| |
| |
|
Marketing Information |
|
|
|
Money-Makers Secrets to Renting Profitable Mailing Lists
As an entrepreneur involved in selling and/or promotion ofsomething by Direct Mail, you should already know that mostimportant aspect of your mailing have to do with the sales letteror circular you send out, and the mailing list you use. Withthese thoughts in mind, and assuming you've got what should be anorder-pulling sales letter or circular, let's focus our attentionspecifically on the problem of finding mailing lists that produceprofitable orders. Common sense should tell you that without a good mailing lists,the time and money you spend for market research, advertisinglayout and knowledge relating to the "rules of direct mail," willjust be wasted effort. In other words, unless you get you offerto the buyers, you might as well save your time and money. In order to reach your most-likely buyer, you must firstdetermine who your most-likely buyers are. This is not so hard asit might appear. Actually, it's just a matter of recognizing thatautomotive items will appeal to car-owners, while householdgadgets will sell best to the homemakers. Regardless of how easy its is, this is the most-often over-lookedpart of the beginning entrepreneur's planning. suffice it to saythat if you don't know who you're going to sell a product orservice to, your product or service is going to be pretty hardfor you to sell. The next thing to really look into, is the competition yourproduct or service faces. If it has a limited market--not toomany people would stand in line to buy--and you are competingwith virtually the same product as supplied by othercompanies--then you're going to have to either come up with astrong "hidden angle" or else face defeat before you evenbegin... These are the "keys" to success in selling anything via directmail--pin-pointing exactly who your buyers are, presenting youroffer to them with an angle not being used by your competition,and concentrating all your sales efforts only on the most-likelyprospects. Assuming you "know" who your most-likely buyers are; that you'vegot a "winning" sales letter or circular--and, a product orservice these people "will stand in line to buy," then yourproblem is to get the message to these people. Do not think you'll "save some money" by renting or buyinginexpensive mailing lists from advertisers in all those ad sheetsand "mail order" type publications that seem to flood yourmailbox. You'll waste a lot of time, and spend money chasing thewind with these lists. These list offered by "mail order" dealers are compiled from adsheets, mail order publications, and/or incoming offers receivedby the list -seller...These people also compile lists theyuse...A lot of them compile their rental lists directly from thetelephone/city directories...And even a few of them work the"envelope stuffing" scheme to compile their rental lists--Theyoffer commissions to people who pay to join their envelopestuffing programs, and then sell or rent the names of the peoplewho join their program...The people who join the program areadvised to compile lists from any number of sources, send out acommission circular, and receive a commission for each incomingorder. The names of the buyers are then compiled onto anotherlist, and sold by promoters of this scheme to some of the largerlist-brokers as bonafide mail order buyers...Any time you rent alist of 5,000 or more names from mail order type operator, youcan almost certainly count on the lists that's 1) Five or moreyears old...2) Filled with names of people who have moved...3)Going to be dominated with names of other mail order sellers... Before renting or buying a mailing list from someone, use thesame kind of common sense you use in deciding upon a doctor,lawyer or auto mechanic. something else to keep in mind--wheneveryou rent or buy mailing lists from someone who has or isadvertising for dealers or mailing list brokers, you are going toend up with a list of names used by many mail order dealers,generally with the majority of them offering the same products orservices. The best thing to do is to take a note pad and pencil to yourpublic library..Ask the librarian to let you look at the StandardRate & Data Service Directory pertaining to mailing lists. Withinthis voluminous directory, you'll find the names, addresses andtelephone numbers of virtually all the reputable mailing listsbrokers in the country. These brokers explain within thedirectory the different lists that are available for rent, whatkind of buyers the lists are made up of, and the date the listwas last cleaned--that is, the last time all the names on thelist were verified relative to the correctness of addresses. Select a half dozen or so of the list brokers handling the kindsof lists that are made up of buyers of products or servicessimilar to yours...Jot those names and addresses down on yournote pad..then go home and call them on the phone... Tell the list broker about yourself, what you're trying to sell,how much you're asking for it, and your-long range plans. Almostall of them will want to see a sample of your mailing piece, andmore often than not, a sample of your product as well. Don't beafraid to talk to these people--they're in business to help you,and if they "steer you onto" a list that doesn't make money foryou, they figure you'll not buy from them again, so it's to theirbenefit to see that you get the "right" list for your mailingpiece and offer. Most of them are will critique your mailingpiece and offer, making suggestions for improvements whenappropriate, and in general, act as a consultant to see that yourealize a profit thru their services. Once you and the list broker have decided upon the mailing listbest suited to your offer, he'll generally require you to rent aminimum of 5,000 names. The going price will range from $35 to$95 per thousand names. Expensive, maybe...But if you pay $475for 5,000 prospective buyers, and end up with 1,500 buyers of a$20 "how-to" manual that you've written and printed at a cost of50 cents per manual--that would mean a gross of $30,000..minus$750 for 1,5000 manuals, plus another 60 cents each to send eachof these manuals out via 4th class mail witch would amount to$1,035. Add these figures together for a total of $1,785 andsubtract this total from $30,000 and you stand a very good chanceof netting $28,000 or more... So, you see, the important thing is to get your offer to yourmost-likely buyers. The only way to do this--the fastest, andleast expensive way--is to work with a reputable mailing listbroker and forget about all that "wheel-spinning" within thecircle of mail-order-type people. Really, so long as you dealwith " mail-order-type" people, small-time dealers andadvertisers--you'll never achieve anything beyond a busy-busy,hand-to-mouth existence in this business. The bottom-line reason for most of the entrepreneurial failuresin the mail order business is simply that the beginner tries tocut corners by using less that the most productive mailing listsavailable. Indeed, the years are littered with people from allwalks of life who