Notes

How to Create YOUR PERSONAL 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 one which:

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

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

All of this is obviously good advice. website with it really is that it does not go far enough. It generally does not tell you HOW to create a product that's exclusively you possess. In what follows, I would like to show you, step by step, HOW to create your own mailorder product.

I would like to begin by making a very revolutionary statement. THE FIRST STEP ON THE PATH TO MAIL ORDER SUCCESS IS NOT THE SELECTION OF SOMETHING! That may sound like a very strange statement, but t here are three things you must do (if you want to achieve success) before you ever decide on a product to sell by mail!

FIRST, you must ANALYZE YOURSELF. You will only flourish in selling a product, or perhaps a type of mailorder products if you really enjoy selling them, when you can be honestly enthusiastic about them, and if they're products you yourself would honestly need it.

SECOND, you need to SELECT YOUR MARKET. Once you have analyzed yourself, you will need 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 select a product, you need to know what your market is buying, what it would want to buy, if available, and what it will buy form you, in the very near future.

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

ANALYZE YOURSELF

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

1. When I visit a newstand, what sort of magazines interest ME?

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

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

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

5. What do I really do on my vacation?

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

7. If I didn't need to work for a full time income, how would I spend my time?

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

9. What type of products do I love to purchase by mail?

Once you have HONESTLY answered each one of these questions, you will notice an incredible pattern emerging. When you have finished, pay a visit to your local library. Go to the Reference Desk and ask 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 others. It is in that mailorder market that you will be most at home . . . in fact it is there you will be most successful

Now go back to the Reference Desk and ask for two other publications. Each one will provide you with the information you need. They are:

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

I, of course, have no idea what your interests really are, but let us, with regard to illustration, say that you've got a compelling interest in Astrology. With just a little search in the Standard Periodical Directory, you will discover the name and address of at the very least a dozen or so Astrology magazines. In Ulrich's you will find even more, because 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 when possible. Unless you have a letterhead, you'll still hear from most of them. Tell them you are starting a mailorder business, specializing in Astrological products, and ask them for an example copy of these publications, along with their ADVERTISING RATES.

When you start receiving your sample copies, save them . . . and save the advertising rate cards. They will be invaluable to you later on.

While you are waiting for these to arrive, go to the nearest second-and magazine store and purchase a few dozen old astrology magazines. (The cost? Probably a dime apiece!) Get as many different magazine titles as you possibly can and be sure to get copies with MAIL ORDER ADS inside them. Conditions that are ten or fifteen yrs . old will be valuable to you, but also make an effort to obtain some of the more current issues. You're now ready to start . . .

ANALYZING YOUR MARKET

Start a notebook. Grab among the magazines that you've purchased at the second-hand magazine store. Browse the first ad. . . every line of it. Read it slowly and carefully. Once 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 among the three headings in the above list. If the ad was for an Aquarian Necklace, it ought to be listed under Merchandise. If it was for a treatise on Flying Saucers, it should be listed under Information. If it was an offer to chart your horoscope, it ought to be listed under Service.

Once you have analyzed the first ad, go on and study the next ad. Continue and soon you have thoroughly analyzed every single ad in the magazine, including the classifieds. When you are through, you will have three lists:

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

As you read, watch out for:

UNDEVELOPED IDEAS -- Especially in older issues, you will see really good ideas which were, for just one reason or another, never developed. Possibly the originator lost interest or didn't have the administrative centre to develop his idea. He may have died or he might have run off with a chorus girl from NEVADA and forgotten all about the mail order business. When you can develop the idea, you've got a mail order product.

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

STUDY THE ARTICLES -- They will show you what the readers want in and they will give you clues in regards to what the readers need it. Remember the articles are doing two things -- they are printing articles about subjects which the readers are already interested. But they are also CREATING NEW INTERESTS in the minds of the readers. CAN YOU CREATE A PRODUCT THAT READERS WILL NEED AS A RESULT OF READING THOSE ARTICLES?

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

While researching this manuscript, I analyzed three completely 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 are different from those which interest you. MAILORDER PRINCIPLES WILL BE THE SAME FOR EVERY MARKET!

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

ASTROLOGY (MERCHANDISE)

The initial 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 supermarket. But this soap is special. It has YOUR ZODIAC SIGN imprinted inside it, and it lasts provided that the soap lasts. Here's another good example of adapting a commonplace product to the special interests and desires of one's prospective customers.

When you are now selling something by mail and you wish to increase you sales, create a list of the forms of people you would like to sell it to. (For example, doctors, waitresses, farmers, gun collectors, etc.) Then return back and ask yourself what you could do to your product to make it appeal to each individual group. You will be amazed at ways to turn commonplace items into red hot mailorder sellers simply by taking the time to place yourself in your customer's shoes for some time.

Another merchandise offering is for "SEASHELLS FOR VIRGOS AND SCORPIOS". Brother, it is a fantastic idea. Had this advertiser offered the usual seashells in an astrology magazine, his mailbox would probably 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 incredibly, very desirable, because they're limited to 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 an idea worth remembering. Make an effort 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, that can be predicted in advance). The Astrology magazines, in place, have been creating a mailorder market for this kind of new product. The ad promises, "it reveals your emotional, intellectual and physical state . . . EVEN PRIOR TO THE DAY BEGINS!" This dealer was clever enough to do something concerning 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 thinking about 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 a long time. Back 1960, when I first became interested in selling by mail, this dealer was running small ads in mail dealer magazines, selling mailorder manuals!

