The Complete Mail

Order Business
 Table Of Contents

Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

The Follow Up Piece . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Mailing Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Important Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Customer Service Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Beginner’s Opportunity Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Materials And Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Starting A Mail Order Publication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Co-Publishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Practical Plans For Beginner’s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Commission Circulars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

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Getting Started

A lot of people are going to tell you that there are “no more secrets” to making the big
profits in mail order. These same people will laugh at you and call you a “fool” for
wasting your time chasing rainbows that don’t exist.

But, don’t you believe them, or even listen to them! The opportunities for wealth beyond
your wildest dreams - via the direct mail sales of a product or service - have never been
greater!

If you have an idea - a product or service - now is the time to capitalize on it via mail
order selling. You can definitely start “on your kitchen table” and parlay it into millions
of dollars. Others have done it, are doing it, and now, it’s your turn for a piece of the pie.

As with any other profitable business, the procedure of making “profits” by mail has its
own set of rules. Learn these rules, adhere to them, adjust them to your own
circumstances - draw up a “battle plan” and work your plan. Persevere, be aware of other
people’s marketing methods, continue upgrading your own product or service, and with
determination, you can become a millionaire in our own right. And then, you can look
over your shoulder at those who were laughing at you, and perhaps help them in some
small way.

Knowledge, and the ability to use that knowledge, are the basic keys to success. You
must know what heights you want to attain, understand what it takes to attain those
heights, and then dedicate yourself to getting there.

The rules to achievement of success in direct mail

l) Market Research, 2) The use of the “right” mailing lists, 3) Customer Follow-Up.
If you can understand the “how’s and why’s” of these rules, then there’s virtually no way
you help but succeed in the field of mail order, even starting from scratch.

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Market Research has to do the selection of the proper product, identifying your “most-
likely” buyers, and getting your product-offer to these people.

Product selection is very basic, and thus the most important first step. Stop and think -
look around yourself - and listen to what the “people” are clamoring most for.

In this day and age, much of the noise in the air has to do with: How can I find a job?
How can I put together a resume that will get me a job when I spot an opening? Where
are the jobs? With these thoughts in mind, the person who writes, publishes, and gets an
instructional manual or even a newsletter relative to these questions, to the people, will
sell as many as he can produce.

So, step one is to “listen” to what the people are wanting, and then to satisfy those wants.
You do this by spending some time researching the subject. Visit your local public
library, interview a number of people involved who have succeeded in satisfying their
wants, conduct a few “dry runs” for personal experience and then write your manual.

The “secret” to ultimate wealth is the capability of producing a product that can be
duplicated an unlimited number of times for pennies, and sold for dollars. A great many
people get “bogged down” within this “rule” because they don’t under stand “time and
motion” requirements.

As an example, if you were to stage seminars for the unemployed in your area, to help
them to find and land jobs, you would undoubtedly make a fortune very quickly. But,
you would be committed to a certain expenditure of time every time you prepared for,
and staged a seminar. Thus, you would be making a lot of money for yourself, but at the
same time, you’d sustain a loss of time to enjoy your wealth doing the things you always
wanted to do, once you became rich. The only way around this would be to train and hire
other people to prepare for, and stage the seminars which would mean you would then be
dividing your profits.

At the bottom-line then, the “only way” is to write something, which can be duplicated as
often as necessary, and sold virtually forever. Look at it this way, you spend a full month
organizing your material and writing a manual that costs you $1 per copy to produce in

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quantity. You sell it for $20 a copy, and over a period of three years, you sell three
million copies - in essence, that amounts to $60,000,000 for one month’s work!!!

So, writing something “the people want,” is the only way to go. But, be careful. Make
sure you’ve done your homework and what you write about is what the majority of the
people “will stand in line to buy.” Listen to what the people want, and then give it to
them. This is the product selection part of your market research.

By listening to the cries for help, and catering to them, you will not only have
“discovered” the proper product; you will have also “identified” your buyers. Do not try
to interest the people in something that does not specifically fulfill one of their wants.
Don’t mistake a casual interest or complaint as “the voice” of the masses. Spend some
time “listening,” and then write to satisfy what “the people” want.

Once you’ve got your product ready for customers to buy, you should spend some time
creating the proper sales letter and/or circular you’ll use in presenting it to your potential
customers. Above all else, your sales materials must radiate an image of professionalism
and sell - sell - sell.

