How To Start A Mail Order Business

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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 abusiness of itself, but is another wayof doing business.
Mail Order isnothing more nor less than selling aproduct or service via advertising andthe offers you send out by mail.Therefore, to start and succeed in amail order business of your own, youneed just as much, and in some cases,more business acumen than you wouldneed in any other mode of business.Remember too, there are good guys inmail order, and there are bad guys,just like in any other business. So,your best bet for a proper start withthe greatest chance for success isafter a thorough investigation of theproducts being offered and being sold;an analysis of the costs involved toget a fledgling mail order operationoff the ground; and a good sixth senseof what your potential customers willbuy.
You'll need a great deal ofpatience, and persistence as well.Mail order is over saturated withplans, directories, sales materials andproducts that have been around for ten,fifteen, twenty years and longer.Many of these materials were not thatgood in the beginning, and yet they'restill being sold as quick secrets towealth and fame. This is part of thereason for the junk mail reputation ofmail order.Just a little investigation on yourpart will show that the most successfulpeople doing business by mail arealways on the alert for new productsand they quickly add these products totheir own sales inventories as theybecome available.
This is a must forsuccess rule, regardless of whetheryou do or don't produce your ownproducts.It's almost impossible to gain muchsuccess with a single product report,booklet, book or manual. The best wayis to search around for a number ofrelated products, then, after arrangingdropshipping deals with the suppliersof the products you want to include inyour listing, along with your ownself-produced product, make up acatalog listing.
It is best if this isa single 8 x 11 sheet of paper, printedon both sides, listing the titles ofthe reports and/or books you haveavailable, including your own, with atear off order coupon at the bottom.One of the best programs available inmail order today is offered by PremierPublishers. This company offers you avariety of circulars, with an ordercoupon on the bottom of each circular.At present, they can provide sixdifferent circulars, listing over 100different low-cost reports and manuals,such as the report you are reading now.The circulars are grouped according toprice range and subject matter of thereports described in the circular.There is an open space on the ordercoupon for you to insert your own nameand address.
After inserting your name,you can take or send the circular tothe printer of your choice, and havecopies printed in the quantity youneed. The next step is to insert thesecirculars, along with one of your ownproduct circulars, in all yourmailings.
Premier Publishers allows youa full 50% commission on each sale ofitems on their circulars. They willdropship for you, keeping yourcustomers names confidential, and in noway encroaching upon them.
In addition,discounts up to 80% off the retail priceare available to you when you are readyto carry your own stock, and buyreports or books in quantity.This is what you need for a money-making start in this business: a fullpage circular advertising your ownproduct, plus another full pagecircular listing products or titlesrelated to your primary offering.Premier Publishers advises you to sendtwo full page circulars: oneadvertising your own product (if youdon't have a primary product of yourown, they'll furnish you with singlebook circulars to feature), and anotheradvertising a list of related productsor titles available to your customer.Once you start receiving orders fromthis mailing, you must immediatelyacknowledge receipt of the orders andfollow up with other offers. Thefollow-up offer is where most beginnersfail.
Either they don't have follow-upmaterials to send or they just don'tsend out these follow-up offers. Hereagain, Premier Publishers can providethe material for the follow-up.
Theycan supply you with a 24-page UniqueBooks catalog, which lists over 400titles for your customer to choosefrom. These catalogs can be ordered insmall quantities, and you may rubberstamp your name and address on each onebefore mailing.
These catalogs are alsoavailable, for larger quantities, withyour name and return address alreadyimprinted. To follow-up after receivingorders from your customers, simplywrite a short note, thanking yourcustomer for his patronage, andadvising him when to expect to receivehis order, and then include a follow-upoffer, such as the book catalog, inthat mailing.
And that's how you willbuild your business, and attain successin mail order.But, let's get back to the beginningand help you to learn what it takes tosucceed in mail order. Don't believethose ads that tell you it doesn't takeany money.
First off, you are going toneed envelopes: #10 mailing envelopeswith your name and return addressimprinted in the upper left corner.You'll also need a return replyenvelope with your name and returnaddress on the face of the envelopewith each #10 envelope you send out.These can be either #6 or #9 returnenvelopes. Ask your printer or officesupply store to let you inspect samples.To realize profits of any consequence,you'll need to send out at least athousand, preferably five thousandletters per mailing.
And to back thisup, you'll need a supply of envelopesfor your acknowledgment and follow-upoffers. You can purchase imprintedmailing and return reply envelopes fromyour local quick print shop; but forbetter prices, and with the thought inmind of keeping your costs in line,it's best to shop around for the bestprices.
Generally speaking, you'll findthe lowest prices offered by thoseprinters who do business by mail. Lookfor "printing by mail" advertisementsin all the mail order publications youcome across.
Write to them for a pricelist and a sampling of their work.In order to be properly equipped to runyour mail order business properly youare going to need a good supply ofenvelopes (both normal size and large),shipping labels and letterhead paper.You will also need access to reliablebusiness partners for circular printing,typesetting, graphic layout and design,copywriting assistance, bookletprinting, hardback book printing,business cards and poster printing.As you can see, the mail order businessis very closely tied in with theprinting business. Unless you have yourown printing plant, always shop aroundfor the best prices and keep yourproduction costs in line.Once you've gotten your envelopesready, and your circulars made up,you'll need a potential customer list.Again, don't believe the advertisementsand free advice which states that allyou have to do is send your materialsout to a fresh opportunity seekerslist.
I have found that the bestprospects are those people who havepurchased similar or related items.Here again, Premier Publishers can helpout. They generally receive 2,000 newnames each month.
These names come fromPremier's national advertising...peoplewho are interested in new ways ofmaking money...easier ways of buildinga mail order business.Certainly Premier responds to all theseinquiries, but they do not offer thesame items the various dealers anddistributors are offering. Premieroffers their mailing lists for rental.Write for current description of nameswhich are available.When selecting a supplier to work within the mail order business, always besure they are quick to fill yourorders.
Customer complaints are the lastthing you want, and poor service leadsto dissatisfied and lost customers.Always be sure your supplier protectsyour customer list, and always makesure he goes that extra mile to workwith you, and not just for his ownprofits. This is the kind of serviceyou want from your supplier.Finally, you'll need to consideradvertising the different offerings youhave for sale.
We suggest that youstart small with a few experimental adsin your local paper or shopping news.Then you can move on to the biggerpublications. Article Tags: Mail Order Business, Mail Order, Order Business, You'll Need, Premier Publishers Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com .