Much has been written about working from your own … people seem … when they think about … they can “work” whilst at home — I’m not sure … and … have
Much has been written about working from your own home.
Many people seem suspicious when they think about ideas that they can “work” whilst at home — I’m not sure why; housewives and househusbands have been doing it for years!
For some people, there seems to be some sort of strange separation of the workplace and the homestead. By tearing down this distinction, however, you can reap some very serious benefits. Nowhere is this more obvious than in running a mail-order business from your home.
What are some of these benefits and advantages that you can gain from running a mail order business from your home?
Well, there are probably hundreds, but some of the major ones include:
1. Savings on initial investments. Instead of having to rent office space, new phone lines, new personnel and all the rest… for a lot of new mail-order startups, all you need is an idea, a clean kitchen table, a recipe box and ambition!
2. Clear communication channels. With the advent of the Internet, and especially e-mail, it has become easier and easier for you to keep in contact with your customers without having to get in your car and drive all around town.
Now, you can communicate with all your contacts and prospects without having to leave your computer. And much of this can be automated with tools readily available through GetResponse (http://www.GetResponse.com/?33969) and Roibot (http://www.roibot.com/r.cgi?R504_ROIbot)
3. More time with your family. Big business has always had the reputation for being “anti-family” — you can choose your career or you can choose your family.
With mail-order businesses, you get to choose both. In fact, many mail-order businesses become family businesses, with kids helping mom and dad to lick stamps and stuff envelopes. My teenage daughters do this and split income with me (great for taxation purposes)
4. Control of your own destiny. As a mail order entrepreneur, you can decide how much or how little effort you want to put into it.
In traditional business, a change of career means a major change to your entire life, whether you like it or not.
A mail-order business will often begin as a part-time career you do in addition to your “normal” job. Then, as you progress, you can decide to expand your mail-order business until it becomes your only career. The point is: YOU make the choice as to how fast this happens.
5. Tax considerations. With a mail order business, you can take advantage of many tax breaks. For instance, you can get a tax deduction on your house for space used exclusively for business. You can also usually deduct for computer equipment, extra phone lines, and other equipment you use to run your business.
An, as I mentioned early, you can use the technique of income Splitting to keep income out of the hands of the taxman!
Whether you are looking for something to simply supplement your income or looking for a complete career change, mail-order businesses have a lot to offer.
As with any other business decision, it is important to look beyond just the monetary benefits to see the other advantages that are present. As you can see, the mail-order business provides plenty of these advantages, as well as the money-making ones, making it one of the best businesses to be in.
Barry Lycka is co-president of CJSM Pubiblishing Ltd. a business dedicated to constantly helping his customers begin their own businesses at home. If this opportunity to make more money in a more pleasant atmosphere appeals to you, please visit his web site at http://cjsmpublishingltd.com or write basl@v-wave.com
Barry Lycka is co-president of CJSM Pubiblishing Ltd. a business dedicated to constantly helping his customers begin their own businesses at home. If this opportunity to make more money in a more pleasant atmosphere appeals to you, please visit his web site at http://cjsmpublishingltd.com or write basl@v-wave.com
The 4-Step Formula for Writing Sales Letters That Get … is a simple 4-step formula that will help you create clear, more powerful sales letters that get results. Most sales letters forget t
The 4-Step Formula for Writing Sales Letters That Get Results There is a simple 4-step formula that will help you create clear, more powerful sales letters that get results. Most sales letters forget to involve the reader and drone on and on about how great the company is, forgetting to talk about the benefits to the reader.
ATTENTION: To motivate the reader, you must grab their attention quickly. One way to do this is to ask an intriguing questions that you know is a concern to the prospect. If you asked the prospect in person, what concerns are you facing in your business right now, what would he say? For example, some people might procrastinate and leave the marketing of their businesses on the back burner, to get to later. Well, sometimes, later never comes. So, to approach this subject you might ask in your letter, Will 2001 be the year you get serious about marketing?
INTEREST: Now that youve got the prospects attention, you have to keep his interest by showing him that you understand the problem and you have the solution to that problem. Restate the problem and then offer a description of how your company solves that problem to their satisfaction.
DESIRE: To persuade the reader you must use words that hook the reader into your message. Many writers make the mistake of simply talking about themselves at this point and completely ignore the facts and benefits that the reader needs to know to make an intelligent decision. Be specific and talk about the details that make your product or service better than your competitors. Insert comments from satisfied customers here or tell about your credentials that establish you as the expert in your field. Remember, however, to always bring the copy back to the benefit to the reader and why he needs to act now.
ACTION: If you’re selling consulting services, ask for a contract. If you’re writing a fundraising letter, include a reply envelope and ask for a donation. In short, if you want your letter to get results, you have to ask for them. In lead generation, you can offer a free benefits analysis or consultation, or give away a free booklet on the 10 ways to improve your bottom line profits. Make it easy to respond. Give them your phone number, fax number, toll free number, e-mail address and a business reply card. Tell them what to do and how to do it to respond to you. Dont assume the prospect knows what you want from them.
As with any creative exercise, formulas are meant to be broken. The AIDA formula is a great starting point to structuring your message for maximum impact and meaningful results.
Allan Katz is President of Katz Innovation Resources, dedicated to coaching and helping retailers and service companies retain their customers and employees. He is a 21 year direct marketing veteran and the author of 4 books on marketing including, “The Complete Guide to Retail Loyalty Marketing.”
