Direct Marketing Secrets

Insiders Secrets To Direct Mail Profits
The rules have changed. Things don't work the way they used to. And most of the
information floating around about mail order is actually *mis-information* anyway. I have
created this file to help anyone who is in direct marketing or is thinking about it to, possibly,
up their chances of success. In it, I explain some key success principles I've discovered
which most people don't seem to realize.
Most of the information here was taken from a new book called, "The Insider's Guide to
Direct Mail Profits," which we publish and sell for $79. If you want this book, you'll find my
number at the end of this file, but I think you'll find the information here very useful in itself.
Many people have already relayed to me that they have found it both very interesting and
valuable. And I hope it will you, also....
An Insider's Guide and Introductory 'Briefing' on How To

Get Into the Exploding Direct Marketing Industry With
Minimal Investment...and Start Earning $5,000 a Month (or
more) Within a Matter of Weeks! (Never mind how the
"experts" say to do it!)
Last year Americans spent almost one trillion dollars on goods and services. Out of that,
more than 20% (over two hundred billion dollars) was spent for products or services
advertised, and in most cases delivered, through the mail.*
(*In this report, our reference to "mail order," "direct mail," "direct marketing," and "direct
response marketing" all generally mean products or services advertised in media and
historically delivered through the mail. This includes products advertised in sales letters,
magazines, newsletters, radio, TV, BBS's, etc.)
The mail order business in America is huge. And getting bigger every day. According to
many experts and trend forecasters, buying products from the privacy of one’s home, and
having them delivered directly to the purchaser, is becoming a preferred way of shopping for
more and more Americans every day.
While the majority of retail businesses have been hurt by a sluggish economy, and by
consumer's wide-spread and growing fear of becoming a crime victim while shopping,
companies selling products via the mail have seen their sales skyrocket.
This trend by consumers to purchase more and more products via direct means, and fewer
and fewer products through retail outlets, has had a profound effect on the mail order
business. Especially in what’s being sold, and who it’s being sold to.
Today you can purchase almost anything through the mail. This includes books, records,
video tapes, cosmetics, computers, food, clothes, automobiles, real estate, televisions,
telephones and cameras (and if you can think of anything that isn't being sold through the
mail, it might be worth your effort to be the first to do it!)
The growth in the direct response market can be attributed to a number of factors, but
perhaps the most important for anyone considering getting into this business is. .
Consumers Now Accept Mail Order as a Safe, Enjoyable, and In Many Cases, Preferred
Way of Shopping.
file:///C|/WINDOWS/Desktop/NewPDFReports/dmreport.htm (1 of 23) [9/27/2001 3:31:00 PM]

This new consumer acceptance of mail order buying is great news for those of us in the
direct mail business. It means the major wall of resistance direct mail marketers have been
trying to overcome for years, is rapidly crumbling.
Tearing down the Wall of Resistance to Mail Order Buying
For years and years one of the toughest jobs for the direct mailer has been to try to alter the
behavior pattern of consumers. And this is not an easy task.
Changing consumer behavior is a tough job, it usually takes two generations of consumers
before a new behavior pattern is accepted. In the case of direct mail, the behavior pattern
that was causing a problem was the severe lack of confidence and convenience consumers
had with direct mail offers.
From the beginning, consumers have had suspicions about mail order. In a society used to
buying products face-to-face from the trusted friend who worked behind the counter at the
neighborhood general store, it was hard to conceive buying anything from a stranger.
Everyone had heard of other people getting cheated because they were foolish enough to
respond to a mail order offer. And most people were reluctant to be the next victim -- no
matter how good the offer sounded.
This ‘beware’ attitude toward mail order has been institutionalized in the minds of three
generations of consumers. And anyone trying to sell any product by the mail, had to
overcome this fear before he could sell the product.
So, as long as there was deep consumer resistance to mail order offers, unless you were a
large, confidence-inspiring company like Sears or Montgomery Ward, it was a tough business
to be in.
However, due to many different factors, including the wide-spread implementation of a few
(taken-for-granted) technologies, this wall of resistance is disappearing.
What are the technologies that have made such a difference? Well, the first (and possibly
foremost) is:
1) The world-wide availability of dependable, low cost telephone services.
Today just about everyone has a telephone and most of us think nothing of placing a phone
call. But just a few years ago, consumers did not as casually accept telephone use as
normal.
Back then, telephones were very special machines used only for emergency or important
calls. (If you don’t believe this, ask someone over 60.)
Because of this reluctance to use, or unavailability of telephones, most communication

between consumers and merchants, up until about 15 years ago, took place either
face-to-face (consumer to merchant) or written (in the form of a series of personal letters).
In fact, most direct mail solicitation did not even include a phone number (much less an 800
number) to answer customer questions and complaints.
The limitations of this kind of business transactions made it almost impossible for a merchant
to sell his products to more than just a few customers at a time.
When a consumer wanted to order a product from a distant merchant, he would find his pen
and paper, write out a letter and post it. Then he would await the reply.

After several weeks (or months) the merchant would reply, then the consumer would either
place an order, or write another letter with additional questions or conditions. It would not be
unusual for such a transaction to take several months.
Obviously, this doesn’t bode well in a society "addicted" to convenience and instant
gratification. Fortunately, all that has changed.
Today’s consumers grew up with telephones, and use them as casually as they use the TV.
The modern consumer views the telephone as a basic necessity, and something that can be
used anytime for any reason.
The telephone allows instant, real time reaction. Which means when a consumer sees
something they want, they can pick up a phone, dial a few digits, and order anything they
want. And this is an important key to the growth and success of the mail order
business--ease of purchase. To buy through retail, a consumer first must go out into the real
(and dangerous) world where he/she will likely encounter problems in traffic, parking, rude
people and possibly the criminal element.
And then they must walk among the masses looking for exactly what they want to buy. And
if they don’t find it, they must continue to spend time, face crowds and continue their search.
This frustrating process may continue for weeks until the product is found. (Assuming the
product is available through retail sources.)
When it comes to direct mail, all the consumer has to do is pick up the nearest phone and
order. It takes less than two minutes (and you don’t even have to leave the easy chair to do
it!).
And as you ponder the significance of ease of purchase in these times of consumer
‘burrowing’ (the practice of digging in to protect oneself and family from the cruel outside
world), it is significant to note that...
Today, 95% of All 'Mail' Orders Are Placed Over the Phone. And Only 5% Through the
Mail.
Knowing this, it’s easy to understand why people who try to get into direct marketing without
having a telephone order line don’t have any chance to succeed. Not having a telephone
order line can cost a company 95% of it’s potential sales.
Later on in this report I’ll show you how to set up a 24 hour order line painlessly, but first let’s
look at the second technological development that significantly increased consumer
acceptance of direct mail...
2) The almost universal availability of credit cards to consumers.
Visa, MasterCard and American Express are the currency of mail order. These cards make
it easy for almost anybody to purchase anything (within their credit limit) simply by picking up
the phone and placing an order.
Without credit cards the mechanics systems of the banks that process transactions, both
consumer and merchant are assured of the legitimacy of the transaction.
The merchant is assured of getting his payment immediately, and the consumer knows that
if he is not satisfied with the product, he can get his money back by disputing the validity of
the transaction.
This is a win/win situation for the consumer and the merchant, and allows any consumer
anywhere on the planet to purchase products from any merchant on the planet, as long as
both agree to credit cards as currency.

