Posted by Joe O'Neill on November 02, 1998 at 09:05:41:
Dear Wanda and everyone else,
Perhaps you could help me with some of your excellent
advice. I have a product, the Widow's Mite, which is a
2,000 year old coin mentioned twice in the Bible, in
Mark 12:41 and Luke, 21:1. It is a long story of how
I obtained access and permission to market these coins.
They are a true antiquity, come in a nice leather
bound portfolio, with a parchment paper inside with a description, historical information, both quotes in
full, and a certificate of authenticity.
Through a connection made in a forum, I have found
one person already who is going to market the coins
through her website. The full description is in www.handmadeparadise.com. You would go to the website,
enter on the first page, scroll down on the second,
and you will see the little paragraph inviting people
who are looking for a Christmas present with religious significance to check out the Widow's Mite. So please,
good people, go ahead and look at my friends website,
to get an idea of what the Widow's Mite is,
(link provided below) and what it is that I am asking.
Wanda, I know from some previous correspondence that
Jay Abraham is one of your mentors. And that he talks about
having multiple pillars of support in all of ones sales
efforts. So, here I go with my questions about marketing
the Widow's Mite.
1)The speed at which the website placement happened amazed
me. I sent an email inquiry on Thursday, and Saturday, the
information was on her site. How can I let as many other
people who have websites with Christmas items for sale,
or who would like to have Christmas Items for sale,
know that I have an affiliate program in place where
they can sell this unique, 2,000 year old antiquity
through their website?
The affiliate program is basically I have a wholesale
price, the website owner sells the Widow's Mite at retail, processes the order, sends me a check and the address
and I drop ship it from here.
It's November 2nd - Wanda, how could I have 60, 80,
100 or more sites marketing the Widow's Mite by
the first week in December? (Even though it is an
antiquity, my source has several tens of thousands
of the coins. They have been marketing coins and
currency of all kinds, ancient, medieval and modern
for 40 years.)
2)How could I get this coin, the Widow's Mite, into
mainstream catalogs? I realize I've missed the boat
(probably) for this Christmas, but Easter is coming
after that, and catalog companies do mailings
year round. Wanda, do you know anybody who does
catalog placements, or how to go about doing so?
3)I sent out a press release in August, not the best month
for direct response, and of the 300 I sent out, one got
an article published in Mobile, Alabama (I kid you not)
three inquiries turned into one sale. It was a thrill, but
how can I do this better?
4)This past week I sent out a different release,
targeting religious radio stations, introducing
the Widow's Mite, and seeking to have the stations
run their own ad on a per order type of basis. One
station responded, I got an on air interview of sorts,
and the gentleman involved did it to introduce his
listeners to the Widow's Mite. Longer term, he
wants to get creative - he has a ministry, wants
to use the Widow's Mites as a fund raiser.
I'll get back to the fundraiser part - but with the
radio station, what we need to do is sell the station
manager on the following kind of thing. I have no ad
budget - but I do know that radio stations - or some
radio stations - will run per order advertising. In other
words, they run the ad, take the order, get paid on
what sells, and can run the ads on other programs
besides this guys two shows a week, run it in remnant
time, where they have unsold advertising time, and
do it like that.
Wanda, who do you know who does per order
advertising? And besides radio advertising, do you
have a source of per order advertising for print ads?
I think this would do real well in Parade Magazine,
but I do not have the resources to run an ad myself.
5)Fund raisers. Do you know of a source or list of
fundraising organizations in need of items to
offer with which to raise funds?
6) Retail store chains. Can I directly approach
retail chain stores for item placement? What I
would be looking for, for instance, would be to have
every B. Dalton in the county to have these displayed
near the cash register for impulse buying for the Holiday
season. Is this possible? How do I make the approach,
and gain the coveted register placement?
I know this is ambitious, and that this is a lot of questions, but I want to plug into major distribution. Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hanson of Chicken Soup for the
Soul fame have another book, the Aladdin Factor, which says
to ask. Just ask, and keep asking for what you want.
And Winston Churchill at a commencement address said,
"Never Give Up." Every single one of these is a simple
idea, and has worked for other people with other items.
So... I'm asking, and I'm listening with all ears.
Thank you Wanda, and everyone else for their input.
Thank you
Joseph O'Neill
joetrader@aol.com
P.S. Anyone who wants to join the affiliate program, can go
ahead and email me at joetrader@aol.com. All the copy you
see on the www.handmadeparadise.com was furnished by me,
and will be given freely to anyone who wants to sell
the Widow's Mite on their very own website.