Use quality paper and printing in presenting your sales message. Present what you have
to say, not in manner that tells the prospect who you are, how well qualified you are to
write on the subject, or how much work you put into the project; but from a stand point of
how the customer is going to benefit from buying a copy of your manual.

As an example - General Motors doesn’t advertise cars by telling you how they were
designed and engineered - built by college graduates or union workers - nor have you
ever heard of someone walking up to a car in a dealer’s showroom, kicking the tire and
exclaiming, “Boy, this sure looks like a safe one.” In fact, new cars are sold by the smell
and the image of the prospective owner sitting in the driver’s seat and showing off by
driving through his neighborhood - just climb in there behind the wheel and see how she
feels to you - go ahead and take it for a test drive - drive it home and see what your
neighbors think.

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The benefits your prospective buyer is going to receive, that’s the starting point from
which all “winning” sales letters are written, circulars designed, and the “secret” of
getting people to spend money on a product or service.

Students from the advertising classes at your local college, free-lance advertising agency
personnel, and - believe it or not - automobile dealership advertising managers, are the
people to turn to for ideas and help.

Follow Up Piece

Next, is your follow-up piece. Ideally, this is a simple one page listing of other “related”
materials for your customers. So, assuming you’ve sold him a manual on how to land a
job - your follow-up piece might list manuals on how to dress to project a winning image,
how to breeze through job interviews, and/or what to do after the interview, perhaps an
opportunity for your buyer to subscribe to a quarterly newsletter listing job availability’s.

It’s important that you have your follow-up piece put together, and ready before you
make your primary offer available to the public. Then, when you start receiving orders,
along with the manual the customer has ordered, simply also enclose your follow-up
listing of other materials available.

Thus, you make one sale and as a result of he first sale, you make further sales of related
materials - the kind of “back end” sales that will keep you in business, and your profits
multiplying. Don’t neglect the follow-up piece.

Mailing Lists

Getting your offer to your most likely buyers is going to cost you money, and here’s
where most direct mail beginners drop the ball. Do not try to save money, and send your
offer out to just any old list of names. Contact a reputable mailing list broker - visit your

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public library and ask the librarian for a copy of the Standard Rate & Data Services
directory pertaining to mailing list brokers - tell the mailing list broker about your offer
and ask for his help in choosing a mailing list that will be profitable for you.

You’ll probably have to rent a minimum of 5,000 names at a cost ranging between $35
and $95 per thousand, but in the end - you’ll save a lot of time and money because with a
good offer and a good mailing list you count on a tremendous response.

For instance, the one time rental of a good mailing list may cost you $475 at $95 per
thousand... But then, a 20% response from such a list on a $20 manual, would mean
$20,000 in your pocket.

To spend your time compiling names and addresses from incoming mail order offers, or
to rent and use a mailing list from any source other than a reputable broker is not only
foolish but also a shortcut to the poorhouse! Identify your most-likely buyers, contact a
reputable mailing list broker, match your “buyer profile” to his most responsive list, and
you’ll make money - lots of money - every time. Anything less is just an exercise in
futility!

There you have it - short & sweet - cut & dried - and, the “easy way” to the big profits in
mail order starting from scratch... These are the basics - the secrets to how others have
done it, and how you can do it too. Organize yourself, follow these guidelines and it’ll be
next to impossible for you not to succeed.

Remember though, your best product will be “how-to” information. Something the
people “want” to learn. Something you can research, write about, and produce for
pennies and then sell for dollars.

And don’t forget, once you’re ready to start taking orders, make sure that you get your
offer to the most likely buyers. Get out of the “mail order circle” and to the people who
want and will spend money for your product.

It’s easy - it’s simple - and it can be very rewarding! Understand the requirements,
position yourself to succeed and do it! This time next year, you could be a millionaire!!!

You can advertise your services in flyers that get mailed with other circulars and ad
sheets in your big mails, which are ordered by customers whose names and addresses get

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added to your rental mailing list, which is ordered by other dealers who find out about
your other services.

Customers who aren’t in the mail order business can still gain useful information from
your products, use your print brokering services to get the best prices on their other
printing needs, and can purchase return address rubber stamps from you.

