More than anything else, the key to success in business depends
on how and where to advertise. You must advertise or forever
remain unknown. If you have « the better mousetrap, » you have to
let people know about it, or your ideas and efforts will come to
nothing.
Everybody seemingly has an idea for a product, a service or a
« how to » manual of some kind. Many people spend half of their
lives perfecting a product, learning how to perform a special
service, or writing a book–only to end up penniless and
heartbroken because « no one beats a path to their door » to buy
whatever it is they are trying to sell.
In most cases, it’s a matter of whether you want to « go down in
history » as just another inventor, hard-worker, author or want to
« sell a product and enjoy the rewards. »
Always do some basic common sense product analysis and market
research before you begin building, learning or putting together
something you want people to buy. The same kind of « research’
will save your time, frustration, and money, if you apply the
same principles to every « selling opportunity » that arouses your
interest.
Make a check list of questions that must be answered before you
embark upon any project or get too deeply involved in any selling
situation. Such a checklist should answer the following
questions:
1) Who will I sell it to?
2) Do these people really want, and need it?
3) How large is the market?
4) How will I reach these people and get them to buy?
5) Is anyone else selling a similar product, service or book?
6) What makes my product and strategies different?
7) Can I supply the product at a price the customer will pay, and
still make a profit for myself?
8) How much time, effort and money will I have to invest in order
to reach my profit goals?
9) Do i have the resources, and the stamina to carry this idea
thru to success?
Once you’ve answered these questions–completed this bit of basic
product analysis and market research–then you can start planning
exactly how you intend to sell it, and map out your advertising
strategy from there. You’ll find success in selling effort, much
easier, and much more profitable, if you honestly and objectively
answer these « check list » questions before you begin.
It’s absolutely imperative that you analyze the product, and
profile your prospective customer–the saleability of your
product, and the demand for such a product by the people you want
to buy. One other thing, don’t ever overlook or « poo pah » your
real and/or imagined competition.
When people neglect to analyze the product, and answer the basic
research questions, they’re almost certainly doomed to failure.
these are precisely the reasons for failure almongst people who
attempt to start a mail order business. We literally get tons of
mail order offers for products that are losers; and even offers
from people trying to sell us our own material and/or related
items which we can buy at wholesale prices.
When Sears & Roebuck send out a new catalog or sales circular, do
you « really » think they send one to Montgomery Ward? Another
thing, this « we’re all friends and in the same business, so you
buy from me and I’ll buy from you » philosophy may keep you busy
and you mailbox full, but it’ll never results in profits on your
P&L sheet. Advertise in the media that reaches your buyers, and
send your direct mail materials to people likely to but–not
sellers.
Remember, your first task is to determine who your most likely
customers are, and then design your advertising campaign to reach
those specific people. Generally, you wouldn’t try to sell
pantyhose with an ad in a care care magazine, or socket wrenches
with an ad in a magazine for bride-to-be.
In other words, design your advertisements to appeal to « your
kind of customer, »–send $5 for our report on HOW TO WRITE ORDER
PULLING ADS–and then, place these advertisements in the
publications these people buy and read. If you’re selling gift
items, crafts and other merchandise, advertise in those kinds of
publications–general merchandise catalogs catering to that kind
of buyer. If you’re wanting to recruit sales people, dealers and
distributors, place your ads in publications reaching people
looking for these kinds of opportunities.
I don’t recommend that you begin, or attempt to launch your
business via direct mail, but when the time comes for you to
expand into direct mail, be discriminate–select mailing lists
for your type of customer. Do-it yourselfers for shop tools,
cosmetics buyers for jewelry and self adornment merchandise,
how-to-book buyers for your crafts, hobbies and self-improvement
books, opportunity seekers for business start-up manuals, and
proven advertisers for your publications.
So, when you read in a business success article that you should
place your ad in publications carrying similar ads–the advice
given is « place your ads in publications reaching your kind of
buyer. » Just because it’s a publication reaching mail order
people and you’re selling imported gift items by mail, doesn’t
mean your ad will pull from exposure in that publication. Always
add one more answer: Does it reach a large number of the type of
buyers I’m selling to?
