What Really Sells in Mail Order Magazines

You can only make money with the Mail Order Magazines if you understand exactly WHO reads them. The Mail Order Magazines are trade papers read almost exclusively by Mail Order Dealers or by Opportunity Seekers, who are in reality aspiring Mail Order Dealers. They will only buy merchandise that will help them in the operation of a Mail Order Business.

It is almost always a waste of money to advertise merchandise which is intended for general consumption in the Mail Order Magazines… unless you are offering it on a wholesale or drop-ship basis.

Below is a brief description of 22 products or services that can be sold successfully through the Mail Order Magazines.

1. RUBBER STAMPS – Every Mail Order Dealer purchases at least one name and address rubber stamp. He also purchases “stock stamps” with slogans such as “Big Mails Wanted”, “Commission Circulars Wanted”, “Third Class Mail”, “Your Ad Solicited”, etc. Rubber stamps sell well in the Mail Order magazines because dealers use them in the conduct of their business.

2. MAILING LISTS – Mail Order Dealers constantly buy mailing lists of the ever present Opportunity Seekers, New Mothers, Book Buyers, Gift Buyers, etc. You can sell mailing lists on plain paper or gummed labels. Naturally you can charge more for the lists on gummed labels.

3. BIG MAILS – Anyone who regularly advertises “Big Mails” in the Mail Order magazines will get orders for them. Big Mails consists of envelopes full of Mail Order Magazines, Adsheets and circulars of every imaginable kind. The “Big Mail Order Dealer” earns his profit by selling a variety of sizes of ad space and subscriptions in the publications which he co-publishes. He also makes money from the items offered on the circulars which he includes in his big mails.

4. CIRCULAR MAILING SERVICE – Set up an efficient, and a good dependable mailing service so that dealers can get their circulars into the hands of real Mail Order buyers, advertise it regularly in the Mail Order Magazines. and you will soon have all the circular mailing business you can possibly handle.

5. PRINTING – Every mail order dealer buys printing. He buys envelopes, sales letters, circulars, booklets, catalogs, adsheets, brochures, price lists, letterheads, mail order magazines and a thousand other things. If you do mimeographing, letter press or offset printing, advertise your service in the mail order magazines. It is probably the mail order magazines’ Number One All-Time Profit Maker.

6. INFORMATION FOLIOS – Mail order dealers will always buy information that will help them succeed in the mail order business. Folios that deal with any practical aspect of mail order selling can be sold through the mail order magazines. If you have produced your own folio and are willing to drop-ship orders for other dealers you will definitely make money.

7. DROP-SHIP AND WHOLESALE OFFERS – If you have a large stock of merchandise which is suitable for mail order sales, and are willing to supply it on a drop-ship (single order at wholesale prices) or on a wholesale basis, then you should advertise in the Mail Order Magazines. Dealers are constantly looking for new products to sell by mail. If you plan to sell on a wholesale basis only, you should offer your product in very small wholesale lots, if possible. Most Mail Order Dealers are part-timers and do not have vast sums of money to invest in untested merchandise.

8. SAMPLE COPIES OF MAIL ORDER MAGAZINES – Mail order dealers have a very insatiable appetite for new mail trade magazines, which is why hundreds of them come into existence and then disappear every year. If you publish or co-publish a mail order magazine, advertise sample copies of it in other publications and you will get requests for it.

Regard your sample copy as a “leader item” or as a “good will builder”. It should be your way of getting your other offers into the hands of a very many prospective mail order buyers. You will probably sell some ads, but do not expect to sell too many subscriptions. Except for a few of the leading publications, very few people subscribe to mail order magazines.

9. GUMMED LABELS – Labels of any kind are “naturals” for many of the Mail Order Magazines. (Name and address labels, shipping labels, addressing labels, slogan labels, etc.)

10. NAME LISTING SERVICE – Whether he admits it or not, most every mail order dealer is a “Big Mail Addict”. If you compile mailing lists and work with another dealer who does, dealers will pay to put their names on the lists. You can advertise you name listing service in any mail order magazine and get orders for it.

11. COMMISSION CIRCULARS – There are circular mailers who watch every issue of every mail order magazine, always looking for new sources of commission circulars. There is no better way to advertise commission circulars than by placing ads in the mail order magazines.

12. COPY WRITING SERVICE – If you have a natural flair for writing ads, sales letters and circulars… and if you have a good basic knowledge of mail order selling , you can sell your services through many of the better mail order magazines. There are very few good mail order copy writers at present. Here is a very basic need… can you fill it?

