Notes

How to Create Your Own Mail Order Products
Pick up nearly every book or report on Mailorder Selling and invariably you will discover the same advice. When you select a mailorder product, select the one that:

- appeals to a big segment of the population
- is not readily available in stores
- is simple to ship by mail
- is worthwhile
- and a product that lends itself to repeat orders

Most mail order writers may also tell you to make an effort to acquire exclusive selling rights to your product. Most writers will agree that a dealer has a better potential for succeeding in the mailorder business if he has created the merchandise himself.

All of this is certainly good advice. The trouble with it really is that it does not go far enough. It does not tell you HOW to create a product that's exclusively you possess. In what follows, I'd like to show you, step by step, HOW to create your personal mailorder product.

I would like to begin with by making a very revolutionary statement. THE INITIAL STEP ON THE ROAD TO MAIL ORDER SUCCESS IS NOT THE SELECTION OF SOMETHING! That may sound like an extremely strange statement, but you can find three things you should do (to be able to be successful) before you ever decide on a product to market by mail!

FIRST, you need to ANALYZE YOURSELF. You will only succeed in selling a product, or a line of mailorder products if you enjoy selling them, when you can be honestly thinking about them, and if they are products you yourself would honestly need it.

SECOND, you must SELECT YOUR MARKET. After you have analyzed yourself, you will want to sell to people who have interests similar to your personal. Only then will you be comfortable in your mailorder business.

THIRD, you need to thoroughly ANALYZE YOUR MARKET. Before you ever decide on a product, you need to understand what your market is buying, what it would like to buy, if available, and what it'll buy form you, in the very near future.

After you have analyzed yourself, selected your market, and thoroughly analyzed your market, you will have no trouble selecting or creating a product to sell by mail. It'll almost select you! Now, let's return back and study these three steps, one by one.

ANALYZE YOURSELF

To help you understand yourself, sit back and, as honestly as you possibly can, write out your answers to the following questions:

1. When I go to a newstand, what sort of magazines appeal to ME?

2. What kind of books do I really like to read?

3. When I daydream, what do I daydream about?

4. What do I really do with my free time? (How do you spend my evenings? What do I really do on weekends?)

5. What do I really do on my vacation?

6. What one subject interests me more than any other subject on the planet?

7. If I didn't have to work for a living, how would I spend my time?

8. If I could get back to college, what subjects would I take?

9. Which kind of products do I love to purchase by mail?

Once you have HONESTLY answered each one of these questions, you will notice an amazing pattern emerging. If you have finished, pay a visit to your local library. Go to the Reference Desk and have to start to see the latest edition of the WRITER'S MARKET. Sit back and study the Table of Contents, which lists all the main types of magazines becoming printed. Decide which CATEGORY interests you beyond all others. It is for the reason that mailorder market that you will be most at home . . . in fact it is there that you will be most successful

Now go back to the Reference Desk and ask for just two other publications. Either one offers you the information you need. They are:

- THE STANDARD PERIODICAL DIRECTORY and
- ULTICH'S INTERNATIONAL PERIODICAL DIRECTORY

I, of course, do not know what your interests really are, but let us, for the sake of illustration, say that you've got a compelling fascination with Astrology. With just a little search in the typical Periodical Directory, you will find the name and address of at the very least a dozen or so Astrology magazines. In Ulrich's you can find even more, since it lists magazines published in foreign countries as well.

Jot down the names and address of each and every publication. Write to all of them, on your letterhead if possible. Unless you have a letterhead, you'll still hear from a lot of them. Tell them you are starting a mailorder business, focusing on Astrological products, and ask them for a sample copy of their publications, with their ADVERTISING RATES.

When you begin receiving your sample copies, save them . . . and save the advertising rate cards. They will be invaluable to you in the future.

While you are waiting for these to arrive, go to the nearest second-and magazine store and buy several dozen old astrology magazines. (The price? Probably a dime apiece!) Get as many different magazine titles as you possibly can and be sure to get copies with MAIL ORDER ADS in them. Issues that are ten or fifteen yrs . old will be valuable to you, but also try to obtain a number of the more current issues. You are now ready to start . . .

ANALYZING YOUR MARKET

Start a notebook. Grab one of many magazines that you've purchased at the second-hand magazine store. Browse the first ad. . . every type of it. Read it slowly and carefully. If you have finished reading it, see when you can describe what is for sale in five words or less. If you cannot, return back and read it again. When you can, record your description under one of three headings in your notebook:

- Merchandise
- Information
- Service

All mailorder offerings come under one of many three headings in the above list. If the ad was for an Aquarian Necklace, it ought to be listed under Merchandise. If it had been for a treatise on Flying Saucers, it must be listed under Information. If it had been an offer to chart your horoscope, it should be listed under Service.

