How To Make A Fortune With Classified Ads

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Are you ready to make money--lots of it? Can you spare a little
time and just a few dollars? If you are prepared to fulfill your
dreams and realize your goals, mail order classified ads are your
ticket to success.

You have what it takes--right now. Classifieds are the best
dollar-for-dollar return in advertising, and you can earn a high
profit on your product investment.

Classified ads are the easiest to write, the easiest to place,
and cost the least. They require only a simple follow-up, and
bring in hundreds of dollars of sales.
People read classified ads for a purpose. They are specifically
looking for products, services and information that appeal to
them. A well-placed classified ad will bring hundreds, even
thousands, of replies month after month, year after year.
You don't have to have a special background to make money with
mail order classifieds. Any beginner can realize a steady second
income or develop a stable, full-time business through classified
ads.

But you have to be persistent.. You must WANT TO MAKE MONEY, and
be willing to stick with it... If you do, you will find that
being successfully is easy--just follow the steps, one by one,
climbing the ladder to the top.

WHAT SHOULD I SELL?

Take a look at the classified ads in the magazines and tabloids
you read. They are filled with offers for services, products and
information... And they sound good. The ads show enthusiasm about
the materials being offered..
What gets you going? There are many things you find of special
interest constantly. Could you offer those for sale? Do you have
a special trade or service that can be conducted by mail?
Maybe you have a product to distribute, such as stamps or coins,
a time-saving gadget, or a do-it-yourself kit. Or perhaps you can
tap into wholesale or surplus goods that you can sell at a good
profit. Bargains are always in demand.
The most successful type of mail order product is INFORMATION.
Specialized information in the form of ideas, money-savers or
self-improvement can be easily produced on a low budget and
readily SOLD AT A HUGE PROFIT.
Information in the form of how to make or do something is a
constant best seller. People are always looking for simpler, or
cheaper, or better ways to improve their lives. What can you
offer?

THE 2-STEP APPROACH

THe proven method of selling mail order items or information is
called the two-step approach. Basically, you place a short
classified ad in the back of a magazine or tabloid.. The ad does
not mention price, but tells the reader to write for free
details. Once you have an inquiry, you then send information
concerning what you have to offer, and watch those orders pile
in.
Essentially, a mail order classified ad buys a name and potential
business. It may just break even with the actual orders placed.
The real money comes from subsequent sales. Profit begins at the
second sale and gets bigger and bigger as the sales continue.
WHY NOT CHARGE IN THE CLASSIFIED?
You'll get far more responses from an ad for free information
than you will for goods, at any price. And, since you want a
POTENTIAL BUYER, you'll have more inquiries for materials you
want to sell later.
Charging a small fee to cover postage or the cost of the inquiry
will never make you break even--people won't be bothered. And a
small fee doesn't necessarily weed out non-buyers. If you find
your classified is pulling people who aren't interested in your
offer, you can change the advertisement to be more specific as to
what you really have for sale.

WHERE TO PLACE CLASSIFIEDS

The best advice in placing classifieds is to follow the leader.
Find where other goods in your category are being sold and do the
same. The mail order business is not a place to be real
different, especially as a beginner. Although your product must
have an appeal different from the others, stay with the pack and
advertise in the same publications.
Look for repeat business. You can review back issues of
publications at your library or buy some copies of the
publications you might advertise in. If a certain ad has appeared
time after time, you can be it's winner.
Write for the details of some of the offers similar to the one
you have. You might even purchase a sample product or two so you
can get a good feeling for what is being offered, how the ads
run,,, and what kind of prices are successful
If you have a specific product or information that is appropriate
to a specialized type of magazine, check out all the magazines of
the topic... Which publication carries most of the ads? what is
the circulation of the publication?? A magazine with a higher
circulation may cost more to place a classified, but bargain rate
publications won't be the best investment if they don't bring the
inquiries.
Consider your dollar-for-dollar inquiry. How many people may read
your advertisement for the cost it takes to place the ad?
Many products have special seasons, and classified ads are no
different. december generally returns varied responses because of
the holiday season, and is not a good month to include in your
testing. The summer months are generally slower for classified
responses and mail order packages. The best time to try your ads
are the fall, winter and spring months.

WHAT IS TESTING?