Important Tips

It all goes together in a cycle that will make money for you. All you need to do is be
persistent (VERY) and remember the following tips:

• ADVERTISE! People can’t and won’t order from you if they don’t know who you
are and what you sell. Get those ads out there! You don’t have to spend thousands of
dollars on full-page ads. Put those one-inch ads in the ad sheets you get in the mail.
They’re cheap, and they WORK.
• REINVEST! Don’t expect to build a full-time business by putting a few ads in ad
sheets, then never advertising again. If you want to succeed, you MUST put at least
50% of your profits back into advertising. Expand the amount of advertising you do
until you saturate the market. That’s the way to be a success. Start your business
part-time, and keep your full-time job, so you don’t NEED to dip into your profits for
spending money. If you pour your profits into advertising at the beginning, it will take
less time for your part-time business to become self-supporting and full-time.
• STAY ALERT! Read and save all the mail order related mail you get. Your files
will prove to be a valuable source of information and ideas for future products, ads
and services.
• WORK WITH OTHER MAIL-ORDER DEALERS! You will find that the
competition in this business can also be your friend. When co-publishing and mailing
other dealers’ circulars, you will be helping them. They will help you in return. Be
honest, trustworthy, and deliver on all your promises, and the other dealers you work
with will do the same.

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• DON’T GIVE UP! If you think you can get rich overnight in mail order, you need to
rethink things. Sure, some people have gotten lucky, but the majority of mail order
businesses start slow and build slowly. You can’t give up after the first month. Be
like the little engine that could, and keep pushing along. It will take time, but the
time you take will be worth it.
• BE SKEPTICAL! If you see an offer in the mail that is far too good to be true, it
probably IS too good to be true. Don’t fall for the get rich quick junk, and don’t try
to sell the stuff, either. Your customers won’t be very loyal after you burn them.
• GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE... Customer service is of the utmost importance in
mail order. Give a good guarantee on your products. If they are good and deliver on
your advertised promises, you won’t have to worry about many customer returns. If a
customer has a complaint, make sure you answer them quickly and kindly.
Sometimes, the best return customers are the ones who have had problems that
you’ve corrected. They see that you have their interests in mind, and respect you for
that.
• STUFF THAT ENVELOPE FULL! Return business is the key to making money in
mail order. That first order covers your costs; the return business is profit. Always
give your customers a lot of products and services to choose from.

If you follow these rules and use the information provided in this report set, you should
find yourself on the way to an exciting part-time or full-time mail order business that you
can operate out of your own home!

Additional Information
There is a lot of excellent material being written and sold for beginners to the mail order
field. It seems everyone is ready, willing and able to offer their “words of wisdom” to the
new business owner and this is GREAT! This action on the part of almost every stable
mail order dealer only goes to further prove my point in this report.

Mail order is loaded with the best people in the world! Walk into any corporate-owned
establishment and be introduced to “greed” first-hand. Please don’t get me wrong, there

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are some very well run organizations, but any time you hire employees, the dedication to
your product or service begins to deteriorate.

In the early 1800’s most of the businesses were owned by one person or one family. They
took pride in their product and took the time to provide their customers with high quality.
The other day one of my customers called to thank me for a publishing job I had
completed for them. They said they couldn’t find my company’s type of quality at any
price locally. They explained that the majority of people don’t take “pride” in their wares.

But what is mail order filled with? Small, one-person-owned businesses. We have built
them from the ground up and we are PROUD to be able to service our customers. And
when we have a customer complaint, we normally do every-thing and anything under our
power (even if we lose money) just to make that customer satisfied! This is PRIDE! And
I’d like to believe that most of us all have it!

Multi-level companies also sell excellent quality products. The shampoo and conditioner
I use, the cream I put on my face every night, the mail order printing company I utilize as
well as the many other products and services I order through the mail are products I could
NEVER purchase locally. So don’t forget to let the beginners know who we really are!
Beginners are like children (so-to-speak.) They come into this industry with the
willingness to learn from experienced professionals. They do not know when they are
told to hand address their envelopes in red ink that this is ridiculous!

If you take a 2-year-old child and tell them that people in Russia all have green skin they
will believe you without question. They will never doubt your word until someone else
comes along and convinces them otherwise. Beginners to mail order are the same way.
We have a duty to train them correctly and give them honest and sound advice.

