Business Lyceum
e-Letter
Practical
Instruction in the Arts and Sciences of Making Money
JULY 2000
Greetings & Salutations:
This month, I'm gonna do nothing but respond to Questions
& Comments from my readers.
Attendee Paul Fishkind
made this comment ... with an offer for you:
"A subscriber of yours, Chuck Huckaby, told me about
your publication years ago. I never subscribed due to extreme
financial problems, but I was impressed with what I saw of your
material. -- The reason for this letter though .... We are looking
to sell any combination of the following web sites and I was
thinking (actually more like hoping) that you might know someone
whom might have an interest. -- The sites are: HerComputer.com,
MomsComputer.com, MLMCentral.com and MLMWomen.com--
Thanks so much for your consideration. -- PS - what's the story
behind your domain name? I was on your site the other day and
couldn't find the story."
Paul:
Haven't heard from Chuck in ages. -- Tell him I said howdy.
-- You can find out all about "Business Lyceum" in
the "About Us" section on the web site. -- Now ...
For the rest of you ...
If you've heard anything about Internet Marketing, you've
probably heard about the value of having the right Domain Name.
Beyond that, you may have noticed (as I have) the proliferation
of MLM Programs on the Internet. -- Well, this contact has a
couple of Domain Names For Sale that could put some MLM company
on the map ... without even trying. -- Contact wants to sell
the Domain Names MLMCentral.com & MLMWomen.com. -- Looks
to me like those names would be barn-burners for any MLM company.
-- Contact also has two other Domain Names to sell as well.
They are HerComputer.com & MomsComputer.com ... both of which
would work well for any kind of computer stuff being sold to
persons of the female persuasion. -- Anywho, if you wanna buy
any (or all) of those Domain Names ... or you know someone who
might ... ask for all the details. -- Contact: PAUL
L. FISHKIND, HerComputer Publishing, P.O. Box 9636, Virginia
Beach, VA 23450 -- (757) 486-1960
Computer.com
Attendee Kevin B. Falkner wrote:
"Being a fan of yours for many years and profiting from
it, I have something I would like you to check out. It
is MLM, but with a new wild twist. -- I am interested in your
opinion more than trying to sell this on you. I am just
curious as to what I am sure an expert in the field would have
to say. -- They are very different than any other I have seen
and I am now making good money on it. They market long
distance, internet service, pagers, online shopping mall, and
soon electricity and cellular service. -- I know this is a lot
to read and you are very busy, but I wanted you to know about
it. -- I have made money off the information you have sent me
for many years now ... 14 to be exact. I would be interested
in your view of this company as compared to other traditional
MLM companies."
Kevin:
I am pleased to have been of service to you over the past 14
years. --Thank you for giving me the info - but - I find MLM,
in all its guises, a waste of time and energy. -- Why? -- Because
the ONLY thing these operations sell is the opportunity to sell
the opportunity. Without the "opportunity," they
would have nothing to sell - and - you can't sell what they are
offering on its own merits; without selling the opportunity.
Then Janet Attard wrote:
"I hope you don't mind, but I have to ask .... You talk
about business fairy tales rather than real business, but the
for-sale reports you have on your site appear (from the ad copy)
to be the fairy tale type. Making a lot of money with no effort
stuff."
Janet:
The reason confidence games work is because ... to the uninitiated
... they sound just like "real" business opportunities.
That's why they work. Unfortunately, when con-games proliferate
... and the uninitiated have been burned a few times ... they
mistakenly assume that the "real" opportunities are
only more con-games.
In the Internet Society of today, the con-games out number
the "real" business opportunities better
than 1,000 to 1. -- Unfortunately, based upon the preponderance
of con-games, the uninitiated have no "real" frame
of reference upon which to base their understanding of business.
