Mail Order Myths

"The World's Most Exciting Business", so said Joe Karbo, direct response guru and legendary creator of The Lazy Man's Way to Riches.

Then how come so few people get started in mail order and direct mail?

Perhaps it's the myths - lies - surrounding the business, doubtlessly perpetrated by successful direct mail and mail order specialists keen to prevent others cashing in on their secrets.

This is what they will tell you ….. and why you should consider mail order and direct mail, as a new business, or add-on to an existing venture.

Myth #1
You Must Have Money - Lots of It - To Make a Fortune in Mail Order and Direct Mail!

Not True! As many fortunes, maybe more, are created by people starting on low budgets as others possessing unlimited cash reserves. Multi-millionaire, Melvin Powers, one of America's leading direct response specialists, sells books and information products, alongside numerous niche market products and others with universal appeal. His immense empire started several decades ago on the strength of one small classified ad!

He's not alone. The great Joe Karbo - The Lazy Man's Way to Riches - hit rock bottom and bounced back on the tide of several popular mail order products. The same is true of British couple, Daniel and Kathy Crandall, who tell an amazing rags to riches tale in How to Get Rich Sooner Than You Think, published in the UK by Chartsearch.

Myth #2
You'll Never Get Rich On One Product!

A half-way truth! One can't deny, the more best-sellers you have, the more money you're likely to make. But one best-selling product can still generate very good profits, even a fortune. A good example is Peter van Berckel of Wade World Trade, whose import/export course has sold consistently well for over half a century. Peter tells me that one small advertisement used to promote the course has hardly altered in more than fifty years, except for changes of address and telephone numbers.

Myth #3
There's No Such Thing As Small Markets in Mail Order and No Place for the Little Guy. You Have to be A Big Fish in a Big Pool! Preferably An Ocean!

Not always so! You don't need an ocean, even a big pool to make a fortune in mail order or direct mail! In fact, quite often the reverse is true, and sometimes the smaller your target market, the easier it is to reach and the lower your marketing costs are likely to be. It's called niche marketing - targeting a tiny pool of people with a clearly defined shared interest, like entering competitions, fishing, direct mail or animal husbandry. You won't work hard to find them or spend much in the process: they read the same publications, join the same clubs, they're passionate about their subject, and always eager to buy!

Myth #4
The Average Response in Direct Mail Is 3%! If You're Lucky! Sometimes It's Much Lower than That!

Oh dear, the biggest, best-traveled myth of all, and the one that deters most people from earning a fortune in direct mail. Let me tell you why that 3% suggestion is absolute rubbish. I've had 3%, yes, probably many times more than I've achieved far higher response rates. But I've had as high as 40% to my own list of past buyers and 16% from just one outside list that grows at the rate of 2,000 new names each week! It's all a question of continuously mailing past buyers (they know and trust you), testing new lists, and once you achieve a good response to an outside list, roll out consistently to new names and add even more regular buyers to your house list. As always, test all lists carefully, even your own, to ensure the best return for your money!

Myth #5
There's Nothing New In Mail Order. It's All Been Done Before!

Very true! And false! The simple fact that life goes on day by day is sufficient to generate lots of new products and plentiful methods of marketing for big money. New products available in one country but absent from your own can be imported or dropshipped by the owners, or copycatted by you. But be careful, copying something too closely is wrong, and actionable at law, unlike copycatting which really means 'emulating' without breaching trademark and copyright laws.

Sadly, even tragic, unexpected events present openings, as did the untimely death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and more recently old blue eyes himself, Frank Sinatra. Both spawned a host of mail order and direct mail promotions, not all complimentary to subjects themselves but all highly profitable judging by the extensive marketing strategies repeated week after week.

The secret is to keep your eyes open for new opportunities, 'new' not always meaning recent ….. and this is one time the 'nothing new' brigade might be right, because many exceptionally profitable products are regurgitated from ideas in decades-old publications, making flea markets a great source of product ideas for you!

Consider the yo-yo, for example, and the hula hoop, both making regular comebacks, alongside many more products waiting to be revived from ads. that can be picked out of magazines and newspapers selling for pennies on eBay and other auctions on and off the Internet.

Myth #6
Very Few Things Can Be Sold Through Mail Order and Direct Mail

Rubbish - virtually anything can be sold through mail order and direct mail, even if they can't always be delivered by post. Witness past offers of pieces of the Berlin Wall, cans of London Smog, pieces of land with titles attached, tins containing holes from Polo mints, a disused underground bunker (location eludes me), and a tropical rain forest in Costa Rica!

