The « Mail Order » business is not a business of itself, but is
another way of DOING business. Mail Order is nothing more or less
than selling a product or service via advertising and the offers
you send out by mail.
Therefore, to start and succeed in mail order business of your
own, you need just as much, and in some cases, more business 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 fledging
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 practice, and persistence as well.
Mail Order is over saturated with plans, directories, sales
material 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 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 « drop shipping » 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 8×11 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 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 you, keeping your customer’s name
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 advise 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 a
single book circulars to feature), and another advertising a list
of related products ot titles available to your customer.
Once you start receiving orders form 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 list 400
titles for your customer to choose from. These catalogs can be
ordered in small 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 the 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 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 back this up, you’ll need a supply of envelopes for your
acknowledgement and follow-up offers. you can purchase imprinted
mailing and return reply envelopes form your local quick print
shop; but for better prices, and with the thought in mind of
keeping costs in line, it is best to shop around for the best
prices. Generally speaking, you’ll find the lowest prices offered
by those printer who do business by mail. Look for « printing by
mail » advertisements in all the mail order publications you come
across. Write 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.
Speedy Printers
23800 Aurora Rd
Bedford Hghts, OH 44146
Pittman Printing
1135 Merrill Ave
Potervilles, CA 93257
National Press Inc.
527 W Randolph
Chicago,IL 60606
Mahair Sales
415 Morris Bridge Rd
Zephyrhills, FL 33599
FOR EXTRA LARGE ENVELOPES
Envelope Converters, INc.
4815 Metropolitan Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11237
Gray Arc
882 Third Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11232
FOR ORDER-MAILING ENVELOPES
New England Business Svcs
500 Main St
Groton, MA 01471
U.S. Box Corp
1298 McCarter Hwy
Newark, NJ 07104
YOU’LL ALSO NEED SHIPPING LABELS
Label Center
308 Washington
ST Louis, MO 63101
L & D Press
152 W 42nd St
New York, NY 10036
Labon of Hollywood
Box 54386
Los Angeles, CA 90054
C&J Fox & Co.
PO Box 6186
Providence, RI 02940
FOR LETTERHEAD PAPER: Try your local commercial printers first,
and then contact the following for the best prices:
National Engraving Co.
PO Box 2311
Birmingham, AL 35201
E.M Printing CO.
187 Conklin Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11236
FOR CIRCULAR PRINTING:
Stephen Gaffney
110 Ashburton Ave
Yonkers, NY 10701
White Oak Stationery
PO Box 429
Colesville, MD 20904
J.E Thomas Ent.
PO Box 253
Detroit, MI 48221
FOR TYPESETTING & GRAPHIC LAYOUT/DESIGN
Fitch Graphics
PO Box 76850
Atlanta, GA
30328
Graphics South
1348 Kings Hwy
Shreveport, LA 71103
Stern Graphics
335 Great Neck Rd.
Great Neck, NY 11021
FOR COPYWRITING HELP
Lee Howard
PO Box 1140
Clearwater, FL 33517
Grafix-One
947 Hickory RD
Hillsdale, MI 49242
FOR BOOKLET PRINTING
Champion Printing
PO Box 148
Ross, OH
45061
Speedy Printers
23800 Aurora Rd
Bedford Hghts, OH 44146
Dinner & Klien
PO Box 3814
Seattle, WA 98124
FOR HARDBACK PRINTING
Harlo Printing Co.
16721 Hamilton
Detroit, MI 48203
Automation Printing
PO Box 12201
El Cajon, CA 92022
IF YOU NEED BUSINESS CARDS
Paul K. Alexander
14504 Lanica Circle
Chantilly, VA 22021
Nancy Jo Laub
Stelle RR #1
Caberry, IL 60919
Caprice Printing
401 Cossen
Elk Grove, IL 600007
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.
For a complete listing of firms with products available on a
dropship basis for sale by mail, send $7 to the distributor who
supplied this report. Ask for item #629, American Dropshippers
Directory.
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 that 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 to build a mail order
business.
Certainly Premier responds to all these inquires, 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 orders. Customer
complaints are the last thing you want, and poor service leads to
a 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 such as GRIT, CAPPERS
WEEKLY, BUDGET ADS, FAMILY TRAVEL LOG, INSIDERS, AMERICAN
BUSINESS, SPARE TIME, MONEYSWORTH, etc.