I began writing about doing business over 30 years ago, when
the publisher of a magazine I advertised in asked me to write
an article about some of the hands-on methods & techniques
I used in my business. -- That article inspired a well-known,
highly successful, entrepreneur in that field to ask me who had
written the article for me. Since I had written it myself,
he paid me to write a series of articles for him to use ... under
his by-line. That's when I discovered that people would
pay for writing, so I began writing about the things I had done
... and was doing ... in the "real" business world.
(I tell the whole store in my "Own
Your Own Mailorder Business" book.)
As a matter of pure fact, I literally "HATE" to
write ... with a passion. I would rather be doing it
than writing about it ... as I have for over 40 years - but -
writing about what I have done is so
profitable I force myself to make the effort. Beyond that,
I love hearing from people who finally
discover the "truth" about business in one of my writings.
(As a member of "Mensa" ... with an IQ in the 99th
percentile ... the words come easy to me - but - putting them
on paper is a major task.)
ALL of the books, booklets, reports & articles in my "Million Dollar
Library" have been written from my own personal,
hands-on experience.
If you will take a few minutes to re-read the ad copy for
my works, you will find that no where in any of my copy do I
tell people they will "get rich quick" ... nor do I
promise them any amount of
monetary return without working for it.
Hope that answers your concerns.
Attendee Ron Purvis
commented & asked:
"Just wanted to tell you again that I appreciate your
'professor of harsh reality' approach to mail order etc.
In particular, your Tunnel
Vision Report really hit home with me. I'm one of those
guys who just never has been able to stick to one thing and is
always looking for 'new excitement.' I am working on focusing
my efforts. Thank you. -- My Question: Recently,
a friend of mine told me of a company here in my homeland of
Canada that is manufacturing Carbon Monoxide detectors.
He knew that I have studied and been successful in mail order
(at some level I have - particularly information - thanks to
Dan Kennedy) and thought I might want to look at it. Having
also studied Cossman, I know that if I wanted to, I could probably
get the mail order rights quite easily (to market to mail order
houses). The product looks like its fairly good quality
(although this product category seems to have a history of 'quality'
problems in terms of their ability to detect carbon monoxide
in time). My only real big issue with this product is I
have not seen much evidence to show that this is a great mail
order product. I recently heard Greg Renker of Guthy Renker
say they do not move on a product idea unless it has somewhere,
somehow been proven successful in direct response.
Do you know if the carbon monoxide detector product category
has had much success in dr/mail order? It seems to me you
sold security systems at one time. How do you feel
about marketing 'prevention' products like this? -- I value your
feedback and thank you in advance. "
Ron:
First, THANK YOU for your kind remarks - but - I have never found
reality to be harsh. Reality is only "real."
-- What is harsh is the b.s. foisted upon beginning business
people who have no frame of reference upon which to base their
acceptance of the information offered.
What is even more harsh is the fact that way too much of that
same b.s. has been repeated, over & over & over, for
so long it has become ingrained in the small business community.
Those oft repeated "business fairy tales" cause otherwise
intelligent people to fail because they base their business actions
on "business fairy tales" rather than "real"
business applications.
Now ... in response to your question:
You've probably heard it said that "an ounce of prevention
is worth a pound of cure" - but - selling "prevention"
is always a tough row to hoe. Why? Because people
don't really believe anything bad can happen to them ... until
it does. Then, they will pay 100 times the price for ANY
supposed cure.
I really don't know if there is ... or ever has been ... a
known market for carbon monoxide detectors. But,
let's look at "how" we might sell this kind of prevention.
Have you ever heard of "Radon." -- Nobody really
had until somebody came up with a "Radon
Detector." Then, the weight of the "news"
stories about the Radon Threat created a market for the
detectors. That tells you that "prevention" can
be easily sold - IF - the "prevention" is perceived
as a "cure." -- In other words, once everyone
believed that their homes were filled with Radon, the detectors
became a "cure" for a known problem.
Then again, have you heard of the "Y2K Problem."
