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The need for this information is based on the requests we get from some buyers concerning the email attachment list they bought. Although it is explained in our materials the email list is sent in "comma delimited" format...some buyers are not familiar with the term...and do not bother to ask before they order the names. The following information should clear this up — plus make it so any buyer can easily process the comma delimited email leads and print out their own labels with ease, and professionally. When you order your direct mail leads printed on paper or on peel & stick labels you have no need for a label program. But when you order your list as an email attachment you need a special label program to "read" the leads format so your new leads can be printed on labels properly. One of the most popular and widely used industry standards for mailing leads to be used with a label program data base — for printing to labels, is "comma delimited (.csv) text format. Nothing super complicated about this — but the comma delimited leads can not be used without a label program... unless you want to do a lot of work dressing it up and deleting a lot of commas - plus it is in a straight line configuration. A label program makes easy work of processing the comma delimited format and arranges it so it will print out on labels. There are many different label programs -- and label program costs. Most mail dealers do not need all the bells and whistles that come with the top end label programs. A basic, easy to set up and configure label program that will print to all the standard size labels - adjustable so you can place the print easily where you want it to print on the label is usually all you need unless you are planning to go into the mailing leads business. For your normal mailings of several hundred to several thousand leads the program I am going to recommend will do a bang-up job for you. First, I must tell you I am not affiliated with the software company in any way. I am giving you information about a low cost, very effective tool to make your business chores easier - so you can print out your own labels. Many label programs are priced in the hundreds of dollars and some much lower. Forget the high priced programs and beware of the cheap ones unless you test them before you buy. You can probably find an offer right in your box or pack of labels, from the label company, to sell you their label program. They can be a little costly and are no more powerful or effecient than the one I recommend below. In researching for an efficient, low cost label program that my lead customers can get their hands on cheap, one that I have already tested and found to be just the puppy needed to do the job — I found one at: http://www.easymailplus.com/download.html For the power of this small program, the low cost of less than $50 is a super buy. The company also allows a 30 day free trial period for the full working program. HOW YOU CAN BECOME A MAIL-ORDER DROP-SHIPPER There are thousands upon thousands of persons throughout the United States and Canada who regularly engage in the art of selling by mail. A few of these people work at it full-time; the majority work at it on a part-time basis. A few buy their merchandise in large wholesale quantities; most depend upon the services of professional DROP-SHIPPERS. A DROP SHIPPER: * Buys merchandise in wholesale quantities. * Maintains a constant stock of merchandise. * And fills orders for small dealers. A Drop-shipper concentrates on two things - recruiting new dealers and filling orders. To realize a profit, he needs VOLUME. He achieves this by enlisting hundreds of dealers to sell his merchandise for him. If the retail price of a product is $2.00, he will usually fill the order for a dealer for $1.00. He expects the dealer to cooperate by providing a shipping label, which has already been addressed to the customer. The drop-shipper must apply it to the package, pay the postage and mail it. Since he has hundreds of orders to fill every day, he must eliminate as much unnecessary work as possible. Mail Order dealers are always looking for RELIABLE drop-shippers. That is why hundreds of "Drop-Ship Directories" are sold every year. If you are willing to drop-ship orders for other dealers, place your ad in the Mail Order Dealer Magazines, and watch the flood of letters you receive! Most dealers do not become drop-shippers themselves because: * They do not have the capital to invest in merchandise. * They do not want the responsibility. * And they are afraid of the work involved. Not all merchandise can be handled by drop-shippers. You must invest in merchandise that: * Is not available in stores. * Is readily
available to you. If the supply runs out, make sure you can get
some more. * Is fairly low-priced. Dealers like to make a lot of sales, and most like to make at least $1.00 from each order. Items which retail at $2.00 to $5.00 are probably your best bet, at least in the beginning. To give you an idea of what items can be sold successfully with the drop-ship plan, here is a partial list of products that are currently being sold this way: Music Charts Music Books Hypnotic