Below are a few of the other information manuals which dealers have written and so are selling by mail:

- The way the Maya Indians Foretold the Future - $15.00

- Powerful Words to Be Recited Daily to get rid of YOUR CASH 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 develop a WORTHWHILE manual because of this market? (I predict that the first dealer who writes a good manual on Bio-Rhythm can make a fortune!) If you want ideas for manuals, study the subjects on offer in the Astrology magazines. Remember --the readers are interested in those subjects! In the issue of ASTROLOGY - YOUR PERSONAL HOROSCOPE which I read, the following information articles appeared. (This is only a partial list.)

"Yearly Forecast for Sagittarians" "Basic Astronomy for the Astrologers" "Sybil Leek Analyzes YOUR Dreams" "Making Your Dreams Pay Off" "How Mercury Inspires Your Creativity"

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

ASTROLOGY (SERVICE)

If there is a very important factor people who read Astrology magazines love, it really is this . . . They LOVE TO BE ANALYZED AND COUNSELLED BY PROFESSIONALS. Do you have specialized trained in the art of Horoscope Reading? If that's the case, you can sell your services by mail. Here are some of the news form ads offering such services:

- "Let a specialist Discuss YOUR DAILY LIFE!"

- "This Horoscope is about YOU"

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

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

- "1976 - 1977 - 1978! Is one of these brilliant YOUR Year of Destiny?"
(This have been running in Astrology magazines for at the very least ten
years. Every 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 provide 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 . . . this is where you need to begin your mailorder career.

The next 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 their hobby. They buy top quality hunting clothes. (Who would like to go hunting in an inexpensive couple of jungle boots?) They spend big money on the guns, their hunting knives, and at the top quality binoculars. There are numerous dozen well-established mail order companies selling this sort of merchandise to hunters. If you ar planning to establish a one man mail order operation, you would be well advised not to try to contend with these companies. Instead, search for something unique a hunter can USE, and begin you mailorder business there.

Below are a few merchandise offerings being made by enterprising dealers:

"Deer Hunter's soap" (Bathe in soap scented with the aroma of a female deer and you will attract a Buck. Only $1.50 per bay!) Notice how a smart dealer ADAPTED a commonplace item to a specialized market. Notice too, he adapted it to ONLY 1 KIND OF HUNTER. HE DIDN'T OFFER IT TO BEAR HUNTERS, TO COON HUNTERS, TO QUAIL HUNTERS, OR EVEN TO GAME HUNTERS GENERALLY. He offered it to deer-hunters! If you are a deer-hunter, you'll notice that ad!"

"Curtain rods for HUNTING Vans - $3.95 a pair." (Sure, you can purchase curtain rods in 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 any old dog!)

- ID Tags for Your Hunting Dogs

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

- There was a little classified ad offering "Fish and Game Rubber Stamps." I hope this dealer got lots of orders, but if he didn't, I suspect it had been because his offer was too general. Firstly, it could have sold better with an illustrated display ad. But even better . . . let us get back to the Virgo and Scorpio concept above. Think about rubber stamps for Coon Hunters? Or for Pheasant Hunters? Or rubber stamps for Taxidermists? You'll always have more orders if you direct your ad to specific people.

HUNTING (INFORMATION)

Frankly, I was amazed at the amount of Information Folios being sold to Hunters. Below are a few examples:

"How to Build YOUR PERSONAL Gun Cabinet"

"Duck Calling Instructions" (half an hour on tape!) A lot of information, in every field, is currently being put on cassette tape and sold by mail. In the event that you would prefer to talk than write, this may be an element 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 build your own flying saucer detector!)

"How to Build Box Traps - $1.00"

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

"Mount catch Fun and Profit - Easy instructions - $1.00"

"Tan Your Own Hides - Hair on or off - Complete, easy 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"

Is it possible to 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 exactly to sign up for a large Game Safari in the wilds of Africa? If you can, write a good manual (or put it on 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 exactly to chase a bear up a tree, he then will probably pay you for the services. Can you repair his gun? Or is it possible to stuff and mount his catches? If that's the case, you can build 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 when you have done well in creative writing classes) you might decide to build a mail order business catering to the requirements of thousands of persons who dream of becoming professional writers. here are some of the merchandise 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 searching for a grant?)

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

- "Gagwriters Guide"

- "Secret Way to EARN 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 fresh mailorder product! (To obtain ideas for subjects of interest to writers, study the articles in such publications because the Writers Digest, The Writer, Saturday Review, etc.)

WRITERS -- (SERVICE)

A few of the largest mailorder business on the globe sell correspondence courses teaching people how to write for a living. There are also twelve or even 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 something special for writing, you could very possibly set up a business offering your services to writers. Here are some 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 offer these services by mail? Should you be, you have found something to market by mail! If you are not now qualified, why not 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. There are hundreds of other mail order markets so you might explore! Analyze yourself and select the market that's best for you.

Study your market thoroughly . . . AND NEVER STOP STUDYING IT. Most successful mailorder people read dozens of magazines on a monthly basis. They KNOW what their customers are considering, what they want, and what they will buy.

Successful mailorder folks are interested in the NEEDS and WANTS of their customers FIRST. They recognize 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 the manual, I asked one to write to every magazine in your selected field. Subscribe to as much as possible. Once you have created your first product, then start advertising in those magazines (which explains why I thought 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 personally. Slowly add new (but related) what to your line. Whenever you can, expand your organization by inserting your ads in new publications.

Remember these simple guidelines:

- DON'T COPY OTHER PEOPLE! You are a unique 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

This article may be reproduced and redistributed freely on the Internet given that the resource box remains intact.

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 business owners. Visit this small business resource today.
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