Allan Katz is President of Katz Innovation Resources, dedicated to coaching and helping retailers and service companies retain their customers and employees. He is a 21 year direct marketing veteran and the author of 4 books on marketing including, “The Complete Guide to Retail Loyalty Marketing.”
12 Places to Buy a Mailing … Jeffrey … are two types of lists, … by their origin: compiled lists and response … lists are a common source of names and records t
There are two types of lists, determined by their origin: compiled lists and response lists.
Compiled lists are a common source of names and records that have been gathered, collected, and entered into a database. The names may have been acquired through public records such as vehicle owner registrations or high school teachers. Directories, such as a directory of plant maintenance engineers, are usually compiled lists. Many lists are compiled from categories in phone books across the U.S. Examples would be all the photography shops or all the luggage dealers in the United States. Or all the plumbing supply dealers.
Keep in mind that compiled information – like fish – gets old rather quickly and doesnt age particularly well.
Response lists are data from people who have responded to an ad or who have purchased from a catalog, direct mail package, TV ad,or other offer.
With any mailing you are considering, first ask precisely what groups or what characteristics make up the perfect audience. Then try to find a list that matches these definable characteristics closely.
Good delivery percentages of your mailing piece to a specific audience can usually be found in lists of magazine subscribers. These lists are usually very targeted to their audience, and good because most publishers are extremely prompt with their name and address corrections. Call a magazine publisher and ask if their subscriber list is for sale, then ask for the name of their list broker.
There are over 10,000 magazines published so you can probably get a magazine subscription list that goes straight to your perfectly targeted buyers. If youre not sure what magazines would be best, there are some easy-to-use periodical directories found in most reference libraries. The best directories of magazines are Burrelles Directory of Magazines (800-USMEDIA), Bacons (800-621-0561), SRDS (800-851-SRDS), and Oxbridge Communications Standard Periodical Directory (800-955-0231). If you cant find the exact targeted magazine filled with the eager-to-buy-your-product subscribers you are looking for in any of these directories, the publication doesnt exist. You can find any industry – and all the magazines that are sent to that industry – in under 10 minutes in these useful directories.
Catalog houses earn a good portion of their revenue from the sale of their lists. Call the catalog and ask for their business office, then ask who handles their list sales. Almost all catalog houses sell their lists. Catalog houses can be found in the Catalog of Catalogs from Woodbine House Publications (www.woodbinehouse.com; 800-843-7323; $28.95 PPD), and The Directory of Mail Order Catalogs from Grey House Publishing (www.greyhouse.com; 800-562-2139; $250).
Trade associations are usually an excellent source of mailing lists. Better associations always list the industrys major players. Local associations like the Chamber of Commerce in your area are usually good for local business names. You can select by business size, number of employees, SIC code (the governments industry classification of each business), or any of a multitude of other selection parameters. Two great sources for finding associations are reference books from Columbia Books, Inc. (888-265-0600; www.columbiabooks.com) publishers of the State and Regional Associations Directory ($79) and The National Trade and Professional Associations of the United States ($99). Mailing lists of the associations are $100/M and are available on labels or disk.
Association lists and data are also available in the Encyclopedia of Associations by The Gale Group (800-877-GALE) on disk, CD, and on-line through Lexis-Nexis. This hardbound, three-volume set ($505) is the motherload of associations – showing detailed information on more than 23,000 local, state, national, and international associations.
Trade show lists are also great marketing tools – lists of both attendees and of exhibitors. Check out two great websites: www.tscentral.com and www.tradeshowweek.com for trade show information. The Tradeshow Week Data Book (213-965-5300; $355) is a great tool published by the editors of Tradeshow Week Magazine. Another great trade show directory is the TradeShows and Exhibits Schedule from Bill Communications (800-266-4712, 856-619-5800) – organized by industry, by location, by date, and in alphabetical order for fast look-ups.
Two excellent resources for investigating lists at the library are the SRDS Direct Marketing List Source (800-851-SRDS) and the Oxbridge Communications National Directory of Mailing Lists (800-955-0231). We use both in our own office – theyre thorough and exceptionally easy to use. These reference tools are each about the size of the Manhattan phone book and contain nothing but list data: who owns what list, number of records in each, source of names and, list pricing. Both tools are available in major libraries.
List brokers are found in the phone book in every major city. They can be heaven, supplying incredible information, or hell, looking for that fast buck. Make sure you ask tons of questions before handing over any money. While you pay the broker, he actually works for the list owner – so take that into consideration when you ask questions and negotiate price.
A plethora of list managers of mailing lists can be found in the direct mail trade magazines such as Catalog Age & Direct Magazines: 203/358-9900, Target Marketing: 215/238-5300, Direct Marketing: 516/746-6700, and DM News: 212/741-2095.