The problem is that some people are greedy and don’t want to train them properly. They
are afraid if they teach them what they know that the beginner will be better than they
are; make more money than they will; outshine them and be more successful.

Unfortunately this is greed talking. Any beginner you help to become successful will take
you right along with them. They’ll never forget you taking time and educating them on

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exactly how to make money. The more money they make the more money you will
make. But even besides this they will benefit the mail order industry as a whole. You
won’t live forever. The mail order industry will continue thriving long after you are dead
and buried. Shouldn’t it be our concern to teach people to carry on what we started?

Sure, there are some beginners that are only looking for a fast buck and a way to make
some easy cash. These people don’t need your time and dedication, but they don’t need
you lying to them either and robbing them. Instead, steer away from these types and
concentrate your energies on people who really want to succeed. The beginner who has
pride in their business is the same beginner that will grow up and remain dear to you.

Treat beginners of today like they are big companies of tomorrow. When I first started in
mail order, I didn’t know that SASE meant a self-addressed stamped envelope. I saw an
advertisement from TOD House, PO Box 4769, Chicago, IL 60680 that I answered and I
didn’t enclose a SASE as requested since I didn’t know what it was.

TOD House wrote back a dirty note that said: “Your business tactics are typical of
women and we have more bad customers that we know what to do with. We don’t need
another bum like you.”

These words hurt me deeply. But guess what? Now 7 years later, I can tell other people
about this incident and educate them. Where did all this get TOD House? No where! And
to think all this started over a simple first-class stamp? Come on folks! Don’t you think
it’s time to start helping instead of hurting? Don’t you think it’s time to contribute to our
industry?

CUSTOMER SERVICE TIPS

Can we be too good to our customers? No way! Our customers are the backbone of our
business! They’re right no matter what!

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But I’m sorry to disagree with you. As small, honest and legitimate businesses we have a
tendency to place our product quality above money. While this is the “right” way of
building a strong, solid business; there are customers that will try to take advantage of
you. You have to learn how to notice this possibility coming and “bow out gracefully”
without losing the customer.

Remember that most newcomers to the world of mail order think that they are ordering
from BIG companies just because we have a company name! They cannot conceive how
poor and struggling a lot of us really are. They think we can absorb costs and because
they are poor themselves, will often try and take advantage of people like us. (If they only
knew the many times I have personally had to hold an order up for mailing because I
couldn’t afford the 52c to mail it back, or the guy who bounced a $2 check and caused a
close friend of mine to go “in the hole” $15 in bad check charges.)

But because we are honest people who place our product ABOVE money we sometimes
let people walk all over us. In fact a mail order buddy of mine (who distributes
shareware computer disks) is normally so happy when she gets an order that she gives the
customer almost 10 times more than what they pay for. She is so excited about keeping a
customer that she goes overboard to make them happy.

Unfortunately, a lot of people will take advantage of this situation. They think, “Hey, if I
can get this much for hardly nothing, I’ll see how much more they’ll give me. Look at all
the “freebies” I could get and all the money I could save.” They’ll lose respect for you.
However, this line of thinking is only short term. Sure, as a customer, you might get some
more free stuff with the next order, but pretty soon the business owner will realize what’s
going on. Then you’ll lose that business contact forever! I can still recall the people who
ripped me off before and I would NEVER do business with them again! This is a sad
situation!

As a dealer, you can learn to give your customers what they pay for. Go that extra mile
on special requests, but never over-extend yourself if it means lost profits to your
business. This line of thinking will cause you to set yourself up to be taken advantage of
and then you’ll become resentful toward your customers; which is bad.

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Another friend of mine was so stunned by landing an on-going, monthly publication that
she promised the customer “the moon” without even having to do so. When she lived up
to all her promises she ended up paying $215 out of her own pocket to publish each issue.
Of course, she had to cancel her contract forever, which is “bad business.”

In mail order we all have the ability to make ourselves look “richer” than we really are.
We can work co-op deals with other people to barter and trade for things we don’t have
and could never pay for. Then, when orders are filled professionally, the customer
suddenly thinks the mail order dealer has a lot of money to spread around and can afford
to lose a few dollars on them.

