FREE ADVERTISING AND FREE POSTAGE Here is one approach you may not have recognized. There is a common thread that runs through the following books: Hicks, Tyler G. Mail Order Success Secrets. Kameroff, Bernard. Small-Time Operator. Wright, John. The Royal Road to Riches. They all use their books as a means to sell you more of their products. What it amounts to is (1) a profit plus (2) free advertising plus (3) free postage for them. Hicks incorporates his "sales letter" throughout his book. Kameroff places his ads at the end of his book. Wright includes a thirteen page sales letter in his book. Therefore, when you buy their books, you pay their postage and their advertising expenses. Study their books. If you can't afford to buy them, request them at the library. While we are on the subject of books, be sure to read what I believe to be the best book on mail order: Julian Simon, How to Start and Operate a Mail Order Business. (The 4th Edition hardback is more up-to-date). Another excellent book is William Cohen, Building a Mailorder Business. Both are required study for the serious mailorderphile. If you can't afford to publish a book, try publishing a booklet and including your ads. A small booklet may consist of four 8 1/2 X 11 inch sheets folded in half and stapled, yielding a 16 page booklet. Each can be printed for about the cost of first class postage when printed in lots of a thousand. Start an adsheet. You can purchase space in a tabloid and have your adsheet published. Your advertisers will pay for the space, leaving you with profit, free ads and postage for you, and with relatively little work on your part! Start a tabloid, magazine or magalogue. Advertisers will pay for your ads and postage. Look for new publications that give free ads as a promotion, then send in your ad. Request a LSASE in your ad--it will pay your postage and save you time addressing envelopes. Mail your ads when you mail your products. Your customer has already paid the postage by purchasing the product. Start a print and mail business. Copy the pros. Mail bulk rate. Your customers will pay for your postage and printing. Simply mail your ads with theirs. Sell the names of your customers to mailing list companies. Start your own in-house advertising agency. You immediately save up to 17% of advertising costs. As an ad broker, profits can pay for your advertising! For a copy of my new book, essays exposing the myths of political correctness, send me two dollars. Read it. Then, if you want to keep it for reference, send an additional three dollars. You will not see much of this documented material in the media. This is IBM shareware written in ASCII and on 5 1/4 inch computer disk. Please refer to the name of this publication. Your comments are welcome. Best wishes in your mailorder endeavor. Russell Communications P O Box 27--F Highway at Third Garden City, MO 64747-0027 _ 18 METHODS FOR OBTAINING FREE ADVERTISING! "Tricks of the Trade" We've Used to Get a Lot of Free Ads Published 1991 by Mascor Publishing, Silver Spring, Maryland 1. Advertising Specials: If a magazine offers a "two for one" deal, or a "pay for 3 and get a fourth ad free", take advantage of it; it's Free Advertising! 2. Free Listings: Some publications offer to list your name and address Free, if you have something that you offer "free for the asking" to their readers. This can be a "free sample", a free list of customers; or whatever. Tell publishers what you have to offer! 3. Print a Booklet Offering Tips: List tips or what-have-you, and on the inside pages, or in the back, place some of your own Free ads!! 4. The Piggy-Back Method: Every time you get ready to mail a letter or fill an order, place other ads in the envelope; it costs you no more and it's like getting a free ad!! 5. Free "Give-Aways": These can be pens, rulers; key chains, etc., each with YOUR ad message and address on each one. Give them away and your Free Ad rides along! 6. Your Own Advertiser/Newsletter: Issue it regularly; sell ad space in it and subscriptions to it. They pay for the printing and postage, and YOUR ads in it, too, at no cost to you! 7. Trade Products/Services for Ad Space: If you have something which a publisher needs, trade what they want, for ad space! 8. Provide Commission Ads to Dealers: Your dealers place YOUR ads over THEIR name! Free Ads for your products! 9. Columns; Releases, etc.: Publishers will often print these free, if it's NEWS, or interesting to their readers! Send notices out to editors and get free ads in exchange! 10. Share Costs With Others: Get together with other dealers and mailers. Split costs and quantities with others. Your ads go FREE to HIS customers, and HIS go free to yours! 11. Offer Your Commission Ads to Publishers: They insert them as "mailer/distributor" commission ads! They cost you nothing and can get you lots of orders! 12. Your Product as a BONUS Item on Another's Flyer: This can increase the other person's orders, and YOUR product gets advertised on HIS fliers, etc! 13. Place PIM-50 Phrases in your Ads: This says to Publisher: "Insert my ad in your publication and I'll help distribute 50" (or more) copies for you. It's another kind of "trade deal" with publishers. 14. Give a Talk or Seminar: Contact local clubs, and organizations. They always seek outside speakers. After you talk about your business or your product, hand out flyers, etc. It's like getting free advertising! 15. Ads on Bulletin Boards: Put up flyers on grocery, laundry bulletin boards. 16. Make a Rubber Stamp of your Ad: Stamp it everywhere you can. Stamp it on envelopes; flyers; etc. 17. Be Listed as a Source in Back of Books: Often writers will want to list references and sources in their books. Get the work out to authors! Look for ads offering Free Ads!! 18. Discount to "a Friend": Tell your customers you will give discounts to anyone they send your way! It's Word of Mouth advertising; the best you can get and it's free! Free advertising is any message that goes out to prospective buyers without cost to you! There are lots of ways to get others to spread the word about what you offer! Try these methods; and you'll get lot of free ads; which mean more responses and more orders!