Many of today’s well-established companies, such as Sears, LL Bean, Spencer Gifts, and Victoria’s Secret, began as small mail-order businesses, using catalogs, magazines, and newspapers as their primary means of advertising. If these same merchants were starting their businesses today, they may have found selling on the Internet frustrating and complicated.
Consumers who shop online mostly use a search engine, such as Google, to find the items they are looking for. Just to be considered by a potential buyer looking for a product on the Internet, your company’s website address list must rank highly, at least on the first few pages, in search engine results. In order for your website to appear at the top of search results, your business must either pay a premium for pay-per-click advertising or try to optimize your website to rank high on the free or “natural” list of search results. the results.
The cost of pay-per-click advertising is based on a bidding process, with the website owner bidding for specific keywords and phrases that relate to the products their website sells. Competition for popular keywords and phrases can be fierce, driving bids high and requiring a substantial advertising budget. Alternatively, optimizing a website, which in part modifies the design and structure of the site to improve search results in the “natural” free listing, can be a daunting task for even the most skilled webmaster because website ranking standards Search engines are constantly changing.
A simpler answer
In recent years, as a result of intense competition from the Internet, the publishing industry has been offering much lower advertising rates. This trend has created a great opportunity for the small mail order business looking for an alternative to expensive Internet marketing.
I’m not suggesting you take a full-page display ad in Good Housekeeping magazine. However, I recommend that you start by testing ads in the classified section of magazines and other periodicals. This is a great way to get into the mail order business.
Where and how to advertise
Where to advertise will depend on the product you select to sell for your business. The first thing to do is get a copy of the Standard Rate and Data Service (SRDS) catalog, which is a list of circulation data and advertising rates for thousands of publications. Many public libraries have SRDS online or in print. Check the “Consumer Magazine Media” section of SRDS and write to all the magazines listed there with a circulation of around 50,000. Give yourself a company name and request a sample copy and “rate sheet” from each magazine.
Look at the classified sections of each magazine you receive and take notes on the types of products and advertisements that are marketed in it. I suggest you pick a currently successful product and advertisement and copy it. Note that I said “emulate it” and not copy it. Then test run an ad. If you win, place ads in other magazines. If it’s not a winner, do additional testing. If you constantly test and take your time, you will eventually succeed!
Keep your business organized
To keep your mail order business well organized and keep track of your orders, backorders, and advertising results, it is essential to have a good order and inventory management software or program. The price of mail order management software can range from several thousand dollars to being free. Since you are just starting out in business, and unless you have the funds to buy one of those expensive software programs, I suggest using a good free mail order software program such as OrderAce Free Edition from TruVes Software (www.orderace .com) .