Big Dollars: How to Get Them from Your Mail Order Ad Sheets
Simple, easy, ant with an unlimited income potential! You can set this program up right from your kitchen table, and easily parlay it into $100,000 per year!
You've no doubt heard of the millions of dollars "raked in" by advertising agencies each year, and that's what this business is all about. In fact, that's the name of the game with this business!
Here's what you do: Call up the owner, general manager or advertising director of your local "nickel ads" or shoppers newspaper. Tell him you're a mail order advertising agency, with clients all over the country. Explain to him that you'd like to have a regular space - 2 columns wide by 6-inches deep - in every edition of his paper for at least the next 12 months.
You'd like a headline on this space, the headline to read: Mail Order Money-Making Opportunities. You will turn in to him on each of his advertising closing dates, a number of mail order ads. You want him to set each ad within this space, just as if he were running 2 columns of want ads. Then, at the bottom of this space, you want him to set in slightly larger type, the name and address of your advertising agency. Below that, in italics, you want your slogan, such as: A Full Service Advertising Agency for Mail Order Dealers Nationwide!
By setting up a contract for a "defined" amount of space in each edition of the paper for at least 12 months, you'll save at least 30% over the regular day-to-day and/or monthly rate charges. By talking with the "top-dog" in charge, you'll be able to avoid a lot of hassle and negotiate the best deal. This is the first step - explain your plan and assure them that you're going to be a long-term, regular customer; and then negotiate for the best, bottom-line cost figure.
Figuring that each ad you run in this space will require 3/4 of an inch, this means you have room for 14 ads, plus your headline and nameplate. Your cost will probably run between $50 and $75 per week on an "every edition" annual contract. So now, you simply set a price to charge your advertisers in accordance with the total circulation of the publication.
Charge $10 per ad - times 14 equals $140 - minus $50 costs - leave you with a profit of $90 per week. $15 per ad - times 14 equals $210 - minus $50 costs - leaves you with a profit of $160 per week. $20 per ad - times 14 equals $280 - minus $50 costs - leaves you with a profit of $230 per week. You may want to start off with a larger space, say 3 columns wide by 6-inches deep, for even more and faster profits. The important thing is to set the first one up, and then duplicate or multiply your efforts.
Just as soon as you've got your program set up with one shoppers' newspaper, do the same with another one. If there aren't too many in your town, take a trip to a near-by larger city ant get it set up there. If there are no "shoppers papers" in your area, check it out wit your local newspaper.
Once you've established this program in the shoppers' papers, start making the rounds and setting it up with your area suburban newspapers. Remember, the more you duplicate the "set-up" of this program, the more profits you'll make.
Now, you're ready to go after the advertisers... I suggest that you sit your local stationery store; pick up a pad of "fade-out" graph paper and a roll of black or red border tape about an eighth inch wide. Take these materials home, and on a sheet of graph paper, measure inch from the top, and on the line from left to right, make a line with your border tape. Do the same thing at the bottom of the page. Measure in a 1/2 inch from the sides, and do the same thing for each side. Then take a sharp razor blade and square off the corners. You should now have a perfect rectangle as framed by your border tape. So measure down from the top of your frame a half inch, and run a strip of border tape on this line from left to right. This will be for your "mast head." Now measure to divide your frame into equally wide columns and run a strip of border tape as column dividers from top to bottom.
What you're coming up with is what is known as an "ad sheet" in the mail order business, and it's looking beautiful! Select a name, such as The Trailblazer or Ron's Mail Order Opportunities. Make another visit to your stationery store, pick up some 18 or 24 point "Transfer Letters" in the style you want for your ad sheet title.
Take them home, and on another sheet of graph paper, write out the title you want to use on your ad sheet. Then take a ruler and razor blade, and cut the paper your title is on, into one strip that will fit into that half inch space at the top of your ad sheet - the space we talked about as being for your masthead. Simply paste the strip of paper with your ad sheet title into this space and you're ready to start pasting in ads - on your ad sheet - from advertisers. Incidentally, when you're over at your stationery store, pick up what is known as a "Glue Stick." This is a tool you'll be using from now on, and if you'll go with this for all your paste-up endeavors, you'll come out with a much neater, as well as easier job. I don't recommend "rubber cement," and most assuredly don't use a household paste for your paste-up jobs.
