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How To Start A Mail Order Business

by socomplete
20 replies
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Fellow Warriors,

We know how competitive it can be on the internet, so I want to present to you a guide/blog that I created. And over the next 30 days from start to finish I'm going to go through something that you can do yourself and make some pretty good money from if you would like to try this.

Of course it is all about the market you pick and all that but it is all about what you put into this method of making money offline. Here is the link: How To Start A Mail Order Business and leave some comments and tell your friends about this great investment that anyone can apply and earn as long as they try.

Enjoy
  • Profile picture of the author socomplete
    Oh yeah I almost forgot that I will be updating this blog pretty often so keep coming back for more information updates and tips.
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    • Profile picture of the author socomplete
      Part 2 Of this series is now active and updated.
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      • Profile picture of the author AdamWhite
        Mail order is one of the hottest industries right now. It's not new--in fact, it can be traced back more than a century. But it's in demand, by consumers and entrepreneurs alike.
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        • Profile picture of the author The 13th Warrior
          Two problems with Mail Order nowadays.

          The cost way over internet cost.

          The biggest problem is reliable list of mailorder buyers. It is not what it once was, and the information is very unreliable now.

          Any campaign or offer is worthless and a money burn if the information SRDS provides is far, far less reliable than it used to be.

          The 13th Warrior
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          • Profile picture of the author TLTheLiberator
            Originally Posted by The 13th Warrior View Post

            Two problems with Mail Order nowadays.

            The cost way over internet cost.

            The biggest problem is reliable list of mailorder buyers. It is not what it once was, and the information is very unreliable now.

            Any campaign or offer is worthless and a money burn if the information SRDS provides is far, far less reliable than it used to be.

            The 13th Warrior
            True!

            Why mail order when the internet is available??

            TL
            Signature

            "It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled. -- Mark Twain

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            • Profile picture of the author The 13th Warrior
              If the SRDS could provide a more reliable list, it would be a goldmine as there would be virtually no competition.

              I hardly get any junk mail anymore.

              Someone said that SRDS usually got their list from the sellers/companies, but now companies and folks with customer lists are unwilling to put their list up for rental or sales, like in the old days.

              They are cutting out SRDS and probably find it is more profitable to market to their own list rather than put names up for rental or purchase.

              The internet and the way it works now has put a dagger in THAT old dinosaur.

              Hence, SRDS and the like are becoming extinct.

              Unless someone, like SRDS , can quantify the longevity and a worth per name so as to offer 3 times or more what customer life value, or something.

              But why would anyone risk the upfront cash in exchange for possibly losing those hard fought names for life?

              Extinct model, SRDS.

              The 13th Warrior
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              • Profile picture of the author socomplete
                Day 3 Post is updated, and as far as this being an out dated method I still personally feel this is a workable business model of you know how to build your own lists, and then use postcards to mail to your own list.

                Some of these free methods I teach can apply to any business model. If you like to sell digital products thats fine and well but I promise you that hard products will have lower returns then digital products due to the fact that hard products actually require more effort then digital to return . Either way everyone wins.
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                • Profile picture of the author The 13th Warrior
                  Originally Posted by socomplete View Post


                  Day 3 Post is updated, and as far as this being an out dated method I still personally feel this is a workable business model of you know how to build your own lists, and then use postcards to mail to your own list.

                  Its not really mailorder because you used some form and/or a majority of internet tactics to get those names.

                  You are also selling digital products, not physical, also internet.

                  Postcards is only a way to get more of the attention of the reader rather than have your message bulk deleted with the other email/offers and also for a higher conversion rate, according to test vs Internet marketing you have done in your particular campaign.

                  Simply using one element of mailorder does not make it mailorder.

                  Ebay uses the element of mailorder as a delivery system of a sale already made, mostly.

                  What you are doing with postcards is using an ingredient of mailorder, that does not make it mailorder.

                  The 13th Warrior
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                  • Profile picture of the author socomplete
                    lol, if you want to me to say your right then your right okay. WOW
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                  • Profile picture of the author The 13th Warrior
                    It has also been stated that a minimum test in mailorder is somewhere between $3,500 to $5,000 to get any real data as to the success of the product and to know if it is ready for major roll out.

                    That means you have to have a product priced so that with a 1.5% to 2% response rate , which are the average stats for years in mailorder, that you can at least break even and/or recoup your entire investment on the test.

                    Because that test is a window of things to come for that particular campaign.

                    Without a test result, anything else is purely speculative and theoretical.

                    The bulk of the cost will be the list, but if you build your own list, then it would be a matter of internet test vs mailing out postcards to see what has the highest conversion and profit to cover cost.

                    If the mailorder conversion , product price points and conversion are not that much better for the work, along with postage, 800# for ordering, stationary, etc,. then it would not be worth it unless you can get double or triple conversions or more vs internet marketing.

                    The 13th Warrior
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                    • Profile picture of the author socomplete
                      Excellent point 13th warrior, but with any business model you have positives and negatives. Personally, I like the low return rate possibilities for a hard product over digital. That's just me either way I wish everyone good times.
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                      • Profile picture of the author The 13th Warrior
                        Originally Posted by socomplete View Post


                        I like the low return rate possibilities for a hard product over digital.
                        If you are getting data cards and profiting over cost enough to justify your campaign from start to finish with those list, then you done your homework.

