some people will do just about anything for a discount. They often cut out the address of your Co-Publisher, paste it as the return address on the envelope and enclose their own ad with payment for one-half the ad rate. It is apparent your Co-Publisher "got another order" until you happen to notice your Co-Publisher resides in Florida and the envelope is "stamped" in New York! There are many little tricks that by themselves seem immaterial but when multiplied a million fold across the nation they become a matter of deep concern for all of us in mailorder.
What must be included in your direct mail packet for best results?
The direct mail packet usually consists of a "Personal" sales letter, a circular or flyer, an order form and a return envelope. It is important to lay out your entire story properly at the most reasonable mailing cost. Direct mail is an expensive method and you should test with a series of small mailings to determine the efficiency of your mailing offer before proceeding with an all out campaign.
What must be considered in comparing the results of your mailing campaigns?
You should key your mailing so you know which lists are getting the best response. This can be done by using a different department number, a different color, or different marking on the order form for each test mailed out. Compute the results as a percentage of sales dollars, or by the number of sales per number mailed. In analyzing the results you must take into account the quantity mailed, the dates comparable offers were sent out, the kind of merchandise being offered, the general area of the country and other variances in the same or different programs.
What is a short advertising method that brings maximum results?
The personal touch is very important and a well written sales letter generally draws more response than the best brochure. Direct your letter to the person and concentrate on the word "YOU"! Present the product to the prospects as if they already own it. Let them know the best points, in no uncertain terms, so they will understand fully what your product will do for them. Guarantee it! Close by telling your prospect How, When and Where to order and ask them to act right now!
What kind of mail order programs are worthless and cost you nothing but money?
They continue to come. The endless "money-making chain bonanzas"! The plans generally consist of a number of names, numbered from 1 to 3, or more, indicating what each as to sell and their address. In order to join you sent $1.00 or more, to each individual listed plus a SASE which will be returned to you with their advertised offer. Then cross off the name in the no. 1 position and re-number the list adding your name to the last position. (sound familiar?) Next you retype the list, print at least 100 copies, and mail them out. They state you could receive up to 12,000,000 requests by the time all your down line send out their 100 or so. A $1.00 program with ten names and assuming a 5% return from all mailers, you would receive $360,000, based on 60 cents profit per request. This plan may at first appear to be merely an advertising program wherein you receive full value for your money but it is just another endless illegal chain letter scheme that all of us in mailorder receive every day of the year. These kinds of propositions never produce any money anyway so why waste your time and money?
What is the big secret you need to know in order to write?
Put together the information written by others, in your own words with a different slant, in a different light, using your ideas and your natural creative ability. Write in the same language you use when you talk to a person. And the big secret of writing? Do it! Get Started ! When you have started writing, regardless of the subject matter, your creative ability, held dormant in your sub-conscious mind through the years, will take over. The more you concentrate on your ideas and the more you write, the easier it becomes.
What should you write about in order to make money in the mail order business?
Start with anything that interests you and appears to be a subject suitable for selling by mail. If you lack confidence in your ability to write, don't let it stop you. Just do it! You may surprise even yourself!
How you can save on envelopes and packaging supplies?
Use self mailers to save time and money, if the offer is compatible with this type of mailing. Messages, photos, drawings or coupons that create just enough interest for the reader to want to see what is inside can get more response if not overdone. Use post cards for answering ads and requesting information. Purchase #10 stamped envelopes from the Post Office. Buy at wholesale prices from an envelope manufacturer or distributor. Cut down card boxes to size to make your own boxes and packages. Use the services of firms who print and mail for a reasonable fee. Print your ad on one side of a sheet and commission ads, or ads of other mail order dealers on the other and let them mail for you.
How can you waste time and money trying to save on envelopes and packaging supplies?
The ways to "spin your wheels" trying to save is to dig in trash cans trying to find used envelopes of all sizes that you expect to re-use after using gummed stickers over the old address and stamps . . . Use paper sacks folded to size . . . Purchase envelopes from companies going out of business and trying to paste over or blot out their names . . . Cutting larger envelopes down to size or turning old used envelopes inside out! Since, in the mailorder business, you customers seldom see you or your headquarters, one of the most important things to retain is your "IMAGE". Don't let it go down the tube by working hard to destroy it through the use of such "Saving" methods!
What are the secrets to keep you offers out of file 13?
Mail to the right prospects. A large portion of all mail is thrown away unopened. "Junk Mail" adds to the knowledge and learning process of those in the mailorder business. However the first thing the rest of the populace looks at is the return name and address unless there is something else on the outside of the envelope that attracts their attention. When they see it's nothing to do with their business or their personal interests, it will either get just a casual glance inside, or go direct to file 13 without even being opened. If you can place an effective "teaser" on the outside of the envelope it will be the first thing they notice and will be an incentive to see what is inside. However if there is too much detail on the outside, they may think they have seen all the message so why waste their time read in the enclosures. There must be the right balance. When they do open the envelope the first thing many of them look at is the order form to determine the price and what they will get for their money. consequently it is of utmost importance that the wording and/or illustrations on the order form be properly laid out an attractive to the eye. When preparing your marketing plan and mailorder packet, spend sufficient time to work up several different, attract, but brief messages to place on the outside of the envelope. Make test and "flood the market" with the ones that pull!