Some list brokers sell through their own catalog of mailing lists. These handy reference tools will give you an idea of just whats out there – what kind of lists are available and counts of how many records exist in the thousands of different list categories. Want to know how many dentists there are? Its a piece of cake: 190,168 are members of the ADA. Want to know if there is a list of picky ale drinkers? Find the list of Ale in the Mail-Continuity Members: 70,973 of them. Selling an accounting product? Try the list of Accounting Institute Seminar Attendees – all 78,634 of them. Looking for college professors? Did you want the 43,347 who teach English, or the 18,184 who teach history, or the 8,477 in marketing, or the 9,194 philosophy teachers, or the
If you need additional information – like how many doctors who specialize in allergies and are the head of their practice with four or more employees can be found in Pennsylvania – call any of these catalog houses and ask them to run a count. Youll be able to get that information in about ten minutes. Hugo Dunhill: 800/223-6454, American Business Lists: 800/555-5335, Best Mailing Lists: 800/692-2378, CompilersPlus: 800/431-2914, and Edith Roman: 800/223-2194 to name just a few. More phone numbers can be found in my books Uncommon Marketing Techniques and How To Market A Product For Under $500!
Several companies now offer lists of every business or every person in the U.S. on CD-ROM. These products allow you to create your own list criteria and generate your own precisely targeted mailing lists. Some of the better programs make it easy and fast to use their CD-ROM products. Mailing list CDs are available from InfoUSA: 800/321-0869, and Global Business International: 407/568-5037 to name but two.
One of the best resources for lists is the Internet. Theres no getting around it now, the Internet is here to stay you might as well get on and get used to it. Its a great – probably the best – research tool available for almost anything, if you can filter out the crap from the good stuff. But isnt that the way with all research tools: you gotta figure out which is the good stuff that you can use, and which is the bad stuff that youve just spent the last two hours looking over and have now figured out is pretty worthless.
Youd be surprised how many of your competitors will sell your their customers names. If not competitors, how about asking other businesses who serve your market if you can purchase their mailing lists.
Of course, the best list of all – bar none – is your own house list of current and past customers. These are the folks that know you and trust you; theyve experienced that great customer service you offer and are now willing to buy something else from you if you would only let them know its available.
Spend some extra time in this most important area – list research: tighten your list criteria, do your homework, spend time in research, and find the best lists you can possibly find. Then test several. Its worth the extra time and money to target your audience with precision and increase the chance youll come up a winner at the post office. There is no single more important factor in creating a greater response to a mailing than mailing to the best possible list. Whatever you do, dont settle for a mediocre list unless you want mediocre results.
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Bio Jeffrey Dobkin, author of the incredible 400-page marketing manual How To Market a Product for Under $500 ($29.95 +$4), now has a second book, Uncommon Marketing Techniques ($17.95 +$3) – 35 of his latest columns on small business marketing, exactly like the one you just read. Both books are available directly from the publisher – CALL TOLL FREE 800-234-IDEA – phone orders welcome – Visa, M/C, AMEX. These books are completely filled with tips and techniques to make your marketing faster, cheaper, more effective – and fun. You never learned this stuff in college! Mr. Dobkin cuts right through the theoretical crap and demonstrates a wealth of practical how-to direct marketing techniques. He is also a speaker, writes powerful, response-driven sales letters, engaging web content, persuasive catalog copy; and exceptionally hard-hitting direct mail packages. He also is a marketing consultant who will analyze your direct marketing packages, ads, catalogs, and campaigns. To place an order, or to speak with Mr. Dobkin call 610/642-1000. Fax 610/642-6832. From The Danielle Adams Publishing Company, Box 100, Merion Station, PA 19066. Or visit him at www.dobkin.com. Satisfaction Always Guaranteed.
Other articles from Jeffrey DObkin can be read at his website: www.dobkin.com. Call him at 610-642-1000. Dobkin is the author of “How to Market A Product for Under $500!”
Other articles from Jeffrey DObkin can be read at his website: www.dobkin.com. Call him at 610-642-1000. Dobkin is the author of “How to Market A Product for Under $500!”
Article Size: 686 words (body).Pre-formatted to 60 character width. ============================================================How-To ‘Bond Like Super-Glue’ With Your Subscribers!By Michael Green====…
Article Size: 686 words (body). Pre-formatted to 60 character width.
Every successful Ezine editor knows one thing that all failing editors have yet to learn…
“If youre going to make ‘real’ money from your Ezine newsletter, by earning cash every time you hit the ‘Send’ key to dispatch your latest edition; then first you need to gain the undying trust and devotion of your list of subscribers in fact, you’ve got to ‘Bond like Super-Glue’ to each and every one of your readers!”
SOLD OUT!
But where does the average Ezine owner get their hands on that kind of ‘Subscriber Bonding-Substance?’
The answer is that an Ezine editor has to make their own glue and it takes a little time, perseverance and effort!
You see people buy products once trust has been developed (not before) and too many list owners make the basic mistake of trying to put the kart before the horse. They attempt to ‘hard-sell’ products that they are affiliated to, right from issue number #1 of their Ezine. But unfortunately – they fail to realize that trust has yet to be built-up between the newsletter and its readers. And that is fatal!
GETTING IN CLOSER
Nobody wants to be hard-sold to by a virtual or complete stranger, and that’s in the real offline world. You can multiply that old maxim by a hundred in the scam-rich online environment.
Now Ezine list owners who forget that they promised their readership quality, useful and informative information – when they first signed up – are then the exact same people who are most surprised when they discover that theyre not making a decent return from their online efforts.
SHOCKED BY HIS OWN FAILURE
Recently an Ezine owner contacted me anxious to discover why his own Ezine (with a 5,000 subscriber base) was failing to make profits.
