Email Promotions for Success

Opt-in email marketing works with any business model, you can make money following some key rules. When you have someone’s email address, they are practically inviting you to come sell them something. They want to hear from you, hear the updated news; they want to receive your information. This means lifetime valuable relationships with customers who are interested in what you have to say. You can see the results of the email you have just sent out within hours, which means no wasted advertising dollars, you know what works and what doesn’t, simple as that. Opt-in email marketing is not only effective and instantaneous, but free.

You can utilize opt-in email marketing if you already have an online business, or an offline business, or no business at all. For offline business, collect email addresses from your clients and send them an occasional email with a discount and watch the appointment book get filled up quickly. Drive qualified buyers to your web site by sending your customers a free report or newsletter subscription which entices them to buy the full version. So, what if you do not have a business at all. Everyone has an interest that they are passionate about, whether it is yoga, or fishing. Start writing information packed newsletter about your favorite topic and recommend other people’s products or services for a commission on any sales you send them. Post your free newsletter offer on online newsgroups, or other newsletters. You will get a lot of subscribers because it is free.

Best of all, there are thousands of companies willing to pay you to sell their products on your newsletter. Here are a few websites to check out to find those companies:

www.affiliateguide.com
www.associateprograms.com
www.affiliatematch.com

You will earn commissions every time one of your newsletter subscribers buys a product from the company.

How To Live Up to Your Greatest Potential

If you want to make more of your talents - live up to your full potential
- you have to learn to use them. You have the power to change your habits
- to acquire new skills and fully use the skills you now have. You can
improve your performance, your productivity, and the quality of your whole
life.

What makes a high achiever? Is it luck, intelligence, talent, dedication?
All of these things figure in - they all make a difference. But we all
know intelligent, talented, hard-working people who do not consider
themselves very successful or even happy. And we know people who are not
exceptionally bright but seem happy and successful.

So there must be something else, some secret to success. Actually there
are several secrets to achieving your peak performance - living up to your
full potential.

Your success at business, friendship, love, sports - just about anything
you try - is largely determined by your own self-image. Your unhappiness
is something you choose. So, you're thinking no one chooses to be unhappy.
Well, maybe not - but you have to consciously choose to be happy,
self-confident, and successful.

Happiness is elusive when we go after it directly. So is self-confidence.
Both seem to be more "side-products" than something you can achieve in and
for itself. So how, then, can consciously choosing to be these things be
of any value? Well, the secret is to focus on other things.

First, focus on your potential. Begin by making a complete and accurate
assessment of your potential. To do this you must take an inventory of
yourself - you will make a few lists. Sit down and make a list of all the
things you can do well. Be honest with yourself. When that list is done,
make a list of all the things you like to do, even if you think you can't
do them well. Then, make a list of all the things you would like to do, if
you could. Now list your hobbies.

Then, go back to the list of things you can do well. You are probably
being much too hard on yourself. Most of us are. We have this little
voice in our heads telling us things like: "You're so dumb," or "You can't
learn to do that," or "You never do anything right," or similar nasty
things. And even worse, we listen to that voice as if it's telling us the
gospel truth. So now, shut off that voice - you can do it - and add a few
more things to the list of things you can do well. Pretend you are your
best friend - it's amazing how much more forgiving and charitable we are
with our friends than we are with ourselves. Now that you are your best
friend, you should be able to add a few more items to your "do well" list.
But do be honest - don't list things you feel you really can't do well.

Next, go to your list of things you like to do but you feel you don't do
well. Speaking as your own best friend, do you think there are some things
on this list that could be moved to your "do well" list? There probably
are. If you like to do it, chances are you do pretty well at it. Treat
your hobby list in the same manner.

Next, go to your list of things you would like to do if you could. Ask
yourself, "Why can't I do this, if I'd like to?" Put your reasons on
another list. OK. So you have a lot of lists going - what good is that
going to do? Well, you have just made an assessment of yourself. If you
have been truly honest in making these lists, it may even be a fairly
accurate assessment. Probably it isn't, but that's OK. This assessment
isn't carved in stone. It's subject to change. But for now we will work
with what's on the lists. At least you have a place to start.

Look over your lists again. You are focusing on all the things you feel
you can't do and the reasons why you can't do them, right? Well, don't.
FOCUS ON WHAT YOU CAN DO - FOCUS ON YOUR POTENTIAL. Make it a habit to
focus on your strengths. Don't forget to include your undeveloped
potential, as well. Train yourself to focus on your potential instead of
your limitations.

Now that's not to say that you should ignore your list of reasons for not
doing some of the things you would like to do. Not at all! But look at
them from the viewpoint of your strengths. For instance, you'd like to
play basketball but you think you are too short, so you don't even try. In
this case, you are looking at it from the viewpoint of your limitations.
Now, when you look at it from the viewpoint of your strengths, you would
say, "Well, I may be pretty short to play, BUT I am fast. I can handle the
ball well. I have a lot of stamina. I can't change being short, but I can
refuse to let my limitations overcome my strengths."

You see the difference? Focusing on your limitations lets those
limitations make your decisions for you. Focusing on your strengths lets
YOU make the decision. To go back to our example: when you've decided to
overcome your height limitations to play basketball - something you really
want to do - you will be more determined to develop your strengths to
compensate. You will do well, because you will be doing what you really
want to do and you will be determined to develop the full potential of your
strengths. Very few people concentrate on fully developing any of their
strengths. That's where you will have the edge. You know your true
disadvantages but your determination, your singleness of purpose, will
inspire you to fully develop the talents and skills you do have.

OK. You probably have no interest in playing basketball. Then go to your
assessment of yourself. What do you have a major interest in? What do you
have a natural aptitude for? Go for it. Devote yourself to something you
really like to do. Don't choose something just because you think you could
make more money at it than you could by doing something else that you would
really rather work at. You won't work to develop your full potential. You
may start out with enthusiasm, but you will soon flag. It will be a chore
to go to work. You'll probably find yourself hating to go. It'll be
difficult to work on improving your skills because you don't like what you
are doing. You probably won't be working up to your potential. Your
success will probably be limited by your growing lack of interest and your
happiness will surely be affected.

If, however, you devote yourself to something you really like to do, you'll
enjoy your work, you'll be enthusiastic, and you'll probably find yourself
working on improving your skills just for the sheer joy of it. You will be
working to reach your full potential. You'll probably soon find you are
making more money at this truly interesting occupation than you ever
dreamed possible. And because you like what you are doing, you will be
happier.

When you know you are working to your full potential and you enjoy your
work and begin to feel successful, you will find that self-confidence and
happiness soon follow.

But, you must be realistic and honest with yourself. If you set goals that
you can't possibly reach, you are setting yourself up for failure. You
will make yourself frustrated and unhappy. The key here is a realistic and
honest assessment of your potential.

Although most people will be unnecessarily harsh in their assessments, it
is easy to become too hopeful when you start breaking down barriers. If,
for instance, you're extremely interested in and fond of music and would
love to be a singer, it would be unreasonable to set a singing career as
your goal if you can't sing a note (some talents are inborn). But if you
are knowledgeable about the music business and would be happy being
involved in some other capacity, then it would be reasonable to pursue a
career in the business.

Be wary of making otherwise perfectly reasonable goals unattainable because
of stringent time frames. When you set a goal, you will most likely set
times for achieving certain steps along your way to achieving your final
goal. Even if you don't set the time frames formally, you will probably
have a pretty good idea of how long you are giving yourself. It's wise to
sit down and formally set these goals. Think about it and give yourself
reasonable time to achieve them. Make a deal with yourself to view these
time limits as flexible.

Don't get discouraged if things don't work out as planned. Sometimes
finding our place takes both time and error. All of us experience failures
of one magnitude or another. The key is to view the failures as a learning
experience - if nothing else, failures teach us what not to do. Remain
flexible. As long as you keep focusing on your strengths and potential,
the right thing will come along - and probably sooner rather than later.
But don't quit at the first sign of boredom. Even if you have truly found
your niche, you will not feel enthusiastic 100 percent of the time.

Don't worry about others - don't compare your progress with that of others.
No matter how successful you are, there will be someone else who, to you,
looks like she's got it made - who looks like she's getting where you want
to go faster and easier than you are. Maybe she is. Maybe she isn't. Who
cares? Focus on your own achievements. Work to develop your skills and
talents to their full potential. Compete with yourself - your short term
goals should be based on today's accomplishments. If you have reached
Point A today, make Point B your next objective - improve yourself and
don't worry about the other guy.

OK. You have decided what your ultimate goal is. Make sure it is a
definitely defined goal. "Someday I want to be famous" just won't cut it.
Define exactly what you want to do. Define a reasonable time frame. Know
what you have to do to get there. You don't need to know every little
detail, but you do have to have the big picture and many of the details.
If you have a goal in mind but don't know what it takes to reach it, then
you need to find out. Do some reading, talk to people who know, ask
questions and LISTEN to the answers. Think that sounds like a lot of work?
Well, remember what you are preparing for - your success and happiness.
Surely you want to put a little effort into that! Anyway, a little
reseach into what it will take for you to reach your goals isn't too
difficult.

Train yourself into making this "research" the next focus of your life.
You will be focusing on your strengths, on your purpose, and on learning
and doing. If you have chosen a goal that is right for you, focusing on
these things and devoting the necessary time should not be too difficult.
It may take a bit of self-discipline at first, but your determination and
interest will carry you through until the focusing process becomes a habit.
When you have a real desire to accomplish something, initiatative should
only require an occasional shove - but you may need to give it a nudge now
and again.

Get into the habit of visualizing your success. Now sitting around and
daydreaming in generalizations about it is not what we mean. You need to
visualize specifics. To return to the basketball example, daydreaming
about being carried off the court on your teammates' shoulders is just
daydreaming. Picturing in your mind how you will work a play if your
opponent makes a particular move, picturing your exact response to it, is
visualizing specifics. If you run through specific moves in your mind, you
will be prepared when the need for those moves arises.