Once you have analyzed the first ad, do not delay - study another ad. Continue and soon you have thoroughly analyzed every single ad in the magazine, like the classifieds. When you are through, you will have three lists:

- A listing of Astrological Merchandise on the market
- A list of Astrological Manuals (Information) on the market
- A list of Astrological services for sale.

As you read, watch for:

UNDEVELOPED IDEAS -- Especially in older issues, you can find really good ideas that were, for one reason or another, never developed. Perhaps the originator lost interest or didn't have the administrative centre to build up his idea. He may have died or he might have run off with a chorus girl from Las Vegas and forgotten all about the mail order business. If you can develop the idea, you have a mail order product.

WHOLESALE SOURCES -- Watch out for ads that say "Dealers Wanted" (in more current issues, of course). Here may be the perfect way to obtain mailorder products for you.

STUDY THE ARTICLES -- They will demonstrate what the readers are interested in and they will give you clues in regards to what the readers want to buy. Remember the articles are doing a couple of things -- they're printing articles about subjects that your readers are already interested. But they may also be CREATING NEW INTERESTS in the minds of the readers. CAN YOU CREATE A PRODUCT THAT READERS WILL NEED BECAUSE OF READING THOSE ARTICLES?

You may be amazed at what you would discover once you read magazines from the viewpoint of a mailorder man!

While researching this manuscript, I analyzed three totally different magazines from the viewpoint of a mailorder man. I would like to share some of my findings with you. Don't worry if the fields will vary from those which interest you. MAILORDER PRINCIPLES WILL BE THE SAME FOR EACH MARKET!

The first magazine that i analyzed was ASTROLOGY - YOUR DAILY HOROSCOPE, December 1975. I'd like to begin with the Merchandise Offerings.

ASTROLOGY (MERCHANDISE)

The first ad is for personalized stationary. Any mailorder man knows it is possible to sell personalized stationary to any market. But this dealer took a commonplace product and adapted it to the Astrological market. Next to the name and address which he prints on the stationary, he prints the Astrological sun sign and he calls it ZODIAC STATIONARY.

The next ad is for another very commonplace product -- soap! You can purchase soap in any grocery store. But this soap is special. It has YOUR ZODIAC SIGN imprinted inside it, and it lasts provided that the soap lasts. Here is another good example of adapting a commonplace product to the special interests and desires of one's prospective customers.

Should you be now selling something by mail and you also want to increase you sales, make a list of the kinds of people you want to sell it to. (For instance, doctors, waitresses, farmers, gun collectors, etc.) Then return back and ask yourself what you could do to your product to create it appeal to each individual group. You will be amazed at how one can turn commonplace items into red hot mailorder sellers just by taking the time to place yourself in your customer's shoes for some time.

The next merchandise offering is for "SEASHELLS FOR VIRGOS AND SCORPIOS". Brother, it is a fantastic idea. Had this advertiser offered plain old seashells in an astrology magazine, his mailbox may possibly have already been empty. Had he advertised "Seashells for Astrologers", he could have gotten a few orders. But he made his seashells special, exclusive, and very, very desirable, because they're only for Virgos and Scorpios. He could be catching the attention of 1 reader from every six and I would bet that ad was a mailorder success! Here's a concept worth remembering. Try to apply it to YOUR product!

Another merchandise offering was a "Hand Bio-Rhythm Computer". For the past few years, Astrology magazines have already been running article after article on the Bio-Rhythm Theory (i.e. every male and female person has emotional, intellectual and physical cycles, and this can be predicted in advance). The Astrology magazines, in effect, have been creating a mailorder market because of this sort of new product. The ad promises, "it reveals your emotional, intellectual and physical state . . . EVEN BEFORE THE DAY BEGINS!" This dealer was clever enough to accomplish something relating to this new interest. If he previously not studied his market, he could do not have discovered the necessity for a Bio-Rhythm computer!

ASTROLOGY (INFORMATION)

Individuals who read Astrology magazines are very interested in Love, Money, Success, Power, Miracles, Prayer, etc. One enterprising dealer has written six "personal guidance" manuals, and runs full page ads in Astrology magazines, selling them form $2.00 to $11.00 each! His ads have been running successfully for years. Back in 1960, when I first became thinking about selling by mail, this dealer was running small ads in mail dealer magazines, selling mailorder manuals!

Here are several of another information manuals which dealers have written and so are selling by mail:

- The way the Maya Indians Foretold the near future - $15.00

- Powerful Words to Be Recited Daily to End Your Money Worries - $4.00

- How exactly to Spiritually Heal Your Pets - $5.00

- A Manual on Etheric Astal Projection, written "specifically for the Neophyte" - $3.00

Can you create a WORTHWHILE manual for this market? (I predict that the first dealer who writes a good manual on Bio-Rhythm will make a fortune!) If you want ideas for manuals, study the subjects on offer in the Astrology magazines. Remember --the readers want in those subjects! In get more info of ASTROLOGY - YOUR PERSONAL HOROSCOPE that i read, the next information articles appeared. (That is only a partial list.)

