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ARE YOU A COPY CAT? IF SO — YOU’RE IN FOR A SHORT LIFE!!

Yes! That’s true! More and more, everyday, new dealers are entering mail order and copying the work of others. Some of them are not even aware they are doing anything wrong. Besides — they are trying to learn from others so why not copy them?

You have to make a distinction here between “copying” in order to improve upon someone else’s idea OR “copying” in order to make a lot of money for yourself. Let me give you an example –

A business associate of mine created a rotating-type adsheet. You know the kind. A person pays $10 to be placed in Position No. 1. All other ads are rotated to the right until they move off the sheet. If done properly — the person who paid $10 to be on the rotating adsheet should NEVER come off. However, people take this idea — try to copy it — and turn it into a scam. They intentionally take a good concept and make it into a rip-off where all the profit is made by the prime source. How unfortunate!

In fact — this is exactly HOW rotating adsheets got a bad name. Here’s how it REALLY is supposed to work (before the copycat did it):

Gail pays Max $10 to have her 2″ C/R ad placed in Position No. 1. She receives a camera-ready copy of the rotating adsheet back in the mail with her ad in Position No. 1 and 8 other 2″ ads from other dealers. Gail is responsible for printing and mailing copies of her particular rotating adsheet to generate advertising for 9 people (including herself.)

Gail mails Shawn a copy of her rotating adsheet. Shawn wants to take part in the promotion so he sends Max $10 with his 2″ ad and a copy of Gail’s rotating adsheet. Max places Shawn’s 2″ ad in Position No. 1 and moves Gail’s 2″ ad to Position No. 2. This way — Shawn is mailing copies of Gail’s ad along with his own.

Now Shawn mails a copy of his rotating adsheet to Gary. Gary wants to get involved so he sends Max $10 along with his 2″ C/R ad and a copy of the rotating adsheet Shawn mailed him. Max places Gary’s 2″ ad in Position No. 1, Shawn’s 2″ ad gets moved to Position No. 2 and Gail’s 2″ ad is now in Position No. 3.

Technically, Gail will NEVER reach Position No. 9 because the chance of this generation factually happening is 1 in a million. So essentially — Gail’s ad should NEVER go off the sheet.

Unfortunately though — some people have taken the concept of helping people like Gail and turned it into a money-hungry game for themselves. Instead of moving the ads in the proper positions, they might place Gary’s ad in Position No. 1 and Gail’s in Position No. 9 (instead of 3 where she actually belongs.) And then maybe Shawn won’t be on Gary’s rotating adsheet at all. The rip-off artist doesn’t realize that Gary might be personal friends with Shawn and they might compare adsheets. The scam artist is only interested in their gain and in not paying commissions due their hard-working people. Eventually NOBODY ends up making any money and the idea goes down the tubes!

What happens is that these unaware “copy cats” eventually mail their ad or booklet to the mail order dealer who originally designed the material; or, even worse — mail to someone who knows the dealer personally that has been conveniently “left off”. There’s no way around it.

And when your “copy cat” material is discovered you can be in for some BIG TROUBLE! When you commit perjury of prime source-designed materials your name will be mud within a matter of weeks. Your act will be reported in almost every tabloid and adsheet and you will be exposed through rip-off columns circulated to 1,000’s of people.

But not only that! A good mail order attorney can sue you and repossess any assets you may have. Most small businesses start out as sole-proprietorships (not incorporated.) Because of this, your personal assets can become the possession of the attorney filing suit.

The best way to avoid all this hassle is NOT to copy the materials of other people. Sure, you can look at the work of other designers and get an idea as to how you would like to present your materials; but, taking the actual copy, cutting out pieces of it and inserting your own info is downright criminal and uncalled for! The word “design” means to create from scratch!

Good mail order dealers work very hard and put in a lot of hours for a meager salary. When they have put all their efforts into designing a program or an advertisement it’s very demeaning to our industry as a whole if someone was selfish enough to “steal” and “forge” it only to destroy its original intent!!

COMPUTER INFORMATION SERIES NO. 2 OF 3

To complete your computer system purchase, you’ll need to choose the right printer for your needs. Since there is such a wide variety to choose from with prices ranging from $120 to $6,000 we need to look at what each one is, and how much it costs to operate and maintain.

Dot-Matrix Printers (obsolete technology).

Essentially obsolete with the advent of inkjet and laser printers, these printers print using a series of dots. There are 9-pin and 24-pin dot matrix printers. A 9-pin will print 9 dots per inch on your paper, where a 24-pin will print 24 dots per inch on your paper. Naturally, a 24-pin is going to make your print-out with more detail and clarity because there is more printing per inch therefore if there is only a small difference in price — you should get the 24-pin.

