What Really Sells in Mail Order Magazines
By
DeAnna Spencer
You can only make money with the Mail Order Magazines if
you understand exactly WHO reads them. The Mail Order
Magazines are trade papers read almost exclusively by Mail
Order Dealers or by Opportunity Seekers, who are in reality
aspiring Mail Order Dealers. They will only buy merchandise
that will help them in the operation of a Mail Order Business.
It is almost always a waste of money to advertise
merchandise which is intended for general consumption in the
Mail Order Magazines... unless you are offering it on a
wholesale or drop-ship basis.
Below is a brief description of 22 products or services
that can be sold successfully through the Mail Order
Magazines.
1. RUBBER STAMPS - Every Mail Order Dealer purchases at
least one name and address rubber stamp. He also purchases
"stock stamps" with slogans such as "Big Mails Wanted",
"Commission Circulars Wanted", "Third Class Mail", "Your Ad
Solicited", etc. Rubber stamps sell well in the Mail Order
magazines because dealers use them in the conduct of their
business.
2. MAILING LISTS - Mail Order Dealers constantly buy
mailing lists of the ever present Opportunity Seekers, New
Mothers, Book Buyers, Gift Buyers, etc. You can sell mailing
lists on plain paper or gummed labels. Naturally you can
charge more for the lists on gummed labels.
3. BIG MAILS - Anyone who regularly advertises "Big Mails"
in the Mail Order magazines will get orders for them. Big
Mails consists of envelopes full of Mail Order Magazines,
Adsheets and circulars of every imaginable kind. The "Big Mail
Order Dealer" earns his profit by selling a variety of sizes
of ad space and subscriptions in the publications which he
co-publishes. He also makes money from the items offered on
the circulars which he includes in his big mails.
4. CIRCULAR MAILING SERVICE - Set up an efficient, and a
good dependable mailing service so that dealers can get their
circulars into the hands of real Mail Order buyers, advertise
it regularly in the Mail Order Magazines. and you will soon
have all the circular mailing business you can possibly
handle.
5. PRINTING - Every mail order dealer buys printing. He
buys envelopes, sales letters, circulars, booklets, catalogs,
adsheets, brochures, price lists, letterheads, mail order
magazines and a thousand other things. If you do
mimeographing, letter press or offset printing, advertise your
service in the mail order magazines. It is probably the mail
order magazines' Number One All-Time Profit Maker.
6. INFORMATION FOLIOS - Mail order dealers will always buy
information that will help them succeed in the mail order
business. Folios that deal with any practical aspect of mail
order selling can be sold through the mail order magazines. If
you have produced your own folio and are willing to drop-ship
orders for other dealers you will definitely make money.
7. DROP-SHIP AND WHOLESALE OFFERS - If you have a large
stock of merchandise which is suitable for mail order sales,
and are willing to supply it on a drop-ship (single order at
wholesale prices) or on a wholesale basis, then you should
advertise in the Mail Order Magazines. Dealers are constantly
looking for new products to sell by mail. If you plan to sell
on a wholesale basis only, you should offer your product in
very small wholesale lots, if possible. Most Mail Order
Dealers are part-timers and do not have vast sums of money to
invest in untested merchandise.
8. SAMPLE COPIES OF MAIL ORDER MAGAZINES - Mail order
dealers have a very insatiable appetite for new mail trade
magazines, which is why hundreds of them come into existence
and then disappear every year. If you publish or co-publish a
mail order magazine, advertise sample copies of it in other
publications and you will get requests for it.
Regard your sample copy as a "leader item" or as a "good
will builder". It should be your way of getting your other
offers into the hands of a very many prospective mail order
buyers. You will probably sell some ads, but do not expect to
sell too many subscriptions. Except for a few of the leading
publications, very few people subscribe to mail order
magazines.
9. GUMMED LABELS - Labels of any kind are "naturals" for
many of the Mail Order Magazines. (Name and address labels,
shipping labels, addressing labels, slogan labels, etc.)
