A Dozen and One Ways to Reduce Postage
Never send a letter that weighs less than 30 gms. Five size 8-1/2x11 circulars can be mailed with a 1st class postage stamp. By using all 10 sides with a variety of offers you have a greater chance of receiving an order.
When you advertise, state the price of your product and add Plus Postage e.g. "A DOZEN AND ONE WAYS TO REDUCE POSTAGE" $1 plus stamp or SASE (self addressed stamped envelope). When inviting inquiries always say "For information send SASE".
Advertise that you will do paid mailing. Set a competitive price and recover some if not all of the costs involved in mailing your own offers.
Write a good plan or folio; then create a good ad to sell it. Or offer it to others on a "commission" or "all profit" basis and fill the orders for a SASE. Your offers can then go along for a free ride when you fill the orders.
Make up an interesting ad sheet. Use up some of the spaces for your own ads then sell enough ads to others to cover the cost of postage, printing, advertising etc.
Advertise a "Free Big Mail for Postage - the More Postage the More Mail". (Big mail consists of at least one mail-order publication plus a variety of circulars).
Do exchange mailing. You mail 100 of another dealer's circulars and they will mail 100 or yours.
Purchase an accurate postal scale. Then you will never add more postage than necessary OR you can use up the full value of the postage being used.
Reduce postage by at least 40% by using Bulk Mail. Inquire at the Post Office. This requires the mailer (U.S.) to sort their mail by state and zip code and mail at least 200 like pieces at one time.
Save all the used postage stamps off your mail then sell them to the agents who advertise in the mail-order publications. One such company is: Mel Enterprises, Box 3777, High River, AB, Canada T0L 1B0.
Stamps that have not been cancelled due to an error of the postal cancellation machine may be used again.
Accept stamps from another country. If you can't use them trade with a dealer from that country for stamps that you can use or buy something from them paying them with stamps of equal value.
Watch mail-order publications for dealers who have new stamps to sell at a reduced price.
Note: It is false economy to not send a SASE when making inquiries of other dealers. You are more likely to receive an answer much more quickly and it improves business relations.
The above material is NOT copyrighted. It may be copied then given away or sold. Your choice.
Related Articles
Ad Sheet & Printer Ripoff Report
If you've been in mail order for more than a month...chances are you've been ripped off by one or more ad sheet printers. This report won't make you a mail-order genius but might keep you from loosing your shirt prematurely.
Publishing Your Own Ad Sheet
When you have accumulated sufficient knowledge from preparing your own circulars and from co-publishing magazines and ad sheets of others, you may want to become a publisher.
How to Make Money with Circulars and Ad Sheets
Have you placed your display ad in a national magazine with over 20 million readers, then waited for the orders to pour in? But the days go by and there is little or no responses?
How and Where to Advertise
There have been entire volumes written on mail order selling. For printed information, the best way to learn HOW & WHERE to advertise is to go to your newsstand and check through all the magazines carrying large numbers of classified and space ads.
The Secrets of Million Dollar Sales Letters
Regardless of what you're trying to sell, you really can't sell it without "talking" with your prospective buyer. An in attempting to sell anything by mail, the sales letter you send out is when and how you talk to your prospect.
How to Get Free Printing
This method of getting free printing is currently being used by several different mail dealers. It works! Here's the plan: Run an ad similar to this in any mail order magazine:
Insider's Secrets to Obtaining Advertising...Absolutely Free
The opportunities for getting free advertising for your product or services are limited only by your own imagination and energies.
Facts & Figures About Magazine Ad Readership
Here are some interesting results of a study conducted on readerships of magazine ads. Most of the stats are from Starch INRA Hopper, Inc and other studies.
How to Turn Big Mails Into Profit-Making Ventures
What is a Big Mail? If you are a total beginner to the mail order world, you will have no idea what the term means. Before I knew better, I used to think a Big Mail was just a big envelope containing some type of free samples.
How to Put Together a Winning Direct Mail Package
Most business beginners think Direct Mail means purchasing a mailing list and mailing an advertising flyer to a bunch of folks they know absolutely nothing about. This IS NOT what Direct Mail marketing is.