posted by khairulazmi.com on 26th, 2007
Make Money with Classified Ads part 6 : MAILING
You can obtain a bulk rate permit at the post office if you send out at least two hundred identical pieces at a time. They must be presorted for destination. The bulk rate cost is lower, but it takes much longer for the mail to be delivered.
The most important aspect to mailing your sales literature is the quality of the list of people you are sending it to. A brilliant sales piece won’t work it if is not sent to the right people. That’s why you must be clear when you place your original classified ad, and that’s why you need to test which heading to use and how many details to include.
Your own mailing list is the best one, because - since you keyed the responses - you know what these people responded to. You have already profiled the potential buyer, you have already written a sales piece aimed at that buyer, and YOU WILL MAKE MONEY from that buyer.
Although you can buy or rent lists of names and addresses form list broker, you can never by sure how well the list will respond to your sales package. If you need more names, just place more classified ads. Test different headings, test different magazines, and test different products.
KEEPING RECORDS
It is extremely important to keep accurate records in mail order. It is only through these record sheets that you can determine which ad pulls the best, which advertising lead is the most enticing, and how well your product is selling. Good records are the follow up of good testing.
Keep copies of all ads and conversion material in a three-ring binder or scrapbook. You may also include in that book - or a separate folder - a record of all the keys you have used. The separate sheets of records per key or publication will help you be able to compare which ads are bringing in the profits.
You can make your own record sheet with a pen and ruler. Then have a few photocopied. You’ll need a separate sheet for each ad you place. At the top of the sheet, place the name of the publication the ad appeared in; the issue number or date; the date the issue was placed on sale; the address key; the size and cost of the ad; which ad you used; the price of the product; and - to be calculated later - the profit.
The main body of the record sheet has two main categories: inquiries and sales. First, the number of days should be listed in a column at the left. These don’t necessarily coincide with the days of the month, rather start with the first days responses came in. The subheads under “inquiries” should be: date received, number received, running total. the subheads under “orders” should be number of orders received, running total, cash sales, and running total for cash sales.
These record sheets will help you to figure out the responses to classified ads, orders from sales literature, and how much money you are making.
To calculate the cost per inquiry, divide the cost of the ad into the number of inquiries received.
To fine the cost per order, add the total cost of mailing the sales packets to the cost of the ad and divide that by the number of orders received.
The ratio of conversion is the number of orders compared to the number of inquiries. For example, if you get twenty orders from one hundred inquiries, the conversion is twenty percent.
HOW TO CALCULATE PROFIT
Total the amount of cash sales. That is your gross profit. Subtract the cost of the product. Subtract the cost of the product. Subtract the cost of mailing. Subtract the cost of conversion and the cost of the ad. That is your net profit, the one that counts. Just stick with it, and you can WATCH THAT PROFIT GROW bigger and bigger each ad, each conversion, each sale.
EXPANDING AND GROWING RICHER
Over the years, good buyers purchase many times your initial investment in classified ad space. A first buyer indicates a second sale; after that, you have a regular customer who may purchase for years.
Promote the field of interest you’ve selected - don’t expand into separate areas. Cultivating your prime customer list takes patience and testing, but you’ll find it rewarding.
Perhaps you started with one product to offer and are ready to try another. You can run new, separate classified ads in the magazines that have tested successfully to your other offer. And, you can use your list to send out sales literature for the new offer. Regular mailings depend on the number of items you have, the size of your list, and your budget. But follow through is very important.
Maybe you are at the stage of printing a small, two page catalog/brochure that offers five to ten products. You can mail this out to the inquiries from classifieds, or you can use any combination of one-page offers you have used in the past. Always run with what sell. Drop anything that pulls no response as soon as you’ve given it a fair test.
continue to part 7 on How to Make Money with Classified Ads
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