10. NAME LISTING SERVICE - Whether he admits it or not,
most every mail order dealer is a "Big Mail Addict". If you
compile mailing lists and work with another dealer who does,
dealers will pay to put their names on the lists. You can
advertise you name listing service in any mail order magazine
and get orders for it.
11. COMMISSION CIRCULARS - There are circular mailers who
watch every issue of every mail order magazine, always looking
for new sources of commission circulars. There is no better
way to advertise commission circulars than by placing ads in
the mail order magazines.
12. COPY WRITING SERVICE - If you have a natural flair for
writing ads, sales letters and circulars... and if you have a
good basic knowledge of mail order selling , you can sell your
services through many of the better mail order magazines.
There are very few good mail order copy writers at present.
Here is a very basic need... can you fill it?
13. AD DESIGN - Another service which is greatly in demand,
the commercial artist who can create eye-catching ads and
circulars which dealers can use to sell their products. There
are only a few dealers who are now offering this service, but
there is room for a dozen or so.
14. TYPESETTING - Most mail order printers and magazines
now require "camera-ready" copy. This had created a big demand
for dealers who offer a quality, reasonably price typesetting
service. At present there are dealers who do mail order
typesetting that have so much business they don't even bother
to advertise..
Related to typesetting, are the "clip-art" books which are
used by dealers who prepare their own "camera-ready" copy...
Right now as always, you'll find clip-art books advertised in
mail order publications.
15. PEN PAL, LONELY HEARTS MAGAZINES - For some reason, you
will find that the mail order magazines have always been good
places to sell these types of publications. It may be because
they are the only kinds of magazines, other than the mail
order magazines that are co-publishable.
Most mail order magazines will accept ads for legitimate
matrimonial and pen pal magazines; however, very few will
accept any "adults only" ads. Too many readers object and some
mail order dealers are minors.
16. HOBBY MAGAZINES - You can sell almost any kind of hobby
publications through the mail order magazines. This is because
many dealers handle hobby merchandise and are always looking
for new ways to sell it. Many dealers and readers are
hobbyists and collectors themselves.
17. FORMULAS - Dealers buy formulas for two reasons. Some
dealers reprint the formula and sell it by running ads in
national publications. ("Sure way to kill cockroaches", etc.)
Some even manufacture the product itself and sell it by mail.
Closely related to formula selling is recipes selling. If
you can create new recipes or have exceptional ones, you
advertise and sell recipes over and over again.
18. CATALOGS - If you can produce low cost catalogs which
dealers can mail to their customers offering books, novelties,
gift items, baby merchandise, printed forms, etc., you would
be well advised to offer your services in the mail order
magazines.
19. UNPRINTED DEALERS MERCHANDISE - If you can supply
merchandise which the dealer can use in his mail order
business, at bargain prices, you can sell it profitably in the
mail order magazines. Examples: unprinted envelopes,
typewriter ribbons, addressing labels, stencils, scratch pads,
etc. There are a few successful dealers who even sell large,
bulky items like typewriters, mimeograph machines, file
cabinets, paper cutters, and printing presses by mail.
20. AD SPACE - Every mail order dealer buys ad space. If
you publish or co-publish a mail order magazine, tabloid or
adsheet, you can sell ad space by advertising it in other mail
order magazines.
21. ADS TO RUN UNDER YOUR OWN NAME - Can you supply
ready-made ad copies which other dealers can run under their
own names and fill their orders on a drop ship basis? If so,
print up your ads and sell them through the mail order
magazines. If you can supply "camera ready" ads and circulars,
so much the better!
22. MAIL ORDER PLANS - Opportunity seekers are always
looking for new mail order plans. If you have some practical
legitimate workable plans that others can use to make money by
mail, print them up and advertise them in the mail order
magazines.
You will find that 99% of all the ads in the mail order
magazines fall into one of the categories listed above. If you
are selling a product or service that fits into one of these
categories, you can safely advertise it in the mail order
magazines.
Copyright 2004 by DeAnna Spencer
DeAnna is the publisher of the ezine, Prospecting and
Presents.
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