Selling information is one of the most established and powerful businesses.
With the continuing growth of
the computer revolution, selling information in elec-
tronic form offers you out-
standing profit opportunities.
You can provide people with valuable
information and earn yourself 1000's of dollars in the process.
The objective of this material is to provide you a collection of carefully
selected money-making information that can help you start and succeed in
your business, whatever it may be.
If you are planning to start your own information marketing business, this
software will show you how to set up your business, show you which types of
information sell the best, how to prepare or obtain the information you'll
be marketing, how to promote your products, and how to fill your orders.
Most important of all, this material will take you one step ahead of the
conventional info-by-mail business. This material will show you how to sell
information in "ELECTRONIC FORM" - using computer floppy disks - which are
the most efficient and most profitable means by which information is now
being packaged, sold, and delivered.
For example, you can order a DUPLICATOR DISK from the company whose name
and address you see on this screen. You can make copies of this Disk and
sell the copies for as much as you want.
Information in electronic form has quickly become one of the hottest selling
products of the nineties. Recent figures indicate that over a billion dollars worth of books
are sold by mail every year. The easiest way to profit from this expanding
market is to provide customers with valuable information they can put to
immediate use. Many publishers are pulling in a fortune by selling useful
publications right out of their own homes. People get involved in this
business for many different reasons.
There are few businesses left that have all the above benefits. Selling
information, either in printed form or in electronic form, allows you to
start on a shoestring and quickly reinvest your earnings. Some information
marketers have been known to start with less than $100 and have quickly gone
on to build million dollar businesses.
If you buy information from wholesalers and resell it, you can make a profit
from the same information material over and over. If you write and print
your own informative publication, profit margins will even be better. While
a publication may only cost a couple of dollars to professionally produce,
it can contain thousands of dollars worth of information. It is usually NOT
the size or length of a publication customers are interested in, it is the
valuable information contained inside that they will gladly pay for.
Likewise, the manner by which you package and deliver the information to
your customers will determine your profit margins and how big you can
build your business.
You can start your business all by yourself. Not having to hire any employees
will save you time, effort, money, and bureaucratic government regulation.
As you will soon see, no special education or skills are required. In fact,
by using this software, you will probably know more about the industry than
most of the people out there.
SETTING UP YOUR BUSINESS
One of the best features of owning your own information-by-mail business is
that it is fun and easy to start and operate. You probably already own much
of what you will need to begin operations. Whether you live in an apartment
or house, you will need to set aside some space that you can designate as your
office. While there is no reason why you can't start from your kitchen table,
you should try to dedicate some space where you can set up a desk and chair
that you can operate your business from.
1. Business Name And Organization
Choosing a name for your new business should be your first step. This is an
important step because a well-chosen name can help you generate more sales
for your business. It is important to choose a business name that accurately
represents your business and gives an impression of trust and confidence.
For example, would you feel comfortable ordering a financial guide from
a business called "Wallace Book Company" or "Wallace Financials" ?
Simply pick a name that you would feel comfortable ordering a publication
from. If the business name is anything other than your own name, you will
need to file for a Fictituous Business Name (also known as DBA) registeration.
Choosing a form of legal entity or structure for your business should be your
next step. You can organize your business three ways:
PROPRIETORSHIP.... A proprietorship is the least expensive to form and
usually requires nothing more than a "D.B.A." (doing business as) name and
possibly a local business license.
This type of ownership allows you to have the maximum control over the
operations of the business, but also creates maximum liability. You will be
personally liable for all debts incurred by your business.
Since Proprietorship is the least expensive and easiest to form, it is
recommended for anyone going into the information marketing business for
the first time. You will make all final decisions and be responsible for all
aspects of your business. This is a popular choice for a one-person
operation.
PARTNERSHIPS.... If you need a business partner, either for financial
or expertise reasons, the best way to outline your business relationship,
from a legal standpoint, is to form your business as a Partnership.
CORPORATION..... A corporation is the most formal form of business that one
may consider. You can have a coporation whether you are the sole owner of
the business or you have partners.
This form of ownership is more expensive, but offers the least liability.
You must consider this form of business after your business has successfully
begun and reached consistent profitability. It is also advisable to consider
forming a corporation before applying for expansion capital through a bank or
other lending institution. The services of an attorney are recommended when
forming a corporation. The attorney can assist you in filling out the proper
forms and submitting them to the correct government agencies.
