When you select a product, your choice should be based upon your
knowledge of how and to whom you're going to sell. You may have
the greatest bargain in the world, but it will be of no value to
you if you don't know who's going to buy it, or how you are going
to get the word out about it.
The first rule of achievement of a fortune is to produce or buy
your product for pennies and sell for dollars. So after
preliminary market research to determine who'll buy your product,
the next question to answer is: How munch will the majority of
this market be willing to pay for your product?
For the sake of our discussion, let's say that you've written a
"How TO" manual on how to make $100,000 a year compiling and
selling mailing lists. You check with a number of printers and
get a production cost of $1.50 per book in lots of 1,000. You
figure that with sharp advertising, you can "sell a million" of
these books at $10 per copy, but that advertising will cost you
$1.50 per book. Thus far, the basic cost of your book is $3 per
copy.
Even though you will probably be the one selling most of your
books, you must realize that it will take you an awfully long
time to move out a million copies of this book. It will keep you
busy 25 hours a day, 8 days a week to do it all by yourself. So
the thing to do is recruit as many other people as you can to
help do the selling. This means setting up a dealer distributor
network.
To do this, you must make it worthwhile for other people to sell
your product. You offer a percentage of the sales price to each
book they sell for you. Generally, this is about 50% for each
single copy sold; 60% when purchased in quantity lots of 25 to 99
copies; and 75% when purchased in lots of 100 copies or more. The
important thing is to shave your profits to a minimum when you
have other people doing the work for you.
Let's use, the, our example of a $10 book that costs you $1.50 to
produce in lots of 1,000. For people who buy from you in lots of
100 copies, you could cut your profit to $1 per book, sell it to
them for $2.50 per book, and let them do all the advertising, as
well as the selling. Don't offer more than 50% on single copy
dropship sales, because you'll have to furnish this type of
dealer with selling materials, and continue to do most of the
advertising yourself.
Setting up your distributor program will require advertising and
a sales kit for the sellers. Thus, you should make up a series of
"Dealers Wanted" ads and place them in as many different
publications as you can.
The national "opportunity" magazines are the best place to place
your advertising for dealers. Remember, the ad should be a call
for dealers, distributors and independent extra income seekers.
Do not try to sell your product in this ad. Use it only to enlist
or recruit people to sell for you. Remember too, the more you run
your dealers wanted ad, and the more different publications you
run it in, the more people you'll get to sell your product for
you. The easiest way to go is with "Dealers Wanted"
advertisements in as many worldwide publications as possible.
You'll lose your shirt attempting to recruit sales people via
direct mail, and you'll never make any headway with just a
"Dealers Wanted insert" in each book you sell. If you want sales
people, you must advertise for them.
To actually get these interested opportunity seekers to sell your
product for you, you'll need a dynamic sales letter and seller's
kit to send out in response to the replies to your advertising.
This kind of sales letter is usually four pages in length,
printed on 11 by 17 inch paper, to sell the prospect on the idea
of selling for you, use the amount of space and paper that's
necessary.
If you've written sales letter properly, that's all there is to
it. Some people charge an "up-front" dealer's registration fee.
We don't recommend this, for a number of reasons--mainly because
it immediately eliminates a great many people who might want to
least try to sell the product for you, but are not willing to
"pay" to sell for you.
Some sellers charge $1 to $5 for details and complete dealership
set-up to offset the cost of the initial seller's kit and
postage. This is what we recommend at the start. If you offer
your program for nothing, you'll get as many responses from
curiosity seekers and opportunity collectors as from bona fide
prospects.
If you charge for the dealership set-up, you should include a
sample of your product. For the more elaborate sales kits and
expensive products, most people ask for deposit, which is
refunded after a certain number of sales are made by the dealer.
Any charges more than $5 should not be mentioned in your "Dealers
Wanted" advertisements, but held over and fully explained in your
sales.
This is how you set up a dealer/distributor network: Get other
people to sell your product for you! You can, and should be
prepared from the start, before you place your first dealers
wanted ad, and proceed only as you can afford the advertising
costs from the profits of sales of your product.
It's simple, and it's easy, and, it can make your rich! You had
to have real interest to have ordered this report. We hope that
it has motivated you with the entrepreneurial spirit, and that
you act on it!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
How To Write "General" Articles
Let the readers know what is in store for them by the " blaze" in
your first paragraphs of an article. There are two kinds of
articles; those which cover things in general and can be
published at most any time, and current events. The best place to
start with these kind of articles is the local newspaper with a
goal of syndication to many other media.
In order dor acceptance by the editor there must be a local twist
of personal interest to the readers. The ununusual and odd things
abot people and their vocation and gives the reader a departure
from the daily drudgery are the best and most saleable articles
to write about. This includes adventure,mystery, murder, money,
accidents, discoveries, economy, history, illness, jail,
jealousy, obsessions, quacks, struggles, taxes, etc.
You must attract attention from the first words when writing
feature stories for a newspaper type publication, where as a
novel or short story for a magazine builds to a climax and
generally clears up all the loose ends at completion
For a magazine article to sell to the publisher "action" in the
first and last part is a must, while the body copy is devoted to
narrative or explanations with a number of vital incidents to
keep the action alive. Keep the writing "flowing" in such a
manner the reader will anxiously read ahead to see what happens
next.
When it is possible to do so without distorting the truth, add
some fiction to your life stories to keep them interesting and
alive! Submit 8x 10 glossy print photos if possible as often the
picture will be the difference between acceptance and rejection.
It will pay you to get a good camera so you can snap pictures to
go along with the articles.
When submitting your copy, put your name, address and phone
number at the upper left cover of the first page and total number
of words containeed in the article on the upper right side. If
you are submitting an article to the newspaper a title will not
be necessary as the editor will usually determine after reviewing
the article.
Leave plently of room at the top of the pages, use double spacing
and wide margins so there is plenty of space for editing. Number
the pages at the top. preferable on the right hand side. Type
only on the front side of each page. Enclose a Stamped, self
addressed return envelope. Lay it out so your name always appears
with the article so that you will gain recognition as a writer.
There are millions of things to write about so you should nver be
without ideas for your articles. To get the ideas all you need to
do is go through the dictionary and write about anything and
everything that comes to mind, based on the more practical words.
your first paragraphs of an article. There are two kinds of
articles; those which cover things in general and can be
published at most any time, and current events. The best place to
start with these kind of articles is the local newspaper with a
goal of syndication to many other media.
In order dor acceptance by the editor there must be a local twist
of personal interest to the readers. The ununusual and odd things
abot people and their vocation and gives the reader a departure
from the daily drudgery are the best and most saleable articles
to write about. This includes adventure,mystery, murder, money,
accidents, discoveries, economy, history, illness, jail,
jealousy, obsessions, quacks, struggles, taxes, etc.
You must attract attention from the first words when writing
feature stories for a newspaper type publication, where as a
novel or short story for a magazine builds to a climax and
generally clears up all the loose ends at completion
For a magazine article to sell to the publisher "action" in the
first and last part is a must, while the body copy is devoted to
narrative or explanations with a number of vital incidents to
keep the action alive. Keep the writing "flowing" in such a
manner the reader will anxiously read ahead to see what happens
next.
When it is possible to do so without distorting the truth, add
some fiction to your life stories to keep them interesting and
alive! Submit 8x 10 glossy print photos if possible as often the
picture will be the difference between acceptance and rejection.
It will pay you to get a good camera so you can snap pictures to
go along with the articles.
When submitting your copy, put your name, address and phone
number at the upper left cover of the first page and total number
of words containeed in the article on the upper right side. If
you are submitting an article to the newspaper a title will not
be necessary as the editor will usually determine after reviewing
the article.
Leave plently of room at the top of the pages, use double spacing
and wide margins so there is plenty of space for editing. Number
the pages at the top. preferable on the right hand side. Type
only on the front side of each page. Enclose a Stamped, self
addressed return envelope. Lay it out so your name always appears
with the article so that you will gain recognition as a writer.
There are millions of things to write about so you should nver be
without ideas for your articles. To get the ideas all you need to
do is go through the dictionary and write about anything and
everything that comes to mind, based on the more practical words.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
How To Write Anything and Get PAID For It
A Beginner’s Guide to Freelance Writing
From Your Home!
OVERVIEW
Have you ever heard the expression, "everyone has a book in
them that's trying to get out?" What does this really
mean? Not everyone writes books, do they?
No, not many attempt the long, difficult process of writing
a book-length manuscript. But a growing number of
individuals are being paid for their writing -- and they've
never attempted to write a book!
Why? Think about it! When you're driving to work in the
morning, listening to the radio, what do you hear? People
talking, right? It may surprise you that very little of
that talk is spontaneous. The radio people work from
written material, which means ...? Yes, someone has to
WRITE the information down to be read over the airwaves.
Here's another example. Your mother's birthday is coming
up. What do you do? You buy a card. Did you ever wonder
who wrote the cards you look through when you're search-ing
for the right message? Well, it's not a big company where
people sit around all day writing cards. The writers of
greeting cards could live next door to you since most of
the material is submitted on a freelance basis.
How about your mail? Do you have days when you receive an
endless amount of junk mail? Letter after letter of come-
ons trying to get you to respond are not always thrown out.
Some people read them and do inquire about the product or
service mentioned. More importantly, those letters and
flyers are WRITTEN ... by someone!
You're getting the idea -- that writing is a common part of
everyday business life. From the brochures telling you
about savings accounts down at your local bank to the
billboard you drive by every morning on the way to work to
the bumper stickers you read on the back of the cars in
front of you ... all of this is written by somebody. Why
couldn't it be you?
Writing is an essential part of everyday life. There are
scores of opportunities waiting out there for anyone
interested in making some money through the written word.
It's not just Stephen King and Danielle Steele. Many of
today's successful freelance writers are completely unknown
simply because their name doesn't appear on their work.
Yet you see it every day from television commercials to
newspaper advertising.
Don't have any experience? Nonsense! Everybody writes,
from the notes you send with your holiday cards to lists
you make before grocery shopping. You probably don't
realize how much you write in a given week. In so doing,
you are likely adjusting your writing depending on the
subject or audience. When you send a note to school with
your child, you're writing in a certain style that's likely
different than a note you'd send to a relative.
This is exactly what writers do ... they alter their
writing content based on their subject or audience. So who
says you can't write for a living?
There's no end to the kind of writing you can do. However,
we do have a few suggestions for you to get started
thinking about a career, part-time or full, in the writing
field. As you review these pages, some idea may jump off
the page as something you could do. Great! More
importantly, don't think because you're never had a writing
lesson that you can't do it. All it takes is practice,
practice, practice and a determined desire to get it right.
If you're got the drive, writing may well be your career.
RESUME WRITING -- FOR OTHERS!
Nearly everyone, at one time or another, has written a
resume in preparations for a job search. So why not start
there? How many times have you done your own resume? If
you've written it at least once, think of all the other
people who have sat down to attempt it.
What an endless list of possible clients! Not matter how
large or small the town in which you live, hundreds and
even thousands of people are in need of resumes. People
change jobs a lot today, through their own wishes or due to
circumstances beyond their control like a downsize, merger,
buy-out or similar business adjustment. Besides, people
don't often keep their resumes up to date.
So, we've established the need -- resumes for people. Now,
can you write them?
Why not? If you haven't done your own lately, do it now!
Practice on yourself. There are a number of books that
offer help in formatting a "Modern" resume that you can
check out at your local library or bookstore. There are
employment resumes which lists your experience by positions
you've held. There are also functional resumes which lists
your qualifications by skill, with your employment history
listed at the end but of lesser significance to the overall
message you're trying to send, which is "hire me!"
The business world is increasingly competitive in the
number of positions available as modern technology has
eliminated some positions while creating a need for others.
The key today is specialization and a well-written resume
can help you "stand out" in a potential employer's eyes.
Since many individuals are either unaware of a résumé’s
importance or lack the con-fidence in their ability to
write a competitive resume, a resume writing service can
address both needs. Proper advertising of the service can
educate people as to the résumé’s importance, while
advertising alone may well generate more calls than you can
handle from people who know a good resume is crucial and
want some "expert" help in constructing their
"masterpiece".
Employers use resumes today to narrow down the list of
people they want for an interview. Specialization has
employers looking for particular talents, but often a
memorable resume can help get an interview even if all of
their "requirements" for the job aren't present.
You don’t need much to get a resume service off the ground.
First, you should study the various books on how to write a
good resume. Practice a few formats and have samples ready
for potential customers to review.
Second, you will need a computer with a word-processing
program or even just a good memory typewriter. If you have
a computer and can afford a laser printer, all the better.
But remember, you're not in the printing business, you are
simply creating the resume for your client.
Finally, this is an easy business to operate out of your
home. If you have an area sufficient to put a computer or
typewriter, you can start. Pick up a file cabinet, or the
smaller, plastic file boxes to store client files. Your
client's need for a resume probably won't end one effort.
Another job search is likely to occur down the road and the
client will probably come back to you for an update,
especially if they were successful getting a job the first
time around. Keeping a client's past resume on file can
assist you for further work later.
As you research your resume writing, make a list of verbs
that are common for resume writing, such as:
- administered - managed
- analyzed - operated
- completed - organized
- coordinated - prepared
- created - started
- designed - supervised
- developed - trained
- evaluated - wrote
These lists will assist you in writing your resumes very
quickly without constantly referring to a thesaurus. Time
is of the essence to a freelance writer; there are
shortcuts to producing quality work without spending hours
and hours on a given piece.
You're ready to start, now you must attract clients. Put
together a business card and a flyer and start tacking them
up on every community bulletin board in town. Send them to
large company personnel departments who may refer employees
who are being laid off. Advertise in the classified of
your local newspaper and in the smaller, often free
publications that are circulated around town like the
"Pennysaver". Tell friends and family members and give
them your card/flyer. They can spread the word among
friends -- someone's bound to need help.
What should you charge? A simple one-page resume could be
priced as low as $25. The more complicated the resume, the
more you charge. Much depends on the amount of work you
have to do. Keep track of the time it takes you to
complete a resume -- the more work, the longer hours, the
higher your price.
WORKING WITH LOCAL BUSINESSES
Now that you understand the idea of the versatility of
freelance writing, let's turn our attention to
organizations you will come in contact with through your
resume services business.
As individuals come to you with resumes, make a list of all
the local company names you write on the resumes. This is
your next prospecting list.
Companies, particularly small ones, have a great need for
writers. Think about it! Every day, a business is
corresponding -- with a customer, a potential customer or a
supplier. That correspondence often takes the written
form.
Well-written correspondence can make the difference between
getting a job, landing a customer, increased growth in the
business. Writing’s importance can never be over-looked.
Yet the majority of people, even business people whose
prosperity de------pends on customers, place little
emphasis on good writing and spend very little time at it.
Your opportunities here are many. Businesses write
letters, create brochures, advertise their services, send
out direct mail to potential customers; in short, they
WRITE!
You'll have to alter your Resume Services business card or,
better yet, create a new business card to advertise your
"all-purpose" writing services. Prepare samples of
different type of writing you can do. Instead of throwing
out that junk mail, save those letters and practice
perfecting their idea -- to get a potential customer to
respond to what's in the letter. Have a family member of a
friend bring home samples of correspondence from their
places of work. Read them and practice writing business
letters. Go to the library and check the reference works
on writing good letters. Read the newspapers and magazines
for sample advertising copy. Take a product you like and
write an advertisement for it. Practice! Practice!