If a customer does not send the correct amount for you to fill his or her order simply write
them a nice letter explaining that they did not enclose the proper amount. Send them an
invoice showing the amount they still owe and bill them before filling the order.

If someone calls you up on the phone and talks a “good” sales pitch (with the intention of
getting you to fill their order before they pay you) kindly explain that your company
policy is to receive payment first since they are a new customer. No other explanation is
necessary.

However, don’t go overboard and get crazy. If a new customer forgets to enclose a 29c
stamp, go ahead and send them information. It’s silly to spend another 29c stamp yourself
to tell them to send a 29c stamp. And not filling the order is also crazy. If the customer
cared enough to write in the first place, you at least owe them a response. Besides, it
might bring a big order. Don’t get hung-up over a stamp!

Some dealers refuse to take personal checks because they are afraid they will bounce.
Again this is not good customer service since it’s a lot of trouble to buy a money order
when most people have checking accounts. This line of thinking will cost you lots of lost
orders. However, you can hold the check for clearance before you fill the order if the
amount is over $25. Use common sense and you’ll make it!

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The Beginner’s Opportunity Guide

The Mail Order business is not a business in and of itself, but it is another way of doing
business. Mail Order is neither 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

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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.

Materials And Supplies

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

15
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. For envelopes, we suggest you contact any of the firms listed on the next page for
their current prices.

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 Speedy Printers Pittman Printing
23800 Aurora Rd. 1135 W. Merrill Ave.
Bedford Heights, OH 44146 Porterville, CA 93257

National Press, Inc. Mahair Sales

527 W. Randolph 415 Morris Bridge Rd.
Chicago, IL 60606 Zephyrhills, FL 33599

FOR EXTRA LARGE ENVELOPES:

Envelope Converters GrayArc
4815 Metropolitan Ave 882 Third Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11237 Brooklyn, NY 11232

FOR ORDER-MAILING ENVELOPES:

New England Business Service U.S. Box Corp.
00 Main St. 1298 McCarter Hwy
Groton, MA 01471 Newark, NJ 07104

YOU’LL ALSO NEED SHIPPING LABELS:

Label Center Labon of Hollywood
308 Washington Box 54386
St. Louis, MO 63101 Los Angeles, CA 90054

L & D Press C.J. Fox & Co.

nd
152 W. 42 St. PO Box 6186
New York, NY 10036 Providence, RI 02940

FOR LETTERHEAD PAPER: Try your local area commercial printers first, and then
con tact the following for the best prices:

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 National Engraving Co. E.M. Printing Co.
PO Box 2311 187 Conklin Ave.
Birmingham, AL 35201 Brooklyn, NY 11236

FOR YOUR CIRCULAR PRINTING:

Stephen Gaffney White Oak Stationery J.E. Thomas Ent.
110 Ashburton Ave PO Box 429 PO Box 253
Yonkers, NY 10701 Colesville, MD 20904 Detroit, MI 48221

FOR TYPESETTING & GRAPHIC LAYOUT/DESIGN:

Fitch Graphics Graphics South Stern Graphics
PO Box 76850 1348 Kings Hwy 335 Great Neck Rd.
Atlanta, GA 30328 Shreveport, LA 71103 Great Neck, NY 11021

FOR COPYWRITING HELP:

Lee Howard Grafix-One
PO Box 1140 947 Hickory Road
Clearwater, FL 33517 Hillsdale, MI 49242

FOR BOOKLET PRINTING:

Champion Printing Speed Printers Dinner & Klein
PO Box 148 2380 Aurora Rd PO Box 3814
Ross, OH 45061 Bedford Heights, OH 44144 Seattle, WA 98124

FOR HARDBACK BOOK PRINTING:

Harlo Printing Co. Automation Printing
16721 Hamilton PO Box 12201
Detroit, MI 4823 El Cajon, CA 92022

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IF YOU NEED BUSINESS CARDS:
Paul K. Alexander Nancy Jo Laub Caprice Printing
14504 Lanica Circle Stelle RR #1 401 Cossen
Chantilly, VA 22021 Caberry, IL 60919 Elk Grove, IL 60007

POSTERS:
Ben & Sons Press
3513 W. Lawrence
Chicago, IL 60625

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.
We 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

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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 such as GRIT, CAPPERS
WEEKLY, BUDGET ADS, FAMILY TRAVEL LOG, INSIDERS, AMERICAN
BUSINESS, SPARE TIME, MONEYSWORTH, etc.