2. Mailing Address And Phone Number
Your mailing address can be either a P.O. Box or a street address. It is
recommended that you use a street address for your business. Studies have
shown that customers are more likely to order from an information-by-mail
business with a street address than from one with a P.O. Box. Customers feel
more confident about sending their hard earned money to someone they feel is
at a relatively permanent address. This is probably because of the few "fly
by night" con artists that have historically used P.O. Boxes as their
storefronts. If you must use a P.O. Box it is recommended that you at least
list a phone number in your advertisements. If you work out of an apartment,
using the word "suite" before your apartment number will make it sound more
professional.
If you prefer not to use your own street address, there are companies that
will rent you the use of their street address for mailing purposes. Some
companies can provide more than just mailbox rentals. These extra services
may include, sending and receiving faxes, voice mail, pagers, copying,
notary, packaging services and supplies and authorized shipping outlets for
some national shippers. Check your local yellow pages under "Mail Receiving
& Forwarding Services."
You should also consider getting a separate phone number for your new
business. It will help you keep in touch with the people who can make your
new business grow.
3. Bank Account & Merchant Account
After you have chosen a name for your business, properly formed and
registered your business, and decided on a business address and phone number,
you will need to open a business checking account at your local bank. You
will need to bring in a copy of your fictitious business name application
that you received from the county clerk.
Shop around to see which local bank offers the most services with the least
service fees. An important service feature that you should inquire about
from all the banks is how soon you can set up a credit card merchant account
and what the requirements will be. As your business grows, you will want to
be able to offer your customers flexible payment terms, including accepting
credit card orders. Most banks do not like to offer this service to
businesses that obtain the majority of their sales by mail or phone.
If you can't get a credit card merchant account, don't worry about it.
Once your business is more established and profitable, the banks are more
likely to work with you. Most banks should allow you to set up this kind
of service a year or two after opening the account -- the sooner the better.
WHAT INFORMATION TO SELL
Veteran informatiom marketers know that information on just about every
conceivable subject can be successfully marketed, specially if sold in
electronic form. Look at most direct-response magazines and you will probably
find companies offering valuable information on numerous topics.
The most profitable by far are How-To information, particularly those
financial in scope. These types of information products provide information
based on people's natural wants, desires and needs.
One type of information product is specialized knowledge of a particular
subject. This knowledge may be obtained through personal experience or
detailed research of a certain subject. The most practical strategy is
to write about something that you have personal experience with. It may be a
hobby, job, sport, vacation, recipe, or whatever you are knowledgeable about.
If you want to provide information about a particular field you have little
or no personal experience in, you will need to do some research. When doing
research, look for information in magazine and newspaper articles and books
on your chosen subject. Read as much information as you can until it begins
to sound repetitive. This is a good indication that you have read all that
there is to know about that subject. Take excellent notes and organize them
accordingly.
The second type of information that can be successfully sold through the mail
are self-improvement products. These products help by providing timely and
valuable information on a variety of subjects.
Marketers have found the subject of financial wealth and physical health to
be the most sought after topics in the mail order industry. Everyone has an
interest in excellent health and wants to learn how to increase his/her
financial status.
Practically any national publication with classified advertisements will
have offers selling information on these subjects. This type of information
is best provided by those who have professional experience in the respective
fields. However, if you do enough research, you will be able to write your
own informative publication.
Many of the most successful financial topics sold by mail relate to starting
one's own business. Global competition has caused many major companies to
downsize their workforce. This has resulted in many unemployed individuals
in search of new ways to earn a living. By providing information on how to
start one's own business, you can help these people get their lives back in
gear and make a profit in the process.
One particularly popular health related topic is how to lose weight and stay
physically and mentally fit. With health costs going through the roof with
no end in sight, many health minded individuals are in search of ways to
become healthier. By becoming healthier, expensive visits to your doctors
can be avoided. By providing accurate and timely information on how the
health minded individual can improve their lives, you can earn a healthy
profit.
Promoting Your Publication
Once you have obtained a software product that you can sell, you are ready
to tell the world about it. No matter how valuable your information is, you
will not make a penny from it unless you tell the people who want your
information how they can get it. This is the most critical and most often
misunderstood step in running your information marketing business.
Information sellers have tried to reach their target markets with many
different techniques. No matter what technique is used, information sellers
all try to cost effectively reach those people most likely to buy their
publications. Some of the most popular ways are listed below:
- Selling through magazine or newspaper advertisements
- Getting free publicity from magazines and newspapers
- Selling through book distributors, dealers and resellers
- Selling through radio and television advertisements
- Selling over the phone through telemarketing
- Selling through book stores or libraries
- Selling through direct mail packages
- Selling through computer bulletin board systems (BBSs) and online services
The above techniques have consistently shown cost effective results.