Once you have got your ad sheet laid out, take it to a nearby quick-print shop and have them make at least 100 printed copies. You'll want it printed on both sides, with your masthead omitted and your columns running all the way to the top of your frame on the back side. Then you take your pasted-up ad sheet original home and file it as your "master." You'll be using one of your printed copies each time you "paste-up" an ad sheet for printing and/or publication. All of this is a par t of setting yourself up and getting organized for the business you're about to start...
The purpose of your ad sheet is strictly to afford you FREE advertising for your primary project. So, you make up an ad such as this: SAVE ON ADVERTISING! Run our ad in your publication - Well run yours in ours! Checking copies each issue. Send samples of your ad sheet, and the ad you want us to run. We can begin next week, but hurry - space is limited...
Either type this out or have it typeset as a one column, one inch ad and place it at the top of the left hand column on the front of your ad sheet; and at the bottom of the right hand column on the back of your ad sheet.
Now, make up an ad for your primary business, such as: 200,000 circulation! Only $5 to have your 35 word ad included one time! Run it 5 times and save! Only $50 for 5 consecutive insertions! Metro Shoppers, your address.
Type this ad out, or have it typeset into an eye-catching one column by one inch ad. Then place one of these ads at the bottom of the right hand column on the front of your ad sheet, and another at the top of the left hand column on the back of your ad sheet.
These ads - one about exchanging ads, and the other about your shopping paper advertising program - should be run in each edition of your ad sheet that you publish. In other words, they should be permanent fixtures in your ad sheet. Actually, they're the primary reason for your getting involved in ad sheet publishing - free advertising/exposure for your service to mail order advertisers.
Fill out the space in your first ad sheet with ad for other things you can offer, or clip better ads from the ad sheets you receive in the mail, and use those. Once you've got the space on both sides of your ad sheet filled, take this "paste-up" to your local print shop and have 200 to 500 printed.
Meanwhile, you begin making a 3 x 5 card file of the publishers' addresses of the different ad sheets you receive in the mail. Each file card should show the name of the ad sheet, the name and address of the publisher, and the date you first received a copy of their ad sheet. File these cards in zip code sequence. Send for our complete 1983 listing of mail order publication, to get a jump on the file of ad sheet publishers you'll want to maintain... Just $3 from the distributor who supplied this report. Order by item #1550.
The next thing is to have your list of mail order publications typed out onto mailing label. These sheets of labels, you maintain as master copies, marking on your file cards, the sheet number each mail order publication is listed on. Ace Ad Sheet might show an M-l, meaning that they are listed on page one of your masters for mailing label. Millers' Advertiser might show an M-6 for sheet number 6, while Zastrow's Active Advertiser might show an M-12 for sheet 12 of your master list.
The purpose of the master list is to save time and further work when you mail out your at sheet. Simply take your master copies to your nearest quick print shop and copy your masters onto sheets of labels. As for the coding of positions on the master list, this is also to save you time. When you receive a "returned to sender," because the publisher has either gone out o business or moved, you look it up by zip cote in your card file - mark that card accordingly - note the master sheet code, and turn right to that page without having to scan through each of your master sheets to find that particular listing. These two procedures will be especially important as you add new listings to your master sheets without having to redo the whole list.
An extra benefit will be your ability to advertise and sell your master listing - from your 3 x 5 card file - of mail order publications at the start of each new year. You could also advertise and sell duplicates/copies of your master label mailing list as active mail order advertisers. Still another idea might be to collect copies of each mail order publication and offer a collection of sample copies - Sample copies of 24 different mail order publications, just $10...
You're almost ready to begin! The best way to start is to include one two-sided circular, such as our Money-Making/Money-saving Reports circular, and your ad sheet in an envelope, stick one of your mailing labels on it and send them out first class. If you've got another "special program," you might include a circular for that, but don't put more than 3 circulars in each of your out-going mailing pieces. Too many things to choose from will confuse the recipient and result in no response at all.