Don't be afraid to use your imagination to visualize new and better ways to
accomplish things, as well. Here in your mind, you can try doing things in
ways that are different from the usual. This is a creative process - you
may have heard of creative thinking. Training yourself to think creatively
is largely learning to let your imagination work on methods that are
different from the "way things have always been done." It's breaking away
from the idea that a thing can be done effectively in only one way. It's
looking at a problem from all angles. Just play a game of "what if." Ask
yourself, "What if I did this thing this way?" It's OK to get a little
crazy sometimes. But, you must also spend some of your thinking time at
specific visualizations of the moves you need to make to accomplish your
goals.

Visualizations are important but actual physical practice of your skills is
important, too. Practice the boring little skills that are necessary as
well as the skills that you enjoy. Don't let yourself rely on just the
things that come naturally and easy to you. Develop your limited
potentials as well as those that you feel are your assets.

Work on developing the more general attributes that are important to almost
any goal:

Success comes more easily to those who have a pleasing personality. This
is not to say that you should bend to eveyone's wishes or scrape and bow.
Rather, develop an attitude that is respectful of other's opinions but true
to your own beliefs. Be flexible - don't be so rigid that you can't accept
another's opinion when it is superior to your own. Be willing, even eager,
to learn from others. Changing your opinion in light of more facts is a
sign of strength of character, not weakness. Be willing to extend a
helpful hand, be a team player. Develop a sense of humor. Be polite and
caring - but be your own person.

Learn to guard against emotional responses. You are susceptible to errors
of judgement when you let your emotions get in the way. Of course,
everything we do is done based somewhat on our emotions, but strong
emotions have little place in decision making. Hold your emotions in
check. Try to delay decisions if you are in an emotional state. Learn to
ignore your emotions and use reasoning to arrive at your decisions.

Develop the habit of enthusiasm. Enthusiasm works like a magnet - it draws
people and success. It's a pleasing personality trait that people like to
be a part of. It seems to be contagious - the people around you become
enthusiastic, too, and become more cooperative. Enthusiasm sparks
initiative and singleness of purpose.

We've talked of working to develop habits - the habit of focusing on your
goals, the habit of focusing on your strengths, the habit of learning and
"researching," the habit of visualizing, the habit of enthusiasm. Now we
will talk of habits in a little different light - breaking them. First,
assess your habits looking for the ones that may be displeasing to others.
Offensive habits can hold you back from success - they are often a part of
an unpleasing personality. Look for things like grumbling or grunting at
people instead of answering, gazing at anything but the speaker when
conversing, smirking or sneering when you don't agree - anything that is an
automatic, displeasing mannerism. It will be very difficult to assess your
habits accurately. After all, a habit is something that we do without
thinking much about it. You will have to spend some time at this and be
very conscious of yourself. Ask someone you trust to help you with this
assessment. It may take a lot of work to break yourself of displeasing
habits. Try substituting a different, more pleasing behavior for the habit
you wish to break.

OK. You have set definite goals, you have a definiteness of purpose, you
have researched and know the specific steps to take to achieve the goals,
you have resolved to be flexible and to develop a more pleasing
personality. Now what?

Well, just because you have a clear purpose, know what you want, are
willing to work on developing your potential, and willing to be a nice
person, success will not drop into your lap overnight.

You will probably find that one of your first steps in achieving your goals
will be to take a job somewhat below where you hope eventually to be. But
you've already analyzed the steps to your goal, so you presumably have
planned for this. However, you do want to advance and, of course, as
quickly as possible.

As you advance toward your goals, you will undoubtedly run up against some
difficult people (maybe even difficult bosses), and there will be times
you'll need to deal effectively with them. Since you are working on
becoming a nice, enthusiastic person and a team player, you already have
half the battle won. Your attitude is as important as the other guy's
attitude when you are dealing with difficult people.

Always keep in mind that your job is a training field for you. You are
getting paid as you learn the things you need to know to achieve your
goals. Pretty good deal, right? If you view your job as a paid
opportunity to advance toward your goals, you will be an asset to your
boss. You will also be a happier, more productive person. Viewing your
job in this manner will allow you to view the difficult people you will
inevitably need to deal with as an opportunity to grow. From them and the
situations they create, you will learn to negotiate with, side-step around,
and draw out the best in others without letting yourself become upset.
Each time you successfully deal with one of these people you will gain
confidence and probably friends to add to your support network. The skill
of negotiating with difficult people and the confidence you have gained
from these encounters comes in handy when you are ready to ask for a
promotion or raise - even if your boss happens to be a nice person.

Successful negotiation is not a contest of wills - it is working together
to solve a problem or come to an agreement. It is an opportunity to learn
how others feel about the issue.

Always be prepared. Know who you are talking with. Always know as much as
possible about the person. Know about the person's marital status, family,
hobbies, education, difficulties, attitudes, and whatever else you can
learn. The information may give you an understanding of the person. If
you know the circumstances, you will more easily find the most effective
way to get your point across. At the very least, the information will make
the person seem more familiar which will give you more self-confidence.

Know the issue - not just your opinions about it. Be able to back up your
opinions with reasons and research. If you are asking for a promotion,
know the demands of the job in question. Know and be honest about how much
of the job you are already qualified to do and how much additional training
you will need. If you may not be as qualified as someone else applying, be
prepared to negotiate for a smaller-than-offered salary until you are fully
trained - remember the training is worth a lot to you. Be enthusiastic and
focus on your strengths - don't boast but give an a simple and accurate
listing of the strengths you feel make you a good candidate for this job.
The strengths you cite can and should include specific job related skills,
your present accomplishments on the job, your interest in the field (not
just this job), your enthusiasm, your ability to work as a team member, and
other personal traits that will be an asset on the job.

Always enter into negotiations with a calm and reasonable manner. Don't
let emotion and emotional outbursts have a place at the negotiating table.
You must be in control of yourself if you want to get your point across.
People are more likely to listen to your views if you present them in a
calm and reasonable manner. Present your ideas with conviction but don't
try to intimidate others or be demanding. State your views simply,
completely, and orderly. When you are expressing an opinion rather than a
fact, use a qualifying "I think" or "In my opinion." When others are
expressing their views, listen carefully and ask questions if something
isn't clear. Don't disagree until you are sure you understand their
position. When you do disagree, do so in a pleasant non-threatening way.
"I see what you mean, but . . ." or "I can understand why you think that,
but . . ." are a couple of good ways to begin a statement of disagreement.
Be courteous and leave them a chance to save face.

Be prepared to face people who are not calm and reasonable. Don't let them
get to you. Remain calm and reasonable and even be a little sympathetic.
Let's say you have entered into negotiations with your boss for a raise and
he blows up with, "I can't afford to give you a raise. This business isn't
exactly a gold mine. Don't you realize how tough times are?" Remain calm.
Put yourself in his shoes. Try to find something you can agree and
sympathize with. For instance, look sympathetic and agree, "I know you
have a lot of expenses and you work hard to keep this business going. It
must be really difficult for you sometimes." This will probably not be the
response he expects. It will probably take the wind out of his sails.
Most likely he will calm down, and since you are sympathetic to his
problems, he'll be more willing to listen to you. If you remain calm,
reasonable, and sympathetic, he will calm down. When he is calmer, discuss
with him the reasons you are a valuable asset to him. Don't threaten but
calmly and reasonably discuss the bargain a small raise is. With that
small raise, he'll be keeping a happy and fully trained employee who knows
the company. When you consider the expense of finding and training another
individual, giving you a raise is a bargain for your boss.

Play "Let's Make A Deal." Be prepared to deal. Don't expect to get
everything you want. If you are willing to gracefully make some
concessions, you will be more likely to arrive at a satisfactory deal.
After all, a negotiation has at least two opposing sides. This means
someone else has something they want, too - even if that something is
simply to leave things as they are. Arrive at a compromise that everyone
can live with. Remember, you are working at long-range goals, and you may
be negotiating with them again.

Developing your potential more fully is a key to happiness and fulfillment.
Although we have primarily discussed this in terms of a job, these same
concepts can be used in many other areas of your life.

In developing your potential to it's fullest, you will want to become a
more efficient person - get more done in less time - so you can take full
advantage of the opportunities that you make for yourself. You will note
that most effective, successful people seem to accomplish a great deal.
It's true that this is partly due to enthusiasm, but there's more to it.

The first barrier to efficiency is procrastination - putting off getting
started. Sometimes you know you are procrastinating. You may not want to
do the task at hand so you keep putting it off until tomorrow. The thing
to do is to look at it from a different angle. If it'll have to be done
sometime, tell yourself, "why not do it now, and get it off your back."
And that's just where it is! On your back dragging you down. Putting
things off makes everything harder to do. If you keep putting things off,
you'll soon have several things piling up, and then the sheer number of
tasks you have backed up will make it seem impossible to ever get caught
up. This affects everything you do try to do.

Sometimes you don't even realize you are putting things off. You may keep
yourself extremely busy doing things of little importance to unconsciously
give yourself excuses for doing the things you really should be doing. You
say to yourself, "Look how busy I am. I just can't get everything done."
But the result is the same as when you know you are procrastinating. It
soon bogs you down. All you are doing is "running in place."

So how do you beat procrastination?

The first step in beating procrastination is to admit to yourself how often
you do it and assessing your methods of doing it. Not very difficult,
really, when you become aware of the tactics some of us use to hide from
ourselves what we are doing.

The key in overcoming procrastination and becoming more efficient is
organization. Plan ahead. Know what you want to accomplish today, this
week, and in the long haul.

Make lists. The lists for today will probably be more detailed than the
longer-term lists. That's OK. Now look over the lists and rank the tasks
in order of importance. Make three or four groupings based on importance.
Within each group, star the things you least like to do.