What constitutes mail fraud?
When the mails are used to intentionally misrepresent a product or service it constitutes Mail Fraud. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is charged with investigating violations of the law, usually in response to consumer complaints.
How is the best way to protect yourself from mail fraud?
Recognize that it is a fraud and not become involved. This is not easy to do because of the attractive wording in the deceptive ads. Anything that sounds too good to believe is suspect. Medical formulas and gadgets that make "insane" promises are probably "insane" and you should stay away from them. Especially be cautious regarding some of the thousands of different weight loss products and overnight cures. Never purchase real property through a mailorder ad unless you or your personal representative have seen the land and it is as represented and the value is there. Don't get involved with chain letters; they are illegal and don't work anyway. Promises of huge profits without risk in commodities, stocks, oil, gold. silver or coins, through the mail or over the telephone need thorough investigation before you spend one dime. If profits promised are unrealistic or if the product or service is secondary to the franchise or distributorship, proceed with caution!
Can you make $120 mailing 120 envelopes by using the exchange mailing plan?
This plan involves having 6,000 3x6 commission circulars printed offering $1.00 items and paying 50% commission on every order received. Then mail 100 each to 60 "Exchange Mailers" in 60 envelopes marked X-100SY (which means "exchange 100, send yours). When you receive 100 circulars from each of the exchange mailers mail out one each in 60 envelopes. This way 120 envelopes mails your 6,000 circulars. If you have a good circular offering a popular seller and the exchange mailers you sent yours to are honest and dependable you should receive at least a 2% return. This is the complete plan and they say it brings you $60 profit. However, they don't tell you that this is Gross Profit before any expenses have been taken out. By the time you purchase the printing, envelopes, and stamps, your expenses will leave you little if any Net Profit! If the exchange mailers send you top pulling circulars for "fast selling products" and you receive 50% or more commission on orders from these, if you have a very minimum selling price of from $5 to $8 instead of $1.00 and if you handle your programs on a conservative basis until you have tested and proven the value of each one, you can make $120 profit by mailing 120 envelopes with an exchange mailing plan!
What must you do before you start setting up your own mail order distributorship?
Before you start recruiting associates or salespeople, prepare a realistic packet of instructional and promotional materials, including marketing plans, camera ready circulars, photos, sample ads, sales letters and stationery, order forms, and whatever else is needed to make your program a winner. Make it simple so it will fit in with other offers your distributors are involved with and can be handled efficiently with little or no additional shipping or postage costs to them.
How can you hold your distributors?
Keep in contact with them by sending out information bulletins or newsletters announcing new products and promotional data. Build a drop-ship arrangement into your programs but try to get the distributors to carry a reasonable inventory. Give them special discounts, etc., as incentives to stock more of your products.
Where can you get a list of over 30,000 different subjects, many of them free?
You can write to the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Printing Office, Washington, DC and request to be placed on their mailing list.
What is the secret of making money with "Big Mail"?
The amount of money you make with Big Mail depends primarily on how your programs are handled and on the materials you make available for the Big Mail packet. Unless you have a number of your own offers to include in the packet, to get started you may have to re-mail some of the big mail you receive from other dealers. To get the Big Mails coming in, advertise that you are a professional mailer and for a reasonable fee will mail circulars, adsheets, etc. You can stuff many offers in a packet weighing just a few ounces. A certain amount of free mailing of commission circulars may be necessary to keep you inventory of "Big Mail" sufficient to fill demand. On the outgoing side, advertise that you have thousands of offers from hundreds of different dealers available for a small fee (assuming this is fact). Include your own offers with all outgoing packets. Get 100% value for the high postage cost. Fill them right to the weight limit.
What is the "BIG MAIL RULE OF THUMB"?
If you will get back at least double your postage costs and at the same time realize reasonable side benefits without interfering with your other more productive programs, pursue it! Big Mail can be "locked in" as an integral part of your over-all mailorder business activity and add needed diversification and flexibility!
How can you make your "Big Mail" ads stand out above the rest?
Advertise in the same media used by others offering big mail but make your ads distinctively different! Offer it as "101 Idea Starters", "Your Variety Mail", "Big Opportunity Packet", etc. rather than using the over-worked phrase "Big Mail".
What must you do before wasting your time considering the marketability, consumer acceptance, or testing of a product?
To determine the feasibility of various offers and arrive at a decision as to which one to handle you must analyze every phase of each program - but first the Financial Potential must be computed. If the financial projections are unfavorable, drop it and look for something else.
What must you do to determine if an offer is any good before spending any money?
Gather together all the financial facts of each program you are considering.