-- Nobody paid much attention to it until it
became a known threat ... by virtue of the scare stories created
by the people selling "solutions" to the problem and
picked up by the news media.
Okay ... let's apply the same scenario to the Carbon Monoxide
Problem. -- Where is the possibility of carbon monoxide asphyxiation
most possible? Can you give people a reason to want to
"detect" carbon monoxide? Can you tell some scary
stories about carbon monoxide asphyxiation happening to unsuspecting
people? Will those stories make good grist for the news
media mill? -- The carbon monoxide detector isn't a "cure"
... all you have to do is open a window to "cure" carbon
monoxide ... but, can it be made to be perceived as a "cure"
by people who may not know about the dangers of carbon monoxide
poisoning?
You can't really make any big money selling "prevention"
- but - you can make a bundle selling a
"perceived cure." -- Ask the people who made a bundle
selling Radon Detectors and Y2K Solutions.
By the way, Security Systems always sell best after a community
has been subjected to a rash of
robberies and burglaries. Then, the "systems"
become a "perceived cure" instead of a "preventative."
Start thinking along those lines and you might just find a
market for carbon monoxide detectors. But, remember, creating
a threat just to sell a worthless cure is one of the oldest confidence
games in the world. Both Radon and the Y2K Problem were
"real" ... although over blown ... threats. So,
be sure the threat of carbon monoxide asphyxiation is "real"
in given situations ... not just a scare tactic used to sell
the detectors.
Attendee John Raabe (www.countryplans.com
& www.jshow.com) wrote:
"Enjoyed reading your articles. Learned a bunch.
Your writing Reminds me somewhat of Gary Halbert (minus his Florida
slang and the cursing). -- For me, I'm Still stumbling
around learning how to do marketing on the Internet. -- I like
your take on honesty and integrity. At the first whiff of BS,
people are very quick to give you a swift click if you have a
pushy web site. High pressure salesmanship has certainly failed
miserably on the net. The real question is - what hasn't?"
John:
Thank You ... although being compared to Gary might be a little
bit iffy. ;-)
In September, 1999, I established our web site to sell our
existing product line. I tried every technique I could
glean from the online/Internet marketing "gurus" ...
to no avail. Then, I prepared a one-page letter introducing
our new web site to our in-house customer base. That didn't
prove to be very effective - but - it started the ball rolling.
Then, I added the web site information to all of our outgoing
mailers and catalogs offering our products by direct mail. --
The results have been phenomenal. Our web site became profitable
in January, 2000, and, last month, over 12% of our gross revenue
was generated at our web site. (Our web site is now a "buying"
place instead of a "selling" place." Our
direct mail essentially "sells" the products but allows
the customers to "buy" on line.)
Results ... the 'first' online order is relatively expensive
- but - once a customer starts ordering online, I don't have
to "mail" them anything more to keep getting their
orders. They just keep coming back to the web site to "buy"
and "buy" some more.
Now, I'm trying to figure out how to make the whole system
work together.
Attendee Nelson Vega asked:
"Learning about direct mail copywriting is fun.
And it's also hard work. I hope to give it a go some
day as a part time effort in order to pick up some extra cash.
Writing copy for local small businesses, chiropractors, etc.,
are my likely prospects to target as potential clients.
I would be writing from my home on my pc and so I wanted to ask
you if I should be considering learning (to a degree) graphic
art? I ask this because I'm not sure if local small businesses
per-se expect a freelancer to do the complete job of copy and
graphics. Being new at this, I'm not
sure of the scope of how the business of freelancing copywriting
is conducted and so I pose my question in the hope that you can
help shed some light, and allay some of my beginners jitters.
I really enjoyed reading your back issues and they serve you
well as instruments of credibility. They were the reasons why
I felt confident in trusting you with my question. I look
forward to receiving your thoughts as-well-as your monthly ezines."