Prior to the near universal availability and acceptance of credit cards, direct mail transactions
were burdened by the requirement that the consumer must be able to write, have an
envelope and stamp to post the order, and must be willing to accept delays in shipment while
the check cleared.
Today, over one hundred million U.S. consumers have credit cards, and they are in the habit
of using them regularly. Especially for direct mail purchases.
Today more than 90% of all direct mail sales are paid for with credit cards. And those who
try to get into the business without first securing some way to process credit cards fail
miserably. (Later on in this report we’ll show you how you can accept credit cards for your
mail order sales.)
Now let’s look at the third factor in the growth of direct mail which is . . .
3) The existence of reliable low-cost delivery services.
One of the big road blocks that direct merchants have had to fight was the notion by the
consumers that once purchased, the product would get damaged or lost during the shipping
process. And this concern was well founded. Many packages did get lost or damaged,
especially when sent by U.S. Mail.
This ‘lost in shipping’ concern was a major hurdle for direct mailers to overcome. But it was
difficult to change the way the Post Office handled parcels, and without any nationwide
delivery service offering competition to the Post Office, change was slow.
Fortunately that change has now come.
Today, using companies like UPS and Federal Express, anybody can get a package
delivered anywhere in the country for just a few dollars. The service is fast, inexpensive and
reliable. Everything a consumer (and a direct merchant) wants.
The system works so well, and has a reputation of being so reliable, that worries of an item
being lost or damaged during shipment are almost non-existent.
Consumers love UPS and Federal Express. They love to see those nice clean trucks pull up
in front of their houses. It’s like Christmas, except in this case, Santa Claus is wearing a neat
uniform and is carrying a clip board.
Plus, consumers know that if they want or need something quickly, they can order it next day
delivery and have it in their hands within 24 hours. The significance of this shouldn’t be
underestimated. (Our experience shows that when we include the words ‘Next day delivery
upon request’, orders go up substantially.)
The combined effect of the almost universal availability of telephones, credit cards and
reliable shipping, has gone a long way to removing the wall of resistance to direct mail
purchases while building consumer acceptance and confidence in the way of making
purchases. And it has also fundamentally changed the dynamics of mail order.
However, most aspiring mail order entrepreneurs (and even some experienced mailers who
can’t figure out what’s changed) operate their business as if they were living in the dark ages
of mail order. They don’t accept phone orders. They can’t process credit cards. And they
don’t usually get any orders. (And they have to work much harder for those orders they do
get!)
But once you know why the "old way" doesn’t work so well anymore and why the "new way"
presents unparalleled opportunity for incredible direct marketing profits, it gets very exciting
for the person looking to get into mail order.

But there are even more factors which one should consider, and they may even be more
profound than the relative ease and convenience direct response now offers...
1) Over the last few years, a radically new consumer mindset has altered the
public’s buying habits.
Americans are shell-shocked from the blatant materialism of the 80’s. They no longer want
to go to the mall and buy every new item. Besides that, they are increasingly tired of the
inconvenience and fearful of becoming a crime victim. In the 90’s, consumers want, and will
only settle for: safety, convenience, and, most of all, quality.
With today’s technology, you can deliver all this to them through "mail" and they’ll reward
you handsomely for doing so.
2) In addition to all this, there are no major governmental, financial, or educational

barriers to entry into the direct mail business. Meaning:
* You don’t need to get permission from the government to get into this business.
* There is no special training or education level required before you can open a direct mail
business.
* You don’t have to apply for any kind of license or permit.
* You don’t have to have a store-front or office or ‘real’ physical location.
The lack of official barriers (barriers which do exist in most other businesses), means getting
into the direct mail business is unbelievably easy.
It always has been one of the easiest to start businesses with the highest potential (though
few people ever tapped this potential).
" But now, due to cheap computers, laser printers, credit cards and other advances, the
technology is in place for even a one-person business, starting with very little capital, to
achieve the huge financial rewards of a major corporation ".
The Ultimate Business Advantage
It’s clear that the direct mail business has a lot going for it. Including . . .
* Consumer acceptance of direct mail as a preferred way of buying products.

* Ease of entry into this business by merchants (no licensing, no employees, no inventory,
no office overhead).
* Technological developments that enhance and leverage the power of the direct mail
merchant - (credit cards, telephones and world-wide shipping services).
But even all these are not the only reasons to be in this business. The ultimate reason is by
using available technology, we can operate a direct mail business from anywhere in the
world, living any life-style we choose!
And This Gives Us the Ultimate Freedom.
In the next few pages we will look at what it takes to be successful in the direct marketing.
But first, let’s look at the typical life-style of someone who is making it in direct mail.
The Direct Marketing Life-Style
Most people get into the direct marketing business for one reason -- to make a lot of money.
But those that stay in this business very long discover there’s an even better reason than
money to be in direct mail. It’s the life-style choices.