Practice!
Correspondence: Your best clients here are small
businesses, sole proprietors or partnerships who may not
have the time to spend on their correspondence. Contract
with them to do their written work. You can probably
charge $25-100 for a letter. Businesses may have form
letters they use, and you can redesign them for the better.
The quality of correspondence is often an indicator, to a
client or a potential client, of the company's
professionalism. You can help businesses increase their
sales simply by improving their correspondence.
Brochures: Most businesses try to sell their services
through the use of a brochure. Brochure writing and design
is not something that takes ages to perfect.
The most important consideration is identifying the purpose
of the brochure. Is it to sell a client on the company
itself, or a specific product or service? Once the subject
is identified, then you can pinpoint the key features of
the specific idea that should be emphasized.
Keeping brochures simple is important. Writing everything
there is to know about a com-pany, product or service may
seem great, but it is usually ineffective because it's too
much for a casual reader to take in. Simplicity, on the
other hand, can trigger a potential client's interest and
have them seeking out the company to ascertain more about
the product or service identified within the brochure.
Once they call, the company has a better chance of
transforming that curiosity into a new customer.
As you begin to do writing, you will work with other
professionals in the field such as graphic artists. These
are individuals whose artwork can help create a terrific
bro--chure. But, for small businesses, it is often
convenient to find the copywriter or graphic artist in one
person. For that reason, the use of a computer has great
potential rewards. There is a wide variety of "desk-top
publishing" software that can be used for both writing and
graphic design. There are specific programs that design a
brochure.
Being able to offer the whole package will be attractive to
the business. Brochure writing can bring you a nice
paycheck per piece, as high as $500-1000 for some elaborate
pieces.
As a writer, your object is to put the message within the
brochure across effectively. Remember -- keep it simple.
The easier to read and comprehend, the higher the likely
response to the piece.
Advertising: The art of advertising is only slightly
different from the brochure. In a brochure, you have more
time and space to put your message across. With
advertising, only a few words. Advertisements must stop
the reader and thus need a "grabber" headline. You must
always remember the purpose of the advertisement. It's not
to SELL anyone, but to attract enough INTEREST to get the
person to call for more information. Then the real selling
can start!
There are words that are consistently effective in pulling
in an audience and initiating a response. Here’s a short-
list:
- amazing - profitable
- easy - secret
- free - simple
- now - privileged
- special offer - win
- incredible - don't wait
- make money - startling
Businesses need to attract clients. Advertising can do
that if done well. This is where you come in. Read
advertisements! Which ones do you respond best to? Try
this: cut out a few of the advertisements you like best
and show them to several friends. Record their level of
interest and rank the results. You'll probably see a
pattern where one or two of the advertisements emerge at
the top of everyone's list. Study those to see why. Very
likely, you'll see that the use of a few key words and the
message they imply will prompt people to respond positively
to those ads.
Direct Mail: Many businesses do direct mail as a method of
acquiring new customers. These works must be written well
to achieve the type of response that will make the effort
worthwhile financially since postage and printing costs
make it an expensive method of advertising .
But it works! Well-written direct mail can bring in
hundreds and thousands of new customers . Your writing
efforts are not merely a cost in constructing a direct mail
letter; in fact you can help a company earn substantially
more as a result of a successful direct mail cam-paign.
Effective direct mail creates an image in a client's mind.
That vision is primarily one in which the person's life
will be enhanced by the purchase of the product or service
being advertised. This is your goal -- to help the
potential customer see how much better things will be
because of what you are "advertising" in the letter.
Here are ways to make a direct mail letter effective.
-The opening of the letter should be treated with the same
reverence as a headline. You have to grab the reader's
attention quickly and make them want to keep on reading.
It mat be the outside of the direct mail envelope that
starts the process. If it's good enough, the person tears
open the envelope and begins reading. Then the headline
/first paragraph of the letter must create the same
effect -- to keep the person reading.
-There must be reasons to keep reading, usually in the
form of some benefits. Because the person opened the
envelope, there is a free offer. Then, when reading the
first paragraph, more benefits jump out -- the value of the
service or product, perhaps. Put in a good "benefit" with
each paragraph -- and keep the paragraphs short!
- Don’t offer benefits that aren’t believable. Don’t make
promises you can’t keep. The idea is not to make people
skeptical, but to see the tangible benefits you offer are
valid. To this end, be specific. General terms usually
provoke disbelief, while actual specifics are shown to have
more honest-sounding appeal.
- Understand the product or service yourself. Would you
buy it? If so, why? If you understand why you’d buy it,
you can set about convincing people using the same
thoughts.
- Use third party affirmations, if available. If it’s only
your copy, it won’t leave as good an impression as the
insertion of a few "outside" quotes from others, testifying
to the effectiveness of the product or service.
- Simplicity sells! Short sentences. Short paragraphs.
Easy words. You’re not out to win the Pulitzer Prize. You
only want individuals to respond to your letter. They will
if they understand the benefits of doing so. Keep it
simple!
- Be explicit with your instructions. The letter must not
only detail the great benefits, but tell the person exactly
what they must do to obtain them. Be specific and make it
easy to respond -- including a postage-paid card or a toll-
free number are usually great methods.
- Freebies earn responses. Giving something away usually
helps the response dramatically.
- Convince the reader that the product or service being
advertised is backed up by a strong company that guarantees
the results and benefits detailed in the letter. Readers
must be convinced of the authenticity and the ability to
back up the strong comments within the letter.
Letters can be 2 to 4 pages in length or even longer and
you can probably charge $50-100 per page to write the copy.
This is a small investment for a business in exchange
for the sales growth direct mail can achieve.
In summary, small local businesses are a great source of
writing work for you in a variety of forms.
THE "READER’S DIGEST ANGLE"
Successful writers usually begin by writing about
themselves or events which have happened to them. The
familiarity about the material makes it easier to write and
there is an air of authenticity about the writing for
obvious reasons. It is these life experiences which
even the beginning writer can fashion into small works that
can be published.
Anyone that has children has plenty of humorous stories to
relate. As television personality Art Linkletter used to
point out, "Kids say the dandiest things." If you have a
funny story like that, try writing it down. Or if a friend
tells you a tale in a similar vein, record it and read it
back to them. Practice writing these short pieces.
Short anecdotal type writing must relate the story quickly.
Short means short! Work at cutting out all the excessive
words you can. Trim the piece to its "bare bones," yet
don’t lose the humor in it. It’s almost like writing good
comedy bits for stand-up comedians. Their material is
never overly long. Henny Youngman and Rodney Dangerfield
talk in rapid-fire delivery, a joke to every sentence.
This is the kind of writing you would ideally do since
there are plenty of paying outlets for these funny works.
The best known "is Reader’s Digest", who has an array of
popular columns like "Life in these United States", "Humor
in Uniform" and "Campus Comedy", among others that pay $400
for each anecdote of less than 300 words (1 page, double-
spaced is about 250 words). That’s good pay, but you
should realize that "Reader’s Digest" receives thousands of
submissions each month. If your anecdote is one they think
is publishable, it will probably go on a waiting list. But
this is one outlet.
For other outlets, check the book, "Writer’s Market" for
the current year. They list all the outlets for short,
funny pieces. You might also try the magazine, "Writer’s
Digest", which has a list of specialty publishers each
month. Contact the magazine to see which issue lists the
short pieces such as these. Very often, they publish
articles about how to get the short works published.
To help trigger thoughts about stories you can relate, try
compiling a list of phrases which can help you recall a
story or two that could be publishable. Showing the list
to friends can also help them remember a story that you
could use. Here’s a few phrases to get you started:
- repairs - skiing trip
- job hunting - fishing trip
- mail delivery - sports activities
- holiday gifts - military service
- car pooling - local tavern
- doctor’s appointment - grocery shopping
- dentist’s appointment - shopping (general)
- fast food - in-laws
- kitchen cooking - neighbors
- substitute teaching - scouts (girl, boy, cub)
Short anecdotes can be the basis for a couple of paragraphs
that fit into a "Reader’s Digest", or the basis for a
longer article that other magazines (usually family-
oriented) may have some interest in. It is the easiest
method for beginning writers to start acquiring good
writing habits by actually writing over and over again.
It’s easy because the material is familiar. You’re not
laboring over research to achieve a proper article.
Keep in mind the supreme rule of successful writing: keep
it simple! Simple sells, especially with short, humorous
pieces like these.
KEEPING IT SHORT AND SIMPLE
As long as we’re on the subject of simplicity, there are
other types of writing that lend themselves to the short
and simple principle. Items such as bumper stickers, radio
spots and greeting cards are all outlets for simple, short
phrases or paragraphs that can put across a message--
preferably a humorous one--very quickly.
Did you see the movie "Forrest Gump"? In this film, the
movie’s hero answers a reporter’s question with a bumper-
sticker-like phrase. The reporter stopped short, as it
dawned on him what a great phrase for a bumper sticker he
had just heard. The next scene in the movie is a car
traveling down a highway sporting the phrase on a bumper
sticker.
That’s how it happens. There are numerous bumper sticker
opportunities. Busi-nesses, associations, charities and
other organization use the bumper sticker to deliver a
memorable phrase to the general public. What a simple,
great, easy way to advertise!
If you are familiar with any local group, you may have an
idea for a bumper sticker advertisement for them. Try
playing with catch phrases in your head. If one occurs to
you that you like, try it out on your family first and then
your friends and co-workers to see their reaction. If it’s
overwhelmingly positive, approach the organization with
your idea. They’d pay for advertising, so why not for
bumper sticker ideas?
Some slogans are just funny and don’t necessarily apply to
any type of advertising. Try these phrases out on some
people and see if they like it. Again, if the response is
heavy on the positive side, you may have an idea you can
sell yourself. Bumper stickers aren’t that expensive to
print and if you sell 50 or so, you’ll likely make back
your investment and start to make a profit.
Be sure it is a marketable slogan, though. A beach theme
would do well in a community by the sea. A slogan about
the forest would play well in the northwest. The heart-
land may buy bumper sticker themes about farms. Pet themes
have universal appeal.
Use your imagination! Be creative! That’s what this type
of writing is all about! The whole trick to it is to think
of the phrase, not write a lengthy piece. If you’ve
written advertising or read our suggestions for good
copywriting earlier in this text, remember the key to
successful advertising was the headline. A bumper sticker
is nothing more than a good, snappy headline.
Successful bumper stickers can lead you to using a great
slogan on coffee mugs, hats, T-shirts, banners and similar
low-cost, easy to sell material. They make great handouts
for business sales meetings and contests. A little
creativity can go a long way.
In addition to bumper stickers, there are similar chances
to write short, catchy phrases, sentences and short
anecdotes for the radio.
You’re probably familiar with your local radio stations.
You’ve heard many of the disc jockeys, usually the morning
drive-time ones, do their usually zany bits to attract a
listening audience. Since ratings drive the advertising
which makes the station pro-fitable, the better the disc
jockey’s material, the greater the potential for higher
ratings.
These disc jockeys quite often think of their own material,
but are also willing to look at bits written for them.
More importantly, the radio stations are often willing to
buy comedic pieces for their radio personalities.
The best approach is to familiarize yourself with a radio
disc jockey’s particular style and work with it to create
your comedy. There may be particular themes or issues a
particular disc jockey likes to relate and you can build
your material on it. Don’t take the disc jockey out of his
or her regular character, simply blend your material in
with theirs.
You may be able to create a character for the disc jockey
to play off of during comedic exchanges between music
plays. There was a radio personality that we remember that
had an alter ego, complete with a different voice, called
"Mr. Friendly". Mr. Friendly was anything but and the
radio disc jockey would tape this character’s sen-tences
and phrases ahead of time and play them in response to
questions or comments he personally made during his show.
The results sounded like an actual conversation exchange
and were often hilarious as a result. This is the type of
creation that could earn you a sizable amount of money if
it works well with the radio disc jockey.
So, the next time you’re listening to the radio, think
about the type of things you’d say if you were on the radio
and then blend it in with the disc jockey’s style. You may
be sur-prised at the reception you’d receive if you wrote a
few pieces for them to use on the radio.
Disc jockeys are always on the lookout for good material to
use on their shows. It’s not unlike all the great
comedians you’ve seen that have writers supply them with
their lines. What these individuals are best at is
delivering the lines, but very often someone else has
written it for them. Why not you?
Another short writing option for you is the greeting card
market. Did you know that nearly 50% of the first class
mail market consist of greeting cards? Cards are not
limited to birthdays and holidays any more. You name the
event, there is a card for the occasion.
Three companies dominate the card market today, according
to "Writer’s Market". These companies are Hallmark,
American Greetings and Gibson Greetings. They are your
primary markets, although you may well find it easier to
break in to one of the smaller card companies listed in
publications like "Writer’s Market" and magazines like "The
Writer" and "Writer’s Digest" which are available at the
newsstand or your local library.
Women are the traditional card buyers by an overwhelming
number. Visit a few card racks yourself to see the
different styles under the various company names. This way
you can find which style you feel most comfortable in
pursuing and can direct your output at the proper
distributor.
Card companies are always on the lookout for promising new
material. Again, these are short pieces which require
quick, snappy thoughts that tell the message clearly and
rapidly. It’s the same style as headline, bumper sticker,
anecdotal type writing and if you’re doing those
successfully, greeting cards may be a good choice for you.
Each editor of a card company may prefer to see your
submissions in a particular type of format so once you’ve
identified the companies you believe you can write for, end
in a request for their writing and submission guidelines
along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope for
their convenience. In so doing, you’ll save yourself the
trouble of submitting material outside of their usual
format which they’ll discard.
Some like individual card ideas submitted separately while
other prefer a list of ideas at one time. Typical
categories of cards are:
-humorous, either by written word or visual gag. These are
exceedingly popular and ones that are difficult to write
and therefore in demand constantly.
-traditional, which is usually the sentimental type of
verse constructed message. These are generally the longest
pieces of writing, often poetic type verses.
-contemporary, which is also humorous, dominated mostly by
one-liners about modern society while also conveying the
specific message - birthday, anniversary, holi-day, etc.
-personal, which most often is a blank card inside for the
buyer to writer their own message. The focus of your work
is to come up with an appropriate picture or phrase (or
both) on the front of the card.
Here are various reasons cards are sent, to help set your
thoughts towards particular ideas that are easy for you to
express:
Holidays:
- New Year’s Day - Father’s Day
- Valentine’s Day - 4th of July
- St. Patrick’s Day - Halloween
- Passover - Thanksgiving
- Easter - Hanukkah
- Mother’s Day - Christmas
Special Occasions:
- Birthday - Anniversary
- Belated Birthday - Graduation
- Get Well - First Communion
- New Baby - Confirmation
- Congratulations - Bar Mitzvah
- New Job - Engagement
- Vacation/Trip - Retirement
- Sympathy - Thank You
General:
- Friendship - Good-Bye
- Missing YOU - Haven’t Heard From You
- Thinking of You - Sorry I Haven’t Written
Don’t forget that many of these categories have sub-
categories with variations like "mother", "father",
"niece", "nephew", "son-in-law", and so forth. Cards can
also be from "the two of us", "your brother" and other
people. There are even card for single parents.
There are different types of card styles, too, like "pop-
ups", children’s cards and bawdy humor for adults only.
Don’t limit yourself. Experiment with all types of writing
styles and themes. You’ll eventually establish a comfort
level and a knack for a par-ticular category.