The most important element in mail order advertising is testing..
Not only do you need to find out if your product will sell, buy
you have to find out what the best price is.
You have to test the magazines. One may not draw as many
responses as another.. Or, after three months, it may not seem to
pull at all. Then switch to another publication. You may try
several publications at the same time with the same ad to be able
to judge which has the best dollar-to-dollar response.
Don't be too hasty in dropping a publication,,, however.
Sometimes it takes the repeat insertions three or four months to
get the proper percentage of responses. People become more secure
with a repeat ad, or they may pass it by the first or second time
until they get around to writing for information..
Other things you will be testing are the type of inquiry and the
response package that contains a sales letter and brochure.
You'll also need to test the frequency and number of times to
continue mailings after you have a good customer list.
Testing is the name of the game, and this is where you need
perseverance.. Don't get discouraged. GIVE IT A TRY. Because of
the low cost of placing classifieds, it's worth it to keep going.

YOU CAN PROFIT.

TYPES OF ADS

THere are three types of classified ads;qualified, partially
qualified, and blind.
The qualified ad is specific. It includes several details to
inform the reader about what you are selling... The people who
respond to highly qualified ads usually are specifically
interested, and produce the best quality prospects with the
highest percentage of sales. Since the ad may be a few words
longer, it is most expensive to place.
The partially qualified ad offers a special benefit, such as
money or self-improvement. The readers have some idea of what you
are offering, but don't know the specifics.
Blind ads offer only a few details, are inexpensive to run
because they are short, and bring in the largest response.
However, blind ads produce the lowest percentage of actual orders
because they are often answered just out of curiosity.
The best place to start is---you guessed it--the middle. A
partially qualified ad is a good test ad.. It doesn't need to be
specific about your product, so it brings in inquiries that can
be used over and over for related items. You can rewrite it with
more details or trim it down later.
What's the best guideline? PROFIT. If you compare the actual
orders received from the number of inquiries for each of your
ads, you have the rate of conversion. Aim for the ads which pull
best for you.

KEYING THE ADDRESS

How do you determine what inquiry response came from which ad?
You code the company name or street address so you can determine
what ad pulled the response. This is calling keying the address,
it's one of the most important tips in mail order classified
advertising.
The simple key is two-part letter and number code. The letter
stands for the name of the publication, and the number represents
the month the ad appeared. You can make up any code as long as
you keep track of what publication it appeared in.
You can add the key to the address by hyphenating the street
address to include the code. Or you can key the company name by
adding specific initials.
The surest way to key is to add the code to the address in the
form of department, division, or suite number. Be careful it
doesn't conflict with any other addresses nearby.

WRITING CLASSIFIEDS

Writing you won copy for a classified ad is easy. There are so
few words you need to use that you don't have to worry about
being a writer or a professional in advertising. You are your own
expert in selling your product.
The selection of words is the most important aspect of
classified ad copy. You need to choose precisely, but don't skimp
on words to save the cost in the ad.
The best way to prepare copy is to first write about your product
or service at length. Go ahead-list all the benefits. Scrutinize
the features and write them down.. What sticks out? What is so
great about your product? What can it do for the reader who will
take the time to write for more information?
How can your product help? Will it show how to earn money, does
it offer self-improvement, can it help accomplish something
appealing and significant?
Choose a heading that points out the most significant aspect or
feature of your product. Follow up with a few words or details,
and finish with a request to write for more information... The
best word in a classified is "free," but you must follow up with
something free.

SAVE MONEY PLACING ADS

Most classified ads are billed a certain charge per word, so you
want to keep your words important and precise. Once you have
written your ad, take a closer look at it. Can you eliminate
extra words without changing the meaning?
You might be able to delete conjunctions such as "and,' articles
like "the," "a," and "an," or prepositions like "for," "with," or
"form." Perhaps you can contract your company name into initials
or use just one word.
Each part of your address counts as one word: the number, the
street name, the street aspect (boulevard, avenue), the key (if
separate), the city, and the state. Many publishers let you
include the zip code free of charge.
Use figures rather than words for numbers, but don't use
contractions or abbreviate. You have to pay for each word in
full, so spell them out completely. That way you'll get no
confusion when people place orders.

RESPONDING TO INQUIRIES

ONce you start getting responses from the classified ads, you
should send out your sales literature immediately, definitely
within one week. The goal is to convert the inquiry into a sale
and convert the sale into PURE PROFIT.
Your sales literature can be a one page pitch for your product..
It doesn't have to be an expensive color catalog. As you get
going, you may prepare a sales package and a series of follow-up
offers.
You can't tell from the type of inquiry whether the person is a
buyer or not. Postcards or letters are potential profit-makers
for you. What;s important is to MAKE A SALE.
Type the person's name and address on a label and make at least
there carbon copies of these labels to use for subsequent
mailings. Your second sales packet should be mailed a month after
the inquiry was received, and another a month after that.
Follow-up sales are where you are going to MAKE YOUR FORTUNE.
YOur classified draws the inquiries, the first order establishes
a good customer, and the rest of the orders are pure gold.
Testing is the only way to find which plan works best for you in
getting orders. You'll need to find out which sales packet works
best, and how often to make mailings.

