population takes advantage of the wealth of informative material
provided by the world's largest publisher - the U.S. Government
Printing Office.
Here is a source of priceless, accurate and official information
which is reported and written by experts. Almost every
conceivable subject has been reported upon in detail in some
government publication - topics such as energy, employment,
health, business, investments, science and technology,
education, careers, transportation, veterans and personal
benefits, consumer advice, foreign trade, law, space, food and
diet, astronomy, gardening, medical, maintenance, housing, money
management, equipment, hobbies, travel - the list goes on and on.
These publications are available to you upon request. In fact,
you indirectly helped pay for them. A part of your tax
contribution is allocated to operate the government printing
office.
Many of these publications feature business sand personal
matters that may directly help you make or save money. This
report, however, will outline the most simple and ideal method
to reap a huge financial gain from these publications - selling
this information by mail.
You undoubtedly have noted ads offering reports on government
surplus, oil lotteries, land acquisitions, energy, etc. These
ads appear in many national magazines monthly. year after year.
Such reports contain information extracted from government
publications. Often they are copied word for word. The
"insiders" know how and where to get this valuable information
free, or at low cost, then use this material to earn huge profits for
themselves.
Few people realize that government publications are not
copyrighted. Anyone has the authority to use this material for
his own personal benefit. That includes copying it
word-for-word if desired, reproducing it, and selling the
information in the form of books, manuals or reports.
From this vast source of published material are many thousands
of ideas you can adopt to prepare an informative publication
which can be profitably sold by mail.
The first step, obviously, is to find out which publications are
available, what subjects they cover and where they can be
obtained. The second step is to select topics which would
inform, appeal to and attract a large number of people who would
be willing to buy your information by mail. The third step, is
to compile this information into a book, manual or report, get
it printed, then go about the business of marketing it
profitably.
Step 1:
Besides a huge volume of official documents, the government
printing office issues about 25,000 other booklets and reports
with topics that concern and interest the general pubic. The
government also publishes guides which lists and describes new
issues when they become available.
Write to the Consumer Information Center, Pueblo, CO 81009.
Request to be placed on their mailing list to receive the
"Consumer Information Catalog" which is issued periodically
during each year. Also request to receive "Selected U.S.
Government Publications" from: Superintendent of Documents,
U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.
Many public libraries stock these catalogs and some government
publications. You can check for titles of current and back
issues and order anything that interests you or copy any
information you need. You may also find copies at other U.S.
and State agency offices and perhaps at your local chamber of
commerce office.
Publications may also be obtained from government offices such
as the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, etc. These agencies offer many publications
pertinent to matters in their field. For example, the
Department of Commerce can provide data and information
assistance in various business matters, foreign trade, etc.
The ruling powers in Washington are cutting funds to many
agencies. It is likely that in future not as many free
publications will be available as were printed in the past. The
low cost of any government publication, however, is still a
tremendous bargain. Never hesitate to pay a small amount for
valuable information that could be the source of financial
benefits for you.
Step 2:
Which topics to consider for your publication? What type of
printed information will the public buy? Basically, to sell
successfully by mail, your product must fill a strong need or
desire. It must offer a specific appeal factor that will make
the public want to obtain the product. Some of the strongest
appeals are found in products which promise to help people:
Make Money Be Safe & Secure Have Fun & Enjoyment
Save Money Eliminate Problems Find Out Where to Get
Save Time & Effort Be Popular Something Beneficial
Enjoy Comfort Do Things Better Something Useful
Enjoy Health Gain Success
Thus, your publication should deal with the "How To" and "Where
To" type of subjects. This is the main information the buying
public seeks and will buy. The stronger information appeal your
publication offers, the larger number of people will be
attracted to you offer. This factor will translate into a
greater sales volume and ultimately higher profits.
Emphasized again, the subject matter of your publication must
interest and appeal to a large number of prospects. Among large
group categories are: households, blue collar and white collar
workers, opportunity seekers, investors, dieters, recipe
fanciers, gardeners, teenagers, senior citizens, mail order
aspirants, health and exercise enthusiasts, fix-it-uppers,
hobbyists, sportsmen and many other specific classes of people
seeking helpful information to fulfill their desires and needs.
