COMMON SENSE WAYS TO SAVE MONEY
No Doubt About it--Money is Crucial for Running A Business. Here's How to Save Money While Making a Profit.
By Paula Demers
This is something I've written about several times. But, with the amount of new people who come into the industry, it bears repeating. It costs money to run your own mail order business. In order to sell, you have to advertise. People won't know you have anything if you don't. They won't even know you're around.
You also have to do mailings and of course, that costs money for printing, envelopes, mailing lists, and postage. It's important that you make the most of every dollar you have to spend. The old saying, "watch the pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves," still holds true today. So let's take a look at a few ways we can save money in our businesses.
1. Customize an Ad--If you have the same product as thousands of others, have your own ad made. You might want to get something of your own, such as a report or a mailing list or an ad sheet that you use to advertise. When you receive an order for it, you have a buying customer.2. Cover Letter--Don't just throw a bunch of offers in an envelope, then stick a mailing label and stamp on it. Write a cover letter explaining what you're selling and why. Along with the order, you can send back another well-written cover letter with your other offers. This way, your customer is covering much of your expenses to send them your offers.
3. Include Offers--If someone writes you a personal letter to answer, include some of your offers with your answer. One of the things I do is print my bestselling offers on the back of my stationery. That way, advertising goes out with every letter I write.
4. Be Professional--When mailing, make sure all your circulars are crisp, clear, and easy to read. There should be no handwritten addresses or numbers on the circulars. If you have to pay someone for the address strips, it's a lot better than handwriting on the flyer.
5. Business Builders--I usually include "business builder" offers when I do a mailing. Business Builders are mailing lists, designed return labels, a list of my business reports, etc. These offers include anything that will help build my potential customers' business.
6. Shop Around--If you have your offers printed and mailed, check the company out. Shop around, use your head, and figure out if it's possible for them to mail your offer to the promised circulation for the amount they're charging you.
7. Keep Learning--Learn everything you can about everything in your industry. If you have any questions,write the company. It's common courtesy to always include a self-addressed stamped envelope. This shows the company you're really interested and it saves time in responding to your questions.
As I say on a regular basis, mail order is a very common sense business. Use your head and you CAN make money.
Paula Demers has been running a successful business since 1990. She publishes THE SCAM BULLETIN, which reveals the various scams and rip-off artists in the industry. For a sample copy, send $3 to Paula Demers, P.O. Box 280, Fort Walton Beach, FL 32549.
|
Previous |
Index |
|
Idea Help |
Next |
|
|
|
|
|
|