Starting Your Own Mail Order Publication

If you are an old hand at mail order, or a newcomer to the business, sooner or later you
are going to want to try your lick at having your own publication.

There are some pro’s and con’s to running your own publication.

The good points - - -

Prestige - You are the Editor and Publisher

You can get free advertising for your products.
You can earn profits on the publication.
You can get a name in the mail order field.
You can write articles and editorial opinions.

Some of the con’s - - -

You have to be careful in selecting a format. Too many people send all their money
trying to start a publication and don’t plan far enough ahead to keep it going.

It takes time - doing layouts, collecting material to use, pasting up ads. You will learn
more about tricks of the trade in this report.

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So, if the scale of interest tips toward your desire to give it a try, be prepared to put some
time and dollars into getting it off the ground.

Your best format, and the cheapest, is to use 8 _ x 11 standard letter size sheet. Fold it in
half, making a folder of 5 _ x 8 _ size. You now have what is termed as a 4-pager
publication. An 8-pager would be using a second sheet, folded to the 5 _ x 8 _ size and
placed inside of the first sheet.

Then after you have your publication launched, you will make things easier by having
some layout sheets printed in non-reproducing blue ink. The layout sheets are divided
into two columns per page, and column inches. There are sixteen 1-inch spaces per page
(eight per column). This is the starting point in determining the cost and selling price per
column inch for ads.

Take a layout to your local quickie printer, and get a price for 1,000 copies of your 8 _ x
11 sheet, printed two sides.

For an example, let’s assume your printer wants $20.00 for 1,000.

On a four-page publication, you reserve the front page for your masthead (name of the
publication) and three pages for advertising.

You have 16 one-inch spaces per page times three pages, so you have 48 spaces available
to sell. If you sell each space at $5.00 net to you, you will generate 48 x $5.00 or
$240.00 in revenue for one sheet folded into a four pager.

Remember, if you use an eight pager, you are generating $80.00 per page from
advertising, so every ad of your own (or articles that use up ad space) reduces your
income. An eight pager, less the front page, generate 7 pages of advertising revenue, or
$560.00. Your cost for an eight pager for printing would be approximately $40.00 for
1,000 quantity, leaving you a profit of $520.00

Start by putting together a layout - a four pager. Select a name that tells it all, in one or
two words if possible, i.e. “The Mail Box”. Decide how often you are going to publish -
once a month - bi-monthly - quarterly. Write your editorial copy for the front pate; a
typewriter is all you need. Type your copy on separate sheets in two columns and paste it
up.

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Tell all about your publication...what, where, when, who, etc., and be sure to tell the
circulation you will have 1,000, 2,000, etc. The more circulation you have, the more you
can ask per inch.

When you are first starting out, with only 1,000 circulation, you may not be able to get
$5.00 per column inch. It may be necessary to charge only $2.50 per inch to get
advertisers to buy your space.

Your next step is to post up some ads. If you have products that you sell by mail order,
use them to fill the pages. You may also write to some who are advertising in other
publications and offer them an introductory ad at a reduced rate for the first issue. The
back page should be reserved for your advertising order blank, calling attention to the
special price, and inviting potential advertisers to complete it and mail it in with payment.

When pasting up ads, make sure to keep them in a neat column width. And if someone
submits an ad on colored paper, dip it in household bleach and place it on a paper towel
to dry. The bleach will take out the color background so that your printer can handle the
reproduction.

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CO-PUBLISHING
Most publications in mail order are co-publishing publications. This means that is you
are the prime publisher, you insert a box on the front page with “Co-Publisher” printed
above it. Co-publishers are your advertisers. Each may run an ad in your publication one
time, paying the full rate, and agreeing to mail 25, 50, or more copies with his name
stamped in the Co-publisher box. The Co-publisher mails out his copies, and since it is a
Co-publisher publication, the prime publisher does not solicit ads directly, but refers all
ads through a Co-publisher. The Co-publisher sells ads by mailing out copies. If you
establish a rate of $6.00 per 1-inch ad, your Co-publisher keeps 50% and sends the ad to
be run, along with your 50% to you.

This is a method of distributing your publication without having to mail it yourself.