The freedom to live where you want, and how you want. The freedom to set your own
hours. To dress as you like. And to live life as you want without worry about money or time
commitments.
This freedom of choice is a freedom that most citizens of this planet will never experience.
Almost everyone lets their employers, their neighbors, their government, or their economic
condition dictate how they live their lives.
They never really control their own destiny and really have little chance of improving their
own condition.
No wonder there are so many unhappy people in life!
Success in direct mail offers something else. It eliminates the need for a job. And the need
to live in a large city. And the need to worry about being able to afford the basic necessities
of life.
Success in Direct Mail Gives You the Opportunity to Make Real Choices About How
You Live the Rest of Your Life!
Think about this...what would you do if you had all the free time you wanted, and enough
money to enjoy it? What would your choice of life-style be? Would you stay where you are?
Or would you move somewhere else? And if you were going to move, where would you go?
To the coast of Oregon? Or to the beaches of Florida? Maybe the mountains of Colorado?
The choice could be yours!
You can operate your direct mail business from anywhere in the world. You don’t even have
to be in this country! You can operate from a South Pacific Island or even a ship at sea just
as easily as you could operate from any big city in the U.S. The choice is yours.
All this is possible because all you really need to make money in this business is a good
telephone line and a UPS drop-off point (it helps to have a computer). You can put your
business on ‘auto-pilot’ and contract companies to take your orders, ship your products and
send you the checks.
Even if you have no skill in writing, have no knowledge of the mechanics of mailing letters,
don’t know how to place ads, and don’t know how to fulfill orders, you can still have a
successful direct marketing business.
" You can hire copywriters to create your promotions, you can contract with letter shops to
mail your offers to the target market you select, and you can pay an order fulfillment house to
take and process all your orders for you ".
This is auto-pilot at it’s fullest. Where you act as a coordinator of all activities, but do very
little other than make a few phone calls.
If you set up a full auto-pilot operation this way, you can be earning thousands of dollars a
day, and never have a single employee!
All this is possible because in the direct mail business you can have thousands of
customers, yet never meet a single one face-to-face. Your direct mail letter, or your display
ad, is your sales force, and they work tirelessly for you 24 hours a day.
Since your customer’s only contact with you is through your ads and letters, you can dress
the way you please, live where (and how) you want and set your own hours.
You Choose Your Own Life-Style
You can, if you choose, sleep all day, and work at night. Or you can stay up late at night

watching Star Trek reruns, and then in the mornings operate your business from your bed.
If you are more adventurous, you may decide to operate your business out on the high
seas
One very successful direct marketer I know, Ted Nicholas, operates his business from either
his penthouse condo in Florida, or his lakeside chalet in Switzerland (depending on the
weather). And Karen and Bill Myers operated their business from the backwoods of
Arkansas (and now from the New Zealand outback).
The point of all this is that you can choose how you live. You choose how to spend your
time. You choose what your next project will be. And you choose how you run your
business. But...
All This Freedom of Choice Does Have It’s Down Side!
The down side is that with so many choices available to you, you’ll need the discipline and
maturity to make the right choices. Unfortunately our educational system doesn’t do a good
job when it comes to training in these areas.
More often than not, people are overwhelmed when they begin making large sums of
money. Many fall victim to the temptations of our time -- drugs, alcohol, gambling and an
unhealthy life-style. It’s not that money is evil, it’s that most of us simply have no experience
or formal education in how to handle large sums of money.
And some people, regardless of how talented they are, simply aren’t going to be able to
withstand the temptations that having money and time presents them. If you are one of these
people, recognize it now and find someone (preferably your spouse) to manage your affairs.
Other Pitfalls of Success In Direct Marketing
Operating your own business can be quite stressful at times and until you get the hang of it,
keeping up a sufficient cash flow can be trying, even for the most resourceful person.
During the start-up period, especially before the business becomes financially
self-sustaining, you’ll constantly be worrying whether you’ll make it and whether all the
trouble is worth it.
If you are unemployed or have no source of income except from your direct mail business,
you may be so scared of failing that you simply give up and take a real job.
Usually taking a real job is a big mistake. Most of the successful people I know in this
business, including myself, started with nothing. And that was our motivation.
Not having money and not having a job to bring money in, is a real motivator to achieving
success in direct mail. Not having any money and needing to make it, allows you to focus on
coming up with a solution. If you can maintain your focus on direct mail opportunities, you’ll
discover not having a job can be a real blessing.
If you stick it out (most people don’t), you’ll discover that all the stress, all the start-up
problems, and all the flack you take from friends and relatives while you are struggling, will be
worth it. Especially if you are the kind of person that has a burning desire to live life the way
you want.
But be warned...
Success in Direct Marketing Will Make You Selfish and Lazy
You’ll become selfish because you will be able to call the shots. You’ll be able to do what

you want when you want.
And you’ll become lazy. People will see you have no job, people will see you don’t "dress for
success." People will see you don’t maintain office hours. And they will figure that you are
lazy.
Of course, they won’t realize that what they perceive as laziness is just part of the reward
you get for being so successful. Your success in this business means you can pick and
choose to pursue the projects that appeal to you, while passing on those that don’t fit your
life-style.
But It Does Involve Work!
Let there be no doubt about it. This business involves work. Not the kind of work that builds
calluses on your hands. But the kind that requires you to use your mind.
But don’t get the wrong impression. You don’t have to be a genius to succeed in this
business. (In fact, being a genius will probably be a handicap.) But you must be able to read
and you must be able to develop the ability to think. (Certain parts of the government
probably frown on you developing this ability.)
A Typical Direct Mail Workday?
Most successful people in this business spend the majority of their time doing research.
This research is usually in the form of reading books, reports, magazines, newsletters, other
direct mail pieces. Research also includes watching TV, viewing movies, listening to radio
talk shows, and interacting with people.
The purpose of this ‘research’ is to get an idea of what your target market (those are the
people you want to sell products to) is thinking, so you can figure out what kind of products
they want and what ‘hot buttons’ you can push when you develop a direct mail sales offer for
them.
And That’s Basically The Job--Doing Research
Sure, sooner or later you’ll spend some time on product development, writing the offer and
rolling out the project, but that’s all based on research. And the more research you do on the
front end, the easier it will be to do these other incidentals (product development and such).
In Addition to Research . . .
Along with all the research you’ll be doing, you’ll also spend quite a bit of your time
establishing business relationships with key individuals and businesses which can provide
you with services, supplies and resource and reference materials you’ll need to get your
direct mail projects off the ground.
These key individuals and businesses will include . . .
* Your banker (to keep track of all your money).

* Your personal contact at the Post Office.
* Your personal contact at UPS, or Federal Express.
* Your telephone order taking service.
* Your mailing list broker.
* Your professional printer who can handle all your needs.
* Your letter shop (to mail out your direct mail letters).
* Your source for product (or product duplication).
This is just a general list of the kinds of people you will be relying on to help your business

grow.
We’ve found that unless you develop first class relationships with these key people, you’ll
end up spending lots of time fixing problems that should never have occurred in the first
place.
Basically it Boils Down to this...
Most of your on-the-job time in the direct marketing business will generally consist of . . .
1) Doing research which includes:
* Reading books, magazines and