Bumper stickers, radio comedy bits and greeting cards.
Think short and you may well be on your way to a successful
freelance writing career.
FROM FAMILY LIFE TO CHILDREN’S STORIES
Earlier in this text, we suggested that your conversations
with your children or younger relatives might make good
short anecdotal tales for submission to outlets such as
"Reader’s Digest". There are many more children’s
magazines that are possibilities for this type of writing.
Children’s stories are not only the humorous recollection,
but can be both fictional and non-fiction articles that may
be easy to write because they are, again, for your PER-
SONAL EXPERIENCE! If you are a teacher, you probably have
an endless source of material to put down on paper.
You can write about children or you can write to children
for them to read. It all depends on your subject matter
and your angle. If, for example, you’ve come with a good
method of getting your child to clean his or her room, this
might make a good short article for a magazine like
"Growing Parent" or "Christian Parenting Today".
You may have a story about your child’s first date, which
you can turn into an article about teens and dating that
kids themselves might like to read in a magazine like
"Seventeen" or "Teen". Parents, too, might enjoy it, so
you can try submitting it to both types of publications.
If you’re writing towards a teen audience, you’ll have to
keep the story on a written level that your young readers
can comprehend. There are easy ways to do this, by using
no more than three syllable words and writing in short,
sharp sentences and brief paragraphs. Simply reviewing
spelling books for various age levels will help you develop
a vocabulary list that will be useful when directing your
piece at a specific audience/age-group level.
Writing for children should be done in a style that
empathizes with them, as if it were written by someone
their age. Don’t write like a parent! If you’re trying to
get a message across, do it in a way another child might
tell it.
Parent magazines are quite different and here you can write
for an adult audience, although the simple, spare style
will always work for you (and, quite often, the editor) as
it is easy to read. Assume, as you would with children,
that the parent needs even the most basic explanation. A
common mistake writers make is to assume that a reader
under-stands a particular subject on some level already.
Don’t make this mistake! Explain yourself and assume the
reader knows nothing. You’re usually teaching when you
write and repetition helpfully reinforces the subject
matter or the specific key points you wish to illustrate.
Assuming the reader is not conversant with the subject is
your best bet.
Here are some possible magazines for submissions:
PARENTAL: Aimed at the parents
American Baby Magazine
475 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016
Christian Parenting Today
P. O. Box 3850
Sisters, OR 97759
Expecting
Gruner & Jahr USA Pub.
685 3rd Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Growing Parent
Dunn & Hargitt, Inc.
P.O. Box 1100
Lafeyette, IN 47902
Home Education Magazine
P.O. Box 1083
Tonasket, WA 98855
Parenting Magazine
301 Howard Avenue, 17th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
Parents Care
P.O. Box 1563
Lancaster, CA 93539
Parents Magazine
685 3rd Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Today’s Family
27 Empire Drive
St. Paul, MN 55103
TWINS
P.O. Box 12045
Overland Park, KS 66212
CHILDREN’S MAGAZINES:
Businesship
Business Kids Suite 1080 E.
1300 I Street
Washington, DC 20005
Exploring Magazine
Boy Scouts of America
P.O. Box 152079
Irving, TX 75015
Guide
55 W. Oak Ridge Drive
Hagerstown, MD 21740
The New Era
50 E. North Temple
Salt Lake City, UT 84150
Keynoter
Key Club International
3636 Woodview Trace
Indianapolis, IN 46268
Magazine for Christian Youth
United Meth. Publ. House
201 8th Avenue S., Box 801
Nashville, TN 37202
Seventeen
850 3rd Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Teen Magazine
8490 Sunset Boulevard
Hollywood, CA 90069
Transcend
4 Daniels Farm Road
Suite 134
Trumbull, CT 06611
Youth Update
St. Anthony Mess. Press
1615 Republic Street
Cincinnati, OH 45210
SELF-PUBLISHING FOR PROFIT
Now that you’ve mastered the shorter forms of writing,
perhaps you’re ready to write a book-length work of fiction
or non-fiction. If you’ve developed strong writing skills
over the course of your writing for profit career, you will
likely be able to master the discipline necessary to write
a longer work.
The problems are more likely to lie with getting the book
published. It is often easier to write a book today than
to see it finally get published. Writers often see
multiple numbers of rejection when submitting to book
publishers. Some persist and do well like Richard Bach who
survived more than fifteen rejections before getting
"Jonathan Livingston Seagull" published. Many others
simply give up.
There are other options, however. Getting a book published
by a large New York firm is probably the least likely way
to break into book publishing. Many of these houses are
owned by large corporations today whose interest lies
primarily with pub-lishing blockbusters, book that can sell
50-100,000 copies in hard cover. Since few books by
established authors do this, the beginner’s chance in this
market has virtually disappeared.
In addition, you need an agent in order to approach a large
publisher like Random House or Doubleday. If you try to
submit directly, your manuscript will likely lay unread.
Some may even give you the courtesy of mailing it back.
Still others will send you a postcard essentially saying,
"Thanks, but no thanks".
The editorial director of the popular magazine,
"Publisher’s Weekly", believes that self-publishing is the
best alternative for new writers to get a book out there
for others to see. If an author is convinced of the
quality of his or her book, and is receiving dozens or
rejection letters, this editor suggests publishing the book
yourself. Com-paratively simple equip-ment, he says, can
be used to turn out a reasonable facsimile of a finished
book.
This establishes a writer as serious about one’s work and
can lead to publishers looking at the author’s future
manuscripts more closely. It always looks good to say
you’ve been published, even if it is self-published.
Some self-publishing books have gone on to bigger and
better things. "Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations," a
standard reference work now was originally self-published
by the author as was the writer’s bible, "The Elements of
Style". They sold well, publishers noticed them and bought
the rights to publish it in greater quantity.
If you decide to go ahead with self-publishing you book,
you will have to be prepared to make an investment. It
isn’t cheap to publish, but you can save on costs by doing
as much work ahead of the printer as possible.
First, desk-top publishing software can often let you type
set you own book yourself. Or, if not, you should try and
type your book on a computer and furnish a typesetter with
a disk. It will make it much easier, quicker and less
expensive for the typesetter to actually lay the book out
in its eventual published format.
Next, work with a graphic artist to design the cover. A
photograph of you as author will likely suffice for the
back cover copy.
Print your book in soft cover. It’s cheaper to print and
thus you can keep your book priced lower for resale. This
could improve the volume of your actual sales. The most
popular book size is 5 ½ by 8 ½ inches. Depending on
typeset size, there are usually 350-400 words per page. It
is easy to fit this book on your shelf, in a briefcase, or
an overnight bag for airplane reading, thus making it a
good size to market. Many original soft cover paperbacks
are in this standard size.
Have the book perfect-bound on 60 pound offset paper. The
text printing should be black. The cover should be in 2
color while the cover stock should be 10 point coated, one
side only.
Look for a printer that can print a book. Only a few of
them can! Get at least three or four price quotes. The
unit cost of each book will vary depending on the volume of
copies you print. 5,000 books, for example, will have a
much smaller per book cost than will printing of 500 books.
The reason is due to the high cost of setting the machine
to print. Once the press is running, you simply pay for
the paper and materials.
Don’t have 5,000 books printed, however, simply to save on
your unit cost. If you don’t anticipate selling that many
books, don’t order that many. Judge how many you think you
can sell and then have that number printed. You can always
do a second printing cheaper than the first since the set-
up charges will not repeat unless you make changes to the
book.
What price do you set for the book? Much depends on the
market and your own costs in printing the book. Go down to
your local bookstore and see what the range of prices are
on books of your size and style (soft cover). If the
average price is $12.95, this will tell you what a
competitive charge would be. Now, contrast that with the
unit cost of your book which is the total printing,
typesetting and graphic arts charges for your books divided
by the number of copies. If your unit cost is, say, $3.50
per book, you’d like to ideally charge about three or four
times the cost on the open market, which would be around
$10.50 to $14.00, for which the $12.95 average price fits
quite nicely.
You must copyright your material and it is recommended that
you also register your book and obtain an International
Standard Book Number (ISBN). To do this, you must write to
a couple of organizations.
First up is the Copyrights Office. If you write to:
Register of Copyrights
Copyrights Office
Library of Congress
Washington, DC 20599
and ask for the copyright registration forms and the
booklet entitled "Copyright Basics". This will give you
explicit instructions on copyrighting your material.
Copyright protection now lasts for your lifetime plus fifty
years.
While we’re on the subject of copyrighting, you can also
obtain a Library of Con-gress catalog card and number for
your book. Libraries around the country often use this
number to identify books and order them.
You can obtain information about this process by writing
to:
The Registrar, CIP Division
Library of Congress
Washington, DC 20540
International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN) are another type
of classification system for a book. Libraries, bookstores
and wholesalers all use this number system for ordering
books.
As a self-publisher, you will be assigned a number prefix
which is part of the ISBN. There-after, for future
publications, you will assign your own ISBN based on the
pre-assigned codes you’ll receive.
To get more information about this, write to:
ISBN Agency
R.R. Bowker & Company
205 E. 42nd Street
New York, NY 10017
Ask specifically for the "ISBN System User’s Manual" and
the "ISBN Log Book" when contacting the ISBN Agency.
All of this work, including copyrighting, ISBNs and Library
of Congress cataloguing is crucial in establishing your
book as a professional entry. You have a far better chance
of having your work noticed if it is officially filed.
Just because it’s a self-published work doesn’t mean it
isn’t a good book and worthy of attention. This work en-
hances your image and your potential as a serious writer.
Publishing yourself can be a rewarding experience and
launch a whole new career for you. If you like to write,
book publishing can be a worthy goal.
LISTING OF BOOK PUBLISHERS
Here is a partial listing of book publisher to whom you
could submit a manuscript or a book proposal. These are
not the major publishers, who will only work through an
agent. These firms to whom you could submit a book
manuscript directly. For a larger listing, consult with
the publications, "Writer’s Market 1995" or "The Literary
Marketplace", both of which are usually available at your
local library.
Almar Press
4105 Marietta Drive
Vestal, NY 13850
The Benjamin Company, Inc.
21 Dupont Avenue
White Plains, NY 10605
Camino Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 59026
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Down East Books
P.O. Box 679
Camden, ME 04843
East Coast Publishing
P.O. Box 2829
Poughkeepsie, NY 12603
Donald I Fine, Inc.
19 W. 21st Street
New York, NY 10010
Gardner Press, Inc.
19 Union Square West
New York, NY 10003
Hancock House Publishers
1431 Harrison Avenue
Blaine, WA 98230
Imagine, Inc.
P.O. Box 9674
Pittsburgh, PA 15226
Intervarsity Press
P.O. Box 1400
Downers Grove, IL 10011
Kodansha International
114 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10011
Liberty Hall Press
11 W. 19th Street, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10011
Madison Books
4720 Boston Way
Lanham, MD 20706
New Rivers Press
420 N. 5th Street, Suite 910
Minneapolis, MN 55401
Paladin Press .
P.O. Box 1307
Boulder, CO 80306
Pelican Publishing Company
P.O. Box 189
Gretna, LA 70053
Perspectives Press
P.O. Box 90318
Indianapolis, IN 46290
Rainbow Books
P.O. Box 430
Highland City, FL 33846
Rutledge Hill Press
513 3rd Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37210
St. Martin’s Press
175 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10010
Sasquatch Books
1931 2nd Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
Signature Books
350 S. 400 East #G-4
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Ten Speed Press
P.O. Box 7123
Berkeley, CA 94707
Walker and Company
720 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10019
Remember to always request manuscript submission guidelines
first. Send a request letter accompanied by a large
mailing envelope, self-addressed and with at least three
first class postage stamps on it. Good luck!
From Your Home!
OVERVIEW
Have you ever heard the expression, "everyone has a book in
them that's trying to get out?" What does this really
mean? Not everyone writes books, do they?
No, not many attempt the long, difficult process of writing
a book-length manuscript. But a growing number of
individuals are being paid for their writing -- and they've
never attempted to write a book!
Why? Think about it! When you're driving to work in the
morning, listening to the radio, what do you hear? People
talking, right? It may surprise you that very little of
that talk is spontaneous. The radio people work from
written material, which means ...? Yes, someone has to
WRITE the information down to be read over the airwaves.
Here's another example. Your mother's birthday is coming
up. What do you do? You buy a card. Did you ever wonder
who wrote the cards you look through when you're search-ing
for the right message? Well, it's not a big company where
people sit around all day writing cards. The writers of
greeting cards could live next door to you since most of
the material is submitted on a freelance basis.
How about your mail? Do you have days when you receive an
endless amount of junk mail? Letter after letter of come-
ons trying to get you to respond are not always thrown out.
Some people read them and do inquire about the product or
service mentioned. More importantly, those letters and
flyers are WRITTEN ... by someone!
You're getting the idea -- that writing is a common part of
everyday business life. From the brochures telling you
about savings accounts down at your local bank to the
billboard you drive by every morning on the way to work to
the bumper stickers you read on the back of the cars in
front of you ... all of this is written by somebody. Why
couldn't it be you?
Writing is an essential part of everyday life. There are
scores of opportunities waiting out there for anyone
interested in making some money through the written word.
It's not just Stephen King and Danielle Steele. Many of
today's successful freelance writers are completely unknown
simply because their name doesn't appear on their work.
Yet you see it every day from television commercials to
newspaper advertising.
Don't have any experience? Nonsense! Everybody writes,
from the notes you send with your holiday cards to lists
you make before grocery shopping. You probably don't
realize how much you write in a given week. In so doing,
you are likely adjusting your writing depending on the
subject or audience. When you send a note to school with
your child, you're writing in a certain style that's likely
different than a note you'd send to a relative.
This is exactly what writers do ... they alter their
writing content based on their subject or audience. So who
says you can't write for a living?
There's no end to the kind of writing you can do. However,
we do have a few suggestions for you to get started
thinking about a career, part-time or full, in the writing
field. As you review these pages, some idea may jump off
the page as something you could do. Great! More
importantly, don't think because you're never had a writing
lesson that you can't do it. All it takes is practice,
practice, practice and a determined desire to get it right.
If you're got the drive, writing may well be your career.
RESUME WRITING -- FOR OTHERS!
Nearly everyone, at one time or another, has written a
resume in preparations for a job search. So why not start
there? How many times have you done your own resume? If
you've written it at least once, think of all the other
people who have sat down to attempt it.
What an endless list of possible clients! Not matter how
large or small the town in which you live, hundreds and
even thousands of people are in need of resumes. People
change jobs a lot today, through their own wishes or due to
circumstances beyond their control like a downsize, merger,
buy-out or similar business adjustment. Besides, people
don't often keep their resumes up to date.
So, we've established the need -- resumes for people. Now,
can you write them?
Why not? If you haven't done your own lately, do it now!
Practice on yourself. There are a number of books that
offer help in formatting a "Modern" resume that you can
check out at your local library or bookstore. There are
employment resumes which lists your experience by positions
you've held. There are also functional resumes which lists
your qualifications by skill, with your employment history
listed at the end but of lesser significance to the overall
message you're trying to send, which is "hire me!"
The business world is increasingly competitive in the
number of positions available as modern technology has
eliminated some positions while creating a need for others.
The key today is specialization and a well-written resume
can help you "stand out" in a potential employer's eyes.
Since many individuals are either unaware of a résumé’s
importance or lack the con-fidence in their ability to
write a competitive resume, a resume writing service can
address both needs. Proper advertising of the service can
educate people as to the résumé’s importance, while
advertising alone may well generate more calls than you can
handle from people who know a good resume is crucial and
want some "expert" help in constructing their
"masterpiece".