I asked to see a copy and when I did, the answer was shockingly obvious…
1. There was no original content of benefit to the reader. 2. EVERY link was an affiliate program he was signed up to. 3. The editor made no attempt to befriend the reader. 4. No sense of which angle the Ezine was coming from. 5. There was nothing to indicate who it was aimed at either.
The answer to why this list owner was disappointed by his Ezine income was very clear…
He had failed to ‘bond’ with his readership. In fact, he had forgotten to apply any glue at all!
So how do you insert glue between you and your subscribers?
It’s easy — follow these 4 SUPER-GLUE STEPS:
1. GIVE THEM QUALITY CONTENT You have to make certain that there are benefits to the reader in subscribing and this means bringing them fresh interesting articles and perspectives on the subject that your Ezine tackles.
2. BE CLEAR WHERE YOU ARE COMING FROM If you told new subscribers your Ezine was about how to “better work from home”, then at least roughly stick to your subject matter. If you don’t your Ezine will become completely defocused, confusing your reader.
3. BE CERTAIN YOUR READER KNOWS ABOUT YOU Your task is to build trust. The only way we come to trust each other is to get to know one another first. So you’ve got to be bringing your reader up to speed about yourself as editor. Your likes, dislikes and views are all important. Dont hide them.
4. PROMISE AN ONGOING RELATIONSHIP The glue dries stronger, if your readers believe that you will still be around next week, month or year. You can’t develop a powerful relationship with your reader if they believe that you are a fly-by-night newsletter editor.
Do all this and guess what?
The next time you happen to mention the latest, greatest, hottest new product on the block and then proceed to give it your personal seal of approval, your readers will follow you to purchase that item – as if they were actually stuck to you.
That will be because youve taken the time to ‘Bond like Super-Glue’ With Your Subscribers before trying to sell them anything that moves.
———————————————————— The author, Michael Green, is an accomplished Ezine editor and well-known newsletter guru. He has recently launched an Easy Ezine Toolkit which can provide you with a whole host of invaluable ‘insider’ secrets on generating income and profits from your own Ezine. Well worth getting your hands on. Pick up your copy today at http://www.EasyEzineToolkit.com ————————————————————
Michael Green, is an accomplished Ezine guru. He recently launched an Ezine Toolkit which provides you with invaluable ‘insider’ secrets on generating income and profits from your own Ezine. Pick up your copy today at http://www.EasyEzineToolkit.com
Michael Green, is an accomplished Ezine guru. He recently launched an Ezine Toolkit which provides you with invaluable ‘insider’ secrets on generating income and profits from your own Ezine. Pick up your copy today at http://www.EasyEzineToolkit.com
By grouping and mapping out the … you have with your … you can do more to finding profit centers in your business than anything else. This exercise will go a long way to …
By grouping and mapping out the relationships you have with your customers, you can do more to finding profit centers in your business than anything else. This exercise will go a long way to demonstrate to you that not all customers are created equally; in fact, some are much more profitable than others are. We will touch on reasons why you should classify customers, how to describe your supply chain, ways to define customers, and finally how to map your distribution channels.
Classifying customers is very important to identifying profit centers in your business because classifications help target prospects for sales, determines how different customers respond to your marketing, and helps you anticipate their future needs. Through better targeting, you extend your reach, increase your closing ratios, and help target buying customers with your sales efforts. Customers do not all respond the same to marketing, but knowing the appropriate triggers and channels of distribution will help you customize your marketing for maximum results. As you group your customers, notice places where your product wears out or needs to be replaced, these areas reveal possible service options and influencers of new purchases.
In describing your supply chain, outline who is involved in supporting the customer, whether it is a distributor-reseller-customer relationship or a hybrid system, and ask several critical questions that will produce clarity in this process. Using simple diagrams outline each of the individual organizations involved in providing services to your customers, will highlight opportunities for teamwork and improved communications. You may find a traditional supply chain supports your product, look at ways to grow or improve the demand of your product through others. Create ideas from whatever type of supply chain you have by asking some critical questions; Who supports the customer? What do they do? Why does the customer go to them?
The information gathered to this point contributes to defining your customers, including where they are located on the supply chain, what are their reasons for purchase/expectations, and where can you reduce your costs. Think about the different types of customers, how you reach them, and to whom they interact with in your supply chain. Additional sales opportunities arise when you look at the usage of your product and the importance of it to your customer; these areas further refine your classifications. Finally, look at ways you can reduce costs by making it easier to acquire your product, increase your value or your support abilities.
Bring all this information together by mapping your distribution channels; start by outlining the relationships between partners and customers, then define how your customer get your products, and lastly any customer interaction points inside this system. Using a simple workflow diagram bring together your supply chain and customer category information to produce a single simple drawing. This drawing describes how the customer gets your products including key players, delivery methods, and each categories preferred method of acquisition. Another useful tool will be to clarify customer interaction points, which are, any communications between your customer and your organization it is a means to gather additional usage information, and in many cases develop new sales opportunities.
In a couple of brainstorming sessions you could easily classify customers, describe your supply chain, and create a high level view of who your customers are in respect to the distribution of your product. Study this information looking for new ways to sell and service your customer. Have fun with it, talk with customers, gather accurate information, and your profits will reflect your efforts.