Each day you will have a "today" list to work on. Tackle the tasks that
are most important first. If you have several "most important" tasks on
your list, take on the least liked things in that grouping before you do
the better liked ones. When you have accomplished a task, check it off.
You'll be surprised what a good feeling you have when you check things off.
What a sense of accomplishment! It's an incentive to do the next task on
the list. When you have completed the tasks in the first grouping, begin
on the list of next importance. Again do the starred items in that group
first. Keep on checking things off as you get them done.

Do you see what is happening? You get the most pressing, least liked tasks
out of the way early in the day when you are fresh and rested. As the day
goes on you will feel less and less pressure. You have reserved the less
important tasks for the end of the day when you will be more tired.

With this system you will have not only increased your efficiency but also
reduced some of the stress in your day. Stress can get in the way of
efficiency. Your new efficiency will help you develop your potential. It
is, in fact, a part of living up to your potential.

Another important part of efficiency is in delegating work. If you are in
a position where you have assistants or designated people under your
supervision, you need to learn to delegate. If you are not in such a
position yet, you still need to know - since you're working on developing
your potential you very likely will be some day.

Delegating work is difficult for many people. Some find it hard to ask
others to do things for them - others find it hard not to demand that
others do tasks. Delegating is an art.

First, you need to realize that the people under your supervision are
PEOPLE. Seldom, if ever, should you demand - that takes away self respect.
In order to achieve a happy and co-operative crew, you need to help them
build self-respect and self-confidence. A happy and co-operative crew is
an asset to you. Demands do not promote self-respect and co-operation.
Oh, it's probably effective to demand in the short run - but in the long
run you will be better off to gain co-operation without demanding.

People who are asked to do a task, are given explanations and clear
instructions, and are praised for a job well done will grow in
self-respect. They will also respect you as a good supervisor. If you
hesitate to ask for their assistance, your crew will feel that you do not
trust them or have faith in their abilities. This affects their
self-respect and, as a reaction, will affect their respect for you, as
well.

When you delegate work, don't delegate just the "junk" tasks. Your crew
needs to be given some important tasks to do as well as unimportant ones.
The important task gives them a sense of the respect you have for them and
the faith you have in their abilities. It's a good idea to save some
"junk" tasks for yourself. Perhaps the most respected and effective boss
is the one about whom the crew says, "She never gives us anything to do
that she wouldn't do herself." Why? Because, by her actions the boss is
saying that, though her position is above theirs, she is still just "plain
people."

Delegation of tasks is important because you can gain in effectiveness and
get more done if you properly supervise a crew. Don't feel embarrassed or
hesitant about delegating work. If it helps you to shine, it helps your
crew shine, too. A well-run, effective department is a credit to the whole
team. With proper delegating, you can help your crew achieve their
potential as well as achieving your own.

All of us have untapped potential - perhaps even areas of genius - that we
have neglected to develop. Whether your concept of success has to do with
business, love, friendship, sports, a combination of these or something
else, more fully developing your potential will help you achieve your
goals. If you can learn to assess your potential, set realistic goals,
and go after those goals with determination, organization, and purpose, you
will use your potential more fully, gain confidence, and be a happier and
more successful person.

EBook Writing Business

If you are a savvy writer with great English grammar skills, you should consider writing eBooks. It pays very well and you can do it in the comfort of your own home. It is very simple to write up an eBook. All you need to do is have Microsoft word and the internet. Do some research first on the topic. Know everything you can know about it, read up on it and save some quotes in your favorites area. You may want to stop by the local library to pick up some books on the topic too. That will help you when writing up your eBook. EBooks should be between 50 – 75 pages depending on the topic and what the assignment is. After you have thoroughly researched your topic and you know a lot about it you want to create a table of contents. You want the chapters to flow freely from one thought to the other. Make sure you cover as much as you can about the topic and title each chapter, writing a few notes about what you want to write about -which you will delete later.

The next step would be just to get started on it! Start writing creatively, from your heart, not just spitting out facts on a paper. People are reading your eBook because they do not want to read and search for information located everywhere about a specific topic. They want a concise, easy to read; interesting eBook they can print out and curl on the couch with. It goes without saying that no one should ever plagiarize; not only is it unlawful, it is disrespectful.

Always spell check and edit your work by reading it when you have finished. Polish it off by organizing each chapter into an eBook. Come up with a savvy title that catches the audience. If you really enjoy this line of business, you could do this full time and quit your day job.

CLASSIFIED & DISPLAY ADVERTISING 101

Advertising isn't hard to do. You prepare an advertisement or write a
classified ad to sell your product or generate interest to send people more
information. But the way most people make mistakes is either by their
inability to write effective ad copy and by sending it to be published in
the wrong publication. Here are some pointers to follow:

Writing Effective Copy
Never try to sell anything costing more than $5 in a small display ad or a
classified ad. First of all, you don't have enough room to tell people
everything they need to know to entice them to order.

Instead, you need to employ the "Two-Step" method of advertising. Request
the reader to send you $1 or 4 first-class postage stamps for more
information. When they respond, you will send them a brochure, flyer, order
form and cover letter so they can place an order for the real product.

Now that pricing is out of the way lets talk about writing your ad copy.
The best way to learn how is to read the ads other people have written.
Don't copy them word-for-word, but use them as a guide to write your own ads.
Once you get the hang of it, you'll be writing effective ad copy just as well as the pros.

Advertising in the Right Publication. Although this may sound a little
silly and you think it is only common sense to know this - people will often
overlook this fact when choosing the publication they will be advertising in.
Instead, they will look for the lowest price for the amount of circulation
they receive. Unfortunately, this does not work out. Even though you need
to look for good deals that make it easy on your pocketbook, you will be
throwing money away if you don't pre-qualify the publication you choose.

One way of pre-qualifying the publication is to send for a sample copy.
Most publishers will send them to you free of charge for the asking. If you
don't know of any mail order publications, just write to Glenn Bridgeman,
PO Box 10150, Terra Bella CA 93270 or William Lee, Rt 1, Box 10790,
Madisonville TN 37354 and ask them to send you some. (Be sure to enclose
$1 or 4 first-class postage stamps in with your request to offset postage
costs.) If you tell them you are new to mail order and are interested in
publications to advertise in, you certainly will find the $1 you spent is
well worth the effort because both of these publishers are very reputable,
honest and helpful.

Study the publication to see what other people are advertising and how they
are advertising it. Contact some of the people who sell items similar to your
own with the hope of networking with them. You would be surprised how much
free publicity you can get just from corresponding, calling and networking
with others.

Once you locate a publication you want to advertise in, give it a try for
3 months. If you don't get any response or only a few orders, try another
publication. There are millions of them and eventually you will hit the right
target market that will be interested in what you have to sell.

Don't Stop With One Publication. Just because you locate the target market
of people who are interested in purchasing your product there is no reason
you can't advertise in more than one publication. In fact - if you don't,
your ad will become stale. If the same people continue to see your ad every
month they will probably get tired of looking at it. Besides, if they wanted
the product they would have ordered it by now. Don't tire them out! Alternate
different size ads and get rid of ones that don't work well.

Leave your ad running as long as it brings in orders for you but also
advertise in 5, 10, 20 or 50 other publications also to generate a steady
stream of orders and to reach more people.

Key Your Ads. Many beginners in mail order never key their ads so they
know what publication people saw their ads in. In fact, I personally never
did this myself and ended up losing a lot of money. So please don't make the
same mistake I did. Keying your ads means that you place a code of some sort
in your address so that when people write and order something from you, you
immediately will know where they saw your ad. Keep a record of every name
and address of the publisher you send an advertisement to. Record the date
you sent the ad and the date you received a checking copy, proving that your
ad appeared. Also record the "code" you used so you can immediately identify
where it came from.

If your address is "123 Anytown St," it could become "123 Anytown St,
Suite A" for one publication and "Suite B" for another. The postman will
still deliver your mail to "123 Anytown St." Of course, if you live in an
apartment complex and there are apartment numbers you could turn "111 Johnson
Apt A" into "111 Johnson, Apt A-1" for one publication and "Apt A-2" for
another. Post office box addresses are also simple. Turn "PO Box 585" into
"PO Box 585, Dept A-1" for one publication and "Dept A-2" for another.


People will sometimes even change their name on the ad for keying purposes.
You might see the name "Harriet's Recipe Book" instead of Harriet Ranger.
Harriet might also use "Harriet's Cookbook" or even "Harriet's Solution to
Stress" on her ads relating to these products. Use your own imagination and
pretty soon, keying your ads will be a normal part of your life.
Be sure and keep track (on your Record Sheet) of how many responses you
receive from each publication. After 3 months, look over your Record Sheet
and get rid of the publications that didn't do well. You'll go broke if you
spend $10 per month advertising a 2-inch ad if you only receive $1 back in
orders. After awhile you'll be able to see where it pays you to advertise
your particular product and then you can send in larger ads to those
publications. Never stop using this method and you'll never stop getting
orders in your mailbox. It's a win-win situation for everybody!

Tabloids -vs- Adsheets. Another question about advertising that many people
have is whether its better to advertise in tabloids or adsheets. Many people
will sell you information on the best day to mail and the best time of the
year to advertise. They think they have it down to a science and will
convince you of their methods.
However, there is NO set rules that can be employed by everyone. That's
because there are a wide variety of ways to approach various products. If
you sell travel services and read a report that told you not to advertise
during the summer months, you'd go broke. The summer is the travel industry's
biggest money-making season!

Don't get hung up on specific statistics made by people who claim to be
expert researchers. There is no way to determine what is best for you than
to try it yourself and see what works. You are the person in control of your
business and you are where the buck stops. Take advantage of your authority
and try every angle you can think of until you determine what's best for your
company's product and/or service.