Employers use resumes today to narrow down the list of
people they want for an interview. Specialization has
employers looking for particular talents, but often a
memorable resume can help get an interview even if all of
their "requirements" for the job aren't present.
You don’t need much to get a resume service off the ground.
First, you should study the various books on how to write a
good resume. Practice a few formats and have samples ready
for potential customers to review.
Second, you will need a computer with a word-processing
program or even just a good memory typewriter. If you have
a computer and can afford a laser printer, all the better.
But remember, you're not in the printing business, you are
simply creating the resume for your client.
Finally, this is an easy business to operate out of your
home. If you have an area sufficient to put a computer or
typewriter, you can start. Pick up a file cabinet, or the
smaller, plastic file boxes to store client files. Your
client's need for a resume probably won't end one effort.
Another job search is likely to occur down the road and the
client will probably come back to you for an update,
especially if they were successful getting a job the first
time around. Keeping a client's past resume on file can
assist you for further work later.
As you research your resume writing, make a list of verbs
that are common for resume writing, such as:
- administered - managed
- analyzed - operated
- completed - organized
- coordinated - prepared
- created - started
- designed - supervised
- developed - trained
- evaluated - wrote
These lists will assist you in writing your resumes very
quickly without constantly referring to a thesaurus. Time
is of the essence to a freelance writer; there are
shortcuts to producing quality work without spending hours
and hours on a given piece.
You're ready to start, now you must attract clients. Put
together a business card and a flyer and start tacking them
up on every community bulletin board in town. Send them to
large company personnel departments who may refer employees
who are being laid off. Advertise in the classified of
your local newspaper and in the smaller, often free
publications that are circulated around town like the
"Pennysaver". Tell friends and family members and give
them your card/flyer. They can spread the word among
friends -- someone's bound to need help.
What should you charge? A simple one-page resume could be
priced as low as $25. The more complicated the resume, the
more you charge. Much depends on the amount of work you
have to do. Keep track of the time it takes you to
complete a resume -- the more work, the longer hours, the
higher your price.
WORKING WITH LOCAL BUSINESSES
Now that you understand the idea of the versatility of
freelance writing, let's turn our attention to
organizations you will come in contact with through your
resume services business.
As individuals come to you with resumes, make a list of all
the local company names you write on the resumes. This is
your next prospecting list.
Companies, particularly small ones, have a great need for
writers. Think about it! Every day, a business is
corresponding -- with a customer, a potential customer or a
supplier. That correspondence often takes the written
form.
Well-written correspondence can make the difference between
getting a job, landing a customer, increased growth in the
business. Writing’s importance can never be over-looked.
Yet the majority of people, even business people whose
prosperity de------pends on customers, place little
emphasis on good writing and spend very little time at it.
Your opportunities here are many. Businesses write
letters, create brochures, advertise their services, send
out direct mail to potential customers; in short, they
WRITE!
You'll have to alter your Resume Services business card or,
better yet, create a new business card to advertise your
"all-purpose" writing services. Prepare samples of
different type of writing you can do. Instead of throwing
out that junk mail, save those letters and practice
perfecting their idea -- to get a potential customer to
respond to what's in the letter. Have a family member of a
friend bring home samples of correspondence from their
places of work. Read them and practice writing business
letters. Go to the library and check the reference works
on writing good letters. Read the newspapers and magazines
for sample advertising copy. Take a product you like and
write an advertisement for it. Practice! Practice!
Practice!
Correspondence: Your best clients here are small
businesses, sole proprietors or partnerships who may not
have the time to spend on their correspondence. Contract
with them to do their written work. You can probably
charge $25-100 for a letter. Businesses may have form
letters they use, and you can redesign them for the better.
The quality of correspondence is often an indicator, to a
client or a potential client, of the company's
professionalism. You can help businesses increase their
sales simply by improving their correspondence.
Brochures: Most businesses try to sell their services
through the use of a brochure. Brochure writing and design
is not something that takes ages to perfect.
The most important consideration is identifying the purpose
of the brochure. Is it to sell a client on the company
itself, or a specific product or service? Once the subject
is identified, then you can pinpoint the key features of
the specific idea that should be emphasized.
Keeping brochures simple is important. Writing everything
there is to know about a com-pany, product or service may
seem great, but it is usually ineffective because it's too
much for a casual reader to take in. Simplicity, on the
other hand, can trigger a potential client's interest and
have them seeking out the company to ascertain more about
the product or service identified within the brochure.
Once they call, the company has a better chance of
transforming that curiosity into a new customer.
As you begin to do writing, you will work with other
professionals in the field such as graphic artists. These
are individuals whose artwork can help create a terrific
bro--chure. But, for small businesses, it is often
convenient to find the copywriter or graphic artist in one
person. For that reason, the use of a computer has great
potential rewards. There is a wide variety of "desk-top
publishing" software that can be used for both writing and
graphic design. There are specific programs that design a
brochure.
Being able to offer the whole package will be attractive to
the business. Brochure writing can bring you a nice
paycheck per piece, as high as $500-1000 for some elaborate
pieces.
As a writer, your object is to put the message within the
brochure across effectively. Remember -- keep it simple.
The easier to read and comprehend, the higher the likely
response to the piece.
Advertising: The art of advertising is only slightly
different from the brochure. In a brochure, you have more
time and space to put your message across. With
advertising, only a few words. Advertisements must stop
the reader and thus need a "grabber" headline. You must
always remember the purpose of the advertisement. It's not
to SELL anyone, but to attract enough INTEREST to get the
person to call for more information. Then the real selling
can start!
There are words that are consistently effective in pulling
in an audience and initiating a response. Here’s a short-
list:
- amazing - profitable
- easy - secret
- free - simple
- now - privileged
- special offer - win
- incredible - don't wait
- make money - startling
Businesses need to attract clients. Advertising can do
that if done well. This is where you come in. Read
advertisements! Which ones do you respond best to? Try
this: cut out a few of the advertisements you like best
and show them to several friends. Record their level of
interest and rank the results. You'll probably see a
pattern where one or two of the advertisements emerge at
the top of everyone's list. Study those to see why. Very
likely, you'll see that the use of a few key words and the
message they imply will prompt people to respond positively
to those ads.
Direct Mail: Many businesses do direct mail as a method of
acquiring new customers. These works must be written well
to achieve the type of response that will make the effort
worthwhile financially since postage and printing costs
make it an expensive method of advertising .
But it works! Well-written direct mail can bring in
hundreds and thousands of new customers . Your writing
efforts are not merely a cost in constructing a direct mail
letter; in fact you can help a company earn substantially
more as a result of a successful direct mail cam-paign.
Effective direct mail creates an image in a client's mind.
That vision is primarily one in which the person's life
will be enhanced by the purchase of the product or service
being advertised. This is your goal -- to help the
potential customer see how much better things will be
because of what you are "advertising" in the letter.
Here are ways to make a direct mail letter effective.
-The opening of the letter should be treated with the same
reverence as a headline. You have to grab the reader's
attention quickly and make them want to keep on reading.
It mat be the outside of the direct mail envelope that
starts the process. If it's good enough, the person tears
open the envelope and begins reading. Then the headline
/first paragraph of the letter must create the same
effect -- to keep the person reading.
-There must be reasons to keep reading, usually in the
form of some benefits. Because the person opened the
envelope, there is a free offer. Then, when reading the
first paragraph, more benefits jump out -- the value of the
service or product, perhaps. Put in a good "benefit" with
each paragraph -- and keep the paragraphs short!
- Don’t offer benefits that aren’t believable. Don’t make
promises you can’t keep. The idea is not to make people
skeptical, but to see the tangible benefits you offer are
valid. To this end, be specific. General terms usually
provoke disbelief, while actual specifics are shown to have
more honest-sounding appeal.
- Understand the product or service yourself. Would you
buy it? If so, why? If you understand why you’d buy it,
you can set about convincing people using the same
thoughts.
- Use third party affirmations, if available. If it’s only
your copy, it won’t leave as good an impression as the
insertion of a few "outside" quotes from others, testifying
to the effectiveness of the product or service.
- Simplicity sells! Short sentences. Short paragraphs.
Easy words. You’re not out to win the Pulitzer Prize. You
only want individuals to respond to your letter. They will
if they understand the benefits of doing so. Keep it
simple!
- Be explicit with your instructions. The letter must not
only detail the great benefits, but tell the person exactly
what they must do to obtain them. Be specific and make it
easy to respond -- including a postage-paid card or a toll-
free number are usually great methods.
- Freebies earn responses. Giving something away usually
helps the response dramatically.
- Convince the reader that the product or service being
advertised is backed up by a strong company that guarantees
the results and benefits detailed in the letter. Readers
must be convinced of the authenticity and the ability to
back up the strong comments within the letter.
Letters can be 2 to 4 pages in length or even longer and
you can probably charge $50-100 per page to write the copy.
This is a small investment for a business in exchange
for the sales growth direct mail can achieve.
In summary, small local businesses are a great source of
writing work for you in a variety of forms.
THE "READER’S DIGEST ANGLE"
Successful writers usually begin by writing about
themselves or events which have happened to them. The
familiarity about the material makes it easier to write and
there is an air of authenticity about the writing for
obvious reasons. It is these life experiences which
even the beginning writer can fashion into small works that
can be published.
Anyone that has children has plenty of humorous stories to
relate. As television personality Art Linkletter used to
point out, "Kids say the dandiest things." If you have a
funny story like that, try writing it down. Or if a friend
tells you a tale in a similar vein, record it and read it
back to them. Practice writing these short pieces.
Short anecdotal type writing must relate the story quickly.
Short means short! Work at cutting out all the excessive
words you can. Trim the piece to its "bare bones," yet
don’t lose the humor in it. It’s almost like writing good
comedy bits for stand-up comedians. Their material is
never overly long. Henny Youngman and Rodney Dangerfield
talk in rapid-fire delivery, a joke to every sentence.
This is the kind of writing you would ideally do since
there are plenty of paying outlets for these funny works.
The best known "is Reader’s Digest", who has an array of
popular columns like "Life in these United States", "Humor
in Uniform" and "Campus Comedy", among others that pay $400
for each anecdote of less than 300 words (1 page, double-
spaced is about 250 words). That’s good pay, but you
should realize that "Reader’s Digest" receives thousands of
submissions each month. If your anecdote is one they think
is publishable, it will probably go on a waiting list. But
this is one outlet.
For other outlets, check the book, "Writer’s Market" for
the current year. They list all the outlets for short,
funny pieces. You might also try the magazine, "Writer’s
Digest", which has a list of specialty publishers each
month. Contact the magazine to see which issue lists the
short pieces such as these. Very often, they publish
articles about how to get the short works published.
To help trigger thoughts about stories you can relate, try
compiling a list of phrases which can help you recall a
story or two that could be publishable. Showing the list
to friends can also help them remember a story that you
could use. Here’s a few phrases to get you started:
- repairs - skiing trip
- job hunting - fishing trip
- mail delivery - sports activities
- holiday gifts - military service
- car pooling - local tavern
- doctor’s appointment - grocery shopping
- dentist’s appointment - shopping (general)
- fast food - in-laws
- kitchen cooking - neighbors
- substitute teaching - scouts (girl, boy, cub)
Short anecdotes can be the basis for a couple of paragraphs
that fit into a "Reader’s Digest", or the basis for a
longer article that other magazines (usually family-
oriented) may have some interest in. It is the easiest
method for beginning writers to start acquiring good
writing habits by actually writing over and over again.
It’s easy because the material is familiar. You’re not
laboring over research to achieve a proper article.
Keep in mind the supreme rule of successful writing: keep
it simple! Simple sells, especially with short, humorous
pieces like these.
KEEPING IT SHORT AND SIMPLE
As long as we’re on the subject of simplicity, there are
other types of writing that lend themselves to the short
and simple principle. Items such as bumper stickers, radio
spots and greeting cards are all outlets for simple, short
phrases or paragraphs that can put across a message--
preferably a humorous one--very quickly.
Did you see the movie "Forrest Gump"? In this film, the
movie’s hero answers a reporter’s question with a bumper-
sticker-like phrase. The reporter stopped short, as it
dawned on him what a great phrase for a bumper sticker he
had just heard. The next scene in the movie is a car
traveling down a highway sporting the phrase on a bumper
sticker.
That’s how it happens. There are numerous bumper sticker
opportunities. Busi-nesses, associations, charities and
other organization use the bumper sticker to deliver a
memorable phrase to the general public. What a simple,
great, easy way to advertise!
If you are familiar with any local group, you may have an
idea for a bumper sticker advertisement for them. Try
playing with catch phrases in your head. If one occurs to
you that you like, try it out on your family first and then
your friends and co-workers to see their reaction. If it’s
overwhelmingly positive, approach the organization with
your idea. They’d pay for advertising, so why not for
bumper sticker ideas?
Some slogans are just funny and don’t necessarily apply to
any type of advertising. Try these phrases out on some
people and see if they like it. Again, if the response is
heavy on the positive side, you may have an idea you can
sell yourself. Bumper stickers aren’t that expensive to
print and if you sell 50 or so, you’ll likely make back
your investment and start to make a profit.
Be sure it is a marketable slogan, though. A beach theme
would do well in a community by the sea. A slogan about
the forest would play well in the northwest. The heart-
land may buy bumper sticker themes about farms. Pet themes
have universal appeal.
Use your imagination! Be creative! That’s what this type
of writing is all about! The whole trick to it is to think
of the phrase, not write a lengthy piece. If you’ve
written advertising or read our suggestions for good
copywriting earlier in this text, remember the key to
successful advertising was the headline. A bumper sticker
is nothing more than a good, snappy headline.
Successful bumper stickers can lead you to using a great
slogan on coffee mugs, hats, T-shirts, banners and similar
low-cost, easy to sell material. They make great handouts
for business sales meetings and contests. A little
creativity can go a long way.
In addition to bumper stickers, there are similar chances
to write short, catchy phrases, sentences and short
anecdotes for the radio.
You’re probably familiar with your local radio stations.
You’ve heard many of the disc jockeys, usually the morning
drive-time ones, do their usually zany bits to attract a
listening audience. Since ratings drive the advertising
which makes the station pro-fitable, the better the disc
jockey’s material, the greater the potential for higher
ratings.
These disc jockeys quite often think of their own material,
but are also willing to look at bits written for them.
More importantly, the radio stations are often willing to
buy comedic pieces for their radio personalities.
The best approach is to familiarize yourself with a radio
disc jockey’s particular style and work with it to create
your comedy. There may be particular themes or issues a
particular disc jockey likes to relate and you can build
your material on it. Don’t take the disc jockey out of his
or her regular character, simply blend your material in
with theirs.
You may be able to create a character for the disc jockey
to play off of during comedic exchanges between music
plays. There was a radio personality that we remember that
had an alter ego, complete with a different voice, called
"Mr. Friendly". Mr. Friendly was anything but and the
radio disc jockey would tape this character’s sen-tences
and phrases ahead of time and play them in response to
questions or comments he personally made during his show.
The results sounded like an actual conversation exchange
and were often hilarious as a result. This is the type of
creation that could earn you a sizable amount of money if
it works well with the radio disc jockey.