Justin Hitt, a management consultant specializing in strategic relations. Helping executive build stronger relationships that increase their profits. Learn more by visiting http://www.justinhitt.com/
Justin Hitt, a management consultant specializing in strategic relations. Helping executive build stronger relationships that increase their profits. Learn more by visiting http://www.justinhitt.com/
*This is an independent examination of the idiotic promotion practices of some marketers. Pepsi and Coke are not sponsors or co-sponsors of this examination. Pepsi is a registered trademark of Pepsi C…
*This is an independent examination of the idiotic promotion practices of some marketers. Pepsi and Coke are not sponsors or co-sponsors of this examination. Pepsi is a registered trademark of Pepsi Corporation. Coke is a registered trademark of Coca Cola Corporation.
IDIOTIC PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGNS
I received the following email from a direct email marketing company. This is not the first time I have seen someone use this technique in his or her direct promotion campaign. At first, I had deleted the message for being the spam that it was… Then I realized what a good article this would make. So I dug the message out of my trash folder so that I could share it with you.
SUBJECT: Soda Taste Test
Dear Consumer,
Today, we’re gathering opinions and preferences about popular soft drinks. Your feedback will help us determine the people’s choice.
SURVEY QUESTION
DOES PEPSI® TASTE BETTER THAN COKE®?
a. Yes b. No
THE REAL GOAL EXPLAINED
I understand what they are trying to do. They are trying to generate reader participation within their marketing campaign. And they are trying to do so within the strategy of using a question everyone generally has an opinion about.
A good friend of mine has often told me about his first job as a telemarketing sales representative. It was his words that prompted me to write my article today.
Eighteen years ago at the age of 19, my friend worked for a spell as a telemarketer. It was his first gig as a salesperson and it left a lasting impression with him.
It seems that his boss had read the same book that our direct email marketer had read. It seems both have asked the exact same question, although at different times and within different marketing mediums. Yet, I am sure that the response will be the same.
A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
In 1984, it took less than a week for my friend to see the futility in this approach.
The goal of the Pepsi vs. Coca-Cola question is to create an opportunity for the consumer to interact with the telemarketer or the direct marketer.
This technique was born in the sales teaching manuals that suggest that the salesperson should stive to get the customer to answer three of four questions with a Yes before moving into the sales pitch.
Of course, the basis of the approach is legitimate in that you must create a dialog with the customer before you can ever hope to introduce the product or close a sale.
When dialing a number at random, the telemarketer would have to introduce himself, “Hello, my name is Bill and I represent” such-and-such charity. “Let me ask you a question. We are interested in knowing whether you prefer Pepsi or Coca-Cola?” Then the telemarketer was to insert a deliberate pause and await an answer.
Often times, the inserted silence would generate a hang-up. Other times, it would generate a very hesitant answer. And even if the question was able to generate the appropriate level of interest in the conversation, the consumer was often lost when the next step was to take the consumer into a sales pitch totally unrelated to the Pepsi vs. Coke equation. The change in direction was often rightly perceived as a deception on the part of the telemarketer.
THERE MUST BE A BETTER WAY
My friend knew that there had to be a better way.
He had read all of the same books and had a desire to make more money while working this commission job. He was properly motivated to get the most out of what was available to him.
While working the phones, he continued to tweak and refine the script. The first thing to be dropped from his script was the Pepsi vs. Coke question. He had learned from the school of hard knocks that this technique created more problems than it helped to solve.
“How are you doing today,” was just as effective as the Pepsi vs. Coke question, and it did not carry with it the baggage of deception.
With some tweaking and trial-and-error, my friend had managed to increase his closing ratio by 50%.
With his success in hand, he approached the boiler room managers and shared with them the secret of his success — his new script.
THE MANAGERS KNEW THEY HAD FOUND A BETTER WAY
The new script was employed immediately and the sales of the entire team rose in accordance with the results that my friend had accomplished. Within days, my friend was offered a position with the management team. Although my friend turned down the promotion — a new town every 90 days did not appeal to him — the lessons learned were taken with him into his other sales positions.
THE DIRECT MARKETER ALSO CARRIES THE DECEPTION BAGGAGE
If you were to anwer the email concerning the Pepsi vs. Coke question, you would be asked for ALL of your personal information and told that you were “entitled to these great deals from our partnering sites. Simply check this box and you’ll get dozens of daily FREE offers; coupons, special discounts and more sent directly to your email address.”
Oh, I see. You did not care what my response was. Instead you really want me to give you permission to send me daily advertising from dozens of other online companies! Yeah, right.
A DIFFERENT PLAIN WHITE WRAPPER
During the everyday, I see promotional campaigns like this all of the time. Over the last year, I saw several companies use the same technique, but change the question to something that people felt more strongly about. Instead of asking about a preference in soft drinks, they instead asked about opinions about the Iraq War.
All of these companies use this technique to get people to sign up to receive advertising by email. Who would have thought answering a question such as this could generate so much email?
It is no wonder that direct email marketers have such a bad reputation.
TWO LESSONS IN OUR STORY
A really talented telemarketer is able to talk to people and quickly create a dialog with the consumer. The utilization of the Pepsi vs. Coke question seeks to overcome the fact that most telemarketers are not talented in creating a dialog. No matter how you phrase the question, a stupid or deceptive question will never permit the salesperson to overcome the initial hurdle of creating a promising or productive dialog with the consumer.
Sales and marketing lessons taken from books are good, when they are utilized properly. As our examples show, a lesson that has value can easily be implemented badly. And, a badly implemented sales technique can actually cause more damage that having no technique at all.