Tabloids are a fantastic advertising vehicle and adsheets are too. Sometimes
people feel a small 1" camera-ready ad gets lost in a tabloid filled with
100's of them. This may be true in some circumstances and not true in others.
Do you look at 1" ads in tabloids? Of course you do. You scan the pages and
your eye is always directed to one or two on the page that catches your eye.
Ask yourself "why" they caught your eye. Was it because the ad was placed in
a specific area on the page? Was it because of the headline or the word
"free"?

Classifieds work well in tabloids and adsheets and sometimes they don't,
Look in the back of the Globe or Enquirer. Don't they have page after page
of classified ads? If nobody was reading them and responding to them, the
advertisers wouldn't be submitting advertising to the Globe or Enquirer for
them. So evidently, people DO read classified ads - even if there are 100's
of them. Test the waters and do what works the best for you.

DO 'S AND DON'TS OF WRITING CLASSIFIED ADS

DO WRITE OUT ALL DETAILS in your ad offer. Read it, edit it,
and re-write it for a shorter, money saving effective ad.
"Think small".

DO FOLLOW ALL THE RULES when writing your classified ad. Use
these ideas.

Attention Interest Desire Action

DO USE A NAME with each classified ad including your envelopes.

DO NOT CHARGE for sales letters or circulars.

DO BE HONEST with all your classified ad claims.

DO IDENTIFY your product.

DO WRITE YOUR CLASSIFIED AD simple, clear and direct.

DO USE WORDS EVERYONE KNOWS and everyone will understand what
your are saying.

DO USE A WORD that will benefit a reader.

DO NOT OVERPRICE your product.

DO ADVERTISE FREQUENTLY. Constant exposure creates a familiar
offer with better response.

DO OFFER A MONEY BACK GUARANTEE in your classified ad,
salesletter or circular if possible. An excellent sales
technique!

DO TEST YOUR AD in 2 or 3 smaller, low cost publications.
Record results. Code each ad.

DO READ PUBLICATIONS that relate to your product. Write for ad
rates, paid circulation, discounts and closing dates. Keep
records.

DO HAVE ALL YOUR LITERATURE AND PRODUCTS ready for mailing when
your ad appears in the publication of your choice. Do not delay
in responding.

DO USE THE COPYCAT METHOD. Do what other successful advertisers
are doing. Only with a slight twist, idea or offer.

DO RUN SEVERAL ADS worded differently. Keep records of results.

DON'T OVER ADVERTISE. It can be expensive. If you want to, do
it gradually.

DON'T PRETEND YOU KNOW ALL THE ANSWERS. Because you don't.
Take time to find out what you need to know.

DON'T TRUST YOUR MEMORY. A thought will leave you as quickly as
it came. Always write down a good idea. NOW!

DON'T PLACE YOUR AD in the wrong classification.

DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY on ad words to amuse or entertain, but
use words to persuade, inform and sell your product.

DO USE A SHORT BUSINESS NAME. Make it easy to pronounce and
remember.

DON'T FORGET THE M.E.D.I.C.S. Motivation. Enthusiasm. Desire.
Image. Creativity. Success!

DON'T GIVE UP. If your ad doesn't pull after a fair exposure,
try re-writing it. One or two different words may do the trick.

DON'T SPEND THE PROFITS. Re-invest the money in more continuous
advertising.

DON'T FORGET, an ad that offers "FREE DETAILS" means writing a
sales letter or circular.


AVOID HIGH TYPESETTING COSTS AND MISTAKES

Getting your price lists, brochures, catalogs or newsletters
typeset does not necessarily have to be a costly procedure.
Keep in mind that the main cost in typesetting is the time
involved in setting type. By minimizing the time needed to
create a typeset piece you can effectively keep your cost down.
The following suggestions can help reduce your typesetting
expense.

Know what you want the FIRST time around. Have a picture in
your mind. Trial and error can be costly. Don't have a
typesetter set it one way, then decide a different format would
look better.

Reduce and eliminate author's corrections by thorough proofing
and re-proofing.

Avoid minimum charges by combining small jobs and having them
set at the same time.

Try to use one family of type to save time and money by avoiding
font changes. The consistent look is better.

Give explicit instructions on marking up copy: type styles,
column widths/margins.

With a large job, such as a brochure or annual report, request a
style setting proof sheet to get approvals before the entire job
is done.

Avoid super rush jobs, especially if you don't really need them.

Avoid lengthy corrections on the phone. You might end up paying
for corrections later that could have been avoided if you had
done your editing on proof sheets.

Get the layout finished and approved before having type set...
the same goes for copy, of course.

Avoid the use of "run-arounds" (reducing the width of the copy
to make room for a photo in the column, for example). If you do
use them, use simple shapes, boxes, squares.

Avoid the use of curved or angular type. Type reading left to
right on a page (for example, this report) is faster and less
expensive to set than copy that is set in a curve or running
sideways on the page.

The use of unjustified text and captions is less expensive than
justified because it sets quicker, costing less time.

Don't depend on the typesetter to read your mind. Be specific.

When Did Customer Service Breakup?

We’ve all had friends in our circle who were known as “Mary & John”, and when “John” split “Mary” was alone. Mary was the “odd” number at the dinner party and we were all concerned about her. Well, today it seems that the union of Customer & Service have had a breakup. Service has split and Customer is on his/her own.

Today, let me tell you a story that many of you will find humorous but is all too common. I can tell you this without fear of our local editor getting sued because it’s about me, but business owners take note that you don’t fit the profile of company “X”.

Four weeks ago I decided that I needed another green recycling can from my trash pickup company. We’ll call them Brown Keg Trash Pickup, an anonymous company in the interest of avoiding litigation. I called their Customer Service number, and as an environmentally conscious citizen requested my extra recycle can. The cheerful voice on the other end of the line chirped, “Of course, we’ll have one delivered in 48 hours.” After giving her all the pertinent location information, I hung up the phone with the satisfied feeling of a good citizen.

I arrived home about 5 p.m. the next day and I was happy to see another green can at the mouth of my driveway. When I looked again, I noticed that I had another green can – but it was without a lid. I quickly dialed my cheerful telephone voice at Brown Keg Company thanking her graciously for the rapid service and then told her about the missing lid. Just as cheerfully as the first time, she told me to leave it at the end of my driveway after my usual trash pickup and they would replace the entire unit since they didn’t have extra lids. I agreed, and after hanging up the phone I pondered their plight of having lidless cans but no extra lids. I conjured up all sorts of scenarios that explained where all the lids to the lidless cans went, and sympathized with their predicament.

Well, 3 days went by and there sat my poor, green, lidless can at my driveway’s mouth and a replacement never arrived. Feeling empathy for this green plastic waif, I returned it to the side of it’s brother that had a lid. I called my cheerful Customer Service voice again, and reiterated the plight of my poor lidless can and after a chuckle she assured me a complete unit would be forthcoming. I found it necessary to make use of my lidless friend, and put it out the next pickup day filled to the brim. Fortunately, it wasn’t windy and all the contents remained inside it. That was 2 weeks ago, and life being what it is other more important tasks have occupied me until this morning when facing another pickup day I thought of my lidless friend.

Once more I picked up the phone and called my trash pickup company, and this time I listened to a litany of choices of buttons I could punch and chose my cheerful Customer Service button again. I was transferred, listened to a brief melody when there was a “click” and I expected my cheerful voice to chirp “hello”. The next thing I heard was another click, silence, and then the dreaded dial tone that means you’ve been disconnected. Not being one of the “fainthearted”, I simply redialed my number. Again there was the litany of button choices, my choice and the music, and just when I began to feel that all was right with the world I heard – “click”, “dial tone” and nothing.

This was not the morning for the phone to be playing games with me, so I made one more determined effort and REDIALED! “NASA, we have lift-off !” I once more heard the litany of button choices, but this time I outfoxed that monotonous voice and punched “0”. I asked for the Manager of Customer Service, I was given her name and was transferred. What greeted my eager ear was, “You’ve reached the voicemail of ……., please leave your name and number and she’ll return your call.”

So here we sit - my lidless, green can and I facing another pick-up day. This eager-to-serve plastic green waif must bravely face another dutiful day half-clothed.

You must admit that is an amusing story, and one that far too many of us have lived through, but what a sad commentary it is about our business community. Doesn’t it make you wonder if our language has changed so drastically that what we interpret “Customer Service” to mean - is not what today’s business owners mean. It makes me wonder when the marriage of Customer and Service broke-up, leaving us all the lonely ones.

Entrepreneurs and business owners take note! If you’re going to have a number for your customers to access your Customer Service, please follow these rules.
 Have the phone manned by an employee that can hear thunder and see lightening.
 Give that employee training in helping the caller and not shuffling the problem to another desk.
 Have an overseer, who can also hear thunder and see lightening, check that all incoming complaints were handled appropriately.

After learning how to find your customers and what they want; after getting them committed to doing business with YOU; and after wooing them to keep them as your customers – WHY WOULD YOU LET “SERVICE” DIVORCE “CUSTOMER?”
If your customers aren’t getting the service they require from you – your competitor will be only too happy to help them!

Prepare Crisis Control

A personal crisis doesn’t have to spell disaster for your business if you’re prepared. Every business occasionally endures a crisis, but what happens when your dilemma isn’t falling profits but personal.

Because we have no idea what type of personal crisis may await us – an ugly divorce, debilitating disease, or ailing parent/child/spouse, we must be prepared. Just as you plan for advertising and promotions, you must plan for life’s surprises.

Paul Krasinski, founder of Lion Strategy Advisors, New York, suggests finding somebody NOW who can take over your responsibility and carry on for at least 20 days. He/she needs to be someone who can communicate well with staff and command respect, and may or may not be the person you feel closest to in the company.

Once a personal crisis hits, Krasinski recommends “full disclosure” to your employees. This avoids the feeling of being hit by a bomb, and that business will go on as usual. In case you think this doesn’t work, let me give you a case history.