Definitely, this is where many mail order entrepreneurs go wrong,
and very definitely, this is the fallacy of advertising in the
M/O ad sheets. Analyzing the type of people a publication
reaches; and the loyalty as well as true interest of a
publication’s readers; and then determining whether or no they’ll
respond to your ad, is easy if you will just ask yourself a few
common sense questions.
Mail Order Ad Sheet: These reach beginning and small mail order
dealers…Their appeal is largely egotistical to see the
advertiser’s name/ad in print–read by other mail order dealers
to see who is advertising, what’s be advertised, and for the
accumulation or compiling mail lists. very little if any response
for the recipients who are looking, not for things to buy, but
for shortcuts to more profits.
Mail Order Tab Sheets: These reach basically the same audience as
the M/O Ad Sheets…Generally more appealing because of the
« instructional » articles and greater space devoted to mentioning
who’s doing what/names in print & free publicity. Rate these
according to the « information » being passed along in articles.
Usually, these publications pull a greater response than the ad
sheets, but still, they’re largest audience is one made up of
sellers.
Mail Order Dealer Catalogs: These reach the mail order dealers,
plus a very large segment of specific buyers–generally related
to the overall kind of merchandise offered within the catalog.
Unless there are « business building » articles, the recipients
generally toss them aside after a quick glance…These are very
good showcases for your dealer/distributor ads, and if it’s an
« established » merchandise catalog of the kind of product you’re
selling, these catalogs can be very good advertising outlets for
you…
Extra Income Magazines, such as Money Making Magic, Venture and
Entrepreneur: These publications individually reach a very loyal
basic subscriber list, most of the people wanting or hoping to
get started with, or already involved in a sparetime extra income
project, and tremendously large number of « first time » readers
with each issue. Look for, and rate them according to the balance
of actual « business building » articles they carry, in
relationship to their advertising–and overall, according to the
quality of the publication as well as the audience each trying to
reach–do the articles really help you, or are they « publicity
write-ups » for the advertisers… You’ll find that these
magazines are retained, and referred to by the recipients for
years…In almost every case, you can expect a good response from
your ads placed in one of these magazines–provided you’ve got a
good ad and it’s geared to the readers of that particular
magazine.
Remember: The bottom line is knowing your type of
buyer–presenting your product or opportunity in a style that
appeals especially to that type of buyer–and then placing your
ad in the publication reaching your kind of a buyer.
Cooking magazines for recipes; mechanical opportunity in the
mechanics magazines; self-improvement books and merchandise in
general merchandise catalogs; and income opportunities in
business-building, self-help magazines such as Money Making
Magic!
Besides matching the profile of your customer with the
demographics of the publication, it’s also important that you
match your selling prices within the average price range of
everything else offered in that publication. Running an ad to
sell a book at $65 in a publication featuring $20 books, probably
won’t pull for you. By the same toke, any ads attempting to
promote « re-production type » reports in a magazine selling $50
books, probably won’t bring very many responses for you either.
To achieve success–know your product, profile your prospective
buyer, design advertising that appeals to the self interest of
that specific kind of buyer; and place your ads in publications
reaching those kinds of buyers. If you’re trying to sell by
direct mail, send your offers to prospective buyers–not sellers
of the same type of materials you’re attempting to sell.
Very few people recognize a legitimate opportunity, even when you
hit then over the head with it–even so, unless you’ve got
something REALLY NEW, and a deal that really is THE OPPORTUNITY
OF A LIFETIME, save your money and don’t try to push your program
onto other mail order dealers who may already be selling it.
Assuming that you « know » your typical customer, and the best
media to reach this kind of customer, the next step is putting
your ad together. It’s said millions of times before, but it’s
important that you UNDERSTAND, and REMEMBER: Your ad MUST appeal
to the self-interest of your prospect. It must somehow be
different, and better, than all the others,particularly if your
product is being advertised in the same publication by other mail
order dealers.
Nothing beats originality. Write your ads from a different angle.
