Information is a time-tested product that will continue to make money particularly now that we have so many options and the society we live in is constantly hungry for information. Information about how to better our lives, particularly reports and other varieties of materials that show us ways to improve our livelihood, our careers and our way of life lead the list. These are the best items you can sell by mail.

BUT THINK ABOUT THIS: Marketable information need not always be in printed form. The electronic media, such as audio tapes, video tapes, and computer disks are taking over from what was once the exclusive domain of (paper and ink) printed materials. Of course, you can still sell pre-written materials or very easily create your own. You can write an informational report in an hour that will create income for the rest of your life! The thing you need to know is...what is
the best type of information to sell?

You will make the most money by selling MONEY-MAKING information. Books that tell how to start different businesses, short reports on business topics like increasing advertising effectiveness or new business ideas, manuals, are all very viable, and often, high selling ideas for informational products. The best way to break into this field is by reading the mail order publications you get in the mail. Pay attention to what others are selling, and order some of the things that look good. Read through them, and look not only at the content but at how it was produced, and how long you think it would take YOU to produce something like it. Find things you could improve upon. The best sellers and easiest to produce will be short reports.

You can produce a 4 to 6 page report and sell it easily for $5-$10, depending on the topic. Just be sure your content is packed with information your customer can benefit from, and push those benefits in your advertising. Also, when you find a good product, contact the seller and negotiate terms for you to sell the product. Try to make a DROP-SHIP arrangement. Drop-shipping means your customer will order from you, you take your profit from the payment (usually 50%), then you send the rest of the payment and a shipping label to the source of the product. They stock the product and will ship it directly to your customer. This saves you from having to buy large quantities of the product and stock it.

You will make the most money, though, from informational products you produce yourself. There is no one to share the profits with - you handle it all. If you are selling short 4-6 page reports for, say, $4-$6 each, your costwill be maybe 30 cents for copying the reports and 29 cents for postage to your customer (if you don't have the customer include postage). Don't just send your customer their order alone in the envelope... Include flyers for other offers, too. A customer who's ordered from you once is more likely to order from you AGAIN; and repeat customers are where you make the MOST money.

Another way to save money in the production of your reports is to use a computer. It is much easier to write a report with a computer, and it's easier to make changes. The biggest advantage, though, is you can print your reports whenever you need them, in whatever quantities you need. Save them on a disk, and if you get an order for, say, three reports, just load the disk and print them on your printer. Six pages printed on a typical dot-matrix printer (the least expensive type) would cost only around 3 cents ( if you buy your paper in bulk like I do). Figure out your profit from selling your report for $6-$8. Also, you can keep your mailing list of customers on a disk, and save addressing time each time you mail by printing labels on your printer.

Your mailing list can then be used for extra income by renting your customer names to other mail order dealers. If you don't already have a computer, you will also learn exactly which computer setup is the BEST and most ECONOMICAL in this report! Above all, to be a success in this business, be sure to have a GOOD product. A flaky report that contains questionable information, or little usable information at all, will get nothing but unsatisfied customers. No one will want to send you money. And the ones who do, will want their money back. Take the extra time when writing your reports or manuals.

It's worth it. If you're not 100% confident of your information, go to your local library and check your facts. You may just find extra info you can include in your report. Cover all your bases in your reports, and your customers will come back time and time again!