newsletters.
* Reading other direct mail pieces.
* Reading magazine ads.
* Watching TV (for content, and
commercials).
* Watching new movies (to spot
trends).
* Listening to radio talk shows.
* Watching and listening to people
in public.
* Traveling to get new perspectives.
* Experiencing the life-style of your target customer and . . .
2) Developing relationships with key individuals and businesses that can provide the
services and resources you’ll need to handle the mechanics of direct mail.
If you can master these two major tasks, you will be a success in this business and will have
the freedom to make the choice of how to live your life.
Steps To Getting Into The Direct Mail Business
Getting into the direct mail business is pretty simple.
But most people do it wrong. Or spend a lot of time searching out and investigating all the
possibilities, and then don’t do it at all. You can’t succeed in this business unless you
actually get into this business.
It’s a sad but true fact that most people don’t really plan for success. They never sit down
and think about what it will mean to their life-style and future if they really, really strike it rich.
Oh sure, they sit around and fantasize about what they will do with all the money, but they
never think about the in-between part.
And that’s where the trouble starts.
Because making money is not magic. No little fairy is going to wave her wand over you
while you sleep so you wake up rich. It just doesn’t work that way in real life.
But a lot of people, (maybe most people), still think there is a chance that they will get rich
that way. That they will win the lottery. Or win the Publisher’s Clearing House
Sweepstakes. Or inherit millions from an unknown, long lost relative.
That’s What People Believe--Money Comes Magically, And No Other Way!
Sure, people will say they believe they can make money in direct mail, but deep down inside,
they know that money doesn’t really come that way. You need magic or the lottery.

Of course, they are wrong. Most people who come into big money don’t do it by winning the
lottery or through inheritance.
They do it by developing and following a plan. A plan for success.
Not everybody who has a plan for success achieves success right away. But those who
stick to it and adapt and change their plan to meet the changing conditions they meet in the
marketplace, almost invariably achieve success--and in a big way.
People who believe that money comes magically usually don’t bother to plan for success.
They know the little fairies bring money in the night even if you don’t have a plan.
And that’s unfortunate, because people who don’t really plan for success rarely achieve it.
If you’re one of the few people who won’t settle for anything other than the life-style goals
you’ve set for yourself, and won’t give up until you achieve them, then you have a very good
chance of finding your "little fairy" in direct mail--IF you follow the guidelines of the experts
who are out there doing it everyday.
Developing Realistic Goals
Probably one of the first things you should do before jumping into this business is take some
time to lay out your objectives and goals. While this may sound like a waste of time, it really
isn’t.
Especially when you know that if you stick it out, you can reach your goals.
But without goals you’ll have no reason to stick it out. And sooner or later, when you run
headlong into an obstacle (whether it is real or not), you may just call it quits. You’ll say, "All
this work is just not worth it." And you’ll quit.
Most People Without Defined Goals Do Just That...Quit.
If you have a firm goal in your mind and a strong desire to reach that goal, you’ll be surprised
how much more interesting this direct mail adventure can be.
Setting Goals
Ask yourself the following question... "If money were not a consideration, how and where
would I live the rest on my life?"
Don’t limit yourself to politically correct and socially approved answers. Dig down deep and
be selfish.
If you had all the money you needed and plenty of time to enjoy it, what would you do?
Would you buy a castle in Ireland and begin a new adventure there? (I know one guy who’s
done that!) Or would you buy an ocean going yacht and sail around the world? Both of
these options are possible when you experience success with your direct marketing projects.
Your only limitation to setting your own personal life-style goals is how much you conceive
as possible. (And this will expand rapidly as you start to see the results of your projects.)
Establishing a Business Presence
One of the first things you’ll want to do is establish a solid business presence. This means
having a real location, a dedicated business phone line and a professional looking letterhead
for all your correspondence.
Having a real location means you should not run your business out of a Post Office box.

This is very unprofessional and will hurt your sales. Customers and clients like to think that
you are successful enough to afford your own office, so you must make sure that this is the
impression you give--even if you are working from your home.
The easiest way to have a real location for your business is to use your home address. In
most cases this will work fine, especially if you are building an "auto-pilot" operation.
Otherwise, you may want to consider renting a tiny office or even just a box at a post
office-like service center where you can have a real street address and a suite number
instead of a P.O. box number.
The Mechanics Of Direct Mail
Once your have established your direct mail venture as a real business, it’s time to set up
the mechanics behind the business that will allow you to make real money with minimal
effort.
Failure to properly set up the mechanical side of this business is probably the number one
reason most mail order businesses never get off the ground.
So doing it right, and doing it before you develop your product offer, is vital to your success.
What are the Mechanics of Direct Mail?
When we speak about the mechanics of a direct mail business, we are referring to the tools
and services needed to:
* Take customer orders

* Process credit card payments
* Ship product to customers
* Maintain records of orders, customers and shipments
The inability to do any of these will sink your business quickly, and failure to do the last two
items on the list will land you in jail.
The good news is, thanks to technological breakthroughs in several areas, it is much easier
today than ever before to set up the mechanical process of this business. Even working on a
very tight budget, you’ll be able to incorporate the very latest techniques for less money than
those starting out just a few years ago.
Accepting Orders
To survive in direct mail, you must have a way to take orders. Your customers must be able
to tell you that they want your products and they must have some way to present payment for
them.
The simple solution to this problem may seem to be to give your customers an address to
send both their orders and payments to. Quite often a P.O. box is used. In theory,
customers all over the country see the ad, desire the product and send in their check.
Unfortunately, It Usually Doesn’t Work Like This.
As discussed earlier, in general, people no longer respond to ads or direct mail offers that
require them to hand write a response.
They don’t have the time to bother finding a pen or pencil to write and order your product.
Even if they really want your product, if they have to work to get it, you’re going to lose a
large chunk of your market.
Today, most orders come in on the phone. In our business, less than 10% of our orders

