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Publishing and distributing a mail
order ad sheet can be very
profitable. They are simple and easy
to produce, with most quick print
shops able to handle the printing at
fairly low cost. The important
consideration is that you can use
them to pull in advertising dollars
for yourself, as a free advertising
media for your own products, and as
an exchange medium with which to get
greater exposure for your own ads.
Before starting an ad sheet, you
should plan it all out - decide on
an interesting, informative title,
choose a masthead, lay out your
columns for size, determine if it is
to be a simple 8 1/2 x 11 single
sheet of paper or an 11 x 17 sheet
folded in half. You'll also need to
know your production cost for the
number you intend to have printed,
and the post age cost to mail them
out.
Most ad sheets start out as single
sheets of paper, 8 1/2 x 11, printed
on both sides. Usually, the front
side is divided into three equal
columns about 2% inches wide, with a
inch margin from the edge of the
paper on both sides and top and
bottom.
Assuming that the space occupied by
your title, masthead and listing of
rates for advertisers interested in
placing an ad with you is two inches
deep, this leaves you about 24
inches of advertising space to sell
on the front side. Figuring a cost
of $50 for 1,000 copies of such an
ad sheet, printed both sides, and a
third-class bulk-rate postage of
$110, this means that your 24 inches
of ad space will have to be sold at
a rate of $6.25 each in
order to break even. This means: You
h ave to sell all of the ad space on
the front of your ad sheet at $6.25
Per ad - and then expect to make
your profits from the sale of the
back side of your ad sheet.
Actually, it would be feasible to
charge $7.00 per inch for the space
on the front side, and carry your
own full page ad on the back side.
At any rate, don't box yourself into
a loss situation where you can't
afford to place your own ads in your
ad sheet.
You get ads by making up an
advertising solicitation sales
letter and sending it out to as many
mail order dealers as you can find.
You can also run ads in other
people's publications, inviting the
readers to check with you regarding
placement of an ad in your
publication. And of course, you'll
be wanting to work out some exchange
advertising deals (whereby another
publisher runs your ad in his
publication, and you run his in
exchange). From the experience of
many, many publishers, this can be
one of the most effective ways of
getting your ads run, at low/no
cost, and it is recognized to be
successful in the field of Mail
Order.
You probably won't be able to fill
up all of your available ad space
with paid ads until you're well
established - but no problem - first
you fill your ad space with paid
ads, and then you fill in the empty
space with ads of your own. Some
beginning advertisers fill a part of
their empty space with complimentary
ads for other mail order operators,
send them a copy of the issue in
which the complimentary ad appears,
and invite them to continue the ad
on a "paid" basis from there. Many
of them will appreciate the favor
and send you a check or money order
to continue running the ad.
If you undertake the publication of
an ad sheet, be sure to consider the
possibilities of sending out 100 to
1,000 copies of your ad sheet to
other mail order operators to rubber
stamp their names/addresses as
co-publishers and mail out for you.
Thus, if you had 50 other mail order
operators sending out 100 copies
each of your ad sheet, you'd be
talking about a circulation of 5,000
copies plus the number of copies you
mail out. If you can get this kind
of program going, you'll quickly
build your reputation as well as
your circulation, and at the bottom
line, your profits.
Some ad sheet publishers, once
they've established themselves and
are putting out an impressive
publication, set up distributor
networks. Generally, they run ads
calling for distributor/dealers and
asking for a $5 to $10 registration
fee. In reply to the registration
application, they send out a letter
explaining that each distributor can
buy at half price, so many copies of
each issue of the ad sheet, rubber
stamp their name on each copy, and
send them out as their own. In
return, the distributors usually get
50% of the incoming advertising
orders, a half-price ad for
themselves, and an opportunity to
sell subscriptions.
The bottom line relative to becoming
a successful ad sheet publisher has
to do with keeping your production
costs -printing and mailing - as low
as possible, while putting out a
quality product that other people in
the mail order business will want to
advertise in - while at the same
time using it as a
advertising/selling vehicle for your
own products.
My advice is that almost everyone
involved in mail order selling
should have some sort of ad sheet -
if for no other reason than as a
means to an end - an advertising
vehicle for your own products, an
extra income from advertising
revenues , and as an exchange media
with which to gain greater exposure
for your own products in other
people's publications. Once you've
got an ad sheet, or any kind of
publication set up and being seen by
other mail order operators, you'll
quickly gain stature and a certain
amount of prestige.
As with any business, your ultimate
success depends on your own
feasibility studies, and your
sharp-pencil planning completed
before you order your first issue
printed. Think about it, weigh the
pro's & con's, then go with your
decision.
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