Dana Weidaw, 28 and president of her own PR firm had only been in business 1 year when she tested “full disclosure” with her employees. She was diagnosed with an aneurysm which required a surgeon to drill through her skull. She had just landed her first major client and was publicizing a major hockey arena. If all didn’t go well with the project, this client could turn out to be her last.

Before missing 7 days of work, Weidaw prepped her full-time employee, another agency she was working with, and her client by sharing the nitty-gritty details of her crisis. She assured them everything would run according to plans and smoothly in her absence, and found that everybody was willing to work around her crisis. Weidaw found that, by nature, people are very sympathetic.

A word of caution though, you need to know when to talk. During and after a crisis – full disclosure is great. If you’re “contingency” planning though, it might be prudent not to advertise that if your personal life goes in the tanker good old Gary or Suzy will be in charge. Your employees may needlessly dwell on why they weren’t picked to run the show instead of them. Above all, you don’t want to cause widespread distress or distract your staff from day-to-day operation.

Just as surely as you plan for financial allocations for your business, always have a crisis plan in place. This may need adjustments from year to year as staff leaves and are replaced, so when planning for each year’s business needs include your crisis plan.

Markets & The Dynamics of Competition

Today marketing is not the same as it was in the ‘60s or ‘70s, because there are enough products to satisfy customer’s needs. In fact customers are “hyper-satisfied”! Companies have segmented the market until it has become almost too small to service profitably.

Distribution is now largely in the hands of giant corporations such as Wal-Mart and Costco. There are more brands and fewer producers, products “life” have been shortened, and it’s cheaper to replace than to repair - all complicating the process further.
Marketing has always started with identifying the needs of your customer, but many companies are now focusing on the product. They focus on what category it falls into, and then what sub-category (for instance pudding and then what flavors). By focusing on the product, companies then focus on who’ll use the product, and those considered “not using” are excluded from the picture. In doing this, you’ve just given your competitor a target market.

You may have captured 75% of your “user market” because you have a USP (unique selling position) i.e.; more flavors, more convenient packaging, longer shelf life, etc. But why can’t YOU also take care of the other 25% instead of your competitor?

To do that, requires a new way of thinking known as “Lateral Marketing”. Stop thinking about how you can keep the 75% in love with your product (Vertical Marketing), think about drawing in the 25% of the market that wasn’t your customer. This is done by innovative thinking. This may be seen as further “segmenting” the market-place, but at the same time it’s making it bigger.

Let’s say you sell soap. You’ve captured 75% of your market because of some formulary development that makes more suds with less product. The 25% that your competition is trying to capture would rather spend less for soap, than use less. Your method of also capturing that 25% is to start thinking “innovation” and not different product.

Lateral Marketing works within the original category of product and complements it, not competes with it. You could come up with a soap with more bleach, with less foam, fragrance free, with more foam. You can innovate by size – selling in large economy packs, selling in individual packs, and do this without ever changing the formula of the product. This type of marketing works best for mature markets with no growth (after all, what new uses can you come up with for soap). It also can create markets from scratch, requires greater resources, and may redefine your company’s mission and business focus.

This innovative method of marketing doesn’t create “new” categories or markets, it always occurs “within” the category where the idea originated. If you’ve done everything right, you’ve garnered the 25% of customers that might have got away and it didn’t require a lot of overhead – you’re still producing soap!

MAKE MONEY WORKING FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR OWN HOME!

How many times have you heard that phrase, pitch, advertisement, or
whatever? Lots, I'm sure. It is used so much because marketers know that
staying home and making money is the fondest dream of millions of people.

And why not? Did you know that the majority of fatal heart attacks happen
at 9 a.m. Monday morning? It's true. It seems a lot of people would
rather die than get back to the old grind after a weekend of freedom.

So when someone offers an opportunity or plan for you to take your job and
shove it, yet still make enough money to live and pay all your bills, it
sounds blissfully irresistible.

Of course, bliss and reality are always two different things. Is it
really possible to run a business from your own home that is more than a
hobby or source of part-time income? Can you get rich working out of your
own home? Can you really trade your cubical and necktie for blue jeans and
the comfort of your own den?

Well, for your information, home-based businesses are one of the fastest
growing kinds of enterprises in America today. As this is being written,
some 40 million Americans are doing at least some form of work out of their
homes, and the numbers are rising rapidly. According to the U.S.
Department of Labor, as many as 70 million people will be working out of
their homes by the year 2005. Government studies have indicated that as
much as 75% of all work done in this country could eventually be moved
home.

The overwhelming majority of home workers, however, are not exactly getting
rich. The average work-at-home American earns less than $15,000 per year.
That may not be bad as a supplement to a spouse's full-time income, but
let's face it, fifteen grand in and of itself is not much better than poverty.

As master marketer and author Dr. Jeffrey Lant said: "Frankly, I never saw
any benefit to staying home and being poor."

Lant, without so much as a business card, became a work-at-home
millionaire, and is a perfect example of what truly can be achieved if you
are serious about chucking your day job, staying home, and not settling for
peanuts in exchange for your freedom. You can have it all -- you can stay
home and make as much -- and more -- money than your current job provides
you.

In this report, we are going to outline and discuss five key rules on how
to work at home and make big bucks, no matter where you live. After these
five rules, we'll talk about the most important aspect of any business,
whether it be home-based or a giant factory -- cash flow. Starting your
own business out of your home is all about attitude and inspiration, but
all the attitude in the world won't help you without money!


1. It Takes Commitment

Is it any secret in America that most people detest their jobs? Study
after study proves that most people simply dread going to work Monday
morning, and they live for the freedom of the weekend. But even that
freedom is not pure because we know that it is only temporary. It's hard
to enjoy a Sunday evening when the Monday morning alarm clock is just a few
hours away.

It makes sense that people hate their jobs. Everyday, there is a lot of
butt kissing that needs to be done. There are endless meetings which
usually accomplish nothing. There are pointless interruptions, a lot of
drifting this way and that, and lot of idiot supervisors who do nothing but
waste your time and then dog you for not accomplishing your share of work.
There are co-workers you hate, and who would stab you in the back in a
minute if it meant a raise for them instead of you.

When you work for someone else, you live a regimented life. Your body may
not want to get up at 7 a.m., but you have to be at work by 8 a.m. so you
lurch out of bed with a head full of sleep.

People who choose to work at home are doing more than just escaping the
yoke of their master; they have made a deep, firm, life-altering decision
which says that health, happiness and prosperity depend vitally on the
freedom to work for ourselves, and in doing so in the comfort of the home.

We want to really emphasize that fact that to be successful in a
work-at-home situation, you have to be nothing less than a fanatic; a
zealot, who is utterly committed to making work-at-home not only a
successful venture, but a profound commitment for life. You must be
convinced that a return to an outside office job would be the equivalent of
a spiritual death sentence.

Many people hate their office jobs, but they have made an inner compromise
with themselves. They have convinced themselves that their job is "not so
bad," pays the bills, and that they can stick out because they have to.

If you want to be truly successful at quitting your day job, there cannot
be any room for such compromises in your soul. You have to take the
attitude that to work any longer at your hateful job is akin to fouling
your inner being with a spiritual cancer the will sicken and kill you.

2. Eliminating the Home-Office Mentality

To move our work home, however, does not mean we eliminate every single
thing about the traditional American office. Rather, we should select what
is useful and what is not.

It's a mistake to quit your job and go home with a "home-office" mentality.
By this we mean thinking small, and believing that you will automatically
sacrifice a decent income in exchange for your freedom. Please! Do not
think small!

To quote Jeffrey Lant again: "Too many home-based practitioners fail to
understand the benefits that accrue because of the professional style they
have selected. They focus on the "home" part of the business rather than
the "business" portion, and as a result are doomed to small incomes."
Working at home provides many benefits. We can save a lot of time because
we don't need to commute and we have more control over our schedule. We
can save a lot of costs because we don't have the overhead requirements of
larger businesses. We can cut our stress -- and so have more energy --
because we avoid many of the characteristic problems of life in the late
20th-Century office. We must work these advantages to our profit.

3. Your International Headquarters

The German philosopher Immanuel Kant said that if you sit at home alone at
your empty kitchen table, eventually, the "whole world will come to you."

Well, today you don't need the great mind of a philosopher to make the
entire world come into your living room. What you need is a phone jack.

We live in a unique time in history. Satellites, fiber optics, the
integrated circuit and other communications miracles means that you can be
just about anywhere in the developed world and establish communication with
anyone.

The telephone, the fax machine, the computer, the modem -- all of these are
not only affordable by any middle-class citizen; they are the key to
eliminating your need to drive a hectic freeway everyday to get to a place
of business outside your home.

With these devices at our disposal, we should allow ourselves to "think
globally." Too often, home-based businesses focus on the narrowest market,
the neighborhood, the county, the city or state. This is fine if you are
providing a local service and are content with a certain moderate level of
income. But if you want the big bucks, you should not think small. Also,
you should not believe that, just because you are home-based, you cannot
compete with the big guys.

The purpose of any business is to seek assess and seek out every possible
market for its products and services, to ascertain whether these markets
have the ability to buy these products/services, to determine whether there
is sufficient profit in these markets to warrant approaching them, and,
once positive assessment has been made, to launch a sustained marketing
campaign that gets a significant percentage of this market to purchase the
product or service in question.

Your home telecommunications machines will not only enable you to do this,
but they can also help you overwhelm larger, more cumbersome traditional
businesses that are your competition.

As a home-based entrepreneur, you will not have all of the disadvantages of
your more traditional competitors: no office rent, equipment or expense;
no employees to pay salaries and fringe benefits for; no time wasted on
meetings, employee problems, paid sick leave, etc.

