2005 - 10-27-05

Believe it or not, a few businesses in the United States do this and they make millions of dollars with this operating model. For example, Rodale Publishing will not allow you to pay for a book in advance. When they send direct mail, they include an order card you simply sign and return to them. This order card says (in essence):

"Please ship me xyz book. I will read it within the next 30-days. And if I am satisfied with the book, I will then pay for it. If I am not satisfied, I will return the book to you and not be charged a single penny."

The real wording of their order cards is slightly different from what I have just written. But I am pretty sure I have communicated the essence of it accurately.

Sources tell me when Rodale sells books this way, they get something like a 70% or 80% "pay-up" rate. However, you should remember Rodale Publishing has a few very powerful advantages most of us "lesser mortals" do not possess.

For example, they have a very large in-house list of proven trustworthy customers.

Secondly, they have very deep pockets and can afford to wait for their money.

Thirdly, they run a very tight ship and their billing notices go out like clockwork.

And last but not least, they've been operating in this manner for decades. So they have all the nuances and little "inside tricks" of doing business this way down to a science.

I do NOT recommend most of my readers attempt to do business this way. But here's a thought: You might want to do your TEST marketing in this manner. Here's why: When you market like this, the results you're going to get are the highest which are humanly possible. Believe it or not, most marketing campaigns... even if constructed in this manner... will not bring back enough replies to justify continuing the campaign.