come through the mail. And that’s fairly typical. Most people order on impulse and they use
the phone immediately upon seeing the ad or reading the letter. This is when they are in
‘heat’ for the product and that’s when you want them to order. When they want it.
Using an Order Taking Service
There are several dozen companies that offer inbound telemarketing and order taking
services. Most of these companies were set up to handle the call volume of major direct mail
and TV infomercial outfits, but most of them are very happy to handle your business also.
Generally, these companies will have hundreds of incoming lines manned by operators 24
hours a day. They track call volume by the minute, and staff their operations so callers rarely
get a busy signal or are put on hold. At least, that’s the way they are supposed to work.
Some of the small scale operations don’t have enough lines, don’t have enough operators
and don’t offer 24 hour service. You can’t afford to do business with these kinds of
companies regardless of how reasonable their prices are.
How an Order Taking Service Works
You get a toll-free order line answered with the name of your company, 24 hours a day, by
courteous trained operators whose only job is to make you money. Plus, even though you
only have one phone number, the order service can take multiple calls on your number at the
same time.
So if all your customers call at the same time, you will be covered. (Which will often happen
when you get a winner and start dropping 10,000 a week --- that could mean 200 calls a
week and if you drop all the letters at the same time, chances are you’ll get lots of your
orders at the same time. You can’t afford to lose paying customers by giving them a busy
signal.)
Plus, some services will even fax you a complete transcript of each and every call you
receive on your order line within hours of the call.
And the best part is, you don’t have to buy or maintain any expensive phone equipment.
You don’t have to hire, pay and manage hundreds of phone operators. Your company can
take orders 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and you don’t have to stay by the phone!
An Added Bonus...
Once you have set up an order line, you are in business. You can quickly put new products
on the market, and roll out new ads and direct mail pieces using the same order number.
And this tremendous flexibility allows you to adapt to changing consumer demands.
All you have to do is keep the order service informed as to what you are selling and the
price. We do this by sending them the full ad or complete sales letter for every product we
offer.
When the Orders Come Rolling In
On a daily basis you will receive faxed records of all the orders and other calls received over
your order line. These faxes will include all the details, including questions customers may
have asked about the product, and the operator’s response to the questions.
Hearing That Fax Machine Light Up Each Morning Will Become a Sound You Look
Forward To, Because in Almost Every Case it Will Be The Sound of Money Coming In!
Then the next thing that you must do, is to establish a way to process credit cards. You will
need to establish a credit card merchant account with a local bank or a credit card processor.

Not too long ago establishing a merchant account was a pretty easy thing to do. All you had
to do was walk into your local bank and set one up. You usually had to pay $60 for a card
imprint machine, and once you had that, you could start accepting credit cards immediately.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way anymore. Due to massive bank mismanagement and
widespread bank failures, most banks are very reluctant to issue merchant status to anyone
other than long established retail businesses.
So unless you have a long established business relationship with your local bank, getting a
merchant account is going to be almost impossible--especially for a mail order business.
But even under these conditions, new mail order businesses are able to get merchant
account privileges every day. And those that can’t are finding other ways to accept credit
card payments.
We got our merchant account immediately by just asking for it, so it can be done. However,
another viable option is using an order processing service (where you have your phone
answered) that will process the cards for you. You can find such services in Direct Marketing
Magazine (1-800-220-6700). We use Mountain West Communications (1-800-642-9378).
Be very wary of people and companies who say they can get you a merchant account. From
what I’ve heard, most of these are scams. Not all of them, necessarily, but be careful.
Order Tracking
One of the most overlooked parts of setting up a direct mail business is the need to set up a
mechanism to track all the orders. This is a very important part of the business, necessary
for both profit and legal reasons.
Yet, it is the one area that even the best in the business sometimes overlook. And when
they do, they usually end up in big trouble.
Losing Control
Let’s say that tomorrow you mail 20,000 pieces of your new sales letter to a dynamite list of
qualified people looking for the product you are offering.
Everything goes perfectly. All your sales letters get delivered. All the recipients open and
read them. And since you timed your letter just right, just about everyone who wanted to
order had money to spend. Everything clicked.
And almost immediately you started getting orders. Lots of them. Sometimes fifty or more a
day. And at first, you think this is the best thing that could happen to you.
In less than ten days you take over 1,000 orders. They’re piling up everywhere. And you’re
so busy taking new orders, you don’t have time to ship the ones you already have.
And then it dawns on you. Before you can legally claim the profit on all those orders, you’ll
have to fulfill them.
And that might be a problem. A big problem.
So, you need to thoroughly think out and plan a system for handling a large number of
orders--this is most easily done with a computer.
A Direct Mail Computer System
It doesn’t take a lot of time or money to set up a good computerized order processing
system. All you need is a computer with a hard drive, a good database program, and the

discipline to use them.
For our own system, we duplicated our order form in the computer, and use the power of the
computer to do the remaining work for us.
One thing that should be noted here is that in addition to providing a reliable way to track
orders, our order processing system also allows us to build and maintain a customer
database.
This database has quickly become the most valuable asset of our business. If we were to
lose everything in a fire, as long as we had our customer database, we could recover. But if
we lost that, we’d have to start over from scratch and might never recover.
Project Development
The good news is...coming up with a profitable direct mail project can be easy. The bad
news is...most people do it wrong and end up with a real loser on their hands.
You can avoid coming up with losing projects by following one simple rule:
Always Define the Market of People You Want to Sell Your
Product to Before You Define the Product!!!!
Most people don’t do this. Instead they invest a lot of time and money coming up with a
product first, and then ask the question, "Who can I sell this to?"
When you’re locked into a ‘Who can I sell this to?’ project, chances are good you aren’t
going to make any money, you will probably lose it. Plus, you will waste a lot of time, and
lose a lot of momentum trying to find the answer to a question you shouldn’t have to ask.
Having the freedom to choose who you want to sell to, allows you to choose people who are
most likely to buy the kind of products you want to sell.
And in Almost Every Case, Your Having Control of this Selection Will Determine if
Your Project Has Any Chance of Success
Conversely, defining the product first, without regard to who your customers might be,
means you give up control of the project before you even get off the ground. This is like a
pilot who leaves the controls and walks to the back of the plane just at take off. It is a stupid
and costly thing to do.
Always, always, always define the market first. Pick a group of people who you want as
customers and let them tell you what they want to buy.
Defining Your Market
Defining your market is easy. First create a broad list of characteristics you want your
customers to have, and then narrow that list down to a very precise target.
Here is a suggested broad list:
A. People who have money. If the people in your target market have no money to spend,
it won’t make any difference what you are selling, how good a sales letter you have, or
how well your business was planned. If your customers can’t buy, you lose.
B. People who like buying through the mail. Hey, you don’t want to try to change peoples’
buying habits. You don’t have enough time or money. So it’s worth your while to find a
market of people who have already demonstrated a pattern of buying items through the
mail.

