There are a number of ways to increase your chance for success in mail-order, here are a few that are sure to help increase your chances for a successful mail-order business. Crisp Typesetting and Printing. How many times have you received literature in the mail that looked like a tenth-generation copy of difficult to read material? I'll bet that it promptly gets recycled without reading it at all. If you are spending good money (postage, envelope, copying) and effort (folding, stuffing, licking and sticking) in your direct mail piece, you want to make absolutely sure that it will at least be read by the recipient. To enhance your chance at success, you absolutely must have all your literature typeset and printed (or copied on a machine that produces good results. If the recipient thinks what they received is junk, they will treat it as such. Your mail-order content. The content that produces the best success consists of a) A Sales Letter, b) Your Offer/Circular, c) An Order Coupon, d) A Return Envelope, and d) The Mailing Envelope. The sales letter must include a strong headline, and state some key benefit to the reader. Putting your headline within quotes increases its effect. Use stopper words like Free, New, How To, etc. Also use sub-headings in a longer (2-4 pages) sales letter to bring out additional benefits to the prospect. It has been proven that most people scan the headline, sub-heads, and the Postscript (P.S.). You should always use a P.S. to reinforce important points in your offer, or to sweeten your offer with an additional item they will receive when they order. Risk-Free. Your prospects will be more inclined to send you an order when you offer a guarantee. State you guarantee clearly and include the length of time for the guarantee. It could be 30, 60 or 90 days from the purchase date. Few orders are ever returned, but the prospect feels confident ordering from you when they know that they have that option. Offer an Incentive. By offering a free gift if they order from you can increase your sales. The free item can be a report, pen, etc. The free incentive gives the prospect that extra reason to place an order. Set A Time Limit. Your offer should expire at a specific date to give your prospect a reason to order now. The longer they wait, you increase the chance of losing the order. Another hook is to state that Supplies are limited. This motivates the prospect to act now. Mail order purchases are mostly impulse purchases. Your direct mail piece should be designed to create an interest in your offer, and give them a strong desire to send you an order. When your direct mail package accomplishes this, you mailings will be highly successful. As long as you're in the Direct Mail business, you will never stop learning. You need to constantly get new information and advice from others who have more experience than you. You should ideally have several different products to market. Always give your customers a number of choices. Your chances of getting a sale is greatly increased. You should also have a 'back end' offer for your customers. This is something that you can sell them when you fill their order. Always try to sell them more, even when you are filling their order. Test your ads two or three consecutive times in several publications which are likely to be seen by readers who are your target audience. You need to do your homework and study different advertising sources to determine which ones will most likely be seen by readers who will be interested in what you are offering. To do otherwise is wasting your money. You must advertise continuously (and in multiple sources) to grow your business, and you should 'key' your ads so you know which advertising sources are productive, and generating orders and inquiries. If you don't know this information, you will continue to waste your money on advertising sources that are not profitable. Never try to sell an item that cost $10 or more in a small classified or display ad. There isn't enough space to sell directly from your ad. It's best to offer 'free' information and get people to send for that information. Once you get their address, you can send your sales materials which contains more information to sell the product. Maintaining a database of customers who respond to your ads. These folks have shown that they're interested in you and your products. If they purchased something from you, they are likely to be repeat customers. This lets you send your new offers to a list of people who are most likely to buy from you. Your customer mailing list can be one of your most valuable assets! Use the correct postage on your mailing pieces. Anything that you send first class should be carefully weighed with an inexpensive but accurate scale. This lets you put on the correct postage. Most important, it helps you to avoid using too much postage. The appearance of your mailing piece is critical. The content of any item is certainly important, but if it looks bad visually and is barely readable, its going to be pitched by the recipient. If you don't have an impressive look, you're wasting your money. Don't think that once you get the customer's money, your job is over. For starters, you must respond quickly and send the requested information or order out within 48 hours. You should immediately address any complaints or problems. Always cheerfully refund your customer's money if they are dissatisfied with their purchase. Finally, always give your customers more than they were expecting (throw in something free). These customers will remember that you are fair and honest, and will continue to do business with you in the future.Amazing Tips for Mail Order Success!