So, the next time you’re listening to the radio, think
about the type of things you’d say if you were on the radio
and then blend it in with the disc jockey’s style. You may
be sur-prised at the reception you’d receive if you wrote a
few pieces for them to use on the radio.
Disc jockeys are always on the lookout for good material to
use on their shows. It’s not unlike all the great
comedians you’ve seen that have writers supply them with
their lines. What these individuals are best at is
delivering the lines, but very often someone else has
written it for them. Why not you?
Another short writing option for you is the greeting card
market. Did you know that nearly 50% of the first class
mail market consist of greeting cards? Cards are not
limited to birthdays and holidays any more. You name the
event, there is a card for the occasion.
Three companies dominate the card market today, according
to "Writer’s Market". These companies are Hallmark,
American Greetings and Gibson Greetings. They are your
primary markets, although you may well find it easier to
break in to one of the smaller card companies listed in
publications like "Writer’s Market" and magazines like "The
Writer" and "Writer’s Digest" which are available at the
newsstand or your local library.
Women are the traditional card buyers by an overwhelming
number. Visit a few card racks yourself to see the
different styles under the various company names. This way
you can find which style you feel most comfortable in
pursuing and can direct your output at the proper
distributor.
Card companies are always on the lookout for promising new
material. Again, these are short pieces which require
quick, snappy thoughts that tell the message clearly and
rapidly. It’s the same style as headline, bumper sticker,
anecdotal type writing and if you’re doing those
successfully, greeting cards may be a good choice for you.
Each editor of a card company may prefer to see your
submissions in a particular type of format so once you’ve
identified the companies you believe you can write for, end
in a request for their writing and submission guidelines
along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope for
their convenience. In so doing, you’ll save yourself the
trouble of submitting material outside of their usual
format which they’ll discard.
Some like individual card ideas submitted separately while
other prefer a list of ideas at one time. Typical
categories of cards are:
-humorous, either by written word or visual gag. These are
exceedingly popular and ones that are difficult to write
and therefore in demand constantly.
-traditional, which is usually the sentimental type of
verse constructed message. These are generally the longest
pieces of writing, often poetic type verses.
-contemporary, which is also humorous, dominated mostly by
one-liners about modern society while also conveying the
specific message - birthday, anniversary, holi-day, etc.
-personal, which most often is a blank card inside for the
buyer to writer their own message. The focus of your work
is to come up with an appropriate picture or phrase (or
both) on the front of the card.
Here are various reasons cards are sent, to help set your
thoughts towards particular ideas that are easy for you to
express:
Holidays:
- New Year’s Day - Father’s Day
- Valentine’s Day - 4th of July
- St. Patrick’s Day - Halloween
- Passover - Thanksgiving
- Easter - Hanukkah
- Mother’s Day - Christmas
Special Occasions:
- Birthday - Anniversary
- Belated Birthday - Graduation
- Get Well - First Communion
- New Baby - Confirmation
- Congratulations - Bar Mitzvah
- New Job - Engagement
- Vacation/Trip - Retirement
- Sympathy - Thank You
General:
- Friendship - Good-Bye
- Missing YOU - Haven’t Heard From You
- Thinking of You - Sorry I Haven’t Written
Don’t forget that many of these categories have sub-
categories with variations like "mother", "father",
"niece", "nephew", "son-in-law", and so forth. Cards can
also be from "the two of us", "your brother" and other
people. There are even card for single parents.
There are different types of card styles, too, like "pop-
ups", children’s cards and bawdy humor for adults only.
Don’t limit yourself. Experiment with all types of writing
styles and themes. You’ll eventually establish a comfort
level and a knack for a par-ticular category.
Bumper stickers, radio comedy bits and greeting cards.
Think short and you may well be on your way to a successful
freelance writing career.
FROM FAMILY LIFE TO CHILDREN’S STORIES
Earlier in this text, we suggested that your conversations
with your children or younger relatives might make good
short anecdotal tales for submission to outlets such as
"Reader’s Digest". There are many more children’s
magazines that are possibilities for this type of writing.
Children’s stories are not only the humorous recollection,
but can be both fictional and non-fiction articles that may
be easy to write because they are, again, for your PER-
SONAL EXPERIENCE! If you are a teacher, you probably have
an endless source of material to put down on paper.
You can write about children or you can write to children
for them to read. It all depends on your subject matter
and your angle. If, for example, you’ve come with a good
method of getting your child to clean his or her room, this
might make a good short article for a magazine like
"Growing Parent" or "Christian Parenting Today".
You may have a story about your child’s first date, which
you can turn into an article about teens and dating that
kids themselves might like to read in a magazine like
"Seventeen" or "Teen". Parents, too, might enjoy it, so
you can try submitting it to both types of publications.
If you’re writing towards a teen audience, you’ll have to
keep the story on a written level that your young readers
can comprehend. There are easy ways to do this, by using
no more than three syllable words and writing in short,
sharp sentences and brief paragraphs. Simply reviewing
spelling books for various age levels will help you develop
a vocabulary list that will be useful when directing your
piece at a specific audience/age-group level.
Writing for children should be done in a style that
empathizes with them, as if it were written by someone
their age. Don’t write like a parent! If you’re trying to
get a message across, do it in a way another child might
tell it.
Parent magazines are quite different and here you can write
for an adult audience, although the simple, spare style
will always work for you (and, quite often, the editor) as
it is easy to read. Assume, as you would with children,
that the parent needs even the most basic explanation. A
common mistake writers make is to assume that a reader
under-stands a particular subject on some level already.
Don’t make this mistake! Explain yourself and assume the
reader knows nothing. You’re usually teaching when you
write and repetition helpfully reinforces the subject
matter or the specific key points you wish to illustrate.
Assuming the reader is not conversant with the subject is
your best bet.
Here are some possible magazines for submissions:
PARENTAL: Aimed at the parents
American Baby Magazine
475 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016
Christian Parenting Today
P. O. Box 3850
Sisters, OR 97759
Expecting
Gruner & Jahr USA Pub.
685 3rd Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Growing Parent
Dunn & Hargitt, Inc.
P.O. Box 1100
Lafeyette, IN 47902
Home Education Magazine
P.O. Box 1083
Tonasket, WA 98855
Parenting Magazine
301 Howard Avenue, 17th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
Parents Care
P.O. Box 1563
Lancaster, CA 93539
Parents Magazine
685 3rd Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Today’s Family
27 Empire Drive
St. Paul, MN 55103
TWINS
P.O. Box 12045
Overland Park, KS 66212
CHILDREN’S MAGAZINES:
Businesship
Business Kids Suite 1080 E.
1300 I Street
Washington, DC 20005
Exploring Magazine
Boy Scouts of America
P.O. Box 152079
Irving, TX 75015
Guide
55 W. Oak Ridge Drive
Hagerstown, MD 21740
The New Era
50 E. North Temple
Salt Lake City, UT 84150
Keynoter
Key Club International
3636 Woodview Trace
Indianapolis, IN 46268
Magazine for Christian Youth
United Meth. Publ. House
201 8th Avenue S., Box 801
Nashville, TN 37202
Seventeen
850 3rd Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Teen Magazine
8490 Sunset Boulevard
Hollywood, CA 90069
Transcend
4 Daniels Farm Road
Suite 134
Trumbull, CT 06611
Youth Update
St. Anthony Mess. Press
1615 Republic Street
Cincinnati, OH 45210
SELF-PUBLISHING FOR PROFIT
Now that you’ve mastered the shorter forms of writing,
perhaps you’re ready to write a book-length work of fiction
or non-fiction. If you’ve developed strong writing skills
over the course of your writing for profit career, you will
likely be able to master the discipline necessary to write
a longer work.
The problems are more likely to lie with getting the book
published. It is often easier to write a book today than
to see it finally get published. Writers often see
multiple numbers of rejection when submitting to book
publishers. Some persist and do well like Richard Bach who
survived more than fifteen rejections before getting
"Jonathan Livingston Seagull" published. Many others
simply give up.
There are other options, however. Getting a book published
by a large New York firm is probably the least likely way
to break into book publishing. Many of these houses are
owned by large corporations today whose interest lies
primarily with pub-lishing blockbusters, book that can sell
50-100,000 copies in hard cover. Since few books by
established authors do this, the beginner’s chance in this
market has virtually disappeared.
In addition, you need an agent in order to approach a large
publisher like Random House or Doubleday. If you try to
submit directly, your manuscript will likely lay unread.
Some may even give you the courtesy of mailing it back.
Still others will send you a postcard essentially saying,
"Thanks, but no thanks".
The editorial director of the popular magazine,
"Publisher’s Weekly", believes that self-publishing is the
best alternative for new writers to get a book out there
for others to see. If an author is convinced of the
quality of his or her book, and is receiving dozens or
rejection letters, this editor suggests publishing the book
yourself. Com-paratively simple equip-ment, he says, can
be used to turn out a reasonable facsimile of a finished
book.
This establishes a writer as serious about one’s work and
can lead to publishers looking at the author’s future
manuscripts more closely. It always looks good to say
you’ve been published, even if it is self-published.
Some self-publishing books have gone on to bigger and
better things. "Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations," a
standard reference work now was originally self-published
by the author as was the writer’s bible, "The Elements of
Style". They sold well, publishers noticed them and bought
the rights to publish it in greater quantity.
If you decide to go ahead with self-publishing you book,
you will have to be prepared to make an investment. It
isn’t cheap to publish, but you can save on costs by doing
as much work ahead of the printer as possible.
First, desk-top publishing software can often let you type
set you own book yourself. Or, if not, you should try and
type your book on a computer and furnish a typesetter with
a disk. It will make it much easier, quicker and less
expensive for the typesetter to actually lay the book out
in its eventual published format.
Next, work with a graphic artist to design the cover. A
photograph of you as author will likely suffice for the
back cover copy.
Print your book in soft cover. It’s cheaper to print and
thus you can keep your book priced lower for resale. This
could improve the volume of your actual sales. The most
popular book size is 5 ½ by 8 ½ inches. Depending on
typeset size, there are usually 350-400 words per page. It
is easy to fit this book on your shelf, in a briefcase, or
an overnight bag for airplane reading, thus making it a
good size to market. Many original soft cover paperbacks
are in this standard size.
Have the book perfect-bound on 60 pound offset paper. The
text printing should be black. The cover should be in 2
color while the cover stock should be 10 point coated, one
side only.
Look for a printer that can print a book. Only a few of
them can! Get at least three or four price quotes. The
unit cost of each book will vary depending on the volume of
copies you print. 5,000 books, for example, will have a
much smaller per book cost than will printing of 500 books.
The reason is due to the high cost of setting the machine
to print. Once the press is running, you simply pay for
the paper and materials.
Don’t have 5,000 books printed, however, simply to save on
your unit cost. If you don’t anticipate selling that many
books, don’t order that many. Judge how many you think you
can sell and then have that number printed. You can always
do a second printing cheaper than the first since the set-
up charges will not repeat unless you make changes to the
book.
What price do you set for the book? Much depends on the
market and your own costs in printing the book. Go down to
your local bookstore and see what the range of prices are
on books of your size and style (soft cover). If the
average price is $12.95, this will tell you what a
competitive charge would be. Now, contrast that with the
unit cost of your book which is the total printing,
typesetting and graphic arts charges for your books divided
by the number of copies. If your unit cost is, say, $3.50
per book, you’d like to ideally charge about three or four
times the cost on the open market, which would be around
$10.50 to $14.00, for which the $12.95 average price fits
quite nicely.
You must copyright your material and it is recommended that
you also register your book and obtain an International
Standard Book Number (ISBN). To do this, you must write to
a couple of organizations.
First up is the Copyrights Office. If you write to:
Register of Copyrights
Copyrights Office
Library of Congress
Washington, DC 20599
and ask for the copyright registration forms and the
booklet entitled "Copyright Basics". This will give you
explicit instructions on copyrighting your material.
Copyright protection now lasts for your lifetime plus fifty
years.
While we’re on the subject of copyrighting, you can also
obtain a Library of Con-gress catalog card and number for
your book. Libraries around the country often use this
number to identify books and order them.
You can obtain information about this process by writing
to:
The Registrar, CIP Division
Library of Congress
Washington, DC 20540
International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN) are another type
of classification system for a book. Libraries, bookstores
and wholesalers all use this number system for ordering
books.
As a self-publisher, you will be assigned a number prefix
which is part of the ISBN. There-after, for future
publications, you will assign your own ISBN based on the
pre-assigned codes you’ll receive.
To get more information about this, write to:
ISBN Agency
R.R. Bowker & Company
205 E. 42nd Street
New York, NY 10017
Ask specifically for the "ISBN System User’s Manual" and
the "ISBN Log Book" when contacting the ISBN Agency.
All of this work, including copyrighting, ISBNs and Library
of Congress cataloguing is crucial in establishing your
book as a professional entry. You have a far better chance
of having your work noticed if it is officially filed.
Just because it’s a self-published work doesn’t mean it
isn’t a good book and worthy of attention. This work en-
hances your image and your potential as a serious writer.
Publishing yourself can be a rewarding experience and
launch a whole new career for you. If you like to write,
book publishing can be a worthy goal.
LISTING OF BOOK PUBLISHERS
Here is a partial listing of book publisher to whom you
could submit a manuscript or a book proposal. These are
not the major publishers, who will only work through an
agent. These firms to whom you could submit a book
manuscript directly. For a larger listing, consult with
the publications, "Writer’s Market 1995" or "The Literary
Marketplace", both of which are usually available at your
local library.
Almar Press
4105 Marietta Drive
Vestal, NY 13850
The Benjamin Company, Inc.
21 Dupont Avenue
White Plains, NY 10605
Camino Books, Inc.
P.O. Box 59026
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Down East Books
P.O. Box 679
Camden, ME 04843
East Coast Publishing
P.O. Box 2829
Poughkeepsie, NY 12603
Donald I Fine, Inc.
19 W. 21st Street
New York, NY 10010
Gardner Press, Inc.
19 Union Square West
New York, NY 10003
Hancock House Publishers
1431 Harrison Avenue
Blaine, WA 98230
Imagine, Inc.
P.O. Box 9674
Pittsburgh, PA 15226
Intervarsity Press
P.O. Box 1400
Downers Grove, IL 10011
Kodansha International
114 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10011
Liberty Hall Press
11 W. 19th Street, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10011
Madison Books
4720 Boston Way
Lanham, MD 20706
New Rivers Press
420 N. 5th Street, Suite 910
Minneapolis, MN 55401
Paladin Press .
P.O. Box 1307
Boulder, CO 80306
Pelican Publishing Company
P.O. Box 189
Gretna, LA 70053
Perspectives Press
P.O. Box 90318
Indianapolis, IN 46290
Rainbow Books
P.O. Box 430
Highland City, FL 33846
Rutledge Hill Press
513 3rd Avenue South
Nashville, TN 37210
St. Martin’s Press
175 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10010
Sasquatch Books
1931 2nd Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
Signature Books
350 S. 400 East #G-4
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Ten Speed Press
P.O. Box 7123
Berkeley, CA 94707
Walker and Company
720 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10019
Remember to always request manuscript submission guidelines
first. Send a request letter accompanied by a large
mailing envelope, self-addressed and with at least three
first class postage stamps on it. Good luck!
Monday, October 13, 2008
How To Build A Massive Moneymaking MLM Machine By Mail...
On a Shoe String Budget at Home
This report, "How To Build A Massive Moneymaking Machine By
Mail...On A Shoe String Budget At Home" is one of 15 reports
contained in our set, "How to Build A Lean, Mean MLM Machine . .
