I want to share my 9x12 spinoff business...

Yep, but getting to 12 ads may or may not be something you can/will do...totally depends on your mindset.

No right or wrong- that's the beauty of the system.

I did it twice, but it burned me out...the $$$ didn't matter at that point. Others may thrive on it.

Can imagine collecting the money from businesses in different areas to be a nightmare, especially in the UK.

You hit the nail on the head, and what I was hoping to do with this model.

I had like 3 repeats from the first card to go the second month, so I only had to find 3 new ones. I had sold ads in 4 total editions, but overextended myself...and only got out 2 of them.

I also got flagged for spamming, and had to change up the emails.

So I was never able to get to that automated stage...

This is the challenge I see with the process. I think turnover could be a real problem due to the unrealistic expectations.

I was "one" of those small biz owners that did exactly that when we started in business. We would hop from marketing piece to marketing piece thinking that we should make back thousands from a couple hundred dollar investment. LOL!

I think there's far easier ways of making that $800 net profit... like becoming a consultant and telling those small biz owners that what they're doing is stoopid.

I tend to look at it differently. If you go into this by explaining that it's going to take time to maximize their profits and that the only way to do that is by constantly testing and tweaking their ad, then they'd go into the deal with lower initial expectations. Maybe you could split test their ads for each mailing, show them which is getting better results, move forward with another mailing and test again?

I'd be honest if their offer sucks. It's not fair for someone to expect to have success with a mediocre or crappy ad. Get them to do something awesome, if possible. If they're losing a significant amount of money after 6 months then I wouldn't blame them for canceling, but it definitely wouldn't be for lack of trying.

On the other hand, if they were turning a profit every month at that point, why would they want to stop? Sheesh, if they were even breaking even they'd be coming out ahead, in most cases, because of repeat business.

The lifetime value of a customer can be lucrative in some niches. I'd make sure I explained this to them thoroughly. I might even make up a hypothetical scenario of a percentage of the customers sticking around for 5 years, 10 years, etc and have THEM do the math on paper.

Personally, I think this is just a matter of needing to roll up your sleeves and do some good old fashioned selling in order to get repeat customers. Simply make them understand from the beginning that it's a "process", not an overnight windfall.

My two bits.

By the way, no, I haven't done this before - yet, but it is on the agenda to do soon.

Sorry about that. No one is trying to hijack your thread or doubt your sales ability. I love your idea. To me, it makes things much easier, faster and more manageable than trying to fill 16 spots quickly.

Ken's a major player around here and I've been in sales for a couple decades, too. We're just sharing our input. No harm intended.

The map is freaking gold! I'd take it and put it to use. I can see how it will work in many businesses, not just direct mail.

I used a local mailhouse and EDDM postage:

print $419.00
postage $878.33(for an amount of postcards close to but not exactly 5,000)
sort/deliver $135.00

It's about selling advertising on post cards and sending them through the mail.

I get it. I just wasn't sure that he would, because I don't know if they have those in India.

Great questions.

Without going back and counting...I would guess 200-300 in total unique emails, with a couple coming from hitting up the same business a second or third time. Lots of the first ones get missed.

Mostly home service companies like plumbers, landscapers, etc.

But I got restaurants, dentists, fitness trainers as well.

Hope this helps!

I'm not fond of your program, as I wrote on your WSO. Doubt the email will work, but you won't know until you try, why not go ahead and send a 1000 of them out? Let your results guide you.

OK, that being said, I'm going to give you my "parting" gift...

a way to FUND your project. As it is, I think it is a mess, a combo of MLM and biz-op...but, I'm one of those that think Amway is a cult too. So, what do I know?

Good luck and hope you prove me wrong.

Now for my gift to you.

Pick a gym. Walk in and offer to give the owner 1000 FREE cards, 9 x 6. He can use these for special promotion. On the back of the card, you have 6 slots.

A trainer. A chiropractor. A physical therapist. Nutritionist. Health food store, etc., etc. Exclusive. Only one. Each person has a good offer.

The gym gives these out, 700 of them, to current customers (who have an incentive to give them out to friends), 50 each to sponsors on back to give to their customers.

The value of the card is multiplied. In your area, 300 bux X 6 = 1800....
minus the printing/design. A very quick 1000 bux, to fund your bigger project and if done right, can be done in a few hours (get referrals from the gym for the back)

With all those gyms to work with, you could set up a "base" for your 50,000 blast off.

So, 1000 FREE cards for host,
good offers,
incentives to distribute,
6 co-sponsors,
low cost TARGETED eyeballs,
QUICKLY done via referrals.

In and out. 1000+ bux,

WIN for all. Try it. And good luck with the huge project.

gjabiz

PS In working with this for years, I've settled on fast, quick and speed of cash in my hand vs running around, which is why I like finding a host and getting referrals...but, it takes face to face to close it quickly. And with this...

gotta go.