THE RESPONSE PACKAGE

A typical mail order response package, (called a conversion),
consists of a personal letter, a brochures, and order form,, and
return envelope... How elaborate you want to make your conversion
depends on how successful your product seems to be selling and
how much money you want to invest.
Always start small. A simple one-page offer can works as well as
a fancy catalog. After you've built up a few good-selling
products, you might print up a single page brochure or catalog.
Even at that, you don't have to go to color unless your product
warrants it.
you don't need an advertising agency to put together your sales
packet, but you can use one if you want. Be sure to investigate
the type of agency and what it can do for you. You should have an
agency with a proven background in mail advertising, and you must
take a good look at what has already been produced. Talk with
clients and see if the agency pulled through for them.
Why don't you need an ad agency? Because you can produce all the
sales literature you need. You are the best sales person for your
product because YOU KNOW IT. If you have done the proper
research, you have already found out what the competition is, how
much their product cost, and what sales appeals they are sending
out.
As in placing and writing classified ads, do what the competition
is doing.. Although you shouldn't (and can't legally) take
directly from them, You certainly can copy the format and general
ideas they project.
If somebody has been selling something successfully for years, do
the same thing. Adapt your product to fit.. Of course, you can't
convert a sales pitch for surplus goods to an appeal for
self-improvement book, but take notice of WHAT SELLS PRODUCTS.

HOW TO PREPARE SALES LITERATURE

The sales letter promotes you as well as your product. It is a
personal appeal to a potential buyer. You want the person to feel
special and have a reason not only to look through the rest of
the literature, but TO BUY YOUR PRODUCT.
The appearance of the sales letter is the most important aspect.
It should be on company letterhead, cleanly printed, and inviting
to read. Although it can be any length, it doesn't have to be
more than one page. But it must be double-spaced and typewritten
in clear, easy-to-read type.
The most effective sales letters are printed in two colors... The
second color offers eye appeal and provides emphasis in selling
the benefits of your products. The most inexpensive way to
produce two color is to print black in two-color letterhead.
You may use the second color in alternate paragraphs, or as
special paragraphs, indented to catch the eye. Blue, red, or
green type is harder to read, so keep the second color areas
short and important to the reader.
Other effective ways to use a second color are as handwritten
remarks in the margins of the sales letter, as underlines, and in
the signatures.
Write the sales letter as though you're writing to a friend; keep
it direct and personal.. Present yourself and your product as
worthwhile, honest and desirable.
The beginning of the letter should have a lead line similar to a
classified ad.. It emphasis the benefits of the product and
points out the strongest appeal.
Don't be tempted to use two or three appeals in a row.. Choose
only one and save the next best ones to try on other sales
letters as you test the results.
Follow through on the appeal, amplifying WHY the product is
desirable.... Emphasize its value to the reader. Build
credibility. Will it make me a better, or richer, or more secure
person? Can it prevent worry, poverty, illness? Why should anyone
want to have it? You might admit what the product won't do, then
present several positive aspects, stating what it will do.
In the next section, mention price and immediately talk about the
money-back guarantee. The reader will be more convinced the
product will do all you claim if you are willing to stand by your
product enough a full refund.
Finally, restate the major benefits or feature of the product and
push for the order. If you are offering a special premium for
ordering immediately, state it here. Include a good reason for
why the person should not wait, but ORDER NOW.

ORDER FORMS

If you have only a one-page pitch, you need to provide space for
an order form.. It should be well-defined by a line or dotted
line around it, and should be large enough for someone to write
out a complete packet with sales letter and brochure, print up
separate order forms.
Mention the benefit, the product name, and the guarantee. You
might want to use the first person in pushing for the order.. For
example, "Yes! Please rush me..." Include the price on the card,
perhaps in a manner such as "I enclose my check for $____."
Provide adequate space for the name and address with long lines
to write on... You may also want to place a key if you are using
more than one sales appeal.