.By Mail!" If you have not ordered the complete MLM Machine set
of reprintable reports, I urge you to do so immediately so you can
take full advantage of this program.
Before you can appreciate and understand how to promote MLM
programs by mail, it is appropriate to review first the
fundamentals of MLM(Multilevel Marketing) and mailorder methods
that are proven. Let's talk first about MLM that is also known as
Networking or Network marketing.
The Basics of MLM Programs
First understand that MLM is not an illegal pyramid scheme. It is
100% legal and many multimillion companies market their product
strictly through MLM promotion. Some of the best known MLM
companies include Amway, Shaklee, Tupperware, Princess House. . .
a subsidiary of Colgate Palmolive, A.L. Williams, MaryKay
Cosmetics, U.S. Sprint, MCI, and NSA. These companies have been
around for decades. There are actually 100's to 1,000's more MLM
companies. Like other companies, some are good and some are not
so good. But one thing is for sure. MLM is here to stay, and it
is an explosive growth field!
So what's the big attraction to MLM companies and programs? Well,
it represents a wonderful opportunity for the "little fella" to
start his own business on a part time basis and make a whole lot
of money! How is this possible? The concept is fairly simple,
MLM companies offer their products and services through
independent distributors who can then recruit other distributors.
That way, a distributor can buy the MLM products at a discount and
earn money selling the product directly to others. He also earns
"overrides" for the distributor that he has sponsored. And it
gets better. Normally, a distributor also earns "overrides" for
several levels that are deep in his organization. These
distributors are called his "downline" or his "organization." You
have probably seen how an organization can grow, but I'll show you
again just in case. Let's say that your organization has 5
levels. Let's assume that you sponsor 5 people, and everyone does
likewise. Your downline would then grow like this:
Level 1 5 Distributors
Level 2 25 Distributors
Level 3 124 Distributors
Level 4 625 Distributors
Level 5 3,125 Distributors
Total = 3,905 Distributors
Now that's quite a few distributors. If you earned $10 a month
for each distributor in your "downline," you would be earning
$39,050 a month! So theoretically, you can earn a lot of money!
If everything worked perfectly. but it normally doesn't since
your downline will not build perfectly. In fact, in most cases if
you are using standard MLM techniques, you'll be lucky to build
anyone on your second level! Now, I'm going to tell you the way
it is in the real MLM world. You can make a lot of money in MLM,
but most people don't! Let me explain what it takes to succeed
and also to fail in MLM. You need to understand the underlying
principles of MLM first.
You Must Build Your Organization Deep!
Notice in the previous table that you earn your big money on your
5th level. That's because that's where most of your distributors
are. To build a deep organization, you MUST train and help your
first level! In other words, you must have a method that is
duplicative! Your first level people must have a way to help
their first level (your 2nd level) and so on. Otherwise your
organization will die on the vine! Most new people in MLM make
the serious mistake in trying to build their first level wide.
That is, they personally want to recruit as many people as they
can. Here is how they reason. If he can't or doesn't want to
sell, surely if he sponsors enough people on his first level, some
of these people will magically sell for him. Bad mistake! If you
can't sell the product or service, how can you expect to train
others to sell? You have just got to have a duplicative method
that you, your people, and their people can easily duplicate.
This is the fundamental basic rule that makes MLM promoters
wealthy! Violate it and you're dead in the water!
You Must Learn How to Sell and Teach Others to Sell
Yuck! This is the kiss of death for most people! Let's face it,
most people hate to sell, can't sell, and don't want to learn how
to sell! But don't fret. In these reports, I will show you how
to succeed in MLM without direct selling by using mailorder
techniques. but for now, understand that if you are strictly in
MLM only, you "gotta" sell. There is no other choice!
Another unique problem with MLM'ers is that they find it difficult
to generate leads. That is, once you have joined a MLM company,
who do you find to sell? Where do you find interested people to
talk to? Lead generation is generally very awkward. Since the
very principle of MLM is that all selling is done by word of
mouth, advertising just doesn't seem to fit. If advertising is
used, it is mostly used nationally, and the long distance phone
calls for following up gets to be very expensive very quickly.
Generally, if your upline gives you a few leads a month, you're
lucky. Or sometimes, you will be invited to participate in
cooperative advertising. This is OK, but these leads generally
cost $1 to $5 each and then again you have the long distance
problem.
Oh yes, the MLM companies come up with all kinds of disguised ways
to overcome the selling and lead generation problems. They try to
teach you how to "share" your product with friends and relatives.
They want you to bring your potential distributors to rah, rah,
rah "Opportunity Meetings." All selling techniques! And yes,
they show you how you can lose a lot of money by trying to sponsor
new distributors by "long distance." I say "lose a lot of money"
because the MLM companies in general don't seem to understand the
first thing about how to use proven mailorder techniques.
Another theory that MLM companies will tout is that you should be
100% loyal to only them. That is, they insist that you are active
only with their MLM company. This goes against human nature! I
know many people who are in MLM, but not one of them is in only
one program! Most MLM'ers get into several MLM companies. Yes, I
know some of the "old timers" that have been in only one MLM
company, and they adamantly advise you to do the same. But it
seems that most MLM newcomers all get involved in more than one
MLM program.
Can you imagine K-Mart or drug stores if they handled only one
brand of products? So this is a contradiction in the minds of
most MLM'ers. They want to handle several companies, and most
people want to "buy into" several companies, but no MLM company
openly discusses it. Certainly no MLM company trains you how to
do it.
How to Go Broke Promoting MLM by Mail
Let's review how MLM companies operate in general. Mostly, all
quality MLM companies have first class promotional material and
services that you can use. This can include expensive full color
literature, audio tapes, video tapes, local and national meetings,
training seminars and the like. They encourage you to have #800
phone numbers, voice box mail services and FAX machines. This is
all geared primarily to sponsor local people. And it works when
you are primarily selling face to face! But none of this is worth
a "plugged nickel" if you are trying to sell by mail! It's way
too expensive.
Here's how the typical MLM "BIG TIME" promoter can lose a lot of
money. First, he signs up in a wonderful MLM program. And it
probably is. Next, he decides to sponsor as many people as he
can. (Surely if he gets 100 people in his first level, he can
get 1,000's in his organization? Wrong!) Let's continue on. To
sponsor 100 people fast, he advertises in USA Today under
Business Opportunities." Ninety percent of all ads in this
section are MLM companies and distributors! He gets to spend
about $500 for one weed with a tiny ad! Next, he gets a voice box
mail service with a pre-recorded message. (I hate those!) Now he
sits back and, sure enough, he gets about 50 to 100 leads. (That's
$5 to $10 a lead cost!). Now guess what next? He now has about
100 leads that he must call back at HIS cost! And he'll probably
have to call several times to catch these people. Another cost of
$5 to $10 for everyone that he talks to! Well, sure enough, some
of the people are genuinely interested and they want more
information and literature! Remember that expensive literature I
told you about? Well, now he has to send it! Let's see. He has
to send the expensive $10 to $20 video with the expensive
literature. Otherwise he can't possibly "sign" anyone up without
meeting him face to face. So be it. Send it all out. Now we're
up to $30 to $50 cost on just this one person! Whew! Oh well, we
have now sent out the expensive packages and we'll see what
happens? Probably nothing! Well, that's what follow up phone
calls are for. Another cost. More time. And if he is lucky, he
will finally sign up 1 or 2 new distributors. What a messy,
costly way to do this!
But what was that fundamental principle that I taught you earlier?
You must be able to duplicate you system! Now that you have
finally signed up 1 or 2 people, you are now going to try to show
him how you did this! You would be nuts if you tried this! But
nevertheless, there are plenty of people that try to do it this
way. Just read the ads in the USA Today if you don't believe me!
OK. Let's recap on MLM. If you want to succeed in MLM using
standard MLM techniques you need to:
1. Handle Just One MLM Company
2. Sell Face To Face
3. Recruit Only a Few On Your First Level
4. Have a Duplicative Method
5. Build a Deep Organization
6. Help and Train Your First Level
7. Primarily Sell Locally
Mailorder Techniques
Now that we have covered MLM, let's now see how the professional
mailorder dealers operate. It's entirely different! Let me
explain to you the fundamentals that all mailorder dealers will
use.
First, the basic idea in mailorder is to get as many customers as
you can get so you can sell to your customers over and over again.
The very first objective in mailorder is to develop your own
customer base. Once you have a customer base of, let's say, 100
to 10,000, you can keep sending them your new offers or catalogs
and keep reselling them! Professional mailorder dealers talk in
terms of the "front end" and "back end." The "front end" is the
method of simply getting customers . . . even at no profit or at a
slight loss! No professional mailorder dealer will ever attempt
to make a "killing" with advertising or mass mail to
non-customers!
It just doesn't happen. They will, however, do a lot of
advertising and mass mailings to build their customer base! A
customer base is pure gold! These customers like to deal with you
and they buy again . . . and again. . . .and again. As long as
you have several offers! And that brings up another fundamental
point. To succeed in mailorder, as with any business, you just
have to have several products or offers to sell. If you don't,
you will most likely lose money in trying!
When it comes to advertising, these guys are pro's. All will use
tiny classified ads that you see in the back of national
advertising. If these ads get results, they will test and test
and then place small 1" ads. When they have an offering and a
publication fit, they then might place a large ad. Only then.
You will rarely see them advertise in USA Today. Way too
expensive!
They will use "leader items." A leader item is an inexpensive
report or item that typically sells for less than $5.00. By
advertising a leader item that costs 2 or 3 dollars, you can
expect to get orders directly. The objective is break even with
your mailing and advertising costs and build your customer base.
Reprintable reports are excellent for this. Sometimes you can
actually make money right up front if you have a "HOT" item.
Everyone that buys the "leader item" will then get another
literature included. It generally goes postage FREE! Do you see
how they operate? Slowly but surely. Making money as they go!
Testing and re-testing! Mailorder dealers know that they can
make a lot of money! Some reports say that there are over 50,000
small mailorder dealers quietly earning over $50,000 a year
operating out of their homes! You and I also know that there are
also many big time mailorder operators that become very wealthy by
selling by mail.
Let me recap what successful mailorder dealers will do.
1. Develop as many customers as they can
2. Promote nationally
3. Have several offerings
4. Develop cost effective ways to generate customers
How to Combine MLM with Mailorder
If you look at the "recaps" above, you will not find many
common ties between MLM and mailorder . . do you? But yet, there
are a lot of amateurish MLM distributors and companies that try
to promote MLM via mail without understanding the first basic
principle of mailorder techniques! But it can be done! With
astounding results!
Do you see some of the main differences between promoting MLM and
mailorder? In MLM you should "Sign Up" only a few people on your
first level. Say no more than 10 and then help them. With
Mailorder, you want to develop as many customers as you can. . .
1,000's if you can! With MLM, you want to sell locally, and with
mail-order, you have to sell nationally! With MLM, you are told
to be loyal to just one company, but with mailorder, you should
have many offerings.
Wouldn't it be nice to be able to take all the good techniques
from both MLM and from Mailorder Techniques and throw away the
nasty ones? Well, that's just what these reports are all about!
Mailorder dealers operate lean and mean. If they don't make a
profit on everything that they do, they are out of business!
That's a good premise to start with. don't do ANYTHING unless you
can make some up front money, or at least break even! If
mailorder dealers were to make deals like a lot of MLM
distributors do, they would be out of business immediately! Let
me give you a few examples. Avoid them like the plague!
MLM Offers to Avoid!
In these examples, remember that the offer that is being made
must be duplicated (by you) if it is any good!
1. "Join my program and I'll pay your way in." What a miserable
offer! This guy is willing to pay his money to get me into his
program. What is he really saying? If I join him, I will have
to pay for my new people? This can't get any worse!
2. "Sure, I'll send to you the information FREE." Now let's
see. If he is sending me video's and expensive literature, I'll
bet that is costing him at least $10 to $20! Hmmm. If I get into
this program, does this mean that I will have to send out this
FREE stuff? At my cost? No way!
3. "Join now, and I will build your downline." This guy is
absolutely naive or just a flat out liar! It is impossible for
him to build your downline. And you cannot possibly duplicate
this method. Watch your wallet and stay away! While you may be
able to help a few select people by "signing up" a few people for
them, you cannot possibly do this for your entire downline! You
must provide a logical method that your people can do this for
themselves!
This report, "How To Build A Massive Moneymaking Machine By
Mail...On A Shoe String Budget At Home" is one of 15 reports
contained in our set, "How to Build A Lean, Mean MLM Machine . .
.By Mail!" If you have not ordered the complete MLM Machine set
of reprintable reports, I urge you to do so immediately so you can
take full advantage of this program.
Before you can appreciate and understand how to promote MLM
programs by mail, it is appropriate to review first the
fundamentals of MLM(Multilevel Marketing) and mailorder methods
that are proven. Let's talk first about MLM that is also known as
Networking or Network marketing.
The Basics of MLM Programs
First understand that MLM is not an illegal pyramid scheme. It is
100% legal and many multimillion companies market their product
strictly through MLM promotion. Some of the best known MLM
companies include Amway, Shaklee, Tupperware, Princess House. . .
a subsidiary of Colgate Palmolive, A.L. Williams, MaryKay
Cosmetics, U.S. Sprint, MCI, and NSA. These companies have been
around for decades. There are actually 100's to 1,000's more MLM
companies. Like other companies, some are good and some are not
so good. But one thing is for sure. MLM is here to stay, and it
is an explosive growth field!
So what's the big attraction to MLM companies and programs? Well,
it represents a wonderful opportunity for the "little fella" to
start his own business on a part time basis and make a whole lot
of money! How is this possible? The concept is fairly simple,
MLM companies offer their products and services through
independent distributors who can then recruit other distributors.
That way, a distributor can buy the MLM products at a discount and
earn money selling the product directly to others. He also earns
"overrides" for the distributor that he has sponsored. And it
gets better. Normally, a distributor also earns "overrides" for
several levels that are deep in his organization. These
distributors are called his "downline" or his "organization." You
have probably seen how an organization can grow, but I'll show you
again just in case. Let's say that your organization has 5
levels. Let's assume that you sponsor 5 people, and everyone does
likewise. Your downline would then grow like this:
Level 1 5 Distributors
Level 2 25 Distributors
Level 3 124 Distributors
Level 4 625 Distributors
Level 5 3,125 Distributors
Total = 3,905 Distributors
Now that's quite a few distributors. If you earned $10 a month
for each distributor in your "downline," you would be earning
$39,050 a month! So theoretically, you can earn a lot of money!
If everything worked perfectly. but it normally doesn't since
your downline will not build perfectly. In fact, in most cases if
you are using standard MLM techniques, you'll be lucky to build
anyone on your second level! Now, I'm going to tell you the way
it is in the real MLM world. You can make a lot of money in MLM,
but most people don't! Let me explain what it takes to succeed
and also to fail in MLM. You need to understand the underlying
principles of MLM first.
You Must Build Your Organization Deep!
Notice in the previous table that you earn your big money on your
5th level. That's because that's where most of your distributors
are. To build a deep organization, you MUST train and help your
first level! In other words, you must have a method that is
duplicative! Your first level people must have a way to help
their first level (your 2nd level) and so on. Otherwise your
organization will die on the vine! Most new people in MLM make
the serious mistake in trying to build their first level wide.
