Got The Beginner's Blues?

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I think about 99.9% of the mail order dealers who have been in business 5 years or longer (myself included) started out thinking mail order was an easy business to get into. I used to lay awake at night calculating all the responses I would get to my ad.

"Let's see - if I advertise to 1,000 people I should get a minimum of 10 orders, basing my figures on the overall 1% response rate. In addition, if I advertise to 1,000,000 people I should get a minimum of 1,000 orders - using the same 1% response rate. It's inevitable, I have to sink all my money into advertising because the orders will start pouring in within a week or two."

I even went on to fantasize: "So, if I advertise to 1,000,000 and generate 1,000 orders, and my product sells for only $5 - I will have $5,000.00 coming in within only a few short weeks. It certainly costs less than $5,000 to advertise to a 1,000,000 circulation - so it's a sure thing that I'll make a bunch of money in mail order."

This approach sounds very logical and statistical, but it doesn't happen like that in the "real world" of mail order! Well...maybe once in a blue moon, but most of the time - it just doesn't happen. It's not always because your offer is bad or the price is too high. And it's not always because your mailing list was bad. Often times, the reason lies in the fact that you and your company are unknown.

But one of the most important reasons this statistical data only works well on paper is that most beginners are not skilled in the area of TARGET MARKETING. Yes - that word is vital to the money your business will make.

Target marketing is when you "know" the people you are advertising to. It has nothing to do with the product you are selling. For example, I get lots of mailings for products that I have no interest in or need for. Just last week I received a mailing for infant products and a magazine. The products were presented well and were items needed by people who had babies in their household. However, there is no infant at my home and, therefore, I had no interest in the products - regardless of how great they were or how little they cost. The mailing went into the garbage can.

Another mailing a couple of months ago was a catalog of items I could order if I were a large manufacturing firm. If I had the need for disposing of chemical waste, I certainly would have ordered from this company. But their mailing went in the trash also. How many times have you got a mailing that went in the trash just because it was selling a product or service you have no interest in? See what I mean. If the company mailing these catalogs and advertisements would have pre-qualified you or I and target-marketed their items correctly - we would have never received them. It is wasted money for the company!

But how can you pre-qualify or target market your audience before placing an ad? If you are a beginner, it will take some time before you are experienced enough to do so. However, you can always get a sample copy of the publication first and see what items other people are advertising. Then, test your ads in the smaller mail order publication that offer low-cost advertising until you refine your ad and hit the right market. As soon as you begin generating responses to your ads, keep in contact with these customers and grow from there. They will bring you more customers like themselves because "birds of a feather flock together."

Therefore - take my advice and SLOW DOWN a little. I know this is easier said than done - but if you don't slow down, you could easily get ripped-off and lose a lot of money. Just like attending college - you won't get a Master's Degree the same day you begin classes. It takes 3-4 years!

Take your time to get to know some of the pros and read what they have to say. Survey and study the market. Read and educate yourself by investing time into study. Start out in mail order like you would start working for any company - at the bottom. Learn the tricks of the trade. Make friends and associates with "good" dealers and stick with them. Honor your word and work dealerships to the advantage of yourself as well as others. (Sounds kinda like the Golden Rule of mail order doesn't it?)

But - I guarantee you'll be successful! Mail order works for anybody. You don't have to be rich, educated or a certain age, color or heritage. You don't have to wear certain kinds of clothes or have your hair styled in the latest craze. The only limitations are your own abilities and confidence in yourself. I know because I started out really poor and brought my business up to a thriving, self-supporting home business!