13. AD DESIGN – Another service which is greatly in demand, the commercial artist who can create eye-catching ads and circulars which dealers can use to sell their products. There are only a few dealers who are now offering this service, but there is room for a dozen or so.

14. TYPESETTING – Most mail order printers and magazines now require “camera-ready” copy. This had created a big demand for dealers who offer a quality, reasonably price typesetting service. At present there are dealers who do mail order typesetting that have so much business they don’t even bother to advertise..

Related to typesetting, are the “clip-art” books which are used by dealers who prepare their own “camera-ready” copy… Right now as always, you’ll find clip-art books advertised in mail order publications.

15. PEN PAL, LONELY HEARTS MAGAZINES – For some reason, you will find that the mail order magazines have always been good places to sell these types of publications. It may be because they are the only kinds of magazines, other than the mail order magazines that are co-publishable.

Most mail order magazines will accept ads for legitimate matrimonial and pen pal magazines; however, very few will accept any “adults only” ads. Too many readers object and some mail order dealers are minors.

16. HOBBY MAGAZINES – You can sell almost any kind of hobby publications through the mail order magazines. This is because many dealers handle hobby merchandise and are always looking for new ways to sell it. Many dealers and readers are hobbyists and collectors themselves.

17. FORMULAS – Dealers buy formulas for two reasons. Some dealers reprint the formula and sell it by running ads in national publications. (“Sure way to kill cockroaches”, etc.) Some even manufacture the product itself and sell it by mail.

Closely related to formula selling is recipes selling. If you can create new recipes or have exceptional ones, you advertise and sell recipes over and over again.

18. CATALOGS – If you can produce low cost catalogs which dealers can mail to their customers offering books, novelties, gift items, baby merchandise, printed forms, etc., you would be well advised to offer your services in the mail order magazines.

19. UNPRINTED DEALERS MERCHANDISE – If you can supply merchandise which the dealer can use in his mail order business, at bargain prices, you can sell it profitably in the mail order magazines. Examples: unprinted envelopes, typewriter ribbons, addressing labels, stencils, scratch pads, etc. There are a few successful dealers who even sell large, bulky items like typewriters, mimeograph machines, file cabinets, paper cutters, and printing presses by mail.

20. AD SPACE – Every mail order dealer buys ad space. If you publish or co-publish a mail order magazine, tabloid or adsheet, you can sell ad space by advertising it in other mail order magazines.

21. ADS TO RUN UNDER YOUR OWN NAME – Can you supply ready-made ad copies which other dealers can run under their own names and fill their orders on a drop ship basis? If so, print up your ads and sell them through the mail order magazines. If you can supply “camera ready” ads and circulars, so much the better!

22. MAIL ORDER PLANS – Opportunity seekers are always looking for new mail order plans. If you have some practical legitimate workable plans that others can use to make money by mail, print them up and advertise them in the mail order magazines.

You will find that 99% of all the ads in the mail order magazines fall into one of the categories listed above. If you are selling a product or service that fits into one of these categories, you can safely advertise it in the mail order magazines.

Copyright 2004 by DeAnna Spencer

Sales Letter Example That Sells

Sales Letter Example That Sells, No Matter The Industry

A sales letter is the page designed to sell your product. You can have a fantastic product, but you won’t earn a nickel if your sales letter lacks sizzle.

Your sales letter should grab a visitor’s attention, prove you provide a solution, remove risk, state a call to action, and hopefully (if done well) generate a sale.

Here is an example of how we write a sales letter…

All great sales letters include the following:

1. Catchy Headers and Subheaders

2. Unique Selling Proposition

3. Stated Product Benefits

4. Testimonials

5. Special Offers

6. Digital Covers

7. Video Demos

8. Exceptional Guarantees

9. Trust Building Techniques

10. Bonuses

11. Follow-Ups

12. P.S.

Catchy Headers and Subheaders

Your main header, also referred to as a H1 tag, can:

o Target a pain point. “Are You Losing Your Hair?”

o Highlight a benefit. “Now You Can Re-grow Your Hair… Without Chemicals!”

o Invoke curiosity. “Can Broccoli Prevent Hair Loss?”

o Include keywords.

Your subheaders will follow the same format as your header. These two work best when they attack the reader from two different angles. Your headline could invoke curiosity, while the sub-headline makes a bold claim like this “Now You Can Re-grow Your Hair… Without Chemicals!”