Dollar for dollar the best methods for selling your publication are by
advertising in magazines, sending direct mail packages, getting free
publicity, and using On-line services.
Direct Mail
The subject of direct mail cannot be ignored when discussing how to make a
profit in mail order. A properly designed and implemented direct mail
campaign can often outperform a classified advertising approach. The main
advantage of direct mail is that it is less expensive than classified
advertising to generate qualified leads. Whether you do a two-step,
combination, or telemarketing approach to generate inquiries for your
publication, it is important to remember that your only objective is to
obtain a name and address of a potential customer. The time, cost, and
effort in placing the advertisements and possibly setting up an 800 number
are often questioned when the only objective is to get a name and address to
put on your direct mail package. This is why many publishers rent mailing
lists of prospective customers to lower their costs and spend less time and
effort in getting orders.
In its simplest form, direct mail involves mailing the direct mail packages,
explained in the two-step advertising approach, to a mailing list of names and
addresses of prospective customers. Many mailing list brokers are willing to
rent you names and addresses of prospective customers, usually grouped by
their field of interest. These lists are usually rented for one time use.
Most brokers will put a few secret names and addresses in their list that
actually end up at one of the broker's addresses. By doing this they can
check to see if you have used the list more than one time.
Mailing list rates usually run between $40 to $75 per 1000 names. The names
and addresses usually are on peel and stick labels that you attach to your
direct mail envelopes. Some mailing list companies may offer their names on
computer disk for those who have a computer. If your mailing is small and
you have the time, you may want to hand address your envelopes. Hand
addressing is more personal and has been proven to increase the chance of
having your mail opened. Since the main cost in direct mail is the postage,
many direct mailers obtain a third class bulk rate permit from their local
post office that will allow them to save significantly on their postage costs.
This permit currently costs $75. If you get a bulk rate permit, make sure to
buy the lists that are sorted by consecutive zip code. This will help you
organize your mailing to comply with the bulk rate mailing requirements.
Mailing lists are usually created in one of three ways. They can be compiled,
built, or purchased. Compiled lists contain names that have been obtained
from published sources such as telephone books, directories, and newspapers.
These lists are good for reaching easy to categorize professionals such as
attorneys, accountants, and doctors. Built lists contain names that have
been obtained from exclusive sources such as a company's list of repeat
customers. These lists are good for reaching buyers of products that are
similar to your own line. Purchased lists contain names that have been
obtained based on their buying habits such as mail order buyers. These
lists are good for reaching people whose buying habits are similar to those
of your customers.
Usually, the more specific the list, the better the response rate will be.
Let's say you want to sell a directory of golf courses in the United States.
A mailing list containing names and addresses of golfers over the age of 55,
who make over $100,000 a year, travel, or are retired, will be a better list
to send your direct mail piece to than a generic list of sports enthusiasts.
The more specific the mailing list the more it will cost. It is also
important to specify that the lists have names and addresses less than 90 days
old. This will insure fresh prospects who have not seen many other book
offers. It is even better if you can get a list less than 30 days old.
The day on which your direct mail offer arrives is important. You do not
want your mailing to arrive during the weekend or at the end of the month.
People usually plan activities during the weekend and may not have time to
read your entire direct mail package. At the end of the month, people
usually have to pay bills and thus may not have enough money for your offer.
One other time of the year to avoid are the holidays. If possible, try to
have your mailing arrive Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.
Let's take a quick look at the advantages and disadvantages of a direct mail
and classified advertising campaign. Particular attention should be paid to
the cost, time, and effort required to obtain the inquiries. This is because
once the inquiries are obtained, the cost to mail your direct mail packages
is the same. The only exception to this is if you have obtained a third
class bulk rate permit to reduce your postage costs. Since mailers are
currently required to mail no less than 200 pieces at one time or 50 dollars
to qualify for bulk rates, those who use mailing lists can easily qualify.
If you are using classified advertisements to generate your names and
addresses, you will need to receive 200 inquiries every few days to
successfully utilize a third class bulk rate permit. This is only possible
in a major classified advertising campaign. An example of the costs of a
direct mail approach and a classified advertising approach follows:
Using BBSs And Online Services To Promote Your Publication
Using a computer bulletin board system (BBS) and online service to promote
your publication is the newest and most exciting method to get sales for your
business. The best part about it is that you don't have to own a computer or
even know anything about computers to take advantage of this explosive method.
