THE CHEAPEST WAY TO DISTRIBUTE 8 1/2 X 11"

THE CHEAPEST WAY TO DISTRIBUTE 8 1/2 X 11"

CIRCULARS

Co-op Mailing (short for co-operative) means that two or more

businesses share in the cost and distribution of a direct mail

campaign. It's kind of like having you and another non-competing

business split the cost of printing, aseembling and mailing an

advertising flyer to a shared (same) marketbase.

Co-op dealing is very beneficial (and usually safe) for everyone

involved. One example of co-op dealing in mail order is to send your 8

1/2x11" camera ready circular to a co-op printer and they'll print your

ad on one side, their ad on the back side and ship them back to you

for a low cost of around $10 per 1,000. You get your printing almost

free and the other dealer gets his or her flyers mailed on the back of

yours free.

But what do you do with them when they are mailed back to you? If

you're new to mail order it's doubtful you have a mailing list to

distribute them to. Plus, postage costs alone would run you about

$290.00 first-class. At this rate it would have been cheaper to send

the camera-ready to a tabloid or adsheet publisher rather than by a

co-op. But don't despair.

Simply have the printer ship your copies to a co-op circular mailer

instead of sending them to you. A couple good circular mailers we

recommend are BMG Services, PO Box 429, Johnson KS 67855

(your cost is only 1c for 8 1/2x11 pre-printed circular) or Thorn Gifts,

1807 Stillwater #5, St Paul MN 55119 (your cost is only 5c for each 8

1/2x11 pre-printed circular.) Why the difference in price? BMG mails

by bulk rate and Thorn mails by first-class. Either method is effective

and sure beats paying 29c each.

In addition, you benefit from the mailing list of the circular mailer. If

this particular mailer sells a mailing list, having them do a 1,000 or

5,000 "test" mailing for you would be a way to test their names. You

should get a few responses from a mailing of this size but it all

depends on "what" you are offering and the "price" you are offering it

for. It's very difficult to sell any item for more than $50 on a 8 1/2x11"

circular. For items costing more than $50, you need to use the two-

step approach. In other words, use the 8 1/2x11" circular to generate

inquiries and follow-up with the complete sales materials that

constitute the higher price the customer may decide to pay.

Another idea is that you could contact a dealer with products and

services not conflicting with your own and ask them to co-op mail for

you. In this deal, you would pay for the 2-sided printing (with the

mailer's ad on back of yours) and he/she would mail them for you free

of charge. It works!

Another way to co-op deal in mail order is by co-op advertising. High

Mountain Advertiser and Popular Advertiser are both long running co-

op publications. You place your ad the first time through a dealer and

all future ads are 50% less. Then you have the option of mailing pre-

printed copies with your name in the publisher's block as an

authorized dealer. When other people order advertising, they will send

their orders to you.

You keep 50% of the money and send the rest (along with the order)

back to the publisher. This way, you can have your 8 1/2x11 circulars

printed and mailed in a publication at a 50% savings.

Coal Publishing, 27 South 4th Avenue, Highland Park NJ 08904 also

offers co-op advertising in their "Small Business Keeps America

Growing" tabloid. For the low cost of $35 per tabloid-size page, you

can have your 8 1/2x11" circular along with four 2-inch ads printed and

mailed to a whopping 5,000 circulation. All you are responsible for is

the mailing of 200 of them. Any beginner can handle mailing 50 per

week to a mailing list or to their own customers. Besides, no one can

offer you a 5,000 honest circulation for this price. This is a real money-

saver!

If you market the direct mail method, it's a good idea to send a good

circular you plan to keep around for awhile to a mail order printer and

have 1,000 printed on 1 side. Then, you can use the back of 100 or so

for testing purposes of other circulars. Run down to the copy shop and

run the circulars through the copier by printing on the back side. Only

run 100 or less and send them to the best names you can find. If they

pull orders, you may have a winner and can have 1,000 printed.

Nothing is more annoying than being stuck with 1,000 circulars with

something you want to mail on one side and something outdated on

the back.

NOTICE: Rates and prices shown here were current at the time of

writing. Call for quotes.