That is, they personally want to recruit as many people as they
can. Here is how they reason. If he can't or doesn't want to
sell, surely if he sponsors enough people on his first level, some
of these people will magically sell for him. Bad mistake! If you
can't sell the product or service, how can you expect to train
others to sell? You have just got to have a duplicative method
that you, your people, and their people can easily duplicate.
This is the fundamental basic rule that makes MLM promoters
wealthy! Violate it and you're dead in the water!
You Must Learn How to Sell and Teach Others to Sell
Yuck! This is the kiss of death for most people! Let's face it,
most people hate to sell, can't sell, and don't want to learn how
to sell! But don't fret. In these reports, I will show you how
to succeed in MLM without direct selling by using mailorder
techniques. but for now, understand that if you are strictly in
MLM only, you "gotta" sell. There is no other choice!
Another unique problem with MLM'ers is that they find it difficult
to generate leads. That is, once you have joined a MLM company,
who do you find to sell? Where do you find interested people to
talk to? Lead generation is generally very awkward. Since the
very principle of MLM is that all selling is done by word of
mouth, advertising just doesn't seem to fit. If advertising is
used, it is mostly used nationally, and the long distance phone
calls for following up gets to be very expensive very quickly.
Generally, if your upline gives you a few leads a month, you're
lucky. Or sometimes, you will be invited to participate in
cooperative advertising. This is OK, but these leads generally
cost $1 to $5 each and then again you have the long distance
problem.
Oh yes, the MLM companies come up with all kinds of disguised ways
to overcome the selling and lead generation problems. They try to
teach you how to "share" your product with friends and relatives.
They want you to bring your potential distributors to rah, rah,
rah "Opportunity Meetings." All selling techniques! And yes,
they show you how you can lose a lot of money by trying to sponsor
new distributors by "long distance." I say "lose a lot of money"
because the MLM companies in general don't seem to understand the
first thing about how to use proven mailorder techniques.
Another theory that MLM companies will tout is that you should be
100% loyal to only them. That is, they insist that you are active
only with their MLM company. This goes against human nature! I
know many people who are in MLM, but not one of them is in only
one program! Most MLM'ers get into several MLM companies. Yes, I
know some of the "old timers" that have been in only one MLM
company, and they adamantly advise you to do the same. But it
seems that most MLM newcomers all get involved in more than one
MLM program.
Can you imagine K-Mart or drug stores if they handled only one
brand of products? So this is a contradiction in the minds of
most MLM'ers. They want to handle several companies, and most
people want to "buy into" several companies, but no MLM company
openly discusses it. Certainly no MLM company trains you how to
do it.
How to Go Broke Promoting MLM by Mail
Let's review how MLM companies operate in general. Mostly, all
quality MLM companies have first class promotional material and
services that you can use. This can include expensive full color
literature, audio tapes, video tapes, local and national meetings,
training seminars and the like. They encourage you to have #800
phone numbers, voice box mail services and FAX machines. This is
all geared primarily to sponsor local people. And it works when
you are primarily selling face to face! But none of this is worth
a "plugged nickel" if you are trying to sell by mail! It's way
too expensive.
Here's how the typical MLM "BIG TIME" promoter can lose a lot of
money. First, he signs up in a wonderful MLM program. And it
probably is. Next, he decides to sponsor as many people as he
can. (Surely if he gets 100 people in his first level, he can
get 1,000's in his organization? Wrong!) Let's continue on. To
sponsor 100 people fast, he advertises in USA Today under
Business Opportunities." Ninety percent of all ads in this
section are MLM companies and distributors! He gets to spend
about $500 for one weed with a tiny ad! Next, he gets a voice box
mail service with a pre-recorded message. (I hate those!) Now he
sits back and, sure enough, he gets about 50 to 100 leads. (That's
$5 to $10 a lead cost!). Now guess what next? He now has about
100 leads that he must call back at HIS cost! And he'll probably
have to call several times to catch these people. Another cost of
$5 to $10 for everyone that he talks to! Well, sure enough, some
of the people are genuinely interested and they want more
information and literature! Remember that expensive literature I
told you about? Well, now he has to send it! Let's see. He has
to send the expensive $10 to $20 video with the expensive
literature. Otherwise he can't possibly "sign" anyone up without
meeting him face to face. So be it. Send it all out. Now we're
up to $30 to $50 cost on just this one person! Whew! Oh well, we
have now sent out the expensive packages and we'll see what
happens? Probably nothing! Well, that's what follow up phone
calls are for. Another cost. More time. And if he is lucky, he
will finally sign up 1 or 2 new distributors. What a messy,
costly way to do this!
But what was that fundamental principle that I taught you earlier?
You must be able to duplicate you system! Now that you have
finally signed up 1 or 2 people, you are now going to try to show
him how you did this! You would be nuts if you tried this! But
nevertheless, there are plenty of people that try to do it this
way. Just read the ads in the USA Today if you don't believe me!
OK. Let's recap on MLM. If you want to succeed in MLM using
standard MLM techniques you need to:
1. Handle Just One MLM Company
2. Sell Face To Face
3. Recruit Only a Few On Your First Level
4. Have a Duplicative Method
5. Build a Deep Organization
6. Help and Train Your First Level
7. Primarily Sell Locally
Mailorder Techniques
Now that we have covered MLM, let's now see how the professional
mailorder dealers operate. It's entirely different! Let me
explain to you the fundamentals that all mailorder dealers will
use.
First, the basic idea in mailorder is to get as many customers as
you can get so you can sell to your customers over and over again.
The very first objective in mailorder is to develop your own
customer base. Once you have a customer base of, let's say, 100
to 10,000, you can keep sending them your new offers or catalogs
and keep reselling them! Professional mailorder dealers talk in
terms of the "front end" and "back end." The "front end" is the
method of simply getting customers . . . even at no profit or at a
slight loss! No professional mailorder dealer will ever attempt
to make a "killing" with advertising or mass mail to
non-customers!
It just doesn't happen. They will, however, do a lot of
advertising and mass mailings to build their customer base! A
customer base is pure gold! These customers like to deal with you
and they buy again . . . and again. . . .and again. As long as
you have several offers! And that brings up another fundamental
point. To succeed in mailorder, as with any business, you just
have to have several products or offers to sell. If you don't,
you will most likely lose money in trying!
When it comes to advertising, these guys are pro's. All will use
tiny classified ads that you see in the back of national
advertising. If these ads get results, they will test and test
and then place small 1" ads. When they have an offering and a
publication fit, they then might place a large ad. Only then.
You will rarely see them advertise in USA Today. Way too
expensive!
They will use "leader items." A leader item is an inexpensive
report or item that typically sells for less than $5.00. By
advertising a leader item that costs 2 or 3 dollars, you can
expect to get orders directly. The objective is break even with
your mailing and advertising costs and build your customer base.
Reprintable reports are excellent for this. Sometimes you can
actually make money right up front if you have a "HOT" item.
Everyone that buys the "leader item" will then get another
literature included. It generally goes postage FREE! Do you see
how they operate? Slowly but surely. Making money as they go!
Testing and re-testing! Mailorder dealers know that they can
make a lot of money! Some reports say that there are over 50,000
small mailorder dealers quietly earning over $50,000 a year
operating out of their homes! You and I also know that there are
also many big time mailorder operators that become very wealthy by
selling by mail.
Let me recap what successful mailorder dealers will do.
1. Develop as many customers as they can
2. Promote nationally
3. Have several offerings
4. Develop cost effective ways to generate customers
How to Combine MLM with Mailorder
If you look at the "recaps" above, you will not find many
common ties between MLM and mailorder . . do you? But yet, there
are a lot of amateurish MLM distributors and companies that try
to promote MLM via mail without understanding the first basic
principle of mailorder techniques! But it can be done! With
astounding results!
Do you see some of the main differences between promoting MLM and
mailorder? In MLM you should "Sign Up" only a few people on your
first level. Say no more than 10 and then help them. With
Mailorder, you want to develop as many customers as you can. . .
1,000's if you can! With MLM, you want to sell locally, and with
mail-order, you have to sell nationally! With MLM, you are told
to be loyal to just one company, but with mailorder, you should
have many offerings.
Wouldn't it be nice to be able to take all the good techniques
from both MLM and from Mailorder Techniques and throw away the
nasty ones? Well, that's just what these reports are all about!
Mailorder dealers operate lean and mean. If they don't make a
profit on everything that they do, they are out of business!
That's a good premise to start with. don't do ANYTHING unless you
can make some up front money, or at least break even! If
mailorder dealers were to make deals like a lot of MLM
distributors do, they would be out of business immediately! Let
me give you a few examples. Avoid them like the plague!
MLM Offers to Avoid!
In these examples, remember that the offer that is being made
must be duplicated (by you) if it is any good!
1. "Join my program and I'll pay your way in." What a miserable
offer! This guy is willing to pay his money to get me into his
program. What is he really saying? If I join him, I will have
to pay for my new people? This can't get any worse!
2. "Sure, I'll send to you the information FREE." Now let's
see. If he is sending me video's and expensive literature, I'll
bet that is costing him at least $10 to $20! Hmmm. If I get into
this program, does this mean that I will have to send out this
FREE stuff? At my cost? No way!
3. "Join now, and I will build your downline." This guy is
absolutely naive or just a flat out liar! It is impossible for
him to build your downline. And you cannot possibly duplicate
this method. Watch your wallet and stay away! While you may be
able to help a few select people by "signing up" a few people for
them, you cannot possibly do this for your entire downline! You
must provide a logical method that your people can do this for
themselves!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Choosing A Bank That's Right For You
It is important to select the right bank. Do NOT choose
any bank-be fussy! There are two main objectives to seek
when searching for a new bank. 1.) Find a bank that is
agressively seeking new business. 2.) Choose one with
which you can develop a personal relationship.
To select a bank that is agressive, simply watch for
extended advertising campaigns. They are very costly, and
must bring in new business in order to be continued.
Look also for smaller banks, ones with just a few offices.
They tend to be more agressive, more lenient on
qualifications, much friendlier and more personalized in
the service they offer. They are forced by nature of
their competition to be more flexible.
With the small, independent bank, you will get friendly
service, and often will be called by name. The tellers
remember you and do not need to request your
identification every time you want to cash a check. Small
banks do not have a large loan committee that spends lots
of time shuffling papers. They may however, stall your
loan ap-plication for a day or so in order not to appear
too anxious! Its a minor issue...and not one to be overly
concerned about.
Big banks seem to have forgotten that the customer is
number one. You will be far more pleased with your small
bank and your personalized service when it comes to
getting loans and other services for your own business.
any bank-be fussy! There are two main objectives to seek
when searching for a new bank. 1.) Find a bank that is
agressively seeking new business. 2.) Choose one with
which you can develop a personal relationship.
To select a bank that is agressive, simply watch for
extended advertising campaigns. They are very costly, and
must bring in new business in order to be continued.
Look also for smaller banks, ones with just a few offices.
They tend to be more agressive, more lenient on
qualifications, much friendlier and more personalized in
the service they offer. They are forced by nature of
their competition to be more flexible.
With the small, independent bank, you will get friendly
service, and often will be called by name. The tellers
remember you and do not need to request your
identification every time you want to cash a check. Small
banks do not have a large loan committee that spends lots
of time shuffling papers. They may however, stall your
loan ap-plication for a day or so in order not to appear
too anxious! Its a minor issue...and not one to be overly
concerned about.
Big banks seem to have forgotten that the customer is
number one. You will be far more pleased with your small
bank and your personalized service when it comes to
getting loans and other services for your own business.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Fair Debt Collection
If you use credit cards, owe money on a personal loan, or are
paying on a home mortgage, you are a "debtor." If you fall behind
in repaying your creditors, or an error is made on your accounts,
you may be contacted by a "debt collector."
You should know that in either situation the Fair Debt Collection
Practices Act requires that debt collectors treat you fairly by
prohibiting certain methods of debt collection. Of course, the
law does not forgive any legitimate debt you owe.
This brochure provides answers to commonly asked questions to
help you understand your rights under the Fair Debt Collection
Practices Act.
What debts are covered?
Personal, family, and household debts are covered under the Act.
This includes money owed for the purchase of an automobile, for
medical care, or for charge accounts.
Who is a debt collector?
A debt collector is any person, other than the creditor, who
regularly collects debts owed to others. Under a 1986 amendment
to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, this includes
attorneys who collect debts on a regular basis.
How may a debt collector contact you?
A collector may contact you in person, by mail, telephone,
telegram, or FAX. However, a debt collector may not contact you
at unreasonable times or places, such as before 8 a.m. or after
9 p.m., unless you agree. A debt collector also may not contact
you at work if the collector knows that your employer
disapproves.
Can you stop a debt collector from contacting you?
You may stop a collector from contacting you by writing a letter
to the collection agency telling them to stop. Once the agency
receives your letter, they may not contact you again except to
say there will be no further contact. Another exception is that
the agency may notify you if the debt collector or the creditor
intends to take some specific action.
May a debt collector contact any person other than you concerning
your debt?
If you have an attorney, the debt collector may not contact
anyone other than your attorney. If you do not have an attorney,
a collector may contact other people, but only to find out where
you live and work. Collectors usually are prohibited from
contacting such permissible third parties more than once. In most
cases, the collector is not permitted to tell anyone other than
you and your attorney that you owe money.
What is the debt collector required to tell you about the debt?
Within five days after you are first contacted, the collector
must send you a written notice telling you the amount of money
you owe; the name of the creditor to whom you owe the money; and
what action to take if you believe you do not owe the money.
May a debt collector continue to contact you if you believe you
do not owe money?
A collector may not contact you if, within 30 days after you are
first contacted, you send the collection agency a letter stating
you do not owe money. However, a collector can renew collection
activities if you are sent proof of the debt, such as a copy of a
bill for the amount owed.
What types of debt collection practices are prohibited?
Harassment. Debt collectors may not harass, oppress, or abuse
any person. For example, debt collectors may not:
- use threats of violence or harm against the person,
property, or reputation;
- publish a list of consumers who refuse to pay their debts
(except to a credit bureau);
- use obscene or profane language;
- repeatedly use the telephone to annoy someone;
- telephone people without identifying themselves;
- advertise your debt.
False statements. Debt collectors may not use any false
statements when collecting a debt. For example, debt collectors
may not:
- falsely imply that they are attorneys or government
representatives;
- falsely imply that you have committed a crime;
- falsely represent that they operate or work for a credit
bureau;
- misrepresent the amount of your debt;
- misrepresent the involvement of an attorney in collecting a
debt;
- indicate that papers being sent to you are legal forms when
they are not;
- indicate that papers being sent to you are not legal forms
when they are.
Debt collectors also may not state that:
- you will be arrested if you do not pay your debt;
- they will seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or
wages, unless the collection agency or creditor intends to do so,
and it is legal to do so;
- actions, such as a lawsuit, will be taken against you, which
legally may not be taken, or which they do not intend to take.
Debt collectors may not:
- give false credit information about you to anyone;
- send you anything that looks like an official document from
a court or government agency when it is not;
- use a false name.
Unfair practices. Debt collectors may not engage in unfair
practices in attempting to collect a debt. For example,
collectors may not:
- collect any amount greater than your debt, unless allowed by
law;
- deposit a post-dated check prematurely;
- make you accept collect calls or pay for telegrams;
- take or threaten to take your property unless this can be
done legally;
- contact you by postcard.
What control do you have over payment of debts?