The cost, size and weight of circulars to be used... Postage and mailing costs... costs of name lists, if used... Determine which media is the best for advertising the particular program and estimate the expense for various size and class of ads... Get all the information about the cost of the product, weight, shipping expense, etc. Don't forget that your time and general overhead expense must be taken into account.

What questions must be answered before taking on a new product or program?
Is it New as stated? Is it a unique, exclusive product not found on retailers' shelves across the country? Has it flooded the market? Is it a substitute for any other similar items that may have more appeal? If the answers to these questions are favorable you may then wish to obtain the product for inspection before coming to a decision.
If a product proves to be a money-maker for you what is the most important consideration for follow up?
Is it direct from the "Prime Source" (the publisher, factory or authorized factory representative) or is it from a wholesaler or middleman? If from the wholesaler or middleman, do they have exclusive distribution rights? Is the supplier substantial and dependable? When the product is a money-maker for you, whether you are getting it from the publisher, wholesaler, middleman, or factory is not the most important consideration. However you must obtain your products from the direct Prime Source at every opportunity.
When should you purchase commission circulars instead of getting them free?
When an organization sells commission circulars to supplement their program rather than offering them free to qualified commission mailers it stirs up suspicion that maybe they are only in the business of printing and selling circulars for a profit rather than their product. However if the cost of their circulars is reasonable or if you are allowed to use the services of your won printer to re-produce their circulars, then you need not be concerned about their policy on this matter. Certainly, they desire to create and distribute the best advertising they know how in order to better sell their products. However you must analyze all the details pertaining to the circulars. Will the company furnish camera ready copy your printer can use? Can you get comparable quality printed locally at a more favorable rate? Have you some other offers that could be printed on the back side, thus realizing a free ride? Is it feasible to pay other mailers to mail the circulars for you?
Should you use name lists offered by the supplier of the program you are promoting?
Again the questions flow ... What is the source of the list? Why doesn't the Prime source supplier hire a mailorder crew", use the total list and make all the sales themselves"? Does the Prime Source Supplier purchase the list from another source then sell it to you at a profit? (Unless the firm has built substantial name lists, perhaps through the sale of other related products, they must buy their names from list brokers or from their firms.) If they are buying names in large volume they are entitled to substantial discounts and may be able to resell to you at less than you could buy direct from the same broker. Is the firm selling the same name lists to hundreds, or perhaps thousands of other dealers? Even the sale to 40 or 50 dealers promoting similar product lines is often too much. It is unlikely that a substantial supplier would jeopardize the goodwill of his dealers or consumers by extensive multiple sale of name lists.
How is the best way to promote your product without delay and in great volume?
Hire a separate "Mailorder Crew". In effect that is what you are doing when you offer your product or program to dealers across the country. You have the added advantage whereby the dealers are independent contractors and as such you have no payroll taxes and payroll expense involved. Promotion and sale of your products can then be handled by experienced mailorder dealers throughout the nation.
What is the "Break-even point' formula?
Number of sales required to break even (B.E. Pt.) = *Fixed costs divided by (Selling price per unit, less **Variable cost per unit).