Dot-matrix printers don’t cost much to maintain. They use a printer ribbon similar to a typewriter ribbon at an average cost of $12 each. The ribbon has about the same life as a typewriter ribbon, so you be the judge as to how long they’ll last you.

A dot matrix printer is a perfect investment if you plan to use your computer for mailing lists and occasional writing of letters. There is also a software you can buy called “Emulaser” (purchase from TigerSoftware for $69.95 by calling 1-800-888-4437) that will make your dot matrix printer think it’s a laser printer. The print-out will almost be of the same professional quality but your printer will print much slower. (Emulaser is not recommended for older computers with a 8086 or similar processor. A minimum of a 286 or 386-based computer system is recommended)

Daisy Wheel Printers (obsolete technology).

Don’t get stuck with one of these. Remember the old IBM Selectric typewriters that used a wheel to type a character instead of a typewriter key? This is what a daisy wheel printer uses. You can NEVER print a photograph or picture and it’s not too great at drawing lines and boxes either. Besides, you can get a dot matrix printer for a much lower price and print anything you want to!

Inkjet and Bubblejet Printers.

Both of these printers use a WET ink to print onto the paper. There is no danger in smearing because the ink dries instantaneously — however, if the printed page draws moisture or something is spilled on it, you could have a few problems and have to print the page
again.

Although they are not costly to maintain, if you have a mail order business the chances of ink smearing during the mailing process is greater. Therefore, inkjet and bubblejet printers should not be used — especially for printing labels to apply to the outside of the envelope.

Laser Printers.

If you plan to do more with your computer than maintain mailing lists, keep records and write occasional letters; you will want to seriously look at purchasing a laser printer. A laser printer hardly ever wears out and is one of the best investments you can make if you’re in for the long-haul.

A laser printer is like a mini-computer. It has a memory board in it and will accumulate an entire page in it’s memory banks BEFORE it prints the page. Just like making sure you have enough RAM in your computer to operate the software, you need enough RAM in your laser printer to print a page.

How much memory do you need? If all you wanted to print was a 1-page letter containing only words you could print it on a laser printer with 512K of memory. However, if you want to print that same letter with a graphic (cartoon, photograph, lines, boxes, etc.) you would need more memory in your printer. The “safe” amount to purchase would be 1MG but we highly recommend 4MG. This way, you won’t be in any trouble when you are trying to print something that takes up 2MG of memory and you only have 1MG on your printer. If this happens, the page will not print and your computer will tell you that you have run out of room!

Laser printers print with a DRY ink (similar to a high-speed copier.) The ink comes in a cartridge and most cartridges will print 5,000 to 8,000 pages. Prices vary for purchasing cartridges but normal costs are $35 to $150 for a NEW printer cartridge. After you buy a NEW cartridge, you can have it refilled at 50% to 75% less than the price to purchase another NEW one. This saves you money on future purchases and also helps our environment! (A good refill company for toner and office copiers is Roman Office Supply, 652 Rebecca St, Westerville OH 43081 or you can call and get a specific quote from Jim Varadi at 614-794-3412.)

Have a great time!

Continue reading Part 1, Part 3, and Part 4 of the series.

COMPUTER INFORMATION SERIES NO. 1 OF 3

This is the first in a series of reports to help you understand the world of computers and to determine how they can bring many benefits to your personal life and home business.  So, if you want to read the entire series and learn along with us — you’ll need to subscribe via RSS right away to make sure you get the entire report series.

Getting Familiar with the PC Computer:

Before you purchase your new computer, you must first understand a little about them. There are 2 parts needed to complete a computer system — The HARDWARE and the SOFTWARE. The hardware is what you carry home when you purchase one. Hardware consists of the following components:

• CPU (Central Processing Unit). This is the square part of your computer system that houses the floppy disk drive and hard drive.
• Monitor. This is the television-type screen of the computer you use to type and create your work on.
• Keyboard. This is the typewriter-like keys you use to type in information and commands for your computer to understand.
• Printer. This is what you use to print out your data (letters, mailing lists, and everything else.)

The second part of your computer system is the SOFTWARE. Without software your computer will just sit on the desk and look at you. It’s like buying a toaster without an electric cord. Without a means of plugging the toaster into the electric socket, the toaster will not work. Without software, a computer will not work. Therefore, don’t be surprised when you spend $500 to $3,000 for a computer and find out you have to invest another $200 or more for the beginning software.

Shareware programs are very popular with new computer buyers to reduce this cost — but you do need to invest some money in a good word processing package (like WordPerfect(R) or Word for Windows.) If you purchase a new computer, normally most of your beginning software is supplied to you from the factory and if your first computer is purchased from an individual advertising in the paper — they normally give you free software too. But be prepared to buy specific software for your specific needs now or soon because your individual needs may differ.

