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More than anything else,
the key to success in business depends on how and where
you advertise. You must advertise or forever remain unknown.
If you have "the better
mousetrap," you have to let the 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 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're
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 you 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
other people to buy.
The same kind of "research" will save you time, frustration, and money,
if you apply the
same principles to every "selling opportunity" that arouses your interest.
Make up 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 check list should
answer the following questions:
l) 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 & get them to buy?
5) Is anyone else selling
a similar product, service or book?
6) What makes my product
& 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
& money will I have to invest in order to reach my profit
goals?
9) Do I really have the
resources, and the stamina to carry this idea through 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 any 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 market re search
questions, they're almost certainly doomed to failure. These
are precisely the reasons for
failure amongst people who attempt to start a mail order business.
We get literally "tons
of mail order offers" for products that are losers; and even offers
from people trying to sell
us our own materials and/or related items which we can buy at wholesale
prices.
When Sears & Roebuck
sends 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 your mailbox full, but it'll never result in profits on your P
& L sheet. Advertise in the
media that reaches your buyers, and send your direct mail materials
to people most likely
to buy - not to 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 car care magazine; or
socket wrenches with
an ad in a magazine for brides-to-be.
In other words, design your
advertisements to appeal to "your kind of customer”,
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 the 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
& 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 being given is "to place
your ads in
publications 'reaching' your kind of buyer." Just because it's
a publications 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 interests
of a publication's
readers; and then determining whether of not 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 being advertised, and
for the accumulation
or compiling of mailing lists. Very little if any response from
the recipients who are
looking, not for thing 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 the 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 it 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 spare time
extra income project, and tremendously large numbers 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 the quality
of the publication as well as the audience each is 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 in knowing your type of buyer - presenting your
product or opportunity in a style that appeals especially to that type
of buyers - and then
placing your ad in the publication reaching your kind of buyer.
Cooking magazines for recipes;
mechanical opportunities in the mechanics
magazines; self-improvement books and merchandise in general merchandise
catalogs; and
income opportunities in the 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 token, any
ads attempting to promote "reproduction 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-interests 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 them 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 been 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, ad dress, zip code & two first class stamps.
Then in response to all the
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.
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 him 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
ads with every ad sheet publisher in the country -
there are literally thousands of them.
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; inquiries 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 exchange 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!
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 it through 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 -
there's 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 an investment of some kind of
action on your part is required...
PUBLICATIONS TO PERUSE AS ADVERTISING SHOWCASES...
Frontier Times
Grit
PO Box 3338
PO Box 5
Austin, TX 78764
Sarasota, FL 34230
Woman's Day
American Rifleman
1633 Broadway-42nd Floor
1600 Rhode Island Ave., NW
New York, NY 10019
Washington, DC 20036
Coin World
Furniture
911 Vandemark Road
229 Park Avenue South
Sidney, OH 45365
New York, NY 10003
Mechanix Illustrated
1515 Broadway
New York, NY 10036
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