All the money your competitors spend on heating the office and buying
furniture could better be spent on the actual marketing itself.

As a home-based business, you will be already positioned where the
traditional business is currently struggling to move: toward the lowest
possible overhead and the greatest possible concentration of dollars on
products/service development and product/service marketing.

So, a home-based business takes full advantage of three major goals of
modern business success:

(1) Vastly reduced overhead
(2) Easy access to a global market
(3) Full advantage of telecommunications.

To not have the basic telecommunications toys -- computer, modem, fax, and
telephones is impossibly stupid. Still, even in this day and age, many of
people strongly resist the one element that is undoubtedly the heart and
brain of any successful home business -- the computer. The computer is so
important in fact, we have made it a category all itself.

And remember, learning to use a modern computer is easier than learning to
drive a car, so you have no excuse not to plunge forward.

4. The Computer

You should pay close attention to what computers can do for you in your
plans to escape your job and make your work-at-home dreams come true.

People who want to run a home business usually have a very small staff -- in
fact, a staff of one -- yourself! The rest of your needs are handled by
independent contractors, depending on the kind of business you are in and
the services you need.

To run a serious, truly global home business, a computer is as necessary as
oxygen is to life on earth. Those who try to fool themselves into thinking
they will ever make a serious go of their home-based business without a
computer are sadly mistaken.

Computers give you two primary advantages:

(1) They enable you to store large amounts of data and to sort by data
field so that you can easily get the information you need.

(2) They enable you to develop a pattern document for every situation
you'll ever be in in your business. To run a home-based business
successfully, you must anticipate just what situation will emerge and
prepare accordingly.

A business is based on a characteristic series of situations and a
characteristic set of things that happen -- or that do not happen. You
must be prepared with the proper document for each situation. Once you
have established all the protocols, and have experienced all the situations
associated with your kind of business, the time will come when running your
business is, in large part, a repetition of certain key tasks. Computers
are all about handling repetition swiftly and efficiently.

But the computer is much more. Today, by connecting a computer to the
phone line with a modem, your machine becomes more than a data storage
system and repetitive task handler. It becomes a multi-task, multi-level
communications processing center that connects you to the globe.

Such things as e-mail, on-line services, the Internet, the Web and more
can't help but revolutionize the way business is done. If you do not
become a part of it today, you certainly are going to suffer for it greatly
in the near future.

If there is an effective way to market products on the Internet or any
other on-line venue, no one has truly discovered it yet. The only people
making money on Internet marketing are the people who are selling the
concept of doing it. If you have a product or a service and expect to
reach millions of buyers through computer screens, you are sadly mistaken.

The Internet is definitely where a lot of innovative things are happening.
It's a great place to exchange ideas, find out what hot, what's not, and
stay on the cutting edge whatever your particular business is.

5. Your Business Hours

If you've been paying attention to the first four points, you're well on
your way to becoming a successful home-based business owner. Now we don't
want you to blow it by thinking you can keep banker's hours.

The global market is a 24-hour per day market, and a 365-day per year
market. Let the others sleep late on Saturdays and take Sundays off.
Those times could be your day to move and corner loads of customers that
the others miss.

You should get up earlier and quit work later. You should be open for
business on holidays and be available 24-hours a day either personally or
through your answering service.

"But wait a minute!" you might be thinking at this point! "I thought that
working at home was all about freedom and an end to drudgery. This sounds
like nothing but endless work!"

Well, here's the thing. For most of you who quit your regular jobs to go
to work for yourself, you'll discover something magical. You'll discover
that when you are working for yourself, when you are building your own
business, a lot of what you does not seem like work at all.

The great writer Jane Roberts said, "Inspiration is its own motivator."

Running your own business is all about being inspired 24-hours-a-day. When
you stop selling your body and soul to some company or corporation and
start giving your energy to yourself, work has a way of turning into
inspiration and play.

The perfect work for you is that which you don't think of as work, yet
doing it makes money and provides you with the bread and shelter of life.
You'll see what it's like if you make a true commitment to being self
employed, put all your energy into it, and stick with it for the long run.

Finding your “Niche”

When you are considering starting an online company, you want to make sure you find the right product. What do you want to sell. What is your passion. What subject or topic do you have a lot of knowledge about. Let me start by telling you that selling an information product online is easier than selling a service. But, selling a service online makes more money with monthly memberships.

Before you spend all your time working on a website and writing up eBooks, you want to be sure that your customers are going to be interested in what you are selling. Do your market research. Start by seeing how many competitors you have -this is a good sign. Read through newsgroups, discussion boards, and chat rooms and learn about your target market customer base. If you already have an email list, send them a survey to see what they are most interested in.

Most internet marketers preach that there are three reasons why a customer will want to buy your product. Your product has solved a problem for your customer. Your product has made life easier or more comfortable for your customer. You are very passionate about your product and it shows in everything you do.

When researching your niche, you may want to use www.Amazon.com and find the current top sellers. Find out what people are reading about. You will want to research keywords with keyword tools such as www.wordtracker.com. You need to discover which keywords are being searched for frequently.

Doing a little poking around your competitors sites isn’t a bad idea. This is one way to come up with ideas on what would make your company different or better. Take a look at their traffic rankings and their related links. By analyzing this information, you can see how many visitors they have each day and how profitable their company is.

Once you find your passion, ask yourself does this serve my customers. You want to provide an excellent service to each and every person that spends their money with you. This cuts down on complaints, bad reputations, and, worse of all, chargeback’s.

Cheap Web Site Traffic

Every online company knows that without traffic to their site, they go broke, quickly. There are many ways to get cheap web site traffic. One way is pay per click advertising, where you pay per click through to your site, but you do not know if the customer is going to purchase your product, so you do lose some money with that. Another way is to request links from other relevant, high traffic sites. Links to other well established sites is like personal recommendations, where you establish credibility fast, which increases the chances that they will buy your product. You must be persistent enough with some sites, though. You want to download the alexa toolbar, which gives you information about a website, such as traffic rating, ranking, contact info, site stats, related links, etc.

You can get free advertising by giving away free expert content to relevant sites itching for some new, fresh content. Web site owners are always looking for fresh content. Make sure you write a bit about the author and your web site or product. As long as it is not competing with theirs, they will not mind. You can post on these sites:

www.ezinearticles.com
www.freesticky.com
www.ideamarketers.com
www.findsticky.com

You can become an active expert in a newsgroup that is industry related. A newsgroup is an online forum where people share information and common interests. When you post, you are literally talking to your potential customers. These people do not want to be sold something; they want information from gurus, about the topic they are interested in. Make sure you have a sig file, or signature and start establishing relationships and prove your expertise. Stay with newsgroups that do not accept advertisements. This is also a great way to gather feedback from your website, straight from the horses’ mouth. You can reinvent it if you need to and fix it accordingly. When you post informative articles, people will begin to look forward to your posts, and eventually you may want to direct these people to your brand new newsletter.

Building your Website

When building your own website there are a few things to consider. If you know nothing about web design, you will need to pay someone to design it exactly the way you want. Make sure you use a reputable source so you are not wasting your money. Be very picky about choosing your domain name. Make sure it is short, sweet and memorable. One popular site you can visit to check what domains are available is www.whois.sc This is also a good site to see who owns a particular domain you are interested. If the owner is not using the domain, you can offer to purchase it from them.

Probably one of the most important factors in an internet company is choosing a very good web host. If your web site goes down, you are completely out of business. When searching for a web host company make sure they have secure server capabilities, fast servers, lots of space, unrestricted CGI access, SSH and FTP access, web-based administration, access to raw server logs, full email services, power and daily server backups, and no minimum contracts. You may want to test their technical support and see if they offer services, scripts, and software. Inquire about their downtime and how long they have been in business. Make sure you are not being charged for the extra services.

When a customer visits your website, you want them to see professionalism, knowledge and fast connections. If your visitors notice advertisements from your free or low cost web host server they will perceive your site to be unprofessional and very small time. Slow connection speeds will definitely lose customers and cost you much money. So, choose your web host server carefully and you will be well on your way to creating a website that will attract all types of visitors.

WRITE ATTENTION GETTING ADVERTISEMENTS

The most important aspect of any business is selling the product or service. Without sales, no business can exist for very long.

All sales begin with some form of advertising. To build sales, this advertising must be seen or heard by potential buyers, and cause them to react to the advertising in some way. The credit for the success, or the blame for the failure of almost all ads, reverts back to the ad itself.

Generally, the "ad writer" wants the prospect to do one of the following:

a) Visit the store to see and judge the product for himself, or immediately write a check and send for the merchandise being advertised.

b) Phone for an appointment to hear the full sales presentation, or write for further information which amounts to the same thing.

The bottom line in any ad is quite simple: To make the reader buy the product or service. Any ad that causes the reader to only pause in this thinking, to just admire the product, or to simply believe what's written about the product - is not doing its job completely.

The "ad writer" must know exactly what he wants his reader to do, and any that does not elicit the desired action is an absolute waste of time and money.

In order to elicit the desired action from the prospect, all ads are written according to a simple "master formula" which is:

1) Attract the "attention" of your prospect.

2) "Interest" your prospect in the product

3) Cause your prospect to "desire" the product

4) Demand "action" from the prospect

Never forget the basic rule of advertising copywriting: If the ad is not read, it won't stimulate any sale; if it is not seen, it cannot be read; and if it does not command or grab the attention of the reader, it will not be seen!

Most successful advertising copywriters know these fundamentals backwards and forwards. Whether you know them already or you're just now being exposed to them, your knowledge and practice of these fundamentals will determine the extent of your success as an advertising copywriter.

CLASSIFIED ADS

Classified ads are the ads from which all successful businesses are started. These small, relatively inexpensive ads, give the beginner an opportunity to advertise his product or service without losing his shirt if the ad doesn't pull or the people don't break his door down with demands for his product. Classified ads are written according to all the advertising rules. What is said in a classified ad is the same that's said in a larger, more elaborate type of ad, except in condensed form.