IN CONCLUSION
I hope my examples have shown you not to take sales techniques out of context. Don’t just jump into your sales campaigns with some half-baked scheme that is based on something you may have read somewhere. If you are going to expend resources to try to develop sales or leads, then make sure that you are going to get the best bang for your bucks.
John Calder is the owner and editor of http://www.TheEzine.Net Subscribe Today and get real information YOU can use to help build your online business today.
John Calder is the owner and editor of http://www.TheEzine.Net Subscribe Today and get real information YOU can use to help build your online business today.
Get your money rolling in with this Blasting Software right from your browser. It will pay you over and over and give you all the … … … … to join to … your inco
Get your money rolling in with this Blasting Software right from your browser. It will pay you over and over and give you all the top-notch marketing resources available to join to quadruple your income streams…
The Mail Order business is not … of itself, but is another wayof doing … Mail Order … more nor less than selling aproduct or service via … andthe offers you send out
The Mail Order business is not a business of itself, but is another way of doing business. Mail Order is nothing more nor less than selling a product or service via advertising and the offers you send out by mail.
Therefore, to start and succeed in a mail order business of your own, you need just as much, and in some cases, more business acumen than you would need in any other mode of business.
Remember too, there are good guys in mail order, and there are bad guys, just like in any other business. So, your best bet for a proper start with the greatest chance for success is after a thorough investigation of the products being offered and being sold; an analysis of the costs involved to get a fledgling mail order operation off the ground; and a good sixth sense of what your potential customers will buy. You’ll need a great deal of patience, and persistence as well.
Mail order is over saturated with plans, directories, sales materials and products that have been around for ten, fifteen, twenty years and longer. Many of these materials were not that good in the beginning, and yet they’re still being sold as quick secrets to wealth and fame. This is part of the reason for the junk mail reputation of mail order.
Just a little investigation on your part will show that the most successful people doing business by mail are always on the alert for new products and they quickly add these products to their own sales inventories as they become available. This is a must for success rule, regardless of whether you do or don’t produce your own products.
It’s almost impossible to gain much success with a single product report, booklet, book or manual. The best way is to search around for a number of related products, then, after arranging dropshipping deals with the suppliers of the products you want to include in your listing, along with your own self-produced product, make up a catalog listing. It is best if this is a single 8 x 11 sheet of paper, printed on both sides, listing the titles of the reports and/or books you have available, including your own, with a tear off order coupon at the bottom.
One of the best programs available in mail order today is offered by Premier Publishers. This company offers you a variety of circulars, with an order coupon on the bottom of each circular. At present, they can provide six different circulars, listing over 100 different low-cost reports and manuals, such as the report you are reading now. The circulars are grouped according to price range and subject matter of the reports described in the circular. There is an open space on the order coupon for you to insert your own name and address. After inserting your name, you can take or send the circular to the printer of your choice, and have copies printed in the quantity you need. The next step is to insert these circulars, along with one of your own product circulars, in all your mailings. Premier Publishers allows you a full 50% commission on each sale of items on their circulars. They will dropship for you, keeping your customers names confidential, and in no way encroaching upon them. In addition, discounts up to 80% off the retail price are available to you when you are ready to carry your own stock, and buy reports or books in quantity.
This is what you need for a money- making start in this business: a full page circular advertising your own product, plus another full page circular listing products or titles related to your primary offering. Premier Publishers advises you to send two full page circulars: one advertising your own product (if you don’t have a primary product of your own, they’ll furnish you with single book circulars to feature), and another advertising a list of related products or titles available to your customer.
Once you start receiving orders from this mailing, you must immediately acknowledge receipt of the orders and follow up with other offers. The follow-up offer is where most beginners fail. Either they don’t have follow-up materials to send or they just don’t send out these follow-up offers. Here again, Premier Publishers can provide the material for the follow-up. They can supply you with a 24-page Unique Books catalog, which lists over 400 titles for your customer to choose from. These catalogs can be ordered in small quantities, and you may rubber stamp your name and address on each one before mailing. These catalogs are also available, for larger quantities, with your name and return address already imprinted. To follow-up after receiving orders from your customers, simply write a short note, thanking your customer for his patronage, and advising him when to expect to receive his order, and then include a follow-up offer, such as the book catalog, in that mailing. And that’s how you will build your business, and attain success in mail order.
But, let’s get back to the beginning and help you to learn what it takes to succeed in mail order. Don’t believe those ads that tell you it doesn’t take any money. First off, you are going to need envelopes: #10 mailing envelopes with your name and return address imprinted in the upper left corner. You’ll also need a return reply envelope with your name and return address on the face of the envelope with each #10 envelope you send out. These can be either #6 or #9 return envelopes. Ask your printer or office supply store to let you inspect samples.
To realize profits of any consequence, you’ll need to send out at least a thousand, preferably five thousand letters per mailing. And to back this up, you’ll need a supply of envelopes for your acknowledgment and follow-up offers. You can purchase imprinted mailing and return reply envelopes from your local quick print shop; but for better prices, and with the thought in mind of keeping your costs in line, it’s best to shop around for the best prices. Generally speaking, you’ll find the lowest prices offered by those printers who do business by mail. Look for “printing by mail” advertisements in all the mail order publications you come across. Write to them for a price list and a sampling of their work.