* Fixed costs (Direct Expenses) are those which remain relatively unchanged regardless of the number of units produced and/or sold. ** Variable costs include those costs which vary in approximate proportion to the quantity produced and/or sold.

The value of the B.E. Pt. formula is it's simplicity in determining how many units you must sell in order to break even and what the profit or loss will be for sales volume over or (under) the number of sales required to break even. It also can be used as a simple method to compute what would be the increase or decrease in profits from changes in selling price, product cost, various expenses, etc.

What is a great secret to a successful mail order book business?
The real profit in selling books by mail is by having dealers sell for you. Rather than mailing out thousands of your own mailing packets, at today's high postage cost, get hundreds of thousands mailed out through you own dealers. This can generate steady orders and profits. There are a number of Prime source mail order firms offering high quality books, reports and folios that appeal to the public. Most of these firms have simplified programs which include instructions, profit tested literature, sales letters, brochures, order forms and return envelopes that do the selling job for you. They will drop-ship your orders for books, publications, literature, brochures, etc., direct to your dealers, using your name or label. As the wholesaler, you should make every effort to purchase the publications for a minimum of four times below retail price. To find the right programs for your operation, write to a number of firms offering book selling wholesale programs. These can be found in most any of the hundreds of mailorder adsheets, magazines and publications available. Get their literature then, then order a minimum starting packet of the programs that interest you and fit in with your mailorder business schedule. Make tests to prove the value of each program. Drop those which do not prove out after you have made reasonable tests. When you find a winner, go full blast to make it pay off big.
What are the best books to sell by mail?
First, forget about fiction! Scientific, technical and textbooks are other categories to stay away from. All others have good mailorder potential. Self help and do-it-yourself books are best for newcomers. Sex books are one of the most profitable fields of selling books by mail. Repeat orders are high but so is the penalty if state or local laws are broken. Mystic and metaphysical books are more or less a specialized field and generally the demand is not large. Health and recreation books have a steady market, but they are mostly tied up by firms in the catalog business. Choose the type of books that interest you most, start out by advertising for inquiries rather than first trying to sell the books direct through the mail. Have a good direct mail packet to follow-up the inquiry.
How is a good way to sell short reports?
A number of dealers give you permission to reproduce their various short reports and the sales letters that sell them. Here are a few ways to make the most money with them: (1) Have circulars printed, listing the reports by title and price. Include a circular in all outgoing packages and letters. (2) Place small ads in mailorder trade magazines advertising them for direct sale at a specified price. (3) reproduce sales letters that sell your reports, including reproduction rights, inserting your name as the Prime Source. Mail this sales letter to your own list or to one you purchase. (4) Place small classified "inquiry" ads offering free information on the reports and send the sales letters to those inquiring. (5) Offer a single report for a reasonable price, then fill the orders with the report plus the sales letter which offers all the reports with reproduction rights included.
How is a good way to build up a list of fresh names?
Short reports on how-to subjects are generally cheap to produce. You can offer them free just to get fresh names in exchange. Have your prospects send a SASE or stamp for free copy. You can get one or two page reports printed from your local quick print shop for only 2 cents to 4 cents each, but there is not need to have a large quantity of them printed up until you see how your program is going. The firms who initially sell these reports usually offer to print them for a fee.
What are other methods used to get and sell name lists?
Advertise that you are creating a national directory of mailorder dealers and will list them upon receiving their name and address, together with a brief description of their activities. Sell the directories nationwide, offering them at half price to those listed. Advertise that for $xx, you will circulate customers' names and addresses to firms eager to send them offers and programs... Sell the names to other dealers and firms who in turn will mail out offers to them... This will save money for the person wanting the offer, supply the name list buyer with customers, and put money in your pocket from both ends. Here is another way to get name lists for nothing. An ad such as:

"Big Mail? Send 200 of your address labels and $3.00.
We will distribute to mail order dealers, wholesales, distributors, etc!"