To start learning how to write good classified ads, clip ten classified ads form ten different mail order type publications - ads that you think are pretty good. Paste each of these ads onto a separate sheet of paper.

Analyze each of these ads: How has the writer attracted your attention - what about the ads keeps your interest - are you stimulated to want to know more about the product being advertised - and finally, what action must you take? Are all of these points covered in the ad? How strongly are you "turned on" by each of these ads?

Rate these ads on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the best according to the formula I've given you. Now, just for practice, without clipping the ads, do the same thing with ten different ads from a Wards or Penney's catalog. In fact, every ad you see form now on, quickly analyze it, and rate it somewhere on your scale. If you'll practice this exercise on a regular basis, you'll soon be able to quickly recognize the "Power Points" of any ad you see, and know within your own mind whether an ad is good, bad or otherwise, and what makes it so.

Practice for an hour each day, write the ads you've rated 8, 9 and 10 exactly as they've been written. This will give you the "feel" of the fundamentals and style necessary in writing classified ads.

Your next project will be to pick out what you consider to be the ten "worst" ads you can find in the classifieds sections. Clip these out and paste them onto a sheet of paper so you can work on them.

Read these ads over a couple of times, and then beside each of them, write a short comment stating why you think it's bad: Lost in the crowd, doesn't attract attention - doesn't hold the reader's interest - nothing special to make the reader want to own the product - no demand for action.

You probably already know what's coming next, and that's right. Break out those pencils, erasers and scratch paper - and start rewriting these ads to include the missing elements.

Each day for the next month, practice writing the ten best ads for an hour, just the way they were originally written. Pick out ten of the worst ads, analyze those ads, and then practice rewriting those until they measure up to doing the job they were intended to do.

Once you're satisfied that the ads you've rewritten are perfect, go back into each ad and cross out the words that can be eliminated without detracting from the ad. Classified ads are almost always "finalized" in the style of a telegram.

EXAMPLE: I'll arrive at 2 o'clock tomorrow afternoon,
the 15th. Meet me at Sardi's. All my love, Jim.

EDITED FOR SENDING: Arrive 2pm - 15th - Sardi's.
Love, Jim.

CLASSIFIED AD: Save on your food bills! Reduced
prices on every shelf in the store! Stock up now while
supplies are complete! Come on in today, to Jerry's
Family Supermarkets!

EDITED FOR PUBLICATION: Save on Food!
Everything bargain priced! Limited Supplies! Hurry!
Jerry's Markets!

It takes dedicated and regular practice, but you can do it. Simply recognize and understand the basic formula - practice reading and writing the good ones - and rewriting the bad ones to make them better. Practice, and keep at it, over and over, every day - until the formula, the idea, and the feel of this kind of ad writing becomes second nature to you. This is the ONLY WAY to gain expertise in writing good classified ads.

DISPLAY ADVERTISEMENTS

A display or space ad differs from a classified ad because it has a headline, layout, and because the style isn't telegraphic. However, the fundamentals of writing the display or space ad are exactly the same as for a classified ad. The basic difference is that you have more room in which to emphasize the "master formula."

Most successful copywriters rate the headline and/or the lead sentence of an ad as the most important part of the ad, and in reality, you should do the same. After all, when you ad is surrounded by hundreds of other ads, and information or entertainment, what makes you think anyone is going to see your particular ad?

The truth is, they're not going to see your ad unless you can "grab" their attention and entice them to read all of what you have to say. Your headline, or lead sentence when no headline is used, has to make it more difficult for your prospect to ignore or pass over, than to stop and read your ad. If you don't capture the attention of your reader with your headline, anything beyond is useless effort and wasted money.

Successful advertising headlines - in classified ads, your first three to five words serve as your headline - are written as promises, either implied or direct. The former promises to show you how to save money, make money, or attain a desired goal. The latter is a warning against something undesirable.

EXAMPLE OF A PROMISE: Are You Ready To Become A Millionaire - In Just 18 Months?

EXAMPLE OF A WARNING: Do You Make These Mistakes In English?

In both of these examples, I've posed a question as the headline. Headlines that ask a question seem to attract the reader's attention almost as surely as a moth is drawn to a flame. Once he's seen the question, he just can't seem to keep himself from reading the rest of the ad to find out the answer. The best headline questions are those that challenge the reader; that involve his self esteem, and do not allow him to dismiss your question with a simple yes or no.

You'll be the envy of your friends is another kind of "reader appeal" to incorporate into your headline whenever appropriate. The appeal has to do with basic psychology: everyone wants to be well thought of, and consequently, will read into the body of your ad to find out how he can gain the respect and accolades of his friends.

Wherever and whenever possible, use colloquialisms or words that are not usually found in advertisements. The idea is to shock or shake the reader out of his reverie and cause him to take notice of your ad. Most of the headlines you see day in and day out, have a certain sameness with just the words rearranged. The reader may see these headlines with his eyes, but his brain fails to focus on any of them because there's nothing different or out of the ordinary to arrest his attention.

EXAMPLE OF COLLOQUIALISM: Are You Developing a POT BELLY?

Another attention-grabber kind of headline is the comparative priced magazine headline: Three For Only $3, Regularly $3 Each! Still another of the "tried and proven" kind of headlines is the specific question: Do You Suffer From These Symptoms. And of course, if you offer a strong guarantee, you should say so in your headline: Your Money Refunded, If You Don't Make $100,00 Your First Year.

How To headlines have a very strong basic appeal, but in some instances, they're better used as book titles than advertising headlines. Who Else wants in on the finer things - which your product or service presumably offers - is another approach with a very strong reader appeal. The psychology here being the need of everyone to belong to a group - complete with status and prestige motivations.

Whenever, and as often as you can possible work it in, you should use the word "you" in your headline, and throughout your copy. After all, your ad should be directed to "one" person, and the person reading your ad wants to feel that you're talking to him personally, not everyone who lives on his street.

Personalize, and be specific! You can throw the teachings of your English teachers out the window, and the rules of "third person, singular" or whatever else tends to inhibit your writing. Whenever you sit down to write advertising copy intended to pull the orders - sell the product - you should picture yourself in a one-on-one situation and "talk" to your reader just as if you were sitting across from him at your dining room table. Say what you mean, and sell HIM on the product your offering. Be specific and ask him if these are the things that bother him - are these the things he wants - and he's the one you want to buy the product...

The layout you devise for your ad, or the frame you build around it, should also command attention. Either make it so spectacular that it stands out like lobster at a chili dinner, or so uncommonly simple that it catches the reader's eye because of its very simplicity. It's also important that you don't get cute with a lot of unrelated graphics and artwork. Your ad should convey the feeling of excitement and movement, but should not tire the eyes or disrupt the flow of the message you are trying to present.

Any graphics or artwork you use should be relevant to your product, it's use and/or the copy you have written about it. Graphics should not be used as artistic touches, or to create an atmosphere. Any illustrations with your ad should compliment the selling of your product, and prove or substantiate specific points in your copy.

Once you have your reader's attention, the only way you are going to keep it, is by quickly and emphatically telling him what your product will do for him.

Your potential buyer doesn't care in the least how long it's taken you to produce the product, how lone you have been in business, nor how many years you've spend learning your craft. He wants to know specifically how he is going to benefit form the purchase of your product.

Generally, his wants will fall into one of the following categories: Better health, more comfort, more money, more leisure time, more popularity, greater beauty, success and/or security.

Even though you have your reader's attention, you must follow through with an enumeration of the benefits you can gain. In essence, you must reiterate the advantages, comfort and happiness he'll enjoy - as you have implied in your headline.

Mentally picture your prospect - determine his wants and emotional needs - put yourself in his shoes, and ask yourself: If I were reading this ad, what are the things that would appeal to me? Write your copy to appeal to your reader's wants and emotional needs/ego cravings.

Remember, it's not the "safety features" that have sold cars for the past 50 years - nor has it been the need of transportation - it has been, and almost certainly always will be the advertising writer's recognition of people's wants and emotional needs/ego cravings. Visualize your prospect, recognize his wants and satisfy them. Writing good advertising copy is nothing more or less than knowing "who" your buyers are; recognizing what he wants; and then telling him how your product will fulfill each of those wants. Remember this because it's one of the "vitally important" keys to writing advertising copy that does the job you intend for it to do.

The "desire" portion of your ad is where you present the facts of your product; create and justify your prospect's conviction, and cause him to demand "a piece of the action" for himself.

It's vitally necessary that you present "proven facts" about your product because survey results show that at least 80% of the people reading your ad - especially those reading it for the first time - will tend to question its authenticity.

So, the more facts you can present in the ad, the more credible your offer. As you write this part of your ad, always remember that the more facts about the product you present, the more product you'll sell. People want facts as reasons, and/or excuses for buying a product - to justify to themselves and others, that they have not been "taken" by a slick copywriter.

It's like the girl who wants to marry the guy her father calls a "no good bum." Her heart - her emotions - tell her yes, but she needs to nullify the seed of doubt lingering in her mind - to rationalize her decision to go on with the wedding.

In other words, the "desire" portion of your ad has to build belief and credibility in the mind of your prospect. It has to assure him of his good judgment in the final decision to buy - furnish evidence of the benefits you have promised - and afford him a "safety net" in case anyone should question his decision to buy.

People tend to believe the things that appeal to their individual desires, fears and other emotions. Once you have established a belief in this manner, logic and reasoning are used to support it. People believe what they "want" to believe. Your reader "wants" to believe your ad if he has read it through this far - it is up to you to support his initial desire.

Study your product and everything about it - visualize the wants of your prospective buyers - dig up the facts, and you'll almost always find plenty of facts to support the buyer's reasons for buying.