PRINTING A BROCHURE

Preparing a brochure or sales catalog is not as difficult as it
may seem. It doesn't have to be a glossy, four-color fancy
booklet. You can send out even a one-page description of the
product and an appeal for ordering.
The brochure or sales catalog is the visual representation of
your product. It emphasize the features rather than benefits, and
goes into detail about the product. Think about the what you're
selling. What are the best points of size, number of pages,
hard-cover or soft. Is the author a well-known authority?? How is
this a better deal than another of the same subject?
If you're selling a product, maybe you'll need to include the
colors available, sizes, or the type of materials. Or emphasize
the clear, easy to follow instructions that are included. When
you get stuck, just look at all the other catalogs and compare.
What information is included? Follow suit.
The important aspect of a brochure is the use of illustrations.
Again, these don't need to be series of four-color photographs...
Although photos are very good ways to sell goods, don't bother to
use anything that is less than excellent in quality. Be careful
if you want to use a model. Remember, you WANT TO SELL.
An excellent way to illustrate your product is with simple line
drawings.
Even if you cannot prepare the final artwork, you probably can
think of what and how to place it on the page. Local yellow
pages, newspaper ads, typesetters and printers are good places to
find an artist to do the final work a reasonable price.
Once you have a good idea about the size and scope of your
brochure, you're ready for the rough layout.. And this is easy.
Just pretend you're an artist. That's right, you don't have to
draw to do a rough layout.. Pencil in the type for the heading.
You can do a stick figure sketch of a line drawing or indicate
the size of the photograph. Draw lines to indicate the body copy.
Write all the words for the brochure in accurate, clean
typewritten copy. Don't forget anything that will be printed, and
don't misspell anything.
Then take it to a typesetter or printer.
Printers usually can work with you to help to choose the type
style, size, and particulars about the layout. Or, they may know
artists or designers who can help you for a small fee. They
usually work closely with a few typesetters, but you can work
directly with a typesetter to have the type put into final form.

MAILING

YOu can obtain a bulk rate permit at the post office if you send
out at least two hundred identical longer for the mail to be
delivered.
The most important aspect to mailing your sales literature is the
quality of the list of people you are sending to.. A brilliant
sales piece won't work if it is sent to the wrong people. That's
why you must clear when you place your original classified ad,
and that's why you need to test which heading to use and how many
details to include.
Your own mailing list is the best one, because since you keyed
the responses, you know what these people responded to.. You have
already profiled the potential buyer, you have already written a
sales piece aimed at that buyer, and YOU WILL MAKE MONEY from
that buyer.
Although you can buy or rent lists of names and addresses from
list brokers, you can never be sure how well the list will
respond to your sales package. If you need more` names, just
place more classified ads. Test different headings, test
different magazines, and test different products.

KEEPING RECORDS

It is extremely important to keep accurate records in mail order.

It is only through these record sheets that you can determine
which ad pulls the best, which advertising lead is the most
enticing, and how well your product is selling. Good records are
the follow up of good testing.
Keep copies of all ads and conversion material in a three ring
binder or scrapbook. You may also include in that book, or in
a separate folder, a record of all keys you have used, The
separate sheets of records per key or publication will help you
be able to compare which ads are bringing in the profits.

You can make your own record sheet with a pen and ruler. Then
have a few photocopied. You'll need a separate sheet for each ad
you place.. At the top of the sheet, place the name of the
publication the ad appeared in; the issue number or date; the
date the issue was placed on sale; the address key; the size and
cost of the ad;which ad you used; the price of the product; and
(to be calculated later) the profit.
The body of the record sheet has two main categories: inquiries
and sales. First, the number of days should be listed in a column
at the left. These don't necessarily coincide with the days of
the month, but rather start with the first day responses come
in.. The subheads under "Inquiries" should be: date received,
number received, running total. The subheads under "orders"
should be: number of orders received, running total, cash sales,
and running total for cash sales.
These record sheets will help you to figure out the responses to
classified ads, orders from sales literature, and how much money
you are making.
To calculate the cost per inquiry, divide the cost of mailing the
sales packets to the cost of the ad and divide that by the number
of orders received.
The ratio of conversion is the number of orders compared to the
number of inquiries. For example, if you get twenty orders from
one hundred inquiries, the conversion is twenty percent.

HOW TO CALCULATE PROFIT

Total the amount of cash sales.. That is your gross profit.
Subtract the cost of conversion and the cost of the ad. That is
your net profit, the one that counts.
Just stick with it, and you can WATCH THAT PROFIT GROW bigger and
bigger each ad, each conversion, each sale.