And of course, you will be accumulating name lists from your big mail activities and from many of your other programs... The names you compile as your business progresses are very valuable. You have customers for future mailing and can also sell or rent name list of other mail order dealers. retain the original envelopes received so you will have proof of names, dates, addresses, etc.

What do you need to know about name lists you purchase?
List brokers across the nation have lists available for rent or sale, covering every imaginable classification of potential customer. You should start with only a small test list to determine if it is profitable. If tests prove out reasonably well, then order a larger number of the same list. If enough orders start pouring in to cover all your costs and show a reasonable profit, then and only then, it should be safe to multiply your earnings by going all the way with the full list. Always remember that some lists will be completely worthless for your offer. You must test each list before committing mail order "Suicide". Be certain to choose the right category of names for your particular offer.
What is this business about "All Profit Ads... You keep it all!"?
A number of mailorder dealers publish information "folios" which they will send to your customers free for a SASE. They provide the ads which you circulate over your own name, usually asking $1 or $2 retail. When you get orders you send the dealer a stamped envelope with your customer's name and address affixed. The dealer then stuffs the envelope with the order plus ads for some of their other products hoping your customer will then order something from them. You will find numerous offers of "All Profit Ads" in mot every mailorder adsheet and mailorder ad magazine. Send a SASE to the various sources for samples and full details. Be sure to give them a test before blowing your money, as most of them are good only for acquiring name lists, other mailorder contrats, general information, and for education in mail order methods... Not necessarily for direct money-making activity.
What is the $100 a day plan - plus 6 formulas?
You've seen it... The following ad is circulated: "Make $100 a day! How would you like to receive 100 letters every day, each containing $1? It's easy. Plan with directions, PLUS 6 money-making formulas for only $1". When they receive an order they fill it by mailing the customer a one page report entitled "The $100 a day plan - plus 6 formulas"! It tells them to insert the ad (above) and when they receive orders to fill it themselves by mailing the customer a copy of the one page report. The report is merely a replica of the above ad plus 6 formulas; the formulas being for such things as "Eye glass cleaner", "Mosquito remedy", "Liquid hand soap", "Powdered hand soap", "Insect & roach exterminator", "Athletes food remedy", etc. Most of these formulas consist of three or four lines of writing.
What are these so called prosperity plans and can you make money with them?
There are many different prosperity plans going around the country with thousands of mailorder enthusiasts taking up their time promoting an distributing them. Some are educational, some are illegal, some are used to gather names, but you can spend a great deal of time and effort for very little return. The basic method is about the same for all of them. They go something like this"

"Make extra money by running the following ad over your name:":
Amazing prosperity plan... Pays eight ways. Up to $6 all profit.
Rush $1 for your copy today! (your name and address)"

(Fill orders with a copy of this sheet. That's all there is to it.)

Or advertise as follows:

"Receive $1,000 from $25 investment.
Method and sample $1.00"

(Fill orders with the following information: 1,000 copies can be bought for $25 and sold for $1 each (That's $1,000). Order from... (The promoter, dealer, or printer initiating this program would have his name and address here).

As you can readily recognize, some of these could hinge on fraud, whereby they are selling one sheet of paper representing big impossible profits. Others could be a good deal for the dealer, printer or promoter getting business through the work of others with no expense involved for themselves.

What is the $500 per month plan that has been floating around for some time?
Here are the advertisements and what they are talking about:

"How would you like to receive $25 daily and keep all the money? for complete set-up rush $1 to : etc."

or

"$500 monthly, work at home, receive money daily. For complete set-up send $1.00 to: etc."

You are supposed to fill the orders you receive with a copy of this sheet, which includes the two ads above plus added worthless information to fill the sheet. This kind of program could be fraudulent and you can't make any money at it anyway so why waste your valuable time.