Before the method is explained, you need to first understand what BBSs and
online services are and how they operate. Let's first take a look at BBSs.
What Are BBSes
BBSs are computer systems that are accessible through the phone lines by
those who have a computer and modem. There are over 50,000 BBSs in the
United States. Most BBSs are owned and operated by individuals and small
companies. While many are free to access, other than the cost of the call,
others charge small yearly subscription fees in order to have unlimited
access. These subscription fees are usually $10 to $20 a year. Users who
have a computer and modem connected to a telephone line can connect to these
BBSs to perform a variety of actions.
The main reason people connect to a BBS is to download and upload computer
files between their computer and the BBS. Downloading means copying a
computer file from the BBS to your computer while uploading means copying
files from your computer to the BBS. Some information on the BBS can be
read while connected online. Usually BBSs have computer files that are
related to a certain field of interest. Some of the larger and more advanced
BBSs allow users to send electronic messages to each other, known as
"e-mail." Other BBSs allow users to communicate in real time with others who
are connected. This communication is done by typing messages on the screen
that other users can see and respond to. These additional features are what
begins to separate BBSs from online services. Check your local library for
a directory of BBSs.
What are Online Services?
Most online services contain all the features of traditional BBSs. Some
online services actually began as small BBSs. For one reason or another they
developed into major operations, many with over 500,000 subscribers.
Currently there are fewer than 10 major online services in the United States.
The appendix contains a list of some of them. Some of the most popular ones,
include American Online, Prodigy, CompuServe, GEnie, and Delphi. Many offer
free trial periods to let you test their service, so call them for details.
Besides transferring files, sending e-mail, and "chatting" in real time with
others, online services offer users access to more information than
traditional BBSs. Many major newspapers and magazines have recognized the
power of online services and thus have made their articles electronically
accessible on some of the major online services. Some online services offer
users the ability to access stock quotes, make travel arrangements, purchase
products, and read the day's news, sports, and weather. Some companies offer
technical assistance through online services. Most of the online services
offer users forums in which users with similar interests can "chat" online
and transfer relevant computer files. These forums, also known as Special
Interest Groups (SIGs), are a proven way of targeting your market. Most
online services charge about $10 a month for a limited amount of connect
time. Online services are one of the first usable services to evolve from
the much talked about "Information Superhighway." Now that you understand
what BBSs and online services are and how they work, let's see how you can
use them to help sell your publications.
First of all, while BBSs can be used to help promote your publication, it is
recommended that you concentrate your marketing efforts on the online
services. The reason is the quality of the customers. Many of the users of
free BBSs don't have credit cards, are young, and are only interested in free
information. There are three advantages to online service subscribers:
- Since credit cards are usually required for service, most subscribers own
a credit card.
- Most subscribers are professional people with annual incomes above $30,000.
- By being a subscriber, they've proven their wiliness to pay for access to
information.
There are a couple of different ways to use online services for your
publishing business. The most popular involves the placement of electronic
classified advertisements on one or more of the online services. While some
may charge, others include this feature in your monthly fee. Let's take a
look at one of the ways you can use this technology to your advantage. It is
assumed that you own or have access to a computer and modem. If you don't
own or have access to a computer and modem, there are individuals and
companies that can do everything for you.
You sign up as a subscriber to the online service, paying about $10 per month.
This will allow you to use the online service for about five hours of connect
time a month. Although more time is available for an extra fee, five hours is
more than enough. First, you take a few minutes and simply write a classified
advertisement online. Although the online services call them classified
advertisements, there is often no rule as to how long they can be. Thus you
can type your entire sales letter in as your classified advertisement. When
you are done writing your advertisement, you post it under an appropriate
category. The categories are similar to those in newspaper's and magazine's
classified sections. Within hours, possibly minutes, millions of people can
access your advertisement! It is that simple!
The majority of electronic marketers use the two-step approach to getting
orders for their publications. Their classified advertisement generates
inquiries, and then these inquiries are sent additional information to
generate an order. Some publishers report getting 100's of inquiries
a day using this approach. Other publishers have successfully used the
one-step and combination-approaches.
