Now that you have written that attractive report, how are you
going to sell it? Perhaps you have already tried by placing a
carefully written classified or maybe a large display ad, then
waited for the postman to pile the flood of orders in your box.
What happened? The odds are 100 to 1 that you came up with a
couple of orders for all the time and effort. Why? You see
continuous ads, small ones and full page $4,000 ads in
newspapers, and magazines offering books and information. Many of
them are repeated over and over again by the same advertiser. You
know that they are making it or they could not continue to
advertise month after month. How are they making it when you
don’t seem to have any luck?
By examining the operations of these successful people we find
that they use several simple and easy methods to produce
excessive profits in the Mail Order Book Selling Business. When
you know these methods and put them to work for yourself you will
find that you too have the opportunity to make big money in this
business.
To start yourself on the road to success in writing your own
books and reports then selling them…Anytime and every time you
think of an idea or book title, write it down immediately.
Regardless of how idiotic it may appear to you at first, it could
be the ingredient you need to start you on the way to a fortune.
File your notes and look them over periodically. You put yourself
in a position whereby you have a good chance to come up with an
idea or a title that will be a real money-making « Blockbuster. »
If you are writings are about your own experiences on an
inspirational or how-to subject, consider writing the book as
well as the ads that sell it, in the « first person ». This gives
the reader the feeling he is getting personal communication and
is not just a number in a computer.
Many in Mail Order business, including ourselves, have indicated
that it is not a good policy and often a waste of time and money
to advertise in a general daily or weekly newspaper. This is true
under ordinary circumstances, but we find that when you have a
real « strong » title it pays to place conservative « test » ads in
the newspaper in order to learn the results quickly. However one
must keep extensive records in order to compare results and
determine if they may have a winner.
When tests indicate you have a winner, all that is left too do is
expand the advertising in the proper media and fill orders. It is
advisable to structure the price of your book so an offer will
stand an advertising expense of at least one-half of the selling
price. You need to spend this much for advertising in order to be
successful.
A 100% guarantee is a must in the book selling business. Not
everyone who purchases your book, regardless oh how « great » it
is, is going to benefit from it. There are always a few who will
want their money back. You must have a unique guarantee which
reassures them they haven’t spent their money until they are
satisfied. This can be done in many different ways, such as
holding their checks for 30 days or longer before depositing
them.
For the author/self-publisher, selling by mail is really the only
way to go. The production costs are low because the value is in
the information, not necessary in the number of pages written.
Mail Order is one of the finest businesses ever for the little
guy who wants the opportunity to try for the big « bucks »! All
you have to do is test with just small expenditure, correct your
mistakes and let the business expand itself!
Action pictures used in your ads get fabulous results if handled
right. Especially productive are ideas showing your product in
action. Search out the drawings and pictures used in better ads
that run month after month to learn what effective copywriting is
all about, then use the same ideas for your comparative
publication.
If you are able to write a « self improvement’ book or handbook
with very valuable information and at the same time make it
lively, witty and interesting, you could have the makings of a
million dollar winner. After your first tests prove reasonable,
determine if a more reasonable price structure will produce
better net profit through appealing to a large audience. When you
find it hitting real good, promote it in every way possible.
Send out several hundred copies to book reviewers to get
write-ups in as many publications as possible. Learn to deal with
the many small booksellers and bookstores, or cooperate with some
large distributors to get the books out through their normal
channels.
As you grow and progress, build up and maintain your name lists.
Make them available to other firms who wish to make offers to
proven buyers.
When you find the right combination (title, body and ad), a lot
of money can be made in a short time and it is a great thrill to
write and ad, test it, and see the money pouring in from your own
creative ability.
The large publishing companies use a shotgun approach, publishing
many titles when profiting from the few successful ones. They
can’t begin to market effectively all the many books on their
list and try to sell your book through them is generally futile.
Do it yourself and control the entire operation. If it doesn’t go
you can cut if off before heavy promotional expenditures bury
you. You remain flexible and diversified when you are your own
publisher.
Run some small classified advertisements in the Wall Street
Journal and other good publications, to get inquires. When enough
books are sold to more than cover the cost of the ads and
mailings, slowly, as the profits build up, run more and larger
ad. As sells prove your publications to be winners, you can run
full pages ads in national magazines, inviting direct orders with
a coupon included in the ads.
Remember, as you sit down to write, the information should be
about something in which you are knowledgeable and interested, or
something you have throughly reasearched. It must have some value
for the readers and they should benefit by having read it. If it
is not helpful to the reader and the benefits are not there,
sells cannot be sustained.
In summary, your book must fill a genuine need; the price
structure must be correct, there has to be a large or mass market
for the information in your book, your advertising must be
believeable, you must offer a strong guarantee, you must test
throughly before investing substantial amounts to promote and
sell the book.