How you can become a publisher with the least pain?
When you have accumulated sufficient knowledge from preparing your own circulars and from co-publishing magazines and adsheets of others, you may want to become a publisher. You have learned the going rates for various size ads depending on circulation, etc. Think up an interesting title and start with 1,000, the minimum circulation for an adsheet. Have your first adsheet printed on both sides of an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet, 20# bond paper, folded in half to form four 5-1/2x8-1/2 pages. Leave space for a good title, ad rate information, editors comments and a short article or two of interest to mailorder dealers. Make it co-publishable or simply an adsheet whereby each advertiser gets a few mailing copies with the balance sent out by yourself or by paid mailers. Solicit and offer free ads for your next issue. You will have a loss on the first few issues, but at least you will be getting your own ads circulated and your adsheets in front of the public. If you have a good clean adsheet with a good title, after the fourth or fifth issue you should have it filled with paid ads along with all of your own advertising. As your list of advertisers and co-publishers grow larger and larger, you can add more pages and continue to expand toward a number one magazine.
When do you need your own print shop to enhance you mailorder business?
The fact it takes sizable investment to set up a print shop, or that you can buy printing at very reasonable prices is not the major consideration. When you have worked your way to the professional "inner circle" you may require your own printing equipment. The main thing to consider is Flexibility! The only way you can accomplish complete flexibility in the mailorder industry is with your own printing equipment... completely under your control. When you need 1,000 noteheads immediately or 2,000 circulars right now, another 500 tomorrow, more letterheads and stationery the first of the week, a new program printed over the weekend, or 10,000 copies of your brand new book just off the press to satisfy your morning mail (dreaming again) it is difficult to make it all the way without the means of acquiring and maintaining 100% FLEXIBILITY!
Why you don't need your own print shop?
There are professional books with 1,598 pages of technical detail on 171 different kinds of presses and printing processes. The net effect of what they are trying to tell you is that printing is a very enjoyable profession for the person who knows all about printing and enjoys it; a very lucrative money-making business for the ones in the right areas with the required knowledge, experience and enough money to get started right! A very quiet process for the little guy in a small town with very limited local printing requirements... or for the big guy in the big city with 50 "Black Cats" and 40 "Speed Feeds" as competition! And? Worn out equipment for the mailorder printer who prints in mass volume day and night in order to beat his competition across the country and generate an enormous profit of 20 cents per hour, running 2,000 8-1/2x11's for $11.50. This isn't what bankrupts him... It's the postage he prepays for 6 pounds from New York to his customers in California! The cost of first class postage to answer all his customers complaints is the final clincher ! There are sufficient printing plants across the country to meet the current demand. The number of firms for sale, or going out of business every week attests to this fact. You can get your printing done at the present time for exceptionally reasonable rates and not get yourself all inked up in the process! Unless you are expanding to the "top level" in the mailorder business and need 100% flexibility you are probably better off jobbing out your printing requirements, and perhaps your typesetting work as well.
What is the biggest problem for the "little guy" who wants to get into the import business?
The days are over when the "Little Guy" can purchase foreign goods in volume and resell in the U.S. for a profit. By the time you pay for the merchandise, duties, insurance, freight, etc., then resell in this country you need to be a millionaire. You can join an import mailorder firm but will ordinarily deal only in a minor way since you will be competing with all the large import companies and wholesalers not to mention the other thousands of club members and mailorder enthusiasts, few of whom can make a living with this type of operation.
What is the best method for most smaller businesses to enter foreign trade?
Find manufacturers whose products can be represented on an exclusive basis. To do this, set yourself up as a manufacturer's representative with a good name title for your business, top quality letterheads, business cards, brochures, flyers, etc. You must make the proper impression or they won't do business with you. You should consider becoming a specialist in a certain line of goods, rather than trying to handle too many different products. Make simple inexpensive market surveys and tests to determine if the various products will be profitable in your sphere of operation. Give the foreign manufacturer or exporter full information about your firm so as to establish a profitable relationship. You will need an agreement, with your foreign principals, spelling out all the elements necessary to make a binding contract. Use a customhouse broker to take care of all aspects of the imported merchandise at a nominal fee and save yourself many headaches.
How is the best way to pay for imports?