have had a good product and/or service ideas,but failed to "get their ideas off the ground." Generally, thesepeople were trying to "save money" by compiling their own mailinglists, advertising in "all-seller" type mail order publications,and/or sending their offers out to "mail-order-type" people foundin the ad sheets or to lists purchased from advertisers in thesepublications. In almost every case, the entrepreneur's effortsalong these lines, and based upon a "saving money" philosophy,has always ended in heartbreak and great financial loss for theentrepreneur... YOU CAN SUCCEED, STARTING FROM SCRATCH! But, before you attemptit--before you "jump in and reach your own mail order fortune,"be sure you arrange all the odds in your favor..Anything lessthan the "rules" stated within this report will surely be a wasteof time, and result in failure... Remember: Your product has to be something you can buy or producein finished form for pennies, and sell for dollars. There has tobe an "eager" market for your product or service. You mustproject the most professional of all images of yourself as the"company" or supplier in all your sales letters, circulars,advertising and/or dealings with your prospective buyers. And youmust "know" who your buyers are, and then concentrate yourefforts to reach only those people with your offer. Take your pencil and go to your public library..Ask the librarian to let you look at the StandardRate & Data Services. Start your research there and have fun with your new business. Note to editors: $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
20 Power Marketing Tips Use these powerful yet simple tips from the national best-seller, "Secrets of Power Marketing: Promote Brand You" - the first guide to personal marketing for non-marketers.Create and grant an annual award. 21 Must-Have Web Site Elements Your Web site should be the cornerstone of your client seduction efforts. The site is your silent salesperson -- the one with whom prospective clients visit before granting you permission to meet with them. The Benefits of a Marketing Plan What is a Marketing Plan? Marketing is to do with matching the features and benefits that your products and services are able to provide with specific customers and then telling those customers why they should buy them from you. Your marketing plan details how to do this. Marketing Your Franchise Online Do you want to successfully market your business franchise online? Here's an internet strategy you can use for your franchise opportunity.1. Loan Officer Marketing - How to Target the Right Agents Once there was a loan officer, who marketed his services to some Realtors. His story went something like this. The Power of because... "Do it!", "Do it now!", or "Do it because.. How To Choose a Qualitative Research Market Qualitative research, whether individual interviews, in-homes, focus groups, ethnographies and the like are conducted all over the world, as everyone knows. But how are the markets to be studied selected in the first place?New York, London, Paris, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, Boston and Dallas are all great places to see first rate entertainment, dine out and by their size, must be great places in which to conduct qualitative research or so the common thinking goes. The Marketing Recipe: Money, Marketing and Me - 3 Keys For Success You have a great product or service? Now, how should you market it?You have to make others know about what you have to offer. There is no good in having a great idea if you don't know how to sell it, right?Your motivation is financial independence (MONEY); you establish a quality product (your service), and you go out into the harsh competitive world and sell it (MARKETING) while you also sell yourself (ME)!Here are a few tips and a real example which you should keep in mind in order to prospect. Break Even On Your Next Direct Mail Campaign...And Still Generate Huge Profits With direct mail, you can break even and still claim success. The reason for this can be understood only when determining the lifetime value of each customer brought in and the likelihood of those customers responding to subsequent offers. Private Practice Marketing: 3 More Secrets I Wish I Knew When I First Started Out Secret #4 - Get very comfortable asking for paymentOne of the easiest ways to set this up is to have very clear explanations in your intake forms about how payment works.It's your job to train your clients how to pay you promptly. The Lone Wolf is Blind When Advertising, it's not always better to be the lone wolf.Before using a certain medium to advertise, consider those that went before you. Customer Lifetime Value - The Key To Maximizing Your Profits! The greatest asset to your business is your Customer, specifically, your Customer Lifetime Value.In my many years in Sales and Marketing, I've met many CEOs and business owners who don't have much clue as to what Customer Lifetime Value is, much less its importance and the impact it has on their bottomline. How to Promote Yourself Or Your Company Through Award Competitions There isn't a day that goes by that I don't receive some sort of announcement about an awards competition. We get so many, in fact, that I have created a special place on my website where you can learn about what opportunities are awaiting. Secrets of Trade Show Success The ropers at Annie Oakley's Real Western Dudette Ranch were all riding high in the saddle. It was just before their first ecotourism and adventure travel trade show in Chicago, and they just knew they would rope in big sales. How Do You Get Past The Gatekeeper? The best joint ventures are with people in your own network - those that already know, like and trust you. However, there's nothing to stop you from partnering with "cold" contacts - those you've never associated with before, and you would therefore need to build a relationship with. 10 Steps to a Great Newsletter A newsletter can be a wonderful, economical way to communicate with prospects, customers, employees or distributors. Just follow these ten easy steps for newsletter success. How to Turn More Referrals Into Paying Clients 60% of all small business owners, sales and solo-professionals claim that more than half of their new business comes from referrals. Yet when asked about the process they so successfully use to get those referrals and turn them into paying clients, most will have a puzzled, deer-in-the-headlights, stupefied look on their face, and keep quiet. Marketing Copy - Brand Identity Guru Tips on writing great copy for your marketing efforts.It's just four steps that I call the Writing Path1. 13 Lessons in Marketing, Super Bowl Style Each year, the Super Bowl provides marketers opportunity to study and learn from the games' advertisers, players, and coordinators. Super Bowl XXXVI (February, 2002) was no exception. Your Marketing Plan - Prerequisite to Success Marketing is a vital aspect of a business' operations. It has been said that, "Nothing happens in business until a sale is made".
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