Here is where you use results of tests conducted, growing sales figures to prove increasing popularity, and "user" testimonials or endorsements. It's also important that you present these facts - test results, sales view, and not that of the manufacturer.

Before you end this portion of your ad and get into your demand for action, summarize everything you've presented thus far. Draw a mental picture for your potential buyer. Let him imagine owning the product. Induce him to visualize all of the benefits you have promised. Give him the keys to seeing himself richer, enjoying luxury, having time to do whatever he would like to do, and with all of his dreams fulfilled.

This can be handled in one or two sentences, or spelled out in a paragraph or more, but it is the absolute ingredient you must include prior to closing the sale. Study all the sales presentations you have ever heard - look at every winning ad - this is the element included in all of them that actually makes the sale for you. Remember it, use it, and don't try to sell anything without it.

As Victor Schwab puts is so succinctly in his best selling book, How To Write A Good Advertisement: Every one of the fundamentals in the "master formula" is necessary. Those sitting across from him at your dining people who are "easy" to sell may perhaps be sold even if some of these factors are left out, but it's wiser to plan your advertisement so that it will have a powerful impact upon those who are "hardest" to sell. For, unlike fact-to-face selling, we cannot in printed advertising come to a "trial close" in our sales talk - in order to see if those who are easier to sell will welcome the dotted line without further persuasion. We must assume that we are talking to the hardest ones - and that the more thoroughly our copy sells both the hard and the easy, the better chance we have against the competition for the consumer's dollar - and also the less dependent we will be upon the usual completely ineffective follow through on our advertising effort which later takes place at the sales counter itself.

ASK FOR ACTION! DEMAND THE MONEY!

Lots of ads are beautiful, almost perfectly written, and quite convincing - yet they fail to ask for or demand action form the reader. If you want the reader to have your product, then tell him so and demand that he send his money now. Unless you enjoy entertaining your prospects with your beautiful writing skills, always demand that he complete the sale now, by taking action now - by calling a telephone number and ordering, or by writing his check and rushing it to the post office.

Once you have got him on the hook, land him! Don't let him get away!

Probably, one of the most common and best methods of moving the reader to act now, is written in some form of the following:

All of this can be yours! You can start enjoying this new way of life immediately, simply by sending a check for $XX! Don't put it off, then later wish you had gotten in on the ground floor! Make out that check now, and "be IN on the ground floor!" Act now, and as an "early-bird" buyer, we'll include a big bonus package - absolutely free, simply for acting immediately! You win all the way! We take all the risk! If you are not satisfied, simply return the product and we will quickly refund your money! Do it now! Get that check on its way to us today, and receive the big bonus package! After next week, we won't be able to include the bonus as a part of this fantastic deal, so act now! The sooner you act, you more you win!

Offering a reward of some kind will almost always stimulate the prospect to take action. However, in mentioning the reward or bonus, be very careful that you don't end up receiving primarily, requests for the bonus with mountains of requests for refunds on the product to follow. The bonus should be mentioned only casually if you are asking for product orders; and with lots of fanfare only when you are seeking inquiries.

Too often the copywriter, in his enthusiasm to pull in a record number of responses, confuses the reader by "forgetting about the product," and devoting his entire space allotted for the "demand for action" to sending for the bonus. Any reward offered should be closely related to the product, and a bonus offered only for immediate action on the part of the potential buyer.

Specify a time limit. Tell your prospect that he must act within a certain time limit or lose out on the bonus, face probably higher prices, or even the withdrawal of your offer. This is always a good hook to get action.

Any kind of guarantee you offer always helps you produce action from the prospect. And the more liberal you can make your guarantee, the more product orders you will receive. Be sure you state the guarantee clearly and simply. Make it so easy to understand that even a child would not misinterpret what you are saying.

The action you want your prospect to take should be easy - clearly stated - and devoid of any complicated procedural steps on his part, or numerous directions for him to follow.

Picture your prospect, very comfortable in his favorite easy chair, idly flipping through a magazine while "half-watching" TV. He notices your ad, reads through it, and he is sold on your product. Now what does he do?

Remember, he's very comfortable - you have "grabbed" his attention, sparked his interest, painted a picture of him enjoying a new kind of satisfaction, and he is ready to buy...

Anything and everything you ask or cause him to do is going to disrupt this aura of comfort and contentment. Whatever he must do had better be simple, quick and easy!

Tell him without any ifs, ands or buts, what to do - fill out the coupon, include your check for the full amount, and send it in to us today! Make it as easy for him as you possibly can - simply and dirert. And by all means, make sure your address is on the order form he is supposed to complete and mail in to you - your name and address on the order form, as well as just above it. People sometimes fill out a coupon, tear it off, seal it in an envelope and don't know where to send it. The easier you make it for him to respond, the more responses you'll get!

There you have it, a complete short course on how to write ads that will pull more orders for you - sell more of your product for you. It's important to learn "why" ads are written as they are - to understand and use, the "master formula" in your own ad writing endeavors.

By conscientiously studying good advertising copy, and practice in writing ads of your own, now that you have the knowledge and understand what makes advertising copy work, you should be able to quickly develop your copywriting abilities to produce order-pulling ads for your own products. Even so, and once you do become proficient in writing ads for your own products, you must never stop "noticing" how ads are written, designed and put together by other people. To stop learning would be comparable to shutting off from the rest of the world.

The best ad writers are people in touch with the world in which they live. Everytime they see a good ad, they clip it out and save it. Regularly, they pull what makes them good, and why they work. There's no school in the country that can give you the same kind of education and expertise so necessary in the field of ad writing. You must keep yourself up-to-date, aware of, and in-the-know about the other guy - his innovations, style, changes, and the methods he is using to sell his products. On-the-job training - study and practice - that's what it takes - and if you have got that burning ambition to succeed, you can do it too!

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

1. WHAT'S THE MOST PROFITABLE WAY TO USE CLASSIFIEDS...

Classifieds are best used to build your mailing list of qualified prospects. Use classified to offer a free catalog, booklet or report relative to your product line.

2. WHAT CAN YOU SELL "DIRECTLY" FROM CLASSIFIEDS...

Generally, anything and everything, so long as it doesn't cost more than five dollars which is about the most people will pay in response to an offer in the classifieds. These types of ads are great for pulling inquiries such as: Write for further information; Send $3, get two for the price of one; Dealers wanted, send for product info and a real money-maker's kit!

3. WHAT ARE THE BEST MONTHS OF THE YEAR TO ADVERTISE...

All twelve months of the year! Responses to your ads during some months will be slower in accumulating, but by keying your ads according to the month they appear, and a careful tabulation of your returns from each keyed ad, you will see that steady year round advertising will continue to pull orders for you, regardless of the month it's published. I've personally received inquiries and orders from ads placed as long as 2 years previous to the date of the response!

4. ARE MAIL ORDER PUBLICATIONS GOOD ADVERTISING BUYS...

The lease effective are the ad sheets. Most of the ads in these publications are "exchange ads," meaning that the publisher of ad sheet "A" runs the ads of publisher "B" without charge, because publisher "B" is running the ads of publisher "A" without charge. The "claimed" circulation figures of these publications are almost always based on "wishes, hopes and wants" while the "true" circulation goes out to similar small, part-time mail order dealers. Very poor medium for investing advertising dollars because everybody receiving a copy is a "seller" and nobody is buying. When an ad sheet is received by someone not involved in mail order, it is usually given a cursory glance and then discarded as "junk mail."

Tabloid newspapers are slightly better than the ad sheets, but not by much! The important difference with the tabloids is in the "helpful information" articles they try to carry for the mail order beginner. A "fair media" for recruiting dealers or independent sales reps for mail order products, and for renting mailing lists, but still circulated amongst "sellers" with very few buyers. Besides that, the life of a mail order tab sheet is about the same as that of your daily newspaper.

With mail order magazines, it depends on the quality of the publication and its business concepts. Some mail order magazines are nothing more than expanded ad sheets, while others - such as BOOK BUSINESS MART - strive to help the opportunity seekers with on-going advice and tips he can use in the development and growth of his own wealth-building projects. Book Business Mart is not just the fastest growing publication in the mail order scene today; it's also the first publication in more than 20 years to offer real help anyone can use in achieving his own version of "The American Dream" of building one's own business form a "shoestring beginning" into a multi-million dollar empire!

5. HOW CAN I DECIDE WHERE TO ADVERTISE MY PRODUCT...

First of all, you have to determine who your prospective buyers are. Then you do a little bit of market research. Talk to your friends, neighbors and people at random who might fit this profile. Ask them if they would be interested in a product such as yours, and then ask them which publications they read. Next, go to your public library for a listing of the publications of this type from the Standard Rate & Data Service catalogs.

Make a list of the addresses, circulation figures, reader demographics and advertising rates. To determine the true costs of your advertising and decide which is the better buy, divide the total audited circulation figure into the cost for a one inch ad: $10 per inch with a publication showing 10,000 circulation would be 10,000 into $10 or 10¢ per thousand. Looking at the advertising rates for Book Business Mart, you would take 42,500 into $15 for an advertising rate of less that THREE TENTHS OF ONE CENT PER THOUSAND. Obviously, your best buy in this case would be Book Business Mart because of the lower cost per thousand.

Write and ask for sample copies of the magazines you have tentatively chosen to place your advertising in. Look over their advertising - be sure that they don't or won't put your ad in the "gutter" which is the inside column next to the binding. How many other mail order type ads are they carrying - you want to go with a publication that's busy, not one that has only a few ads. The more ads in the publication, the better the response the advertisers are getting, or else they wouldn't be investing their money in that publication.

To "properly" test your ad, you should let it run through at least three consecutive issues of any publication. If your responses are small, try a different publication. Then, if your responses are still small, look at your ad and think about rewriting it for greater appeal, and pulling power. In a great many instances, it's the ad and not the publication's pulling power that's at fault!