Nelson:
Copywriters work in a wide variety of ways ... some ONLY write
ad copy ... most propose graphics to be used and recommend graphic
artists ... others employ the services of freelance graphic artists
to prepare a finished product ... yet others do all the writing
and graphics themselves ... and combinations thereof.
If you are working only with local small businesses, you can
probably rely upon clip-art for any graphics you might need.
Original art work is somewhat expensive and, usually, beyond
the budget of smaller businesses. Then again, you might
prepare the ad with spaces left for graphics ... then propose
the nature of the graphic to be added and recommend a local graphic
artists to do the job; or show the small business where to find
usable clip-art.
Here's a trick I learned over 30 years ago ...
Most small business people don't know that their local newspaper
will layout their ads for them ... including graphics & ad
copy. (Some of them even have staff artists.) So,
if you can get your local clients to run space ads in the newspaper,
you can write the ad copy, propose the graphics, and then have
the newspaper advertising department design the ad. -- Then,
you can use the same graphics from the space ad in your direct
mail pieces or whatever. -- That's how I did it many, many, many
years ago ... before I became a master at the craft myself.
Hope that helps.
Attendee Paul Stiggers, III sent
me a FAX asking me to help him locate an offshore bank I had
mentioned in one of my o-o-o-ld reports ...
Paul:
"Offshore Banking is Not Evil" was written over
15 years ago. It now appears on over 5,000 web sites ...
according to the search engines.
Unfortunately, I have not kept up with the offshore banking
industry for over 8 years - but - I am sure there are offshore
banks paying higher rates than those available here in the U.S.
Go to your local library and see if they have an International
Banking Directory in their reference section ... there are a
number of them on the market. If your local library doesn't
have one of the directories, ask them to get one from the Regional
Library for you to look at. You won't be able to take the
book out of the library, but you can copy the names & addresses
of the banks from the
countries of interest to you.
Sorry I couldn't be more help. -- God only knows how that
o-o-o-ld report got posted to so many sites on the Internet ...
I usually don't even get credit for writing it ... and nobody
has offered to pay me for it either.
Well ... that's it for this month. -- In order to make every
issue responsive to YOUR needs, please send me your questions;
or tell me what sources or resources you need to build your business;
or give me any thoughts you want to share with your fellow members.
Believe it or don't ... I ainít a mind-reader. -- Ifín
you doesn't tell me what you need, I may never touch upon the
information, sources or resources you need.
This is your publication for you to use to your benefit ...
I am just your moderator.
Until next month, keep well ...
J.F. (Jim) STRAW
Business Maven
Thoughts For The Month!
"No man really becomes a fool until he stops
asking questions." -- Charles Steinmetz
"Judge a man by his questions rather than his
answers." -- Voltaire
Can you stump the old master? -- Betcha can't!
Over the past 40 years (man and boy), I have made bundles
of money in direct selling, service contracting, wholesale merchandising,
entertainment (I was a professional Trumpet player, vocalist
& Radio Announcer), freight forwarding, import/export, retail
merchandising, warehousing, real estate, electronics manufacturing,
finder's fees, closeout merchandising, financial brokerage, business
consulting, steel fabrication, gold and coal mining, offshore
banking, mailorder, writing, and publishing. -- That being the
case ...
No matter what business you're in ... whether you're just
starting, well on your way, or at the top of the heap ... I've
probably been where you are, done what you are doing. -- So ...
Anytime you have a question about 'how' to do something
in your business - or - if you have any comments about
anything I've said in issues of this e-Letter; or if you want
to add your 2 cents worth ... just "ask" me or "tell"
me.
Send your Questions, Comments or 2 Cents Worth to ...
with "Question" - "Comment" -
or, "2 Cents Worth" in the SUBJECT.
If I, personally, don't have an answer to any question you
may ask, I will contact some of the professionals in your field
of endeavor (I will probably know one or more personally) to
get the real 'skinny' for you.
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Copyright - 2000, J.F. (Jim) Straw. All rights reserved.