Example Headlines for a Sales Letter

o Who Else Wants _______?

o The Secret of _________

o Here’s How You Can (benefit) Without (problem)…

o Little Known Ways to _____________

o Get Rid of ________________ Once And For All!

o WARNING: This Letter Is For Serious __________ Only.

o Are You Still Suffering From _________?

o Are You Making These Same Mistakes?

o At Last! The (credibility indicator like “Bestselling” or “As seen on Oprah”) System That Is Revolutionizing ___________

o Save Yourself 30% on _________ By Following This Simple Steps

o How I Went From (loser) to (winner) in Just 2 Weeks!

o How To (Cook Thai Food) Like The (Locals)

o 56 Ways ____________Saves You Time, Work and Money

Highlight Your Unique Selling Proposition

This is where you subtly demonstrate to your reader that your competition sucks. To do this, examine your competitor’s sales letters, noting the benefits they offer- and more importantly, those they lack. Even if the two of you are selling the same product, you can position your offer in very different ways. Are they offering a money back guarantee? Do they fail to cover a specific topic that your explain in detail? Discover your competitor’s weaknesses and demonstrate them to your prospects… Chances are, your prospects will shop around before committing, and it pays to plant the seeds of doubt in their minds about your competitors. Remember that subtlety is the key; you don’t want to smear yourself as well!

Focus on Benefits, Not Features

Don’t rattle off the features of your product; explain to your prospect how they will benefit from it. For example, if you’re selling air conditioners, people aren’t interested in the features (e.g. voltage, wattage, what type of plastic it’s made of, etc.) they want to keep cool during summer!

To ensure you’re listing benefits instead of features, ask yourself “How does this feature help my prospect?” List your features, then add the word “which” after it: whatever follows is a benefit. For example:

o Low power requirements, which lowers your energy bill.

o New polymer plastic casing, which cools your house faster than traditional models.

o Timer setting, which saves you the hassle of getting up in the middle of the night to turn it off.

I’ve heard this phrase so many times I practically recite it in my sleep, and yet, so many people forget this simple law of copywriting. Bullet points tend to work best in sales letters, as they are easily scanned by readers. Keep in mind that your prospects aren’t interested in every single benefit your product offers, just the ones that apply to them. By listing off dozens of benefits, you are increasing the likelihood your prospects will come across one or two main benefits they are most interested in, and buy your product.

Include Testimonials

My wife and I were on Ko Phi Phi Island in Thailand (where the movie “The Beach” was filmed) getting ready to grab a bite. While looking at a map, a couple of guys came up to us and recommended a restaurant saying, “This is the best restaurant we’ve been to on the island. You should check it out.”

Guess where we went for dinner?

We didn’t personally know these guys, yet we trusted them. This demonstrates what is known as social proof – people making decisions based on someone else’s experience. If you’re interested in something and you see that it has worked for others, you are more likely to trust them and-case in point- buy it. Testimonials are a great way to demonstrate social proof to your prospects; they can see for themselves that your product works and provides value to real people without you forcing it down there throats. Rather than singing your own praises, why not let your satisfied customers do it for you?

Here’s two ways to gather testimonials:

1. When you’re first testing your product (that is, the product you haven’t created yet) ask people you know personally if they can provide testimonials citing your expertise in a specific area applicable to your product.

2. Once you create and sell your product, follow up with the customer via email and ask for a testimonial. Here’s what I use:

Dear ,

Thanks for taking our free course on . Many others have written to tell us how this course has helped , and I sincerely hope you feel the same way.

I’d like to ask a favor. We’re always trying to improve our course, and would greatly appreciate your feedback. If it’s OK with you, please take a moment and jot down your thoughts in the box below. I promise not to include any personal information other than your name and city.

Feel free to say whatever you feel. If you have some ideas on how to improve our course, we’re all ears.

Thanks , and I hope to hear from you soon.

Best regards,

Testimonial Box

I understand that has the right to use these comments in their marketing material. I also understand will NOT use any personal information with the exception of my name and city.

Comments:

Make sure to include a personal email address you check frequently in order to stay on top of testimonials as they come in.

Some people recommend offering an incentive in exchange for a testimonial such as a free report, though I’ve never had any trouble securing them with this form. Besides, if your free course isn’t good enough to warrant praise, you probably need to reconsider your product offer.

As the testimonials start to roll in, put them on your sales page as examples your product works!

People Don’t Buy Products… They Buy Offers

You may have the single greatest product in the history of humanity, guaranteed to cure a wide variety of ailments, train your dog to stop barking and initiate world peace, but without compiling it into a dynamite offer your product will fall flatter than a soufflé in a snowstorm.

Think of it this way: when you go to a fine dining restaurant, you’re not just paying for the flavor of the food; you’re also paying for the presentation. Your offer is the presentation; if your prospects don’t like the presentation they won’t even try your product. This is why creating a solid offer is imperative for your system’s success.