So there we have it: six myths to treat with caution and tackle with gusto.

And remember to always treat what experts say with caution. It might be their pockets they're looking to fill, not yours!

© Martyn Brown - Working Hours Publications - www.workinghours.co.uk

Business In a Pod

I’m always looking for new or different ways to promote home business. I use the obvious things like mail shots through the conventional mailing system, advertising in magazines and, of course, email. But there are things like desktop broadcasting and Internet radio/video that I’ve also gotten involved in.

The latest method is a thing called ‘PodCasting’ whereby you inform people about your product or service via a file that can be delivered and played on a computer and an MP3 player.

You can’t have avoided hearing or reading about the company called Apple and their revolutionary ‘I-Pod’ which is a small unit capable of playing music or audio files using the MP3 technology.

The new method of delivering these sound files to your computer or audio player has been named after the famous I-Pod MP3 player but can, in fact, be played on ANY player capable of reading MP3 files from any manufacturer.

There are directories on the Internet that list all the places where you can download these files on all kinds of subjects. Looking through the listings there are mostly demos of un-signed pop bands, peoples poetry and friends simply messing around with the capabilities of this new technology.

But there are some useful ‘how to’s’ and books to download as well.

The list is growing daily with, literally, tens of thousands of choices. If you like one particular broadcaster you can choose to have their Podcasts delivered directly to your computer or even downloaded directly onto your MP3 player for listening whenever you choose to. Unlike radio broadcasts, you can simply save the file and listen at your convenience, whenever you’re ready.

This gave me the idea of, maybe, making a recording all about a subject that could be useful to the listener … ie, your home business, and then go on to give your contact details, web site etc..

Making a regular series of recordings would soon get your name out there and you could create a following of interested parties.

If you’re running a networking program, you could keep in touch with your downline by sending regular Pods to them updating them with the latest news, facts and figures of the business.

So how do you go about making one of these Pods and then broadcasting it?

Surprisingly, it’s very easy indeed.

Visit: http://ipodder.sourceforge.net and download the free software to your computer.

Install the program and open it.

You’ll see a folder containing a directory of available Podcasts. This is quite a small list but you can soon find thousand more on the Internet.

Select some that you feel you might be interested in, their titles and descriptions will give you clue as to their content.

Subscribe to those you like. It is free to do so.

Once you have ticked the selection you require, the ipodder software will download them for you. You can then listen to them with the player installed on your computer. Transfer any you want to take with you on your travels onto your portable MP3 player.

Visit: www.ipodder.org for a huge list of other Podcast files. The list is practically endless.

You can listen to as many as you please as often as you wish.

As well as amateur podcasts there are professional ones from organisations such as the BBC who regularly put programs, guides and music on them.

Simply subscribe to keep up to date with any one publisher who regularly sends out podcasts or, of course, any number of publishers you please.

If you’d like to preview a podcast before downloading it, to save time, you can visit: www.podcast.net which will let you do just that as well as search for an item you may be interested in.

You can record your own podcast and place it on your web site for people to listen to or download. You can set up a link and join a directory on the Internet so that millions of potential customers can find you.

Set up an RSS feed to keep fresh content streaming out to the masses. RSS (Really Simple Syndication) can help you get your podcast to more people automatically than you’d be able to send it yourself. Visit: www.tdscripts.com/webmaster_utilities/podcast-generator.php to find the tools to do this.

To actually make a recording, just plug a microphone into your computer’s ‘mic’ socket and use any recording software (Windows sound recorder, free with your PC, will do the job) and start speaking.

Better still, download ‘audacity’ from the internet and it will put your recording straight to an MP3 file ready for uploading to your free web space that your Internet service provider gives you. That is all you’ll need to get podcasting.

Podcasting is a great way of getting your message out there … to millions upon millions of listeners. Go and have a listen to what is available (you’ll be surprised) and then have a go at doing it yourself.

Podcasting has just taken off big time as it is so easy to do. Don’t let your business get left behind, give it a bash. You’ll never know, it could just be the break that your business needs to get you earning a decent second income.

Article © Martyn Brown

Issue 31 released

Issue 31 of Working Hours magazine has been published.

Subscribers will receive their special versions by 24th May 2005 while magazines sent to the targeted mailing lists will receive theirs by 26th May.

Thank you for subscribing.