Lead off with the answer to every customer’s most important
question: What will I get if I send in my money?
Use words to paint pictures of success, wealth and happiness.
Eliminate the customer’s fears of being taken or ripped off.
Picture yourself in your prospective customer’s shoes, and give
him real reasons to send his money to you. And finally, make it
easy for him to order–call toll free; use your bank card; order
now and we’ll bill you later; self-addressed envelope.
Don’t be too determined to sell your primary product from your
ad. Chances are, if it’s as good as you say it is, and you really
want to make big profits, you should use a sales letter 4-or more
pages in length. Consider a « leader » item, and run an ad such as
this: FREE RAGS TO RICHES MAIL ORDER OPPORTUNITY guide! Send your
name, address, zip code & two first class stamps.
Then in response to all takers of this Free Offer, include the
complete sales letter, brochure, order form, and self-addressed
return reply envelope with the booklet you send out. Using this 2
step method, some people have attained 60 and 70 percent sales
for their primary product.
Another angle? FREE BOOK! Mail Order Millions From A Shoestring
Beginning! Send your name, address, and zip code, along with $1
for shipping and handling.
In response, you send out the book and a sales letter inviting
the recipient to avail himself of your mail order business
consulting services.
Again, the rules are: Determine who you want for a customer. Get
his undivided attention, and then sell your product or service.
Simple, easy, and it works every time. All it takes is a little
bit of common sense on your part!
A small, inexpensive classified ad offering a « most wanted »
leader item, followed up with a dynamic sales letter…and your
success is virtually guaranteed! As a means to an end,
particularly if you’re wanting to enlist people to sell your
product for you-
Start an ad sheet–run exchange with every ad sheet publisher in
the country–there are literally thousands of them. (Send $1 for
our listing of mail order publications…)
But, instead of running ads to promote your ad sheet, run your
« leader item » offer and follow up with your sales letter on your
primary product. From this, you’ll get fantastic FREE exposure;
inquires from people you can actually sell to; and the virtual
« no-cost » establishment of a nationwide sales force to promote
your business.
Do chain letters really work? In no way, form or fashion! But,
this method of running your « leader item » ad as an exchanged ad,
will work–and besides, it’s legal! The end result will be what
the chain letter promoters are promising you–People all over the
country promoting and selling your business for you.
You can’t do it all by yourself. You must multiply yourself–get
other people to help you, and present your product offer to as
many potential customers as possible. And so long as you’re
working from a limited budget, there’s no way on this green earth
you can afford the kind of advertising costs necessary for
overnight success! Send $5 for our report, HOW TO BUILD A
NATIONWIDE DEALER AND/OR DISTRIBUTOR NETWORK.
Finally, comes the moment of truth. Do you have what it
takes–the ability to go on studying, learning, and adapting–the
dedication and the stamina to last thru to the kind of success
you want?
It’s important that you do your homework–product analysis and
market research–the rest is merely common sense. You’ve got it,
now use it! For sure, it won’t be easy work ahead, and lots of
comprehension required–but you CAN do it, and the end result
will be well worth the investment. After all, what have you got
to lose but a try at total success?
From here on out, the ball is in your court and investment of
some kind of action on your part is required…
PUBLICATIONS TO PERUSE AS ADVERTISING SHOWCASES…
Money Making Magic
722 NE Paloma Ave.
Gresham, OR 97030
Grier’s Almanac
1824 Northeast Freeway
Atlanta, GA 30329
Woman’s Day
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
American Rifleman
1600 Rhode Island Ave, NW
Washington,DC 20036
Camping Journal
229 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10003
Field & Stream
383 Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Hi-Fi Stereo Review
One Park Avenue
New York, NY 10016
Frontier Times
PO Box 3338
Austin, TX 78764
Grit
208 West Third St.
Williamsport, PA 17701
Workbasket
4251 Pennsylvania Ave.
Kansas City, MO 64111
Bowling Journal
1825 N Lincoln Place
Chicago, IL 60614
Coin World
911 Vandemark Road
Sidney,OH 45365
Furniture
229 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 1003
Mechanix Illustrated
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036