Purchasing For Your Particular Needs:

When you start pricing computer systems you will find they range considerably in price. This is because you can mix-and-match all the custom qualities available to you in almost any way to fit your particular budget. Since most beginners don’t know enough about a computer or how they’ll affect their lives, it’s sometimes impossible to mix-and-match to your particular needs when you don’t even know what they are. A good mail order publication for computer bargains is the GrapeVine Journal, PO Box 488, Bluff City TN 37618 but perhaps the following will help:

• Monitors: Like a television set, monitors come in black/white or color. If you want to save $150 or more, just specify that you want a black/white monitor. To further confuse you though — both black/white and color monitors also come in a variety of types. Each type determines how clear and definite things appear on the screen.  Different types include VGA, Super VGA, CGA, EGA, PGA, MDA and Hercules. The industry standard at this time is Super VGA. It’s compatible with almost every type of software. It’s clear and easy on your eyes and very affordable. You can purchase a Super VGA color or a Super VGA black/white.
• RAM (Random Access Memory). The amount of information your monitor can hold at one time is called RAM. Computer memory is measured in bytes and megabytes (1,000 bytes = 1 megabyte and is expressed: 1MG.) The more RAM your monitor has, the better. Be sure and get a minimum of 1MG of RAM for your monitor to run most of the software on the market today; preferably 4MG if you can afford it.
• Hard Drive. Your hard drive is a gigantic storage tank for all your software. It’s impossible to operate any software on the market today (unless you just want to play simple games) without a hard drive. A hard drive takes the place of floppy disks. You copy information from your floppy disks to your hard drive and it stays there — even when you turn your computer off at night.  The size of a hard drive is measured in MG’s (megabytes). A standard size hard drive to purchase to run most of the software on the market today would be 120MG. Anything less means you will have to purchase more floppy disks as you fill up your hard drive, which will slow up your operation considerably.

Continue reading Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 of the series.

SELF-PUBLISHING: A GENIUS MONEY-MAKING IDEA

Some “crazed nut” started a rumor that publishing a book costs lots of money. What this “nut” didn’t tell you is that self-published booklets do NOT!  In fact, it’s one of the easiest ways to make money in the world and doesn’t require any talent! It’s true — let me show you step-by-step how it’s done:

1. Choose a subject to write about. Select something you enjoy or want to know more about yourself. As just an example, we’ll use “Household Hints” (something I personally know nothing about.)
2. Now, to collect the information to put in my book about “household hints” I would go visit my mother, talk to my aunts and cousins, call friends on the phone, and in general — ask everybody I came into contact with to give me their favorite “household hint.” After a few months I’d have a lot of stuff.
3. At this point I would start categorizing all this information. I’d put all the stuff about “kitchen tips” in a separate file from “home remedies.” Each separate file would be a new chapter in my book.
4. Then I’d begin typing out my book on a computer or typewriter. (You also could utilize the services of a publisher such as Graphico, PO Box 488, Bluff City TN 37618 or Muchmore Marketing, PO Box 50027, Reno NV 89513.) If I was typing it myself though, I would simply number each tip as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 . . . with a title at the top of the page as to what type of “household hint” this particular page referred to. (i.e., kitchen tips, cleaning hints, home remedies, words of wisdom, etc.)
5. Okay. Now the book is ready to print. You’ve read everything and there are no misspelled words or obvious grammar mistakes. You are ready to see the final result of your labors. How much will it cost? Let’s assume that my “household hints” book is going to measure 5″ wide by 8″ tall (like a sheet of 8 1/2×11″ paper folded in half.) There are 2 pages on each side or 4 pages front and back. These are the best size for mail order unless you write a 100-page novel.
6. Now, the only thing left to do to make my book a success is to sell them and make some money back. One idea would be to call all the people who gave me the information for the book. I’d put a price tag of $5 on the cover and offer it to my aunts, cousins, friends and co-workers at a discount of $3 or $2. Everyone whose name or contribution is in a published book will want a copy for a keepsake — at least.

Are you still with me? My “household hints” book is a total of 24 pages. That means it will take both sides of 6 sheets of 8 1/2×11″ paper to print each one of my books. That includes the cover and everything.

Based on standard mail order prices, you could have 250 of these books printed for $109 or about 44c each. 1,000 would run even less — $200 or about 20c each. That’s cheap! Even if I sell each one for just $3, I’ll make a great profit! (A good mail order booklet printer we recommend is Kem’s Graphics, 549 Friendship Rd, Seneca SC 29678.)