In order to be properly equipped to run your mail order business properly you are going to need a good supply of envelopes (both normal size and large), shipping labels and letterhead paper.
You will also need access to reliable business partners for circular printing, typesetting, graphic layout and design, copywriting assistance, booklet printing, hardback book printing, business cards and poster printing.
As you can see, the mail order business is very closely tied in with the printing business. Unless you have your own printing plant, always shop around for the best prices and keep your production costs in line.
Once you’ve gotten your envelopes ready, and your circulars made up, you’ll need a potential customer list. Again, don’t believe the advertisements and free advice which states that all you have to do is send your materials out to a fresh opportunity seekers list. I have found that the best prospects are those people who have purchased similar or related items.
Here again, Premier Publishers can help out. They generally receive 2,000 new names each month. These names come from Premier’s national advertising…people who are interested in new ways of making money…easier ways of building a mail order business.
Certainly Premier responds to all these inquiries, but they do not offer the same items the various dealers and distributors are offering. Premier offers their mailing lists for rental. Write for current description of names which are available.
When selecting a supplier to work with in the mail order business, always be sure they are quick to fill your orders. Customer complaints are the last thing you want, and poor service leads to dissatisfied and lost customers. Always be sure your supplier protects your customer list, and always make sure he goes that extra mile to work with you, and not just for his own profits. This is the kind of service you want from your supplier.
Finally, you’ll need to consider advertising the different offerings you have for sale. We suggest that you start small with a few experimental ads in your local paper or shopping news. Then you can move on to the bigger publications.
Richard Glanville publishes the “Status Report” which provides a complete multimedia online learning experience to anyone interested in making a serious online income from the comfort of their own home. Subscribe today by sending a blank e-mail to mailto:Publisher@statustron.com
Richard Glanville publishes the “Status Report” which provides a complete multimedia online learning experience to anyone interested in making a serious online income from the comfort of their own home. Subscribe today by sending a blank e-mail to mailto:Publisher@statustron.com
How to write direct mail that really, really worksSo, you have … you want to sell. It may be a product, a service, or a cause. It could be a … a … or a motor car. It migh
How to write direct mail that really, really works
So, you have something you want to sell. It may be a product, a service, or a cause. It could be a membership, a subscription, or a motor car. It might be paper, health products or the idea that the humane society or the Alzheimers association is worth giving money to. It could be computer equipment, hand-sewn dolls clothes or garden gnomes.
Whatever it is you are selling, you need to let the right people know youre selling it. And one of the most effective ways of doing that is through direct mail.
Direct mail works best if you know the type of person who buys your product or service. For instance, if you sell to building contractors or pet owners you can get a targeted, personal message to them quickly.
Whats more, computers make it possible for small businesses to produce professional looking mailings at a very attractive price. They make it possible to select names from mailing lists by demographic classification, frequency of purchase or by amount of purchase. Computers allow every letter in a mailing to include the name of the addressee, not just the salutation but several times throughout the body of the letter.
Heres some tips that will help you make your campaign more effective
Always include a letter in your mailing
This may sound obvious but many mailings only contain a brochure. This is a mistake. Theres a saying Brochures are sent by companies, letters are sent by people. You need a letter because a letter is personal. And because letters persuade people to buy.
Get your letterhead right
What paper, layout and design you use are very important. I recommend you steer clear of official company letterhead and design something more appropriate to your message. If you want people to telephone, make your phone number stand out. If you want them to visit your web site, do the same. Your address is less important because even if you want people to reply by mail theyll expect a reply paid envelope. Dont put fax and telephone together its confusing for people. Avoid using telephone numbers using letters such as, 1-800-OUR SHOP. If you absolutely must use this type of number make sure you place the numeric number close by.
Write long letters
Most people dont want to write long letters, they worry theyll sound rambling, or they think long letters dont sell. But a long letter serves a purpose. If your prospect is going to buy your product, or contribute to your cause, he needs a lot of information. A short letter cant hope to give him enough information to consider making a purchase.
A good rule to follow is: Keep selling until you run out of selling points. By the end of your letter your prospect should have more than enough information to make a decision.
Write a friendly greeting
When possible address your prospect by his name, as this will increase your response rate. If you dont have an individual name, youll have to use a title such as Dear Business Manager, or Dear Creative Director. Dont address a householder as, Dear Householder, Instead use, Dear Animal Lover, or Dear Mercedes Owner.
Use an attention-grabbing headline
Make sure your headline is at the top of the letter. Use it to highlight the main benefit. Make sure its easy to understand and tells your reader why he should read your letter. Avoid headlines that try to be clever, or funny. They rarely work.
Ask for what you want
Dont be slow in asking for the sale. If you want the reader to buy your garden gnomes, tell him so, near the beginning. If you let him get half way down the page before telling him what you want, your letter will end up in the trash.
Write from me to you
Make your letter personal. Have one customer in mind while your writing it and address him as if he were sitting right beside you. Use the word you frequently. Instead of saying, Our lingerie is sexy say, Youll look sexy in our lingerie. Change, Our blankets are warm and comfortable, to: Youll be warm and comfortable in one of our blankets.
Get your reader to act NOW
By the end of your letter, the reader should have all the benefits of your product or service, and have become more and more interested. Now you need to get him to act. Tell him clearly and simply what you want him to do: telephone, fill in the reply card, send money, visit your web site or get a representative to call.
