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Title: Mail Order: Myths, Magic, And Absolute Truths!
Author: Avril Harper
Words: Approx 1,000
Mail Order: Myths, Magic, And Absolute Truths!
By Avril Harper 2003 http://www.studythesecrets.com
“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!
Poppycock! 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!
***************************************
This article excerpted from How to Get Rich in
Mail Order and Direct Mail - carries full resell rights - by Avril
Harper http://www.studythesecrets.com
For more articles visit: http://www.articlefactory.com
Avril Harper is based in the UK and has
specialised in writing business opportunity articles and courses since
1990.