So what makes a good offer? Here are the key components you of a dynamite offer:

Have Quality Digital Cover

If you’re creating an information product that includes several downloadable CDs, create a professional looking digital CD cover for each disc. If you have an e-book or special report, create covers for those as well. Be sure to include screenshots of the content as well, which should be professionally formatted.

Include Video Demos

Videos are a great tool for marketing your product and should be used where possible- I’ve used video demos for several products with great success. The process is simple: use Camtasia to record you demonstrating your product while explaining its benefits, then upload the video to YouTube and embed the code they give you onto your website. We’ll talk about video marketing more in a bit.

Offer an Exceptional Guarantee

The main function of a guarantee is to remove all risk for your prospect. You want to make a guarantee so strong they’d feel like a fool for not buying your product. For example, you could offer a 60 day money back guarantee, and allow them to keep all the bonuses even if they decide to cancel. Another method is to allow your prospect to download your product for one dollar, and then charge their credit card the remainder seven days later if they don’t cancel.

Build Trust

When I receive emails from people asking me “Is this for real?” I know it’s time to build a higher level of trust with our prospects. Be sure to include links to your privacy policy, contact information and a brief bio about yourself.

Privacy Policy

Your privacy policy should go something like this:

: Privacy Policy

is committed to protecting the privacy and security of individuals that have contacted us. It is with that purpose in mind that we have formed our privacy guarantee. We realize that the concerns you bring to us are highly personal in nature. We assure you that all information shared will be managed within legal and ethical considerations.

Security of Information

We restrict access to personal information to employees who have a specific business purpose in utilizing your data. Our employees are trained in the importance of maintaining confidentiality and member privacy.

Accuracy of Information

We strive to ensure that our records contain accurate information. If there are any changes to your contact information (e.g. phone number, email, etc.), please email . We will promptly make any necessary changes to update your records.

Changes to Our Guarantee

We reserve the right to revise our privacy guarantee as our business needs change or as the law requires. If we revise our policy, we will provide you with the new policy at that time.

Web Links to Other Web Sites

Links to third party sites may be available from ‘http://www.yourwebsite.com’. Sites outside the ‘http://www.yourwebsite.com’ domain are NOT maintained by and is NOT responsible for the content or availability of linked sites. Recommended links are NOT an endorsement or guarantee of other sites or organizations and are simply provided for reference. The privacy and security policies of linked sites likely differ from and users are encouraged to review the privacy and security policies of these sites.

Contact Information

Buy a P.O. Box at your local post office and use that as your mailing address. Forty bucks a year provides peace of mind; you don’t want your home address advertised to hundreds of thousands of people, right?

It’s always better to include a phone number as well. You can leave your personal number, or get a redirect line through Skype or Vonage. If you receive lot of calls, consider signing up with a call center that will take messages and accept payments (there’s a list of them at the end of this book).

Bio

Including a bio is a great opportunity for you to sell yourself and build trust amongst readers, many of whom want to know a little about a person before doing business with them. Bios typically include the following elements:

o Educational Background

o Professional Background

o Experience with Current Business/Product

o Special Achievements

o Personal Information (e.g. city of residence and family information)

o Picture

All of these are completely optional and depend on your comfort level with sharing information online. internet. There is a fine line between highlighting your knowledge, skills, and achievements and coming off as a blowhard. Remember: the point is to build trust, hopefully to the point of getting a sale.

Offer Bonuses

Once you’ve demonstrated your product provides value and removed risk with a strong guarantee, push your prospects off the fence with a few value packed bonuses. The bonus is all about perceived value; many people in fact buy products for the bonuses themselves! If you’re offering an e-book on Cajun cooking, offer a video that demonstrates how to make roux, and several other Cajun sauces. How about recipes for cocktails that are famous in the South? A list of the best restaurants in New Orleans? All of these are easy to create and dramatically improve the value of your product.

Follow-Up

Let’s say your prospects sign up for a free two week course on southern cooking. They are then presented with an offer to buy the full product. If they haven’t purchased it, they receive another e-mail, but with a twist: this could be a reduced price, an added bonus, or the chance to pay in installments.

State a P.S.

Believe it or not, many people will scroll to the bottom of a sales page first. I do it all the time… once I know I’m on a sales page, the first question that comes to mind is “How much?”

This is precisely why you shouldn’t list your price at the bottom of your sales letter. Instead, use a P.S., or just another headline that reinforces your value proposition. Rather than asking “How much?” they’ll scroll up to learn more about your offer.

This sales letter example should help you craft a profitable sales letter in as little as a week. Write a draft and sit on it for a few days so you can see it with fresh eyes.

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