Discs Jewelry Wall Plagues Cassette Lectures If you are planning to set up a drop-ship business, and are operating with a very limited capital - START WITH ONE ITEM, preferably a printed one. Later as you acquire more money and more experience, you can add new items to your line. (If you treat your dealers fairly, they will take on any new items you introduce. They will run ads, print circulars, use direct mail, etc.) Never try to sell a product you are certain that it fills a basic want or need of many, many people. Let us imagine that you have purchased 1000 copies of a new book on Tarot Reading. Your cost is .15 each, and the supplier has assured you that he has another 10,000 copies available, if you happen to need them. Your initial costs has been $150.00. To realize a profit, you must receive at least $1.00 per copy - which means that you must establish the selling price at $2.00. How do you get dealers to sell it for $2.00? Here is one method. Run an ad in the leading Mail Order magazine - such as Timely Tips or Mail Order Bulletin - let it read something like this: TEACH YOURSELF TO READ TAROT CARDS! Brand New Method! $2.00 copy(DEALERS: Run this ad over YOUR name. I drop-ship for half!) Immediately dealers will pick up your ad and start advertising it. (You will also get a few orders from the Bargain Hunters who will buy ANYTHING as long as it is half price!) If you run the ad month after month, you will continually acquire new dealers to sell for you. You can also prepare a letter describing your drop-ship offer and mail it to a list of small mail order dealers. If you can enclose "camera ready ads or circulars" which they can reproduce, you will make even more sales. The more you can do for your prospective dealers, the more money you will make. If you mail one thousand letters and only recruit twenty dealers, do not feel that your entire mailing was a loss. If you give good, honest service, some of those dealers will stay with you for twenty-five years - every time you introduce a new product, they will jump on the bandwagon and help you sell it! Another method is to prepare circulars for dealers to include in their mailings. You can afford to sell them to dealers AT COST. If your product is low-priced, you can make a lot of sales using nothing but 3 x 6 circulars. You may even want to print your dealer's ad on one side of the circular, and your own non-conflicting ad on the reverse side. (For example, let your dealer sell the book on Tarot Reading and you sell another book on Numerology!) To be successful as a Mail Order Drop-Shipper, you must: * Handle
fast-selling, low cost merchandise. There should be a high markup
on it and it should be readily available to you in large quantities. * Provide your dealers with good selling tools. If necessary, pay a typesetter to prepare eye-catching "camera-ready ads and circulars" which your dealers can use. * Fill your orders promptly. If you have every order in the mail within 24 hours, your repeat business will ZOOM! * Handle complaints immediately and fairly. If necessary give the dealer or customer the benefit of the doubt. You may lost a dollar now and then, but in the long run, YOU WILL BENEFIT! * Don't get lazy. Remember your competitors are working, too! Keep your dealers (and your pocketbook!) happy by adding new products from time to time. Do that
- and dealers will start selling YOUR products - for YOU! The program has many of the features offered by more costly label programs. You can select which label you are using from a long list of the most popular brands and sizes. Any font style you have on your computer is used by the program. You can easily adjust where the name and address will be printed on each label...up, down, left, right. In addition to downloading name leads from your email attachment into the program, you can add your own leads from buyers and inquiries you get, to any list . You can make as many different lists as you like...or keep all leads in one list, adding to them when you buy more leads (from me :-) After downloading the free trial it took me less than an hour (for my learning process) to set it up and print out my first several sheets of labels. I am not the brightest bulb on the tree, so you can probably do it much faster. I used leads that I sent to myself by email attachment in comma delimited format. I wanted to be sure every step was covered as to the ability of this label program before I recommended it for your small home-based business. Now, it would take maybe five minutes to go in and print out as many labels as I wanted from that same list It passed my every test, was easy to set up and use and has a nice 'help' file to make it easier. Keep in mind, I am not involved with the company, they do not know me (except as a customer) and I do not receive a penny from any sales...NOTHING! ***ENJOY*** John
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