Step 3:
When you decide upon a suitable subject or subject or subjects,
you next step is to compile the information into your own
publication. You can copy word-for-word from the government
literature, extract portions of the copy, express the ideas in
your own words, or add some of your own ideas and thoughts to
enhance the subject and provide the reader with additional
information.
The size of your publication will depend upon how many words are
necessary to fully cover the subject. Provide every essential
and important detail so the reader will completely understand
and benefit from the information. Don't skimp, but don't
include anything that is superfluous or inappropriate to the
subject. Give the customer at least what he expects - more if
possible. A happy, satisfied customer is a confident prospect
for your future offers.
For example, a publication entitled "Second Opportunities",
explaining a large number of money-making activities, might
require a booklet form of many pages. A publication entitled
"How to Grow Prize-Winning Roses" might be a report of just a
few pages.
As stated previously, you can reproduce any government printing,
even page for page, if that size would fit the style of your
publication. to test your offer, you can get initial copies
mimeographed, but the best-looking reproduction can be provided
by an offset printer. He can reproduce printed copy. Type your
own copy on a machine with carbon ribbon. It will provide clear,
dark copy which the printer can reproduce with sharp results.
Adopt a title for your publication that will create attention.
The title in a descriptive circular, or stated in a classified
or space ad, can affect sales. The title should explain the
subject matter in as few words as possible. Bring out as many
of the appeals listed in Step 2. Yet, keep the title short
without sacrificing any word or phrase that might keep a reader
form becoming a customer. Look through magazines for titles of
books and reports sold by mail. You will get ideas for
preparing titles to attract the mail order buyer.
What price to charge for your publication? Only testing can
determine the right price. The right price is the selling price
that brings in the most profit Not total sales necessarily, but
profit... the bottom line in any business activity. Set a price
initially based on the suggestions in the following paragraph.
Later tests may determine that you can make more profit by
charging more and selling less. Or, tests may prove that by
lowering the price and selling more units, you earn more total
profits. Often the introduction of a new mail order product
requires testing... and testing again... until the most
effective sales copy and the right selling price is established
to provide the most profit from each promotion.
To make big money selling information by mail, consider pricing
your publication at least 10 times its cost. And, that's just
the norm for a multi-paged publication. A report of just a few
pages must be sold for 15 to 20 times its cost to realize
adequate profits from promotions. To start, get just a few
copies printed. but, don't base your selling price on this
cost. Request the printer to quote you on 1,000 and higher
quantities. This will be the volume you will be purchasing if
your publication is successful and that cost should be the basis
for initially pricing your publication.
To promote sales of your publication, use one or all of the
usual mail order methods... classified ads, space ads and direct
mail.
Classified ads are seldom productive if the advertiser solicits
orders for items priced over $3.00 directly from the ad.
Classified ads are mainly used to obtain inquiries for
higher-priced items. So what can you do with a publication that
must sell for $5.00 or $6.00? You should promote this
publication through space ads or include the publication in a
descriptive circular or catalog featuring this publication among
other offers of your own or that of other publishers.
Space ads are what the terms implies; they feature more space
than a classified ad. This greater space allows for bold
headlines, more details about the offer and inducements for the
reader to send in an order. If space permits, an order form is
included in the ad.
Direct mail consists of sending your offer to a list of names.
These names could be your customer list or names obtained from a
list broker. Use only name lists that will be responsive to
your offer. For example, an offer for a gardening publication
should not be sent to a list of auto mechanics. Such a mailing
would stand little chance for success. Also, it would hardly
pay to send out a mailing for a $5.00 or $6.00 offer. Use
direct mail to promote $10.00 or higher items, or send circulars
or catalogs featuring several publications to receive orders for
multiple items and higher dollar average per sale.
Selling information by mail profitably, requires application of
the basic methods used by other successful mail order operators.
This report, of course, cannot provide a complete course in mail
order techniques. Obtain some books which explain how to
operate a mail order business efficiently.
To summarize, check over the list of government publications
that might provide suitable material for your own book or
report. Then send for it. Determine if the contents can be the
basis for a publication with strong appeal to a large group of
prospects. Compile this information into an interesting book or
report. Promote your offer slowly and carefully at the start.
If promotional tests are favorable you can increase your
advertising and promotion efforts, sell larger volumes of your
publication and earn larger profits.
Follow these procedures faithfully and you could be on you way
to earning a fortune - making your start with free government
publications.
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