                        The 13th Warrior
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                    • Profile picture of the author The 13th Warrior
                      Originally Posted by Loren Woirhaye View Post


                      It's mail order as long as you ship your "orders" in the mail.
                      You consider Ebay, mailorder?

                      I am going to politely disagree.

                      Delivery system of FINAL sale does not define the entire sytem.

                      Mailorder is soliciting thru mail, copywriting thru mail, get list of established buyers of mailorder who bought from others(Their list) or thru ads in the print media, follow-up thru mail, correspondence thru mail, then finally, delivery thru mail.



                      Originally Posted by Loren Woirhaye View Post


                      All those things were sold with small space ads in print.

                      Yes, another element of mailorder , if used , does not define your system as mailorder.

                      The cost of the ad and profit results have to be evaluated to know if it is a profitable campaign, besides, who reads the paper anymore, and those that do, one has to determine if the market that still reads classified or other ads is enough profit to cover cost of campaign, so whatever that number is deemed to be, the campaigner as to conclude if the effort was worth it vs Internet Marketing.

                      "IF" one uses classifieds or print media ads, its usually for leads, then one works that lead with Internet Marketing techniques. But one would do this if one has tested that leads thru print ads outpaces the internet marketing techniques one was applying, again, more test for conclusive findings.

                      Just putting in a ad does not make you a mailorder system unless you do pretty much the majority of what mailorder is like either use 800#'s or mailorder correspondence to work that lead to a sale.



                      Originally Posted by Loren Woirhaye View Post



                      but it's still profitable top those who
                      understand the complexities of it... and far from dead, because,
                      NEWSFLASH! - old people have money and they don't like the
                      internet - many of the ones I speak to anyway. They also like
                      buying stuff in the mail.
                      Profitable only to those who thoroughly tested and found it was profitable above cost and work time involved.

                      Most of those old geezers are not the majority of the target demographic and if you were to target those who are willing to use mailorder, you really, really, have to do your homework and testing to ferret out enough names to profit over cost and time.

                      If you have found a reliable rental list, then good for you, but do a test 1st to see how reliable it really is.

                      Most companys and business owners have found they could make much more to work their own list vs selling their hard fought names to SRDS and other type parties.....the money they make off list rental and selling names pales in comparison to them correctly targeting their own list for more profit than selling those names or renting them out can return.

                      The 13th Warrior
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  • Profile picture of the author Loren Woirhaye
    It's mail order as long as you ship your "orders" in the mail.

    Anybody ever buy Seamonkeys? Xray glasses? Rubber do poop?

    All those things were sold with small space ads in print. That's
    mail order, but it's not targeted direct mail.

    With targeted direct mail, as in renting lists, you need to know
    your numbers really well - but it's still profitable top those who
    understand the complexities of it... and far from dead, because,
    NEWSFLASH! - old people have money and they don't like the
    internet - many of the ones I speak to anyway. They also like
    buying stuff in the mail.


    That being said, if you are starting out in direct response, be cautious
    with using the mails. It's far cheaper to get a meaningful test
    done on the internet than with the mail so I recommend the
    internet as the best training ground for learning how direct
    response works.
    Signature
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  • Profile picture of the author xposed
    13th warrior, I'm having success mailing lists 300 or smaller.

    It all depends :-)
    Signature

    My baby is http://TheFoundation.com

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    • Profile picture of the author The 13th Warrior
      Originally Posted by xposed View Post


      13th warrior, I'm having success mailing lists 300 or smaller.

      It all depends
      It would be interesting to to quantify your process from start to finish to define if it is truley mailorder.

      Mailorder:

      1) Buy a list from SRDS or other owner, or generate leads thru print media...ok , so far , so good, its mailorder.

      2) Send postcards, copyletter etc thru mail or follow-up with a telephone call, or they call a number in the ad for you to send more information thru the mail or via telephone follow-up...., ok, so far, so good, mailorder.

      3) That persons order thru an 800#, sends check or moneyorder thru mail, or writes creditcard info on order card to be processed thru 3rd party order processor.....ok, thats mailorder.

      The 13th Warrior
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  • Profile picture of the author The 13th Warrior
    Originally Posted by socomplete View Post


    Of course it is all about the market you pick and all that but it is all about what you put into this method of making money offline.

    Looked at your course, and it should be called "OFFLINE" , not mailorder.

    You are talking about PLR and URL's.

    The only thing you talk that is mailorder is get a list of buyers and data cards.

    And you do not expound on that , because from experience, that in and of itself is a minefield if you do not go about this properly.

    You need to look up Gary Halbert in the Boron letters to get some insight into list selection , as far as SRDS or other like entity when it comes to mailorder.

    One of the qualifications of mailorder is that the propect must have shown the willingness to buy thru mail in the first place.

    The 13th Warrior
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    • Profile picture of the author socomplete
      Actually, this course is going to be done by the end of the month and is going to be updated with more content. Thank you for your insights 13th
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  • Profile picture of the author mydavis3
    Great post. Thanks for the information
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    • Profile picture of the author socomplete
      Originally Posted by mydavis3 View Post

      Great post. Thanks for the information
      Your welcome, the blog is all finished and I look forward to giving you guys this neat little strategy if you are into the offline marketing world.
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