The Cheapest Way To Distribute 8 1/2" X 11" Circulars

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Most of you may already know this, but beginners don't - and they overlook this golden opportunity that mail order offers them - co-op dealing!

Co-op is short for "cooperative." That means that two people share in the cost and distribution of a product or service. In other words, it's kind of like having a "buy-one-get-one free" coupon for 2 hamburgers. You and a friend will split the cost of 1 hamburger, giving you both a hamburger for lunch. This way, you both saved 50% over the cost of buying each one separately. This is one common example of co-op dealing - and you can do the same thing in mail order.

Co-op dealing is very beneficial (and usually safe) for everyone involved. One example of co-op dealing in mail order is to send your 8 1/2" x 11" camera-ready circular to a co-op printer and they'll print your ad on one side, their ad on the back side and ship them back to you for a low cost of around $10 per 1,000. You get your printing almost free and the other dealer gets his or her flyers mailed on the back of yours free.

But what do you do with them when they are mailed back to you? If you're new to mail order it's doubtful you have a mailing list to distribute them to. Plus, postage costs alone would run you about $320.00 first-class. At this rate it would have been cheaper to send the camera-ready to a tabloid or adsheet publisher rather than by a co-op. But don't despair.

Simply have the printer ship your copies to a co-op circular mailer instead of sending them to you. An excellent mailer to TARGET your circular to the correct audience is PMG Publishing, P.O. Box 3096, Hueytown, AL 35023. PMG charges only $.10 for each pre-printed circular - which is mailed FIRST-CLASS in a professional package with complementing circulars (no two alike in same mailing). Compare this price to $.32 each to mail them yourself.

In addition, you benefit from the mailing list of the circular mailer. If this particular mailer sells a mailing list, having them do a 1,000 or 5,000 "test" mailing for you would be a way to test their names. You should get a few responses from a mailing of this size but it all depends on "what" you are offering and the "price" you are offering it for. It's very difficult to sell any item for more than $50 on an 8 1/2" x 11" circular. For items costing more than $50, you need to use the two-step approach. In other words, use the 8 1/2" x 11" circular to generate inquiries and follow-up with the complete sales materials that constitute the higher price the customer may decide to pay.

Another idea is that you could contact a dealer with products and services not conflicting with your own and ask them to co-op mail for you. In this deal, you would pay for the 2-sided printing (with the mailer's ad on the back of yours) and he/she would mail them for you free of charge. It works!

Another way to co-op deal in mail order is by co-op advertising. Popular Advertiser is one example of a co-op publication. You place your ad the first time through a dealer and all future ads are 50% less. Then you have the option of mailing pre-printed copies with your name in the publisher's block as an authorized dealer.

Word of Caution: Using the co-op advertising method is overall a very slow response time. Since a variety of people are relied on to distribute copies - some do not mail them within 30 days like you might think. Instead, many send copies over a period of time. In fact, I have gotten responses to ads I placed in co-op advertising publications up to 4 years later!

However, one good idea is to get on as many "endless-type" adsheets as possible. One such advertiser is Clip-N-Save, published by Graphico Publishing, P.O. Box 488, Bluff City, TN 37618. You send 35 words and $5 for your ad to start out in Position 1. Over a period of time - your ad will be rotated through all 6 positions and you receive responses over a very long period of time. When you get on an adsheet like this, be prepared for responses to be received forever!

If you market the direct mail method, it's a good idea to send a good circular you plan to keep around for awhile to a mail order printer and have 1,000 printed on ONE SIDE. Then, you can use the back of 100 or so for testing purposes of other circulars. Run down to the copy shop and run the circulars through the copier by printing on the back side. Only run 100 or less and send them to the best names you can find or names generated from your display advertising. If they pull orders, you may have a winner and can have 1,000 printed. Nothing is more annoying than being stuck with 1,000 circulars with something you want to mail on one side and something outdated on the back. Happy money-saving!