EXPANDING AND GROWING RICHER

Over the years, good buyers purchase many times your initial
investment in classified ad space. A first buyer indicates a
second sale; after that, you have regular customer who purchase
for years.
Promote the field of interest you've selected;; don't expand into
separate areas. Cultivating your prime customer list takes
patience and testing, but you'll find it rewarding.
Perhaps you started with one product to offer and are ready to
try another. You can run new,, separate classified ads in the
magazines and have tested successfully to your other offer. And,
you can use your list to send out sales literature for the new
offer.. Regular mailings depend on the number of items you have,
the size of your list, and your budget. But follow-through is
very important.
May be you are at the stage of printing a small two-page
catalog/brochure that offers five to tenn products. You can mail
this out to the inquiries from classifieds, or you can use any
combination of one-page offers you have used in the past. Always
run with what sells. Drop anything that pulls no response as soon
as you've given it a fair test.

EXTRA APPEALS

ONce you get rolling with your mail order business, you can try
any number of incentive to solicit orders. You can offer a free
gift, or free anything, certificates, coupons fabulous prizes.

You might offers a sample, a trail period, or a special
guarantee. One way to push for an order is to indicate that the
supply is limited or you won'tt stock a certain item for long...
Time limitations will elicit quicker responses. You may offer one
price until a certain time and then indicate an increase after
that.
A successful way to push for large orders is to offer a discount
on the larger orders. That way, it is worthwhile to order two or
three items--for you because it's more business and more profit
in mailing and handling, and for the customer because it is at a
reduced price.
What do the other mail order businesses do?? What kind of
incentives do they use? As always, check with the competition.
What has proven successful to them probably will work for you
too.. What kind of "special" offer can you make to push for
larger, quicker or more frequent orders?

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED

Not only must you print a guarantee in all your ads and sales
literature, but you must honor it. Never send inferior
merchandise; never take a chance on faulty mailers or guess lower
on postage. Deliver a complete product.
It is only through satisfied customers that you will get repeat
business, and it is through repeat business that you MAKE MORE
MONEY.
DOn't try to get away with anything less than you promote and
stand by all claims you make. Honor requests for refunds
promptly and politely. A customer satisfied with your honestly
remains a good buyer and may purchase from you later offers.

MAKING MORE FROM A WINNER

You've got a successful product. The conversion for orders is
high, refunds are low, and the draw from the classified ad is
great. How can you make more money, even if you think you've
saturated your market.
The easiest way to increase your inquiries is to run another as
in the same publication with a different heading.. If the
classified section is large, you might request one be placed at
the beginning, the other towards the end.. Although several
clever readers will notice the same address, it stills draws a
significant number of inquiries in.
This technique is also good for copy testing to see which heading
will draw the most response. Be sure to key each ad separately.
This is a good way to do it without going to other publications.
Again, key the addresses, and be extra careful to respond
properly to the inquiries.

YOU AND THE LAW

You do not need a special federal or state permit to operate a
mail order business. The material you sell must be legitimate
however, and you cannot be deceptive or misleading in claims or
advertising.
If you offer something "free" it must be free, and all claims
concerning money must be honored..
If you use testimonials in advertising, they must be real and
available to investigation. Frauds are discovered and are
prosecuted.
The federal and state governments require you to report all
income, but you certainly can take every legal deduction.. Once
you make a good deal of money, it's often worth every penny to
have an accountant fill in your forms. If your income warrants
it, you will be expected to pay income tax quarterly.
Most states now have sales tax, so you'll have to find out the
regulations concerning the collection and payment of these fees.
An advantage to this however, is that you can get a state resale
number and may not have to pay state sales tax on some of the
items you need for your business.
If you keep accurate records and report the proper information to
the authorities, you'll have no problems.

ACT NOW

Classified ads are the best way to make a high income return from
limited sources. You can buy the extras you've wanted, send
yourself on an exotic vacation--even create a profitable yearly
income.
One of the best aspects of this type of enterprise is that the
number of successes increase as the number of errors decrease.
You learn as you go along and YOU PROFIT CONSTANTLY.
Cultivate positive thought. As you can see, there is nothing
difficult, costly or extremely risky in making good money from
classified ads.. What is the best way to get started?
Thousands of people have earned a comfortable income from
classified ads--with great happiness and contentment in their own
business. You can succeed too,, if you make up your mind that you
want to.. Faith is simply a state of mind,,,, but it has been
proven that state of mind can CHANGE DESIRE INTO REAL MONEY.
There's no time to get started.