If you owe more than one debt, any payment you make must be
applied to the debt you indicate. A debt collector may not apply
a payment to any debt you believe you do not owe.
What can you do if you believe a debt collector violated the law?
You have the right to sue a collector in a state or federal court
within one year from the date you believe the law was violated.
If you win, you may recover money for the damages you suffered.
Court costs and attorney's fees also can be recovered. A group of
people also may sue a debt collector and recover money for
damages up to $500,000, or one percent of the collector's net
worth, whichever is less.
Where can you report a debt collector for an alleged violation of
the law?
Report any problems you have with a debt collector to your state
Attorney General's office and the Federal Trade Commission. Many
states also have their own debt collection laws and your Attorney
General's office can help you determine your rights.
If you have questions about the Fair Debt Collection Practices
Act, or your rights under the Act, write: Correspondence Branch,
Federal Trade Commission, Washington, D.C. 20580. Although the
FTC generally cannot intervene in individual disputes, the
information you provide may indicate a pattern of possible law
violations requiring action by the Commission.
paying on a home mortgage, you are a "debtor." If you fall behind
in repaying your creditors, or an error is made on your accounts,
you may be contacted by a "debt collector."
You should know that in either situation the Fair Debt Collection
Practices Act requires that debt collectors treat you fairly by
prohibiting certain methods of debt collection. Of course, the
law does not forgive any legitimate debt you owe.
This brochure provides answers to commonly asked questions to
help you understand your rights under the Fair Debt Collection
Practices Act.
What debts are covered?
Personal, family, and household debts are covered under the Act.
This includes money owed for the purchase of an automobile, for
medical care, or for charge accounts.
Who is a debt collector?
A debt collector is any person, other than the creditor, who
regularly collects debts owed to others. Under a 1986 amendment
to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, this includes
attorneys who collect debts on a regular basis.
How may a debt collector contact you?
A collector may contact you in person, by mail, telephone,
telegram, or FAX. However, a debt collector may not contact you
at unreasonable times or places, such as before 8 a.m. or after
9 p.m., unless you agree. A debt collector also may not contact
you at work if the collector knows that your employer
disapproves.
Can you stop a debt collector from contacting you?
You may stop a collector from contacting you by writing a letter
to the collection agency telling them to stop. Once the agency
receives your letter, they may not contact you again except to
say there will be no further contact. Another exception is that
the agency may notify you if the debt collector or the creditor
intends to take some specific action.
May a debt collector contact any person other than you concerning
your debt?
If you have an attorney, the debt collector may not contact
anyone other than your attorney. If you do not have an attorney,
a collector may contact other people, but only to find out where
you live and work. Collectors usually are prohibited from
contacting such permissible third parties more than once. In most
cases, the collector is not permitted to tell anyone other than
you and your attorney that you owe money.
What is the debt collector required to tell you about the debt?
Within five days after you are first contacted, the collector
must send you a written notice telling you the amount of money
you owe; the name of the creditor to whom you owe the money; and
what action to take if you believe you do not owe the money.
May a debt collector continue to contact you if you believe you
do not owe money?
A collector may not contact you if, within 30 days after you are
first contacted, you send the collection agency a letter stating
you do not owe money. However, a collector can renew collection
activities if you are sent proof of the debt, such as a copy of a
bill for the amount owed.
What types of debt collection practices are prohibited?
Harassment. Debt collectors may not harass, oppress, or abuse
any person. For example, debt collectors may not:
- use threats of violence or harm against the person,
property, or reputation;
- publish a list of consumers who refuse to pay their debts
(except to a credit bureau);
- use obscene or profane language;
- repeatedly use the telephone to annoy someone;
- telephone people without identifying themselves;
- advertise your debt.
False statements. Debt collectors may not use any false
statements when collecting a debt. For example, debt collectors
may not:
- falsely imply that they are attorneys or government
representatives;
- falsely imply that you have committed a crime;
- falsely represent that they operate or work for a credit
bureau;
- misrepresent the amount of your debt;
- misrepresent the involvement of an attorney in collecting a
debt;
- indicate that papers being sent to you are legal forms when
they are not;
- indicate that papers being sent to you are not legal forms
when they are.
Debt collectors also may not state that:
- you will be arrested if you do not pay your debt;
- they will seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or
wages, unless the collection agency or creditor intends to do so,
and it is legal to do so;
- actions, such as a lawsuit, will be taken against you, which
legally may not be taken, or which they do not intend to take.
Debt collectors may not:
- give false credit information about you to anyone;
- send you anything that looks like an official document from
a court or government agency when it is not;
- use a false name.
Unfair practices. Debt collectors may not engage in unfair
practices in attempting to collect a debt. For example,
collectors may not:
- collect any amount greater than your debt, unless allowed by
law;
- deposit a post-dated check prematurely;
- make you accept collect calls or pay for telegrams;
- take or threaten to take your property unless this can be
done legally;
- contact you by postcard.
What control do you have over payment of debts?
If you owe more than one debt, any payment you make must be
applied to the debt you indicate. A debt collector may not apply
a payment to any debt you believe you do not owe.
What can you do if you believe a debt collector violated the law?
You have the right to sue a collector in a state or federal court
within one year from the date you believe the law was violated.
If you win, you may recover money for the damages you suffered.
Court costs and attorney's fees also can be recovered. A group of
people also may sue a debt collector and recover money for
damages up to $500,000, or one percent of the collector's net
worth, whichever is less.
Where can you report a debt collector for an alleged violation of
the law?
Report any problems you have with a debt collector to your state
Attorney General's office and the Federal Trade Commission. Many
states also have their own debt collection laws and your Attorney
General's office can help you determine your rights.
If you have questions about the Fair Debt Collection Practices
Act, or your rights under the Act, write: Correspondence Branch,
Federal Trade Commission, Washington, D.C. 20580. Although the
FTC generally cannot intervene in individual disputes, the
information you provide may indicate a pattern of possible law
violations requiring action by the Commission.
Friday, October 3, 2008
How To Acquire Property Without Risk
There are a number of ways to acquire property without risk. We
list a number of the most important:
* Restrict the size of the investment and the amount of
indebtedness.
* Sell at a profit a part of what you have purchased.
* Buy only such property as you are willing and able to hold for
an indefinite period.
* Make an estimate of gain or loss probabilities before you buy.
* Withstand all pressure of people who try to induce you to sell
at a loss.
* Increase desirability of the property before you sell.
* Observe the effects of local improvements, movements and
activity. Develop ability to buy Real Estate with the greatest
potential for the future. The successful buyers of Real Estate
have a good knowledge of facts and laws, learned under a great
variety of circumstances. They realize the importance of making
investigations. They know economics and business conditions
locally and nationally. They study trends, growth areas and
property utilization. They have a correct idea of their own
personal finance limitations. They have a high degree of
interest, judgement and imagination.
* Adaptability, fortitude and a high degree of resourcefulness
are other attributes to successful Real Estate investing. Desire
for ownership and not being adverse to going into debt are very
important.
* If a property appears to be greatly under priced never quibble
over price. List all the significant advantages and disadvantages
of each property. There should be some reasonably outstanding
features that will generate enthusiasm. Decide to buy on the
merits of the property, not because someone is suggestive. If you
lose a good deal, a better one will come along. Resist
speculation fervor.
* If you are buying a property to hold for a long time, compute
the taxes, interest, insurance, etc. You will have to pay while
it is in your possession.
* Realize that when the market is good and the price is rising
you can always buy, but when the market is going down it is
difficult to sell. Don't sell too quickly and do not over-extend
yourself.
* Realize that increasing value of improved (homes buildings,
etc) result mainly from increasing population.
* if you are interested in making money investing in REal Estate
foreclosures, the best way to succeed is to develop a financial
plan based on your tax bracket so that you will know when to sell
off which properties and when to keep them for future increase in
value. You will need to recognize when there is "concealed"
equity in a property which is not visible to other investors.
Look for homes from 5 to 20 years old with potential net profits
of no less than $4,000 when you convert them.
* Know the laws in your state pertaining to the foreclosure
process. Look over all the small print in contracts. Most of them
favor the seller. If you are the buyer, have the contract changed
to fit your requirements.
* Be careful at auctions so that you don't get carried away with
the bidding; determine in advance the top you will go and stay
with it.
* Strive to locate and purchasee distressed property before
foreclosure proceedings start and you can generally assume
conventional loans under the same circumstances as presently
exist.
* When you have purchased the property in a slow Real Estate
market, it is easier to sell since you have probably acquired it
at several thousands below the current market value.
* It can be good policy some of your property and keep some. For
example, if you can sell one-half of the property and get mos of
your money back, you will be able to retain the balance for
future enhancement and use the proceeds of that portion sold to
speculate in other properties.
* Speculation is not all profit. As time goes by taxes and
assessments increase; some properties may have to be sold to pay
for such increases.
* The greatest deterrent to a person buying Real Estate is the
fear of making a mistake. Of course a person can't afford to make
many mistakes in Real Estate speculation just as in any other
kind of business.
* During a period of inflation, land is the best investment.
During a recession or depression, land is the worst investment.
If a recession appears imminent sell, even if on a contract for
a reasonable dow payment and monthly payment on the balance. You
will have an income and also have the property as collateral. You
can be sure that as long as general economic conditions are
good, the value of well selected Real Estate will increase.
* Populations increase by birth rate and by influx. Check to
determine the past circumstances of the local economy, the demand
for public services and the future growth potential. The fact
that a city has increased in population is not significant in
itself. Perhaps there has been an annexation of adjacent areas.
Yes! By comparing, learning and using good common sense you can
profit in Real Estate regardless of recession, depression,
interest rates, or inflation!...And without excessive risk!
list a number of the most important:
* Restrict the size of the investment and the amount of
indebtedness.
* Sell at a profit a part of what you have purchased.
* Buy only such property as you are willing and able to hold for
an indefinite period.
* Make an estimate of gain or loss probabilities before you buy.
* Withstand all pressure of people who try to induce you to sell
at a loss.
* Increase desirability of the property before you sell.
* Observe the effects of local improvements, movements and
activity. Develop ability to buy Real Estate with the greatest
potential for the future. The successful buyers of Real Estate
have a good knowledge of facts and laws, learned under a great
variety of circumstances. They realize the importance of making
investigations. They know economics and business conditions
locally and nationally. They study trends, growth areas and
property utilization. They have a correct idea of their own
personal finance limitations. They have a high degree of
interest, judgement and imagination.
* Adaptability, fortitude and a high degree of resourcefulness
are other attributes to successful Real Estate investing. Desire
for ownership and not being adverse to going into debt are very
important.
* If a property appears to be greatly under priced never quibble
over price. List all the significant advantages and disadvantages
of each property. There should be some reasonably outstanding
features that will generate enthusiasm. Decide to buy on the
merits of the property, not because someone is suggestive. If you
lose a good deal, a better one will come along. Resist
speculation fervor.
* If you are buying a property to hold for a long time, compute
the taxes, interest, insurance, etc. You will have to pay while
it is in your possession.
* Realize that when the market is good and the price is rising
you can always buy, but when the market is going down it is
difficult to sell. Don't sell too quickly and do not over-extend
yourself.
* Realize that increasing value of improved (homes buildings,
etc) result mainly from increasing population.
* if you are interested in making money investing in REal Estate
foreclosures, the best way to succeed is to develop a financial
plan based on your tax bracket so that you will know when to sell
off which properties and when to keep them for future increase in
value. You will need to recognize when there is "concealed"
equity in a property which is not visible to other investors.
Look for homes from 5 to 20 years old with potential net profits
of no less than $4,000 when you convert them.
* Know the laws in your state pertaining to the foreclosure
process. Look over all the small print in contracts. Most of them
favor the seller. If you are the buyer, have the contract changed
to fit your requirements.
* Be careful at auctions so that you don't get carried away with
the bidding; determine in advance the top you will go and stay
with it.
* Strive to locate and purchasee distressed property before
foreclosure proceedings start and you can generally assume
conventional loans under the same circumstances as presently
exist.
* When you have purchased the property in a slow Real Estate
market, it is easier to sell since you have probably acquired it
at several thousands below the current market value.
* It can be good policy some of your property and keep some. For
example, if you can sell one-half of the property and get mos of
your money back, you will be able to retain the balance for
future enhancement and use the proceeds of that portion sold to
speculate in other properties.
* Speculation is not all profit. As time goes by taxes and
assessments increase; some properties may have to be sold to pay
for such increases.
* The greatest deterrent to a person buying Real Estate is the
fear of making a mistake. Of course a person can't afford to make
many mistakes in Real Estate speculation just as in any other
kind of business.
* During a period of inflation, land is the best investment.
During a recession or depression, land is the worst investment.
If a recession appears imminent sell, even if on a contract for
a reasonable dow payment and monthly payment on the balance. You
will have an income and also have the property as collateral. You
can be sure that as long as general economic conditions are
good, the value of well selected Real Estate will increase.
* Populations increase by birth rate and by influx. Check to
determine the past circumstances of the local economy, the demand
for public services and the future growth potential. The fact
that a city has increased in population is not significant in
itself. Perhaps there has been an annexation of adjacent areas.
Yes! By comparing, learning and using good common sense you can
profit in Real Estate regardless of recession, depression,
interest rates, or inflation!...And without excessive risk!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Wipe Out Debts Without Bankruptcy
In 1938 a federal law was passed known as the Wage
Earner Plan. It is administered by the same branch of our
courts that handle bankruptcy. You must be a wage-earner
to use the law - that is the primary requirement. The
Wage Earner Plan does not in itself 'wipe out' debts, but
a little-known proviso of your filing requires that your
creditors must appear to verify your indebtedness to them.
Statistics indicate that 40% fail to appear, in which
case, those debts are indeed 'wiped out'. In some cases
100% of the creditors fail to appear, which enables you to
wipe out ALL your debts without bankruptcy. If some of
the creditors do appear, then the court allows you to
spread your payments out over a three year period in
smaller amounts so that you can afford to pay.
Once you file under the Wage Earner Plan, you stop bill
collectors, lawsuits, judgements, assignments, seized bank
accounts, and other actions against you. And to top it
off, your credit rating is, in many cases, improved
because you made an honest effort to work with the lending
firms. Additionally, if the seller used deceptive trade
practices to induce your purchase, your debt may be wiped
out under the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code.
Under the Homestead Act, your residence can be exempted
from levy to the extent determined by local law. Check at
your local courthouse.
Earner Plan. It is administered by the same branch of our
courts that handle bankruptcy. You must be a wage-earner
to use the law - that is the primary requirement. The
Wage Earner Plan does not in itself 'wipe out' debts, but
a little-known proviso of your filing requires that your
creditors must appear to verify your indebtedness to them.
Statistics indicate that 40% fail to appear, in which
case, those debts are indeed 'wiped out'. In some cases
100% of the creditors fail to appear, which enables you to
wipe out ALL your debts without bankruptcy. If some of
the creditors do appear, then the court allows you to
spread your payments out over a three year period in
smaller amounts so that you can afford to pay.
Once you file under the Wage Earner Plan, you stop bill
collectors, lawsuits, judgements, assignments, seized bank
accounts, and other actions against you. And to top it
off, your credit rating is, in many cases, improved
because you made an honest effort to work with the lending
firms. Additionally, if the seller used deceptive trade
practices to induce your purchase, your debt may be wiped
out under the provisions of the Uniform Commercial Code.
Under the Homestead Act, your residence can be exempted
from levy to the extent determined by local law. Check at
your local courthouse.
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