"Yearly Forecast for Sagittarians" "Basic Astronomy for the Astrologers" "Sybil Leek Analyzes YOUR Dreams" "How you can make Your Dreams PAY BACK" "How Mercury Inspires Your Creativity"

A report of OLD Astrology magazines offers you an abundance of subjects for New Mailorder Manuals (or folios).

ASTROLOGY (SERVICE)

If there is one thing individuals who read Astrology magazines love, it is this . . . They LOVE TO BE ANALYZED AND COUNSELLED BY PROFESSIONALS. Are you experiencing specialized training in the art of Horoscope Reading? If that's the case, you can sell your services by mail. Below are a few of the news form ads offering such services:

- "Let an Expert Discuss YOUR DAILY LIFE!"

- "This Horoscope is about YOU"

- "Now . . . a significant study of YOU!"

- "Now there is a Horoscope written for both of you! . . .
One for you, one for your loved one! It might mean the
difference between a Happy Marriage and an agonizing Divorce!"

- "1976 - 1977 - 1978! Is one of these brilliant YOUR Year of Destiny?"
(This had been running in Astrology magazines for at least ten
years. Each year, the advertiser simply changes the dates!

Other services on offer in this magazine include:

- Personal Questions Answered by Psychics and Mystics
- Spiritual Readings
- Tarot Readings
- Palm Readings
- Handwriting Analysis
- Questions answered through Astro-Extra Sensory Perception

Are you trained to offer such services through the mail? Or do you enjoy receiving such training? (You can find many such offers to train you in a newstand magazine called FATE.) In the event that you answer is Yes . . . that's where you should begin your mailorder career.

Another magazine I analyzed was the November 1975 issue of FIELD AND STREAM. Since this magazine is targeted at two mailorder markets, hunters and fishermen, I analyzed only those ads pertaining to Hunters.

HUNTERS (MERCHANDISE)

Men who hunt for wild game spend big money on the hobby. They buy excellent hunting clothes. (Who wants to go hunting in an inexpensive pair of jungle boots?) They spend big money on their guns, their hunting knives, and at the top quality binoculars. There are lots of dozen well-established mail order companies selling this type of merchandise to hunters. In the event that you ar planning to set up a one man mail order operation, you would be well advised not to try to compete with these companies. Instead, search for something unique that a hunter can USE, and begin you mailorder business there.

Here are some merchandise offerings being created by enterprising dealers:

"Deer Hunter's soap" (Bathe in soap scented with the aroma of a female deer and you may attract a Buck. Only $1.50 per bay!) Notice what sort of smart dealer ADAPTED a commonplace item to a specialized market. Notice too, he adapted it to ONLY ONE SORT OF HUNTER. HE DIDN'T OFFER IT TO BEAR HUNTERS, TO COON HUNTERS, TO QUAIL HUNTERS, OR TO GAME HUNTERS IN GENERAL. He offered it to deer-hunters! If you're a deer-hunter, you would notice that ad!"

"Curtain rods for HUNTING Vans - $3.95 a pair." (Sure, you can buy curtain rods in virtually any dime store, but not curtain rods for HUNTING VANS! Another excellent example of going for a commonplace item, adapting it to a specialized market, and developing a new mailorder product.

Also offered:

- Gun cleaning cloths (10 for a dollar)

- Brass Nameplates for HUNTING DOGS (not for just any old dog!)

- ID Tags for the Hunting Dogs

- Handwarmers and Bodywarmers (Boy, could you use these once you get lost in the snow!)

- There was a little classified ad offering "Fish and Game Rubber Stamps." I am hoping this dealer got plenty of orders, but if he didn't, I suspect it had been because his offer was too general. Firstly, it would have sold better having an illustrated display ad. But better still . . . let us go back to the Virgo and Scorpio concept above. How about rubber stamps for Coon Hunters? Or for Pheasant Hunters? Or rubber stamps for Taxidermists? You will always get more orders in the event that you direct your ad to specific people.

HUNTING (INFORMATION)

Frankly, I was amazed at the quantity of Information Folios for sale to Hunters. Below are a few examples:

"How to Build Your Own Gun Cabinet"

"Duck Calling Instructions" (30 minutes on tape!) Plenty of information, in every field, is now being put on cassette tape and sold by mail. If you would prefer to talk than write, this may be an aspect of mailorder selling that you can consider.

