Mail Order: Myths, Magic and Absolute Truths!
By Avril Harper
Posted Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Reprint Instructions: This article may be reprinted freely in print and online.
Title: Mail Order: Myths, Magic, And Absolute Truths!
Author: Avril Harper
Words: Approx 1,000
(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)
About the Author
Avril Harper is based in the UK and has specialised in writing business opportunity articles and courses since 1990.