Overall, it's best to send these mailing pieces out via first class postage in order to make sure you've got "good" addresses. Any "nixies" will be returned to you as non-deliverable and you can mark/adjust your systems accordingly.
Your ad sheet is for the purpose of getting free advertising for your primary program, the space you have available for mail order advertisers in your area shoppers' paper. And, the reports circulars are "fast-selling door-openers" that should bring back hard cash, from these other mail order publishers who will be running your shoppers' paper advertising. Generally speaking, very few of the ad sheet publishers will buy shopping paper space from you - they are almost all too caught up in their on "ad sheet thing" and "trade advertising programs," to see or understand the real advantages of super circulation paid advertising for a product. They will however, almost always buy the below cost, mail order "success" reports, and this is how you get money from them, in addition to your free advertising.
Now you're in business! Hundreds, even thousands of sharp mail order entrepreneurs will see your shopping paper ads in all the ad sheets you're exchanging ads with, and they're the ones - those selling books and products - who will take advantage of your offer. In exchange for this advertising exposure these ad sheet publishers give you, your only obligation is to paste the ad they submit as their exchange ad, onto your ad sheet, print the required number of copies, and send it out to all your exchange advertisers.
However, their efforts in your behalf will quickly result in hundreds of cash orders for your shopper paper space. The profit potential should quickly satisfy your wildest dreams with only a minimum amount of work and organization on your part.
As your listing of mail order advertisers is published in each of the shopper papers, you fold one up and send it to each of your advertisers as a checking copy via third class mail. What could be easier or more beneficial to your personal bank account?
It may take six weeks to a couple of months to get everything organized and the orders coming in, but once they start, it will be like a never ending river of money for you. Remember too, set one shoppers' paper program up first - get it filled up with paid advertising and running smoothly - and then multiply your income possibilities by duplicating the same program with as many other of your local area publications as possible. When you go in to talk to these people about the program you have in mind, remember - they are in the business of making money, and your plan is just another way for them to make money - they want your business and your money - sell them on yourself and your business plan.
So, that's it... the plan you can use to become rich - the rest is up to you... I as sure you it's easy to put into action, and it works... How soon you get it started, and how much money you make with it, is entirely up to you...
Related Articles
Dictionary of Mail Order Terms
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: A short note acknowledging receipt of an order. Used especially when a check is sent as payment, and shipment will be delayed until the check clears.
How to Set Up Your Own Mail Order Distributorship for General Merchandise and Books
When you have developed, or found, mail-order products over which you have exclusive ownership or control, you may want to consider selling through agents, wholesalers or dealers.
How to Select Mail Order Products that Sell
Almost anything that people want or need is today being successfully sold by mail. In fact, some propositions could not be handled in any other way. The problem is to figure out the product or service and then find and develop a market.
Commission Circulars: How to Make $5,000 for Every Page You Copy
Everyone that starts out learning the mail order business is normally introduced to Commission Circulars very early in the game. You have probably seen ads claiming "how you can make money - sometimes as much as $5,000 - for every page you copy".
The Secret Mail Order Product that Can Make You Rich
Everyday more and more people are jumping on the "mail order" bandwagon - starting their own, or getting involved in some kind of mail order selling endeavor - and hoping to get rich.
The Mail-Five-Letters-a-Day Plan
The purpose of this report is to outline a simple, step-by-step program that will enable you to start making "sales by mail" immediately!
How to Start Your Own Mail Order Publication
If you are an old hand at mail order, or a newcomer to the business, sooner or later you are going to want to try your lick at having your own publication.
How to Capitalize on the Hidden Profits in Junk Mail
Don't just glance at your junk mail and throw it away! Save it - it can put extra money in your pockets! As a matter of fact, you can make some "easy" extra money with all your incoming mail...
What It Takes to Make Your Fortune in Mail Order
You can make a million dollars or more in mail order, but it's going to require a complete understanding of the business as well as a little bit of know-how on your part.
How to Start and Operate Your Own Profitable Mail Order Business at Home
How much money do you want to make? Do you need a steady second income? Do you want to have your own business, be your own boss, and make your own decisions?