"Chart showing Life-size Tracks of 38 Animals in the Adirondack Mountains" (Incidently not all information is written. Many people buy plans, diagrams, etc. To digress, recently a dealer advertised plans to create your personal flying saucer detector!)

"Developing Box Traps - $1.00"

"My Secret on Coon Trapping, after 50 years. Guaranteed, $1.00"

"Mount fish for Fun and Profit - Easy instructions - $1.00"

"Tan Your Own Hides - Hair on or off - Complete, an easy task to follow instructions and Formulas - $1.00"

"Build (meat, fish, sausage) smoker! Inexpensive, protable.... easy plans, $1.00"

"Wild Game and Fish Recipes - Deer, Bear, Rabbit, Trout, Salmon and dozens more - $1.00"

Can you write an information manual for hunters? Can you tell him how to shoot ducks? Or how exactly to hunt buffalo? . . . Or what to do for snake bites? . . . Or how to sign up for a large Game Safari in the wilds of Africa? If you can, write an excellent manual (or wear it tape!) and sell it by mail!

HUNTING (SERVICE)

Unlike the readers of Astrology magazines, Game Hunters don't provide a damn about being analyzed or counselled! But if you can teach his hunting dog how to chase a bear up a tree, he then will most likely pay you for your services. Can you repair his gun? Or can you stuff and mount his catches? If that's the case, you can create a mailorder business offering such services.

The final publication analyzed was the WRITER'S DIGEST of November, 1975.

WRITING (MERCHANDISE)

If you are thinking about the craft of writing (or for those who have done well in creative writing classes) you might decide to build a mail order business catering to the needs of hundreds of thousands of persons who dream of becoming professional writers. here are some of the item offerings being made to writers:

- "Copyright and Related Laws for Writers"

- "Grants and Aids to Individuals in the Arts - 1500 Sources." (What writer isn't looking for a grant?)

- "I receive checks weekly for features, fillers, news. Free details."

- "Gagwriters Guide"

- "Secret Way to Make Money Writing - $2.00"

- "Make Money Writing Fillers! Up-to-Date Filler Directory."

- "International Directory of Little Magazines and Small Presses."

When you can produce an information manual showing writers how to write better, or how exactly to sell their manuscripts, then write it and sell it by mail. You should have CREATED a new mailorder product! (To get ideas for subjects of interest to writers, study the articles such publications because the Writers Digest, The Writer, Saturday Review, etc.)

WRITERS -- (SERVICE)

A few of the largest mailorder business on earth sell correspondence courses teaching people how exactly to write for a full time income. There are also twelve or more large printing companies (called "Vanity Publishers" in the trade) whose sole business is printing books for authors, whose works have been rejected by the standard publishing houses.

If you are a significant literary person, with a gift for writing, you could very possibly establish a business offering your services to writers. Below are a few of the services which were being offered in the November 1975 issue of Writer's Digest:

- Literary Counseling
- Literary Criticism
- Literary Editing
- Short Story Evaluation
- Manuscript Analysis
- Article Evaluation (No Fiction)
- Ghost Writing
- Newspaper and Magazine Reference Service (Authors often need such a service.)
- Manuscript Typing

Are you qualified to provide any of these services by mail? In case you are, you have found something to sell by mail! If you're not now qualified, you will want to acquire professional training . . . and offer your services by mail?

IN CONCLUSION

I realize that I've just touched the surface of three different mail order markets. You can find a huge selection of other mail order markets so that you can explore! Analyze yourself and select the market that is best for you.

Study get more info . . . RATHER THAN STOP STUDYING IT. Most successful mailorder people read a large number of magazines every month. They KNOW what their customers are considering, what they want, and what they will buy.

Successful mailorder people are interested in the NEEDS and WANTS of their customers FIRST. They understand that if they concentrate on those, profits will flow naturally. Those who think only of profits soon go by the wayside.

In the beginning of this manual, I asked you to write to every magazine in your chosen field. Subscribe to as many as possible. If you have created your first product, then start advertising in those magazines (which explains why I said to keep their rate cards.) Never run an ad if you don't can run it in three consecutive issues. Then CONTINUE running it so long as it continues to create new customers for you. Slowly add new (but related) what to your line. Whenever possible, expand your business by inserting your ads in new publications.

Remember these simple guidelines:

- DON'T COPY OTHER PEOPLE! You are a distinctive individual. Express your personal individuality in your Mail Order business.

- CREATE SOMETHING NEW AND EXCITING!

- CREATE SOMETHING HELPFUL AND WORTHWHILE!

- CREATE SOMETHING YOU YOURSELF WOULD WANT TO BUY!

Copyright by DeAnna Spencer 2004

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DeAnna Spencer is a virtual assistant that helps entrepreneurs run a successful business by giving affordable administrative help. She also publishes a blog for small enterprises. Visit this small business resource today.
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