The "Letter of Credit" assures the importer that evidence of shipment is received before payment is made. It assures the exporter he will be paid promptly when the goods have been shipped as agreed. In the event the exporter ships without prepayment, a "Sight Draft" may be used. The sight draft, together with the original shipping documents, are released to the importer when payment is made by his bank, or when other conditions specified by the exporter are met. Another form used by exporters is a "Bank Collection Notice" which gives instructions for the release of documents and the disbursement of funds, and is sent directly to the importer's bank. When importing small orders or sample products an "International Bank Draft" is a convenient document to use. These drafts can be purchased from most any bank offering international banking services and are presented to the foreign bank by your supplier for immediate payment. "Postal Money Orders" and "International Postal Money Orders" sometimes take several seeks before your supplier can get them into his bank account and should be avoided, especially for small orders.
How can you make money clipping newspaper articles?
Go through many newspapers, local and perhaps national as your business grows. Clip out articles, photos, etc., which mention some person or business for local or national prominence. Keep an alphabetical file and accumulate clippings on the various individuals and enterprises. Write advising them that you have a collection of articles about them which you will send upon receipt of $xx per article. Retail merchants are often interested in advertisements that are being used by their competitors. They may also be interested in advertisements featuring different product lines to give them promotional and advertising ideas for their own products. Information on births, deaths, divorces, new businesses, etc., are also of interest to many different kinds of organizations. Don't clip or send copyrighted material. Practically all articles with UP/AP codes, syndicated features and cartoons are copyrighted.
What is the "Billion Dollar Method"?
A business club is formed with people in many different kinds of professions as members. You make yourself the managing director and keep the $50 to $100 annual dues from each member as partial payment for your duties. Your responsibilities include arranging periodic meetings where the members hold brainstorming sessions to come up with money making ideas. You continuously gather how-to reports and information and prepare new reports based on ideas brought forth at the meetings. These ideas are published in report form and sold. They could include about anything. There is no limit to what a group of experts in all the various lines of professionalism may come up with. Each one in the group could contribute an amount periodically, with you as adviser for investment purposes, sharing in dividends and profits. You as the only full time officer and technical co-ordinator would gain you billion dollars along with the members?
Can you mail letters for 1 cent as some ads state?
According to some of the information sheets floating around in mailorder you are supposed to be able to mail letters for only 1 cent by mailing them from another country. To check this possibility out they say to write to: D. Dambrosio Catamarca, 1077 Martinez, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Ask them about their printing and mailing service. Printing is much cheaper in Argentina and they supposedly will mail you circulars to the USA from Argentina for only 1 cent each, American money. If you do business with foreign printers and mailers, place some "checking addresses" in your lists so you can determine if they are mailing all the material to a ll the names on your lists and not short-changing you.
Where to get a free advertiser's guidebook?
For a guidebook which presents in compact form, a comprehensive listing of all standard advertising media, write to one of the several well known advertising agencies and ask them for a free copy of their latest advertising guide. One of the firms to check with is Morlock Advertising Agency, 188 W. Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60601.
How you can get free subscriptions to magazines?
There are a large number of "Trade" magazines, journals, newsletters, and newspapers which are mailed absolutely free to interested firms and individuals who merely ask for them. These are not the common magazines you find on your local news stand but they do offer much valuable reading. To locate the names and address of these firms check at your library for a copy of "Standard Rate & Data". This book lists all trade magazines and specialty publications. It will also advise which magazines are "Controlled Circulation". (Usually means it is a available free). Write and ask to be placed on their mailing list. Try to indicate interest or some connection in your occupation, or avocation, with the subject matter of the publication.
How to buy surplus personal property direct from the government?
Some people are still putting out information on how to purchase jeeps for as low as $100, and trucks originally costing $10,000 for only $1,000. This was possible 40 years ago, from the World War II stockpile, but not any more. However thousands of other surplus items are available, such as typewriters and other office supplies and equipment, household and commercial furnishings, machinery, regular autos, trucks, etc. Both new and used merchandise is sold to the general public. Get a free periodical and bidders application from: DOD Surplus, P.O. Box 1370, Battle Creek, MI 490016. Be extra cautious when purchasing any of the surplus merchandise from the government agencies as the property is sold as is with no guarantee. You should never buy without first inspecting the same. The government does not arrange shipping for the successful bidders so you must arrange this yourself.
What are the three things you must have in order to become rich?