However, experience has proven that only about 40% actually mail their copies, so your
publication may not get distributed and results would be very discouraging to you and the
advertiser, (even though they did not do what they agreed to do).

The best idea is to get your hands on as many other publications as possible. Type up
labels with all advertisers, and prepare your own mailing list; you may wish to
supplement this with a list of mail order buyers that can be purchased from list houses for
$30 per 1,000.

Inquire at your local post office for information/instruction on bulk mailing. Current
ruling is a minimum of 500 pieces, and if you get up to 2,000, you should really consider
bulk mailings. You will find that a permit is necessary, which involved a fee, but bulk
will cut your cost tremendously. You do have to sort and tie your mail by zip codes, but
rate per piece is currently 19.8 for up to 3.8 oz. - - compared to 29 cents for the first
ounce and 23 cents for each additional ounce first class.

To improve your professional touches, learn more about graphics by purchasing books on
graphics, layouts and techniques available from many sources - or go to your public
library. You will learn about reproducing photos, reducing, enlarging, and using press-on
type for headlines. These are elements you will learn quickly when you put out your own
publication. If you have a local printer, you might be surprised to find he is willing to
help your own publication. If you have a local printer, you might be surprised to find he

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is willing to help you be sharing information and shortcut tips. Also, study other
publications for style and format, and make notes as to how you could improve them.

When you have progressed to a circulation of 5,000 or more, you should look into a
changeover to tabloid format (newspaper style) which is printed on Webb press - the
savings are tremendous. But for starters, stay with the 5 _ x 8 _ format.

Practical Plans For Mail Order Beginners

Below are six simple, practical plans that will enable you to start and build your own
money making mail order business. These plans have made money for others, and they
will make money for you - If you will REALLY work at them!

PLAN #1 - SELL BIG MAILS. The easiest way to start selling by mail is to advertise
and sell “Big Mails”. To get started, co-publish at least three Mail Order Magazines and
several ad sheets. Use an ad like this:

BIG MAIL - $1.00 - Commission Mailed Free!

(Your Name and Address)

When someone sends you $1.00, send him one copy of each magazine, one copy of each
ad sheet, and one copy of every commission circular that you have in stock. If you
advertise regularly, and fill each order by return mail, you will soon by selling ads and
subscriptions, as well as merchandise offered on the commission circulars. You can
expand by regularly adding to your list of magazines and ad sheets. There are some
dealers who advertise in more than 100 Mail Order Magazines every issue. If you are
willing to work, you can do the same thing!

PLAN #2 - SELL DIRECTLY FROM ADS. If you are selling merchandise which is
used by Mail dealers and Opportunity seekers, such as rubber stamps, information
directories, envelopes, labels, mail order manuals, sample copies of opportunity

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magazines, etc., you can make money selling them directly from ads in the Mail Order
Magazines. If you buy the merchandise in quantity, you can ship orders directly to your
customers yourself. Otherwise, you can use the drop-ship method.

To be successful, you must schedule REGULAR FOLLOW-UP MAILINGS to your

customers offering more of the same merchandise or items that are closely related to it.
Do this consistently, month after month, and you will be amazed at the number of checks
you will have to deposit in your bank account!

PLAN #3 - MAKE SALES THROUGH CIRCULAR MAILERS. If you have a good

offer - one which really appeals to opportunity seekers - have your printer set up an
attractive 3 x 6 circular and then pay circular mailers to mail them for you. Your circular
will only pull if it offers some thing that mail dealers and opportunity seekers want and
need.

Ideally, 3 x 6 circulars distributed by circular mailers should offer “leader items”, items
which are appealing, useful and priced right (never more than a dollar or two; even less if
possible). The purpose of the circular is to attract new, steady customers for your mailing
list.

You should plan to make regular mailings to each person who purchases your leader
item. It is the REPEAT business that makes Mail Order Profitable.

If you send 200 circulars to mailers every day for thirty days, you will have 6,000
circulars in the mail at the end of the month. If you send 500 a day, you will have 15,000
circulars in the mail at the end of the month! There are mail dealers who rely entirely on
circular mailers to find new customers for them. Some of them distribute as many as
100,000 circulars every month!