C. People over thirty. According to the latest U.S. Census report released May 28, 1992,
over half of the people in this country who are under the age of 30 have incomes below the
poverty level. But there is some good news. The same census report indicated people
over the age of forty control 70% of the wealth in this country.
Regardless of your personal feelings about the distribution of wealth in this country, the
simple fact is the older your target market is, the more likely (to a point) they will be able to
afford your offer.
Getting Specific With the Target Market
Once you have defined the broad characteristics of the market you want to sell to, you’ll
want to begin to narrow your search down into a very specific group.
And that specific group should be people ‘in heat’ for a product you can identify.
‘In heat’ is a term used by marketing guru Gary Halbert to describe people who are so hot
about a particular subject, they buy everything they can find related to it.
Obviously, if you can find people like that, people who have demonstrated they are in heat
for a particular product, then you have found a super ripe market.
And if you know what they are in heat for, you can perform a valuable service by offering
them the kind of products they are desperate to buy.
Of course, targeting people with money who are hot to buy is almost unfair. It is almost like
offering a heroin addict a chance to buy heroin. He desperately wants to buy the product you
have. And when he finds out you have it to sell, he won’t hesitate to buy it from you.
This is poor analogy. I don’t want to liken drug dealers to direct marketing entrepreneurs.
But the point is, if your livelihood depends on you making a sale, it is best you have a product
people are ‘in heat’ to buy.
But be Sure the Product You Offer is Legal, Moral and Ethical!
Don’t be tempted to lower yourself to the level of a drug dealer or prostitute just to make a
few bucks. There are plenty of good opportunities out there where you will be providing a
good service to people who want what you have.
A good example of this is the Alzheimer’s Newsletter. This monthly publication provides
information on the latest research, breakthroughs, and treatments of Alzheimer's disease. In
just the first three months that it was offered, it attracted over 25,000 subscribers who were
desperate for the information each issue provided.
This product provides a great service, is easy to market and is quite profitable to it’s
publisher. You should strive to create equally beneficial products.
Finding the Market
The easiest way to find a ripe market that meets all the above qualifications is to browse
through a recent Standard Rate and Data Service (SRDS) Direct Mail Lists rates and data
book. This bi-monthly reference contains information on over 10,000 mailing lists of
consumers and businesses who have made mail order purchases recently. It is an
invaluable tool, and one worth investing in.
You can probably find a copy of the SRDS List Book down at your local library, but if you
can afford it, you should definitely get your own copy (1-708-256-6067).
With that copy in hand, you’ll be able to browse through the thousands of mailing lists

available, and narrow your target market down to a few (twenty or so) that strike your
interest.
Browsing through the SRDS will really open your eyes to the possibilities and opportunities
available to you in direct mail. You’ll find information about markets and products you never
knew existed, and chances are, you’ll find some that really interest you.
Having this kind of information at your fingertips makes it easy for you to find the kind of
market you want to sell to.
After You Have Narrowed Down Your Market
Once you have selected the market, you’ll want to do further research into that market. This
research will be very valuable when it comes to developing the product, and writing the ad or
direct mail letter to let your customers know about the product.
The more you know about your market, the greater the chance you’ll develop a successful
and profitable project.
Defining Your Product
It is in your best interest to come up with the ultimate product for the market you have
selected. If you do, you’ll get rich, probably quicker than you can imagine.
But since most people don’t go to the trouble of defining a market first, it becomes almost
impossible to come up with just the right product. (It’s hard to decide what people will buy if
you haven’t first defined who the people doing the buying will be.)
Stacking the Deck in Your Favor
Instead of going to your market and saying, "This is what I have for sale, do you want to buy
it?," you should strive to develop products that allow you to say, "Here’s your chance to get
that product you’ve been looking all over for!"
The Key to Product Development -- Find Out What People Want to Buy
A good way to start finding out what your market wants is to look at what they are already
buying. Learning the recent purchasing patterns of consumers will tell you a lot about what
he (or she) is currently interested in, and what kind of products he (or she) will probably be
buying next.
For example, if you can find a group of consumers who have recently bought three or more
magazines on photography, it’s a pretty good bet this group of people want information on
cameras and camera equipment. And odds are, they are looking for more information than
they have already found.
If you could find out exactly which articles and ads in the photography magazines interest
them most, then you’d have a pretty good idea on the kind of information and products they
are looking for.
Finding out information like this is actually quite simple. In most cases it only takes a phone
call, and the information will be sent to you--FREE.
When it comes to magazines, call the publisher and ask for the "media kit." This will give
you advertising rates of the publication as well as a detailed demographic breakdown of their
readers. But no matter what your medium, the point is...
Research, Research, Research, leads to...Success, Success, Success!

Developing the Actual Product
There’s an unlimited supply of good products you could offer to your direct mail customers.
These products include manufactured items, personal and business services, and best of
all...information (in the form of books, videos, newsletters, reports, software, etc.).
Once you’ve done your research and have a pretty good idea of what the customers in your
market want, you’ll be ready for product creation. Product creation is the process of writing
down all the ‘wants’ or ‘hot buttons’ of your target market, and then trying to come up with
something that will hit as many of those buttons as possible.
A mistake most people make is that they try to sell just a book , or just a video. That’s not
very exciting to consumers.
People Today Don’t Want Books or Videos...

They Want Experiences!
And, they’ll pay for them.
So, what you usually want to do is package a number of items together--a book, a set of
audio tapes, a newsletter subscription, and maybe a manufactured item, to create a
multi-faceted, multi-media, high-dollar package or, "experience."
Putting all these components together to create what we like to call the "ultimate" product
may at first seem like a lot of work. But it really isn’t. It is just a simple thought process.
And, don’t worry about creating all of these products yourself. You can, if you choose, write
the book, or produce a video yourself. And this can be very rewarding.
However, if you’re just looking for the ultimate product for a specific market that will make
you lots of money, and make your customers very happy, creating your own product is
usually a waste of time, money and effort. The reason for this is that there are, literally,
hundreds of thousands of potentially great mail order projects already out there that aren’t
nearly being marketed to their full potential.
Listen, there are hundreds of thousands of books published every single year in the U.S.
Plus thousands and thousands more worldwide. Out of these, there are tons of great books
that don’t even come close to capturing their potential market. In fact, most of them lose
money.
The reason for this is that mainstream publishers are not direct marketers. They’re
"shotgun" marketers. They just throw their books out to the masses and hope all the
interested people will see and buy them.
But usually they don't. This is bad for mainstream publishers, but guess what?...
This is Great for You and Me!
A little known fact is, you can buy the exclusive mail order rights to just about any book
(even best-sellers from huge publishers) for less than $1,000 against a small royalty.
That's right. All it takes is a phone call and knowing who to talk to. Once you do this, you
can get the book from the publisher at their printing cost or have your own edition printed
up--and instantly you have the perfect mail order product and exclusive rights!
And it’s Not Just Books!
You can do the same type of thing with videos, audio tapes, software, CD-ROM's, etc.

Combine these different mediums together on the subject that your selected market is
interested in, and you can quickly and easily create the "ultimate" product -- a product your
market will be willing to pay you a good amount of money for because you’ve pushed all of
their "hot buttons" and given it to them in an attractive format.
The Ultimate Product will have these Characteristics:
A) Be exactly what the prospect wants.