Finish with a PS
Make sure your PS sounds like something you just remembered to say. By, try not to start your PS with the word Remember as it shows what youre about to say contains nothing new. Instead, use the PS to highlight a benefit not already included in your letter.
Julia is an independent copywriter specializing in advertising, search engine marketing and direct mail. For more information on how Julia can increase your company’s sales visit her website at www.juliahyde.com or email info@juliahyde.com
Julia is an independent copywriter specializing in advertising, search engine marketing and direct mail. For more information on how Julia can increase your company’s sales visit her website at www.juliahyde.com or email info@juliahyde.com
Direct MailThe web is a most … and often misused medium for direct … In this email, I will share tips and … to make the web a major … tool for your sales and market
Direct Mail
The web is a most versatile and often misused medium for direct marketing. In this email, I will share tips and techniques to make the web a major advertising tool for your sales and marketing efforts.
Do you have a website? A Web Newsletter? A mailing list of e-mail addresses for customers? Do you track and test everything? You can use the web to get sales in lots of exciting ways which are dependant on technology thats available at the time.
Almost everyone is just too busy running their businesses to take the time or to give advertising much thought. This is just crazy.
Whether you budget is £600 or £6000, I can show you how its done effectively time after time after time!
So here’s what I do when I start working with clients and I would like to offer it to you as a gift now. Have a look at this list of ten great ways of marketing. I guarantee, that nearly all web site owners will not have every one of these simple methods in place right now.
Please pick at least two that you’re either not doing, or not doing that well – and MAKE A DECISION to add them to your marketing mix in the weeks ahead:
Direct Mail Internet Marketing Email Marketing Advertising Telephone Marketing Direct Sales Strategic Alliances Referral Systems PR Additional Products/Services
We will tackle these in order
Direct Mail
Direct mail is often overused and badly done. Its got a bad reputation over the years, mainly due to spammers, used instead of the telephone or by con artists seeking their next victim.
There are a lot of myths and nonsense about mailings. You may want to print this out, because in my continuing efforts to help you reach success I am about to share the secrets of direct mail – Id be surprised if the contents of this mail does not save you thousands of pounds over the next 12 months.
By the way, if you are totally new to Direct Mail – Its anything sent by post, sales letters, electronic mail or brochures etc
I want to dispel some things about DM to you. Direct Mail doesnt work . This ingenious conclusion is arrived at by the fact that most people throw most of the mail we get directly in the bin – therefore the thinking is that it’s a waste of money. The truth is that 90 out of 100 people might throw your mailing in the bin, but if 5 people look at it, 5 more read it and one of those 5 buys from you – you may well have a highly profitable mailing.
Last week I sent 400 emails to potential clients, and got 37 replies. Thats to say that 37 people actually read my mail, and I got exactly 9 new clients as a result.
Now what would happen if I doubled my mailings next week? I could expect from 800 mails, about 80 replies and maybe 20 sales!
And thats easily doable by the way, because Ive done it. But saying that, your mailing may not work it depends on what you say, pricing of your product and some products may just not be suited to an email campaign. Its very much a numbers game, but one thing is certain, email is free!
(A word of warning though) You have to enter this knowing that most of your mailings will go unread, but at least its cheaper than other advertising methods.
Large companies like Capital One, know their mailings DO work theyve spent a fortune fine tuning and testing these campaigns. But just to warn you direct mail can fail, and they are the ones, usually, small to medium businesses send out, because they dont understand what they are really doing.
If its done right, it will make your profits increase dramatically, and when its done badly it can eat into a budget, so be very careful!
There are 2 types of mailings:
Potential Customers
Existing Customers
If you dont do much mailing start doing some now. Its easy to not email out of fear of upsetting clients, scared of bombarding them with too many mails, thus losing a sale.
Thats crazy and its to nobodys advantage.
Actually, most sales emails are helpful and quite genuine. I was once told Youve got to be mad to not listen to a salesman they might have something you need! So next time you receive a mail or telesales call, consider that it could well be in your favour.
And there really is nothing wrong with sending out 2 mails each week.. So dont worry.
I have noticed that many clients are sitting with 1000s of email addresses yet they arent contacting these clients. Thats like throwing money down the drain. They could say NO, then again they could say YES to your product. Imagine if a further 10 bought your services next week how do you feel about not emailing those customers now?
Try it today .. Think of something you can offer these customers, you must have something you can offer! Even something for free. Send them a letter and measure the response. If it works, mail them and measure the results. If it keeps on working, keep on doing it!
The best email is a personal communication with a customer you know. It may read as follows:
Dear———–
I wanted to follow up after your purchase of (your product) on (date) to see how it’s working out for you and to thank you for your continuing business. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know by return email, or feel free to call my private phone number.
Many Thanks
Regards
Mr X
Your customer is going to open, read and appreciate an email like this. They may even respond to it, and even if they don’t, it doesn’t look like spam or bug anyone. And they probably will appreciate that.
Christopher is a Sales Promotion Expert and owner of Busigen.com – an Office directory portal that holds company information to do with an Office environment. http://www.Busigen.com
Christopher is a Sales Promotion Expert and owner of Busigen.com – an Office directory portal that holds company information to do with an Office environment. http://www.Busigen.com
, making it one of the best businesses