Why is There So Much Junky Stuff in the Mail These Days?

11/24/2013

I hear it all the time: "There is so much junk in the mail. Most of the stuff is crooked, hard to read, copied 100 times and ugly. I wouldn't order from them regardless of what they were selling." I agree! In fact, I have wondered what would possess people to actually send out some of this "junky" stuff. Don't they realize it will cost them a great loss in potential sales? Don't they care? Don't they realize that they are actually LOSING money?

However, remember the old saying: "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer?" While a poor person of today can be a rich person of tomorrow - a person that stays poor their entire life does so because they have made themselves that way. They have never learned the proper way to conduct business in order for it to turn a profit for them. Some of them may have tried and tried, but for some reason, they continually made bad decisions to keep themselves poor.

Let me give you a common example of what I mean. Around the first of the month, go grocery shopping. This is the time that people shop who are on fixed incomes and draw food stamp benefits. (I consider this the poor side of America.)

Now - watch their buying habits very carefully. Very rarely will you see someone use manufacturers coupons to save money. Very rarely do you see them purchase a brand name product (unless its cigarettes or beer.) Most of the poor people ALWAYS purchase unbranded products. These are fine in some circumstances, but if a poor person buys a unbranded name of laundry detergent or dishwashing liquid, it will run out 3 or 4 times faster than name brands like Dawn, Ivory and Palmolive. Sure, the name brand costs more in the beginning, but the long term effects will save the poor person lots of money!

What does going to the grocery store and watching poor people have to do with junky mail? Plenty! Junky mail is created by people who will never be more than they are today, OR they are people who have been taught by bad teachers and are trying to do what they are told. The fact remains through - ANYBODY can look at other things that come in the mail and learn from them. EVERYONE gets mailings from large companies that are written by professionals to sell products. All the mail order dealer has to do is READ them.

When a piece of mail arrives to you that appears professional and looks like it came from a company who had a lot of money - dissect it. Find a way that YOU can make your materials look like theirs for a price within your budget.

One problem that some dealers have who mail this "junky" stuff is that they don't believe they can look good without investing a lot of money. It doesn't take a lot of money to look good. Just like it doesn't take a lot of money to take a bath every day! You can still be poor but accomplish the same goal.

Another downfall for "junky" mail pieces is that quick-copy machines have made it easy for anyone to make copies. Copy machines are at most grocery and drug stores, libraries and convenient marts across America. Some people buy a desktop copier for $300 or $400 and use it to make copies of their ad sheets; while others order typesetting and make copies of their camera-ready ads so they'll have more copies. This is all fine and dandy if you are copying a first-generation master, but if you are running a program or commission circular dealership you can't get by with making quick copies and expect the quality to hold up. Suppose you have a typesetter design you a 8 1/2x11" circular for your program. You will give new dealers a copy of the circular from your original master the typesetter designed. The new dealer now has a second-generation copy. He or she signs up new dealers and makes a copy of your copy. Those dealers are now getting a third- generation copy, which is probably looking poor and worn-out by this time.

Now, the guy with the third-generation copy sends it to a tabloid publisher who prints and mails it in their publication. This particular printing is now in it's fourth-generation. Can you imagine what it looks like now? Don't believe me? Try it on a copier yourself. Take a camera-ready master and make a copy. Take the copy and make another copy from it. Compare the difference between this second copy and the camera-ready master. You'll see how the circular is deteriorating, regardless of how professional it was originally typeset! This is one reason mail order is looking "junky" and it's up to everyone to put a stop to it!

And don't make the decision to keep your business poor and non-productive! Instead, you could be the next Montgomery Ward!

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