B) Be so unique that it is not available anywhere else.
C) Have so much perceived value that the price of the product can be much higher than
the cost to pro-duce the product (a good example is a book which sells for $195 but costs
less than $1 to print).
D) Be of unquestionable quality and value to the person who receives it.
E) Be UPS shippable.
To find thousands of books you can buy the mail order rights to, go to your library and look in
Books in Print. This huge reference lists virtually every book available in the U.S., and you
can look them up by subject, author, or title. (Just for fun, look up "How To" in the titles
listing--you'll be blown away with ideas!)
Here are some other places you can acquire products:
1) From Manufacturers -- make it a point to get every wholesale catalog you can find. A
good place to find sources of catalogs is a book called "Wholesale by Mail." This book,
which can be found at most book stores, includes information on over 2,000 wholesale
catalogs, all listed by category (i.e., jewelry and related products).
If you do find a manufactured product you like in a wholesale catalog, you should find out
who the manufacturer is (not the distributor or wholesaler), and ask for an evaluation sample.
Explain you are considering a massive direct mail campaign using their product, and you’ll
be surprised at how nice they’ll treat you.
2) From liquidators -- In almost every industry there are companies that specialize in
buying complete inventories of over-stocked, old stock, or slow selling items. You can
usually find these liquidators listed in trade magazines (which you can find in the SRDS
directory of trade magazines).
A lot of times (most of the time) you won’t be interested in what the liquidators are offering,
but every once in a while, you’ll strike real paydirt.
3) From public domain or government agencies -- Literally hundreds of thousands of

books, reports, video tapes, and films are in the public domain, and all of these can be used
by you freely with no royalty fees or copyright restrictions.
Some of the best selling direct mail products are public domain books created by the U.S.
Government.
Product Pricing
When it comes to product pricing, you should know from your market research what price
range your target market is comfortable with, and you should try to price somewhere in that
range.
Generally, most newcomers to this business make the mistake of trying to compete by
offering lower prices rather than by having a unique high-quality product the customer wants.
The truth is, you can’t win in the direct mail business (or most businesses) with low prices.
There is always someone who can sell it cheaper--especially if you don't have a lot of capital
to start with.

You’ve got to have the product people want. Of course, when you are able to pull together
the ultimate product, offering your customer a package of items precisely designed to push
all the right ‘hot buttons’ and give the customer what he has been looking for, you’ll have real
flexibility in what you can charge.
But you have to be careful. If you offer everything the customer wants, and charge too little,
the customer will probably feel there must be something wrong with the offer or you wouldn’t
price it so cheaply.
We have discovered that we can’t get people to pick up the phone and order anything from
us priced under $100. It may be that people in our market feel anything priced that low has
no real value. I’ve heard of items that wouldn’t sell for $19.95 go gangbusters at $185 (with
added premiums and supporting items that cost very little to reproduce).
When it comes to product pricing, the actual cost of delivering the product should have only
a minor bearing on the product price. The important key is the ‘perceived value’ of the
product to your customer. If your product delivers value, and is perceived by your customer
as being able to change his life, then it should be priced accordingly.
Product Pricing Rules to Live By
You don’t want your prospects to say, "There must be something wrong with it. It’s priced
too low." You positively want them to say, "If they're charging that much, it must be good!"
Consider also, when creating your product and setting your price...
How Hard Do You Want To Work?
To earn $30,000 a month with a $300 profit margin, you need to process and ship
approximately 3 1/3 orders a day. That’s not much. On the other hand, if you have a $30
margin, you need to process and ship 33 1/3 orders a day. That’s a lot more work for the
same money.
In every case, it’s usually a good idea to test various prices to see which works best. And,
as a spread sheet analysis will show you, it costs just as much to test an offer for a $10 item
as it does a $300 item.
If in doubt, go for a higher quality, higher value offer. However, this, like all rules, has it’s
exceptions. There are definitely people who make lots of money in this business with
low-ticket items. And you can also do this if you choose.
Developing The Offer
In the direct mail business, the written sales letter is your store front, and your best sales
person. Your customer will make a decision to buy from you based solely on how he feels
about your sales letter. Hence it is vitally important to your success that your sales letter
does the job you want it to.
One of the basic truths of the direct mail business is...
A good letter can put you in the money almost immediately--if you
have selected a good target market and have the right product.
On the other hand, if you choose the wrong market or the wrong product, no sales letter, no
matter how persuasive, can save you.
The Components of the Offer

Most successful direct mail offers are more than just a sales letter. They are a series of
components designed to work together to produce a specific effect--getting the order. In
order for your sales letter to work, each and every component of it must do its part to create
the effect needed to compel your customers to order immediately upon reading the letter.
To achieve this effect, it is important that absolutely nothing in the presentation of your offer
causes any hesitation in your customer’s motivation to order from you.
Unfortunately, while many people can get the logic and words of the offer right, most fail in
the areas that do cause hesitation. While every direct mail offer is different, most have a few
things in common. We’re talking about the physical piece being mailed.
Here’s what a good offer might include:
1) A four to eight page letter explaining all the benefits of the product being offered.
Rarely does the letter try to sell anything. Instead it tries to educate the reader, to bring him
to the point where, when the offer is revealed, he wants to buy.
Don’t worry about the letter being too long. Just make it as long as it needs to be. If the
prospect is ‘hot,’ he wants to know all he (or she) can. If he’s not, he won’t read even one
paragraph.
2) An order form. Even though most orders are made over the phone, having an order
form is important. It builds confidence in the consumer that this offer is being made by a real
company. (Our order forms encourage the consumer to call his order in.)
3) An envelope that contains the entire offer. We usually use a standard #10 white
envelope with our return address in the upper left hand corner, and do everything we can to
induce the customer to open the envelope by making the letter look as personal as possible.
4) A special device or insert. More and more successful sales offers make use of a
variety of inserts or special devices to call attention to the offer, or to add a more personal
appeal, or to assist in the close of the sale.
These inserts can include personalized post-it notes, testimonial pages, photos, and just
about anything else that can increase the response rate to the offer.
The Sales Letter
The sales letter is the second most important part of any direct mail project (the first is the
target market). Getting it right can be the difference between success and failure.
Unfortunately, there is no magic formula for writing a winning sales letter. And what works
for one market, may not work for another. And what worked yesterday, may not work
tomorrow. And that’s because you are always shooting at a moving target.
Your customers concerns, worries, hopes and aspirations change continually. And as they
do, so will your sales letters. (That’s why research is so important. So you can stay up with
the changing concerns of your market.)
Generally you want to create a sales letter that flows smoothly, keeps the readers attention,
presents information in a logical sequence from headline to final P.S. and will cause the
reader to take the action you want him to (generally place an order).
Testing The Direct Mail Offer
Once you’ve selected a product and written the offer, it’s time to do a low cost test to see if
the project is going to work.
We always test everything, even ones we are certain are winners. That’s because the test