PLAN #4 - SELLING THROUGH COMMISSION MAILERS. This plan is similar

to Plan #3 except that you do not pay mailers to mail your circulars. Instead, you print a
good commission ad on the backs of your circulars, leaving a blank space for the
commission mailer to rubber stamp his name and address.

The mailer stamps his name on them and includes them in his mailings. When he
receives an order for them, he keeps about half of the money as his commission and

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sends you the other half to drop-ship his order for him. You will probably make a small
profit from his sales, but your real profits come from the circulars that he is mailing at no
cost to you.

This method is a little more complicated than Plan #3, since you have to stock
merchandise and fill drop-ship orders - but in the long run, it is cheaper than paying
mailers to mail your circulars.

You can give your circulars away free, you can ask mailers to pay their postage for them,
or you can run ads in the Mail Order Magazines.

Commission Circulars
100 - $1; 500 - $3
We drop-ship for half.

There are literally hundreds of people looking for good commission circulars. This can
be a very effective way of building up a very prosperous Mail Order Business - if you
have the stamina to work at it!

PLAN #5 - GET PAID FOR MAILING CIRCULARS. Start by studying the mailing
rates of other mailers in the Mail Order Magazines and then create a similar ad for
yourself. Start small - advertise in lots of 100 and 250. Later, as you gain experience,
advertise for circulars in 500 and 1000 lots.

Besides your mailing ad, you should also run an ad like this!

BIG MAIL - - FREE!

Postage Appreciated.

Soon after your mailing ad appears, you will start receiving small packages of circulars to
mail - each with money in them! (Be sure to send a sample mailing to the mailing

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customer. It is the only way you will get more circulars to mail!) You will also get
letters with stamps in them. Use the stamps to mail the circulars that you have been paid
to mail.

As soon as you get more requests for Big Mails than you have circulars; increase the
number of your circular mailing ads. If you get more circulars to mail than requests for
Big Mails, increase the number of your Big Mail ads.

If you stick to your mailing copies of magazines in which you are advertising in your Big
Mails, you will sell enough ads to pay for your own advertising. And if you include
commission circulars in the Big Mails, your sales from them will be “pure gravy”.
Circular Mailers soon learn that there are dozens of ways to make money in this business
- if they keep their eyes and their ears open!

PLAN #6 - BECOME A “COMMISSION MAILER”. The first thing you should do is

sit down and order SMALL quantities of commission circulars from about twenty or
thirty different dealers. Most will charge you about $1.00 per hundred. A few will
supply them for just the postage. Once you have done this, order at least one new batch
of commission circulars EVERY DAY! (You will find them advertised in the Mail Order
magazines or you can buy lists of commission circular suppliers from most dealers.)

Also order 100 names of opportunity seekers from two or three different dealers.

It will take two or three weeks for your circulars to start arriving, due to present day third
class mail service. As soon as you have about fifteen different circulars, start mailing
them. Set a daily quota and stick to it. Five letters a day is 150 letters a month, 33 letters
a day is 1,000 a month!

When orders come in, forward the order to the drop-shipper IMMEDIATELY! Then
acknowledge the order and let your customer know that his order is being shipped to him
direct from the supplier VIA THIRD CLASS MAIL. With your acknowledgment -
INCLUDE SOME MORE CIRCULARS! I cannot over stress the importance of this.
Your customer likes you and your offers - give him the opportunity to buy something else
from you. He is your best source for more business.

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Orders will be slow - very slow - in the beginning, but don’t get discouraged. Initially
this is a slow business, and the only ones who succeed in it are those who have the
patience to persevere.

When you find a customer, send him a new mailing every month for at least three
months. (That is why you should be ordering NEW circulars every day!)

Once you find a circular that “pulls” - order more of them. If possible, order them with
your names and address PRINTED on them. (They will almost always pull more than
rubber stamped circulars.) Eliminate circulars that do not produce orders, but keep
mailing the ones that do. Eventually, you will develop a mail order “package” that will
be irresistible to your prospective customers.

As your customer list grows, you will soon discover that your mailings will become
productive (providing that you mail to your customer regularly). A “customer list” will
always pull more than a cold list. Making the first sale is certainly the hardest.

Commission mailing is difficult in the beginning. Most beginners do not stick with it log
enough to give it a fair chance. If you will stick with it - you can make money mailing
commission circulars. It takes determination and a willingness to really work at it!

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