Another method of saving money with printing of booklets is to have the mail order printer print them at the same price you would pay for 8 1/2×11″, 2-sided printing (around $25 per 1,000) without having them collated, folded and stapled. This way, your cost would only be a total of $150 per 1,000 or 15c per booklet.

This method is great if you want to do some of the work yourself. Your only expense would be a saddle stitcher from an office supply store. This is a long-armed stapler and the cost is around $45. Of course you would not want to make this investment if you were only going to be publishing one book per year — but if you plan to go into heavy production, it would be worth your while. I personally don’t care to do this myself because I’m saving tons of money. I’ll get paid in the long run for my time.

So you see; it’s not that hard to create your own money-maker. There’s no hidden secret to it. You don’t have to pay $29.95 for the same information. We’re GIVING it to you free of charge.

Every single human being has a book inside of them! Everybody knows something that other people don’t and everybody has interests that other people don’t have the time to learn about. There is a subject that interests you that would interest others. Guaranteed!

So, get busy. Pick a subject, gather the information and type it up! You’ll be a hero before you know it. Neighbors will begin to label you as a notorious writer. You’ll be able to hold your head high, and you’ll be able to start putting “, Writer” at the end of your name on your business letters. Won’t that be something?

HANDWRITTEN NOTES ARE FINE IF YOU CAN WRITE

My intentions here are not to make you feel horrible and degraded because you write handwritten notes. Besides, it’s easier to pick up a sticky note, write the words “Send me more information,” stick it in an envelope and respond to an ad.

The only problem is. What happens if the guy or gal on the other end can’t read your writing? What happens if they can’t read your address? How can they possibly fill your order?

One of the major problems I have experienced with beginners is that they don’t put their return address on the envelope. There is no excuse for this! Walter Drake will sell you 1,000 address labels for $1.00. They may look cheap, but I can read your address without any problem and at least contact you if I don’t know “what” you’re ordering.

Let me give you an example of how an order was submitted to me a couple months ago. Please understand this is only a facsimile (not a real address.) I don’t want to embarrass anybody:

POB 9776 RNV

Now, you tell me — what does this say? Instead of throwing the request away, I put it in my “hold” file, hoping that somebody would come along that could decipher this address or claim it. But do you know “what” the above example is translated as?

PO Box 9776, Reno NV

That’s right! The guy wrote me a few weeks later wondering what had happened to his order and I was able to finally decipher his handwriting this time.

People in Nevada might know that “RNV” means Reno, Nevada but I sure didn’t. I thought it meant “Registered Nurse something!”

However, this incident also alerted me to something too because I had been guilty of the same thing in the past. In fact — I used to write “Cols” for “Columbus.” People in Ohio automatically knew that “Cols” was an abbreviation but the other 49 states and foreign countries didn’t.

One problem with many people who begin a mail order business is that they have NEVER been in business before. They have no idea how to fold a business-size letter to fit in a business-size envelope. Many have never worked in an office environment before and have no clue about running an office effectively. They are taught by some to hand-address envelopes so that people will open them. In fact, I just read something the other day that came through the mail that said: “Using mailing labels on your envelopes will get 88% of your letters tossed in the trashcan!” THIS IS INSANE!! They tell you this nonsense because they know their mailing list is bad and they want to have an excuse for not bringing you any orders.

The fact is — ANY legitimate mail order dealer will open an envelope REGARDLESS of what is on the outside. They are only concerned with the contents INSIDE the envelope. Ask yourself: Do you go through your mail each day and throw away anything with a label on the outside? If you do, you are definitely part of the minority. EVERYONE uses labels these days.
It is the age of the computer folks! No one has the time to hand-address envelopes anymore. Hand-addressing them only show that you are a newcomer to business.

But, back to the problem at hand. If you have been mentally programmed to believe that hand-addressing envelopes and hand-writing your return address on your materials is okay, make sure people can READ your writing plainly. PRINT rather than write. Make sure people can easily see your “a” is not an “e.” And by all means — if you have an uncommon name, print it plainly. You wouldn’t believe how many people scribble their name for me to typeset on an ad, then complain when I spell their name wrong. One customer’s first name was “Armuond” and I could only make out the “Ar” and “nd.” I naturally had to assume the name was “Arnold” but the customer got very upset and mad at me because I didn’t read his writing correctly.

So, before you get upset and wonder “why” you never received an order ask yourself if you originally sent it with a handwritten note and/or abbreviated address. Chances are the company may not have been able to read your handwriting! And to combat this problem in the future — please invest $80 in a typewriter or $300 in a starter computer. If you can’t make this investment right now, then work your regular job until you can. And last but not least — if you have no exposure to office procedures, go get a book at the library and learn the bare minimum basics, please!