allows you to fine-tune any problems you may find. And problems (or opportunities for
improvement) always come up.
Low Budget Testing
While most of the big direct mail businesses will test 10,000 to 20,000 names at a time, we
like to stick to low budget testing.
Doing so forces us to do things right, and not get sloppy with our money. Generally, we’ll
test 1,000 names mailed first class to the list we’ve chosen as potential customers. We
usually direct address (with a computer) all the envelopes, and mail the offer on a Monday.
Mailing on Monday usually means that by Friday, we’ll start to get an idea of how well the
project will do. If we get instant response, even as few as four orders (depending on the
price) in the first seven days, we know we have a probable winner. And if we get 20 orders
from a 1,000 test mailing, we almost certainly have a big winner.
Going Further With the Test
If we like the results of the test, we’ll mail another 4,000 letters and watch the results. If we
are comfortable with the response rate, if the numbers still look good, if we haven’t received
any returns or complaints from dissatisfied customers, we’ll go forward.
Most lists contain anywhere from 20,000 to a million of more names. And the numbers you
get on your test can usually be extrapolated out to the rest of the list. Plus, rarely, if you’ve
got a big winner, will there be only one list it works to.
So You Can See, Creating Just One Successful Project Can Instantly Change Your Life and
Bring in Thousands, Hundreds of Thousands, Even Millions of Dollars in a Very Short Time!
But you have to remain cautious as you roll out the offer to the full list you tested. If you had
a 20 order response to a 1,000 mailing, you might anticipate a 400 order response to a
20,000 mailing. It will be tempting to drop these all at once. After all, with a $200 product
price, that would mean cash flowing $80,000 in as few as 11 days (the time it usually takes to
mail a letter, receive most of your orders and process them).
But, while doing the mailing may be easy, filling the orders may not be. So it is a good idea
to slowly roll out the letters to match your order filling capabilities.
And of course, you’ll have to be sure you track all your incoming orders, and outgoing
shipments to make sure you keep your customers happy. But if your test is a success, you
should by all means continue to roll out the project, and look for additional mailing lists you
can mail to. (If this is your first big success, you’ll probably have to add some staff to help
you handle the growing daily routine. You’ll be able to afford it.)
If the Test Results are Poor
If the test results are not good, if you don’t bring in enough to cover your costs, plus a nice
profit, you probably have a problem. But if you did get a few orders, it's a safe bet that the
problem can be fixed, and the next test will probably produce the results you want.
Once you have identified and corrected the problem (it's often obvious if you step back from
your work), test again. If it still doesn't work, consider cutting your losses. One of the great
things about direct mail is that (if you test conservatively) it's the only business in the world
where you can fail 9 times out of 10 and still come out a millionaire!
CONGRATULATIONS!
If you read this entire report, you now know more about how to start and profit form a direct

marketing/mail order business than 99.999% of the population (including most of those who
are trying to make a living at it!).
I believe taking the time and effort to acquire insider knowledge such as this almost
invariably sets apart the winners from the losers in any area of life.
If you're serious about pursuing a direct marketing business, I encourage you to acquire as
much, true "inside information" on how to make it work as possible. Knowledge is the
greatest investment you can possibly make. After all, if someone has spent 20 years and
several million dollars to learn something and months or years to put it down on paper, don't
you think it's worth a few hours of your time to read it?
I think so.
However, be careful when researching information and advice on mail order. You see,
there's probably more mis-information about direct marketing floating around than there is
about any other business. This bad (and outdated) advice can be very dangerous. It can
cause you to fall flat on your face as fast as the right advice can shoot you straight to the top
(when backed by your hard work, of course).
I don't know how many people I've talked to (myself included) who have acquired a book or
manual on how to make money in mail order, followed the instructions to the letter, and
then...lost money.
Of course, these people are, for the most part, way ahead of the masses, in that they
actually did something. If they didn't get too discouraged, sooner or later most of them
figured it out.
I hope this report has been informative and useful to you.
I wish you the best of luck.

---Evan C. Williams, President
Evans & Clark, Inc.
ph: 308-548-2893
fax: 308-548-2892
cserve: 73241,3575
Route 2 Box 196
Clarks, NE 68628
RESOURCES
==================================================
SRDS List Book (explained earlier): 1-708-256-6067

_______________________________________________________
For a free catalog of the best information and resources available for
starting and profiting from your own mail order/direct marketing business,
call the Direct Marketing Adventure Company voice-mail line at...
1-800-927-2527, ext. 3172
Leave your name & address and say you want the "free catalog."
_______________________________________________________
For a free subscription to the weekly, industry newspaper, DM News,

call: 212-741-2095

_______________________________________________________
The Company Corporation, is who we use to incorporate all our companies

(which I highly recommend doing). You can get them at: 1-800-542-2677
________________________________________________________

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Insiders Secrets To Direct Mail Profits

An Insider's Guide and Introductory 'Briefing' on How To

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1) The world-wide availability of dependable, low cost telephone services.

Because of this reluctance to use, or unavailability of telephones, most communication

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2) The almost universal availability of credit cards to consumers.

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3) The existence of reliable low-cost delivery services.

Fortunately that change has now come.

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2) In addition to all this, there are no major governmental, financial, or educational

* Consumer acceptance of direct mail as a preferred way of buying products.

And This Gives Us the Ultimate Freedom.

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No wonder there are so many unhappy people in life!

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All This Freedom of Choice Does Have It’s Down Side!

Other Pitfalls of Success In Direct Marketing

Success in Direct Marketing Will Make You Selfish and Lazy

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you want when you want.

But It Does Involve Work!

And That’s Basically The Job--Doing Research

These key individuals and businesses will include . . .

* Your banker (to keep track of all your money).

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Basically it Boils Down to this...

1) Doing research which includes:

* Reading books, magazines and

Getting into the direct mail business is pretty simple.

And that’s where the trouble starts.

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They do it by developing and following a plan. A plan for success.

Developing Realistic Goals

Most People Without Defined Goals Do Just That...Quit.

Establishing a Business Presence

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The Mechanics Of Direct Mail

* Take customer orders

Unfortunately, It Usually Doesn’t Work Like This.

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Using an Order Taking Service

How an Order Taking Service Works

When the Orders Come Rolling In

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And that might be a problem. A big problem.

A Direct Mail Computer System

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discipline to use them.

Defining Your Market

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Getting Specific With the Target Market

Finding the Market

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After You Have Narrowed Down Your Market

Defining Your Product

Stacking the Deck in Your Favor