As mentioned earlier, most online services give users the ability to send and
receive e-mail to other users of the online service. Thus if you want to get
inquiries, you can request readers of your classified advertisement to send
an e-mail to you with their name and mailing address. You can then either
mail them more information or respond by sending an e-mail back to them with
more information. You can send and receive your e-mail anytime you log on to
the online service with your computer. You can also list your mailing address
and phone number in your classified advertisement for customers who prefer not
to use e-mail. If they want to place an order, they can e-mail you their
credit card information, if you accept credit cards, or they can mail in
their payment. Once paid, you can mail them your publication.
Advertising on an online service is advantageous for a number of reasons.
The most obvious is that you can write and post your advertisement in minutes,
not weeks or months as with conventional magazines. It is also often free or
inexpensive to place electronic classified advertisements. Finally, it can be
instantly accessed by millions of buyers, often 24 hours a day.
Although some online services do not allow advertising, the majority are
beginning to offer advertising. For those that don't allow advertising, you
can usually upload files containing informative free reports or articles.
These files should contain newsworthy topics written like publicity releases.
When properly written they can help generate names and addresses that you can
mail advertising information to. Users of the online service can download
these files to their computer and read them after logging off the online
service. If they are interested in more information or in other related
reports, they can respond by calling or writing the author of the report.
These files can usually be any length. The longer it is, the longer it will
take a user to download to their computer. A report of 5 pages or less is
usually sufficient for most free reports.
These reports can be posted in what the online services call forums. Forums
are areas of the online service where people with special interests meet to
discuss relevant topics. These forums usually also have message and file
areas where more information can be read and downloaded. The file areas are
where you can upload free reports for others to download. These reports can
include your name and address where people can get more information. Posting
one free report may get you 100's of inquiries. Best of all, it will cost you
only a few minutes of your time to create and post the report.
The real power of an online service is its ability to cut or eliminate your
business expenses. Selling information by mail has three major expenses:
advertising, postage, and printing. Placing classified advertisements on
online services significantly reduces or eliminates your advertising costs.
Online services may also help you almost eliminate postage and printing costs.
Your publication, if created on a computer, can usually be attached to an
e-mail that you send to your customer. For example, no matter how your
customers pay for your publication, if they have an e-mail address, you can
send them an e-mail with your publication attached as a file. When the
customers receive your e-mail, they simply download the attached file to
their computer and read it after logging off the online service.
To show you how powerful this method can be, let's look at one example. This
example assumes that you can accept credit cards for your publication orders.
In less than 30 minutes, you can post an advertisement on the online service,
receive an e-mail for more information from an interested reader, e-mail them
back more information (maybe a four page sales letter), receive their credit
card information back in an e-mail from them, and then send them an e-mail
with the publication attached as a downloadable file. Other than your
monthly fee of about $10, you have spent no money on the advertisement,
postage, and printing. You eliminated all these costs! What other business
can offer that!
Although it is recommended you begin with online services, these same methods
can work for BBSs that offer posting of advertisements or free reports,
e-mail, and the ability to attach files to e-mail. Your publication, if
created on a computer, can also be uploaded to a BBS as a downloadable file.
This assumes the BBS owner allows you to store your file on his/her computer.
When BBS users place an order, they can simply download your entire
publication through the BBS. Your only real cost is the original phone call
to upload the file to the BBS. You are probably wondering what will stop an
individual from downloading your publication without paying for it. There
are two safeguards you can use.
First, you can encrypt the file with a password. Without the password, the
user cannot open the file and read it. When the customer pays you, you give
the customer the password. Software companies sell programs that will encrypt
your file so that it requires a password to be read. Second, you can upload
half of your publication that users can download for free. If they like it
and want the rest, they can order it by mail. You simply send them a computer
diskette that contains the rest of your publication.
-- Credit Card Services, Voice Providers, 800 Providers, & Online Services --
If you are unable to find a company that can secure you a merchant account,
record your sales message, provide an 800 number, and provide access to an
online service, there are some listed below that may be able to help. Make
sure to compare rates between companies until you get the best combination of
price and service.
-- Copy Stores & Book Printers --
The following companies can assist you in printing your publication. For
information that can be published in short reports, your local copy store can
probably provide all the services you will need. For more lengthy
publications and professional looking books, contact any of the following
book publishers. Most of them specialize in short runs, some as few as 50
copies. For a more complete list, visit your local library and request a
directory of book printers.
-- Direct Mail --
Should you decide to promote you publication by direct mail, you will need to
obtain some mailing lists to send your direct mail package to. There are
1000's of lists available and 100's of list brokers that can help you.
following is a list of brokers that specialize in mailing lists for direct
mail book offers. Also there are a couple of associations listed that you
may want to contact for more information.