Success means many different things to many different people but to most of us we're visualizing sufficient wealth to give us continuous security and happiness without worry about our financial future. The three things you must have to gain success are knowledge, self confidence, and perseverance. You gain self confidence when you acquire knowledge. To acquire knowledge is simply a matter of study to become an expert in your field of interest. Perseverance will allow you to prevail in your chosen filed. If you have confidence you can keep "punching" until you persevere. To gain knowledge you must have confidence in yourself. The reason there are so few success stories is that most people never start to do the things necessary to bring their "good" ideas out of the cobwebs of their mind. The idea is soon forgotten. So when a great idea strikes you must act without delay!
What is the best way to "Brainstorm" your way to mailorder riches?
One method is the group thinking concept. Members all participate in discussing products, ideas, or problems each person throwing out their thoughts regardless of how ridiculous it may seem. Each idea is written down creating a vast pool of knowledge and eventually the right answer is supposed to fall in place. Another method is for you to do your own private brainstorming, using a tape recorder. When it is played back, it just may have the solution for you. Generally however, neither method produces any better results than if you study the matter thoroughly and look at it from every possible angle. After you have "busted" you brain capacity in this manner, sleeping on it and let your "subconscious" find the solution.
How can you solve mailorder problems after you have exhausted all the normal means of solution?
Think in terms of unorthodox methods. Vary your thinking and try to solve the problem by creating something completely new and irrelevant. Come into the problem through the "back door". Record the results of your work logically so you will have a format to follow and a basis for review as you proceed to create something new or solve "unsolvable" problems. You can create new programs or projects by "association". Think of an object which is similar or adjacent to the subject item and then continue the "chain" of associated thoughts until new and useful programs or products emerge as idea. Relate these ideas to the subject item by trial and error or by analysis of all the variables involved. If you get into a rut, go to some other aspect of the puzzle. Come back to it later. Quite often as you progress it will later appear bright and clear. Complete one step at a time. By breaking it down in size you can solve it in segments. don't further confuse the issue by doing so much study and research that there are too many roads to take.
How can you capture the mailorder market for your product?
Most everything that is worthwhile today is an approximate copy of something that came before it. Examine successful programs then copy them. If it's making money for another it should make money for you. You must of course, vary your program just enough so that it is not infringing on others rights and to make the advertising tactics, etc. different to get the competitive edge over items that may be flooding the market. What you are really doing is finding weaknesses then making your product or service better than the original being put out by your competitors. By making a small change in the right direction in your "copy" you can capture the market.
How can you remember anything?
There are several key words or a key though in each paragraph of printed matter that can be associated with an illogical or ridiculous illustration. It is much easier to remember and recall ridiculous associations than it is to recall normal uneventful relationships. Choose one or several words or key thought from each situation or subject and relate the same to a ridiculous cartoon or illustration. Actually "see" it in your mind's eye as it relates to the key words or key thought. Later when you have occasion to remember a particular matter, the "picture" should automatically appear to you and the entire thought recalled. The key to this memory system is to "see" the "picture" in your "mind's eye". This same system may be used to memorize a speech or name off all the businesses lined up on a particular street, in consecutive order, by linking a series of thoughts to a series of ridiculous pictures, in sequence.
What should you do if, after a great deal of time working up a new program or writing a book, it doesn't produce?
There is a good possibility that any program or publication won't sell! You should not become so "in love" with your works that you keep pouring good money after bad, trying to promote an apparent "lemon". First, try to keep away from this problem by producing your material inexpensively in the form of a short report, brochure or letter which will indicate whether there is sufficient interest in your subject. If testing in this manner indicates that the market is out there waiting for your materials in more elaborate or finished form, then use your money to complete the enhanced version and get it printed. Even then you should be conservative as to the amount of books or materials printed for the first "shot". Determine if your product can best be sold in volume to other mail order distributors thus getting your offer to a large diversified group of book buyers and opportunity seeker. Remember no one can ascertain whether their program, product or publication will be a success until it hits the market place. If it does not appear to be successful after reasonable tests, the most important thing at this pint is to recognize that unless you have overlooked something in your advertising, promotion or business plan which can turn the situation around, you will be much better off to drop it and change to something with more chance for profits.
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