Start Your Own Snail Mail Newsletter Service

Even though there are hundreds of thousands of newsletters you can elect to receive via email thanks to the power of the internet, a lot of people still like to receive a paper copy that they can keep. At a time when everything is so easily disposed of, it’s arguable that a paper newsletter actually has a longer shelf life, since it’s much harder to throw away something tangible than it is to hit a button and delete it out of your inbox.

But how easy is it to set up your own snail mail newsletter service? Surprisingly, it might just be easier than you think…

So what makes a successful snail mail newsletter? They are easy enough to create these days thanks to desktop publishing, and if you hit on a popular subject and end up with hundreds of subscribers you can get the newsletter printed up properly.

But the key factor is the subject you pick. What are you going to write about? You need to be able to charge enough for the newsletter to cover your costs and make some profit, but you need to provide information that can’t easily be found elsewhere.

The great thing about a newsletter sent in this manner is that it can literally be almost one hundred per cent information and nothing else. So for example you can have something like an eight page newsletter (or maybe even less) that is packed with information and no fluff, and charge a reasonable amount for the info you provide. And with a newsletter that size you can put it into a normal envelope and post it at the cheapest rate possible because it will be so light.

You can get some use out of the internet when you are thinking about creating your own snail mail newsletter, because you can use it for research. What subjects could you use for a newsletter? Is there anything you already know a lot about that enough people would be interested in? You also need a unique angle so find out what else is being offered on that topic and position your own offering differently if you can.

The next step is where to find customers – and this is where you can use the internet to help you even more. Ideally you should set up a website that promotes the newsletter which will draw people in from the search engines and hopefully encourage people to sign up to pay you for the newsletter. A blog on the same subject can also be a good idea, as it gives you a chance to demonstrate to prospective customers that you know what you are talking about and can be a good source of information.

But how often should this newsletter be produced for the maximum effect?

Monthly is generally the best idea for a snail mail version, since it will give you plenty of time to gather new material together, write the newsletter and get it printed and mailed out each time. It’s a good idea to get off to a good start by making sure you have enough material for two or three newsletters so you don’t have to panic about doing the next one as soon as the first one is mailed out. This will also give you additional time to make sure you can attract plenty more subscribers.

I can’t stress enough the importance of doing your homework before you get started though. Making sure you choose a good subject, you have enough material and you can provide something that no one else can is guaranteed to give you the best shot at creating something that is likely to stick around for some time.

Think about having regular columns as well, as this helps to create a familiarity with the newsletter that you wouldn’t have otherwise. And offer people a free sample issue to get started – it will bring in a lot more subscribers as a result.

So – are you ready to start your own snail mail newsletter? If you are, leave a comment below to let us know how this blog entry helped you! And good luck.

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Start Your Own Local Bin Cleaning Service

Throwing our trash away is part of everyday life. But don’t you just hate that smell that wafts up to meet you every time you open the lid to throw in another piece of trash?

Bins that are kept outside get subjected to all kinds of abuse. They have to withstand all weathers and hold all the leftovers, spoiled food and other remnants that we don’t want to keep inside. No wonder they smell less than fragrant from time to time.

But if you can stand the smell you could be making a lot of money from those bins. Grab a peg and come closer to find out more about this lucrative opportunity.

One of the best things about this business is that you will never run short of customers. Everyone has a trash can, and I am willing to bet that very few (if any) of those bins smells anywhere near good.

This makes for a huge business opportunity for you, and it’s easy to advertise since you can simply get a whole batch of leaflets printed up and deliver them door to door to get you started. State your price on the leaflet and offer the customer 20% offer if they produce the leaflet when you arrive to clean their bin.

That is a good discount and you can bet that a lot of people will take you up on the offer. It also guarantees that more people will keep the leaflet for longer instead of throwing it away.

You can start this business with very little cash, since you can manually clean all the bins if you have the right equipment to do so – all you need is long handled brushes and cloths, disinfectant and some elbow grease in the first instance.

When you want to step things up a little (or if you have the money available to begin with) you can buy or lease a van and some more advanced cleaning equipment. There are also a number of franchise opportunities in several countries that provide you with everything you need to get started in your own area. If you are prepared to plough some real cash into this business then it could be the way to go. You can find out more about this opportunity by using a search engine to find the franchises operating in your country.

It all depends on how you want to run the business. If it is a part time, casual concern then you might want to keep things simple and start by offering your services to people you know to begin with. You can then spread the word via word of mouth to include other people locally.

The beauty of this business is that however you approach it you will be visiting clients regularly to keep their bins clean and fresh. You can reasonably expect to be cleaning them every week or two, which means that once you have built up a good customer base, you have a regular ongoing income that you can pretty much rely on.

So if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty, write a comment below and then get started by designing a simple leaflet to promote your new business.

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Start A Local Grocery Delivery Service

Would you consider paying someone to do the jobs you hate doing? You would certainly pay someone to do the jobs you cannot do yourself or find difficult to do, wouldn’t you?

While you may find it easy to get your own groceries there are plenty of people who aren’t so lucky. In these situations they would gladly pay a little extra to have someone do their shopping for them and deliver it all to their home. Essentially you would be providing a smaller, more local and arguably friendlier version of the large scale services offered by some of the bigger stores.

While you can certainly deliver groceries for people who find it hard to get out and about and carry heavy shopping home, you’ll also find a ready market in younger people who are pushed for time.

This can influence how you promote your services as well, since you will want to be visible to the people who are most likely to use your delivery service. For example, younger people are far more likely to be connected to the internet, so it’s worth investing the money to get a website up and running that people can see.

Incidentally there are also a number of organizations in the US that offer to help you in this respect, and for a fee they will provide a fully customized website and lots of help and advice on getting started in this business. The website allows people to actually order their groceries online, and you then deliver them to the customer. This is grocery delivery on a much larger scale though, as it could really take off – so make sure you are prepared to go the whole hog if you go for this particular option.

If running things on a smaller scale appeals to you, you could always start off on by promoting your services via word of mouth and professionally designed business cards stating what you do. For example you could focus just on your elderly neighbors to begin with, speaking to people you know and generally spreading the word to get your first few clients. Once you have got underway you can then start to develop your business gradually.

What are the requirements? Well as we’ve seen you can do without a website if you want to start small, but you may find a car is a virtual necessity if you are doing a lot of shopping for one or more people in a single day. You don’t want to be spending all your profits on taxi cabs!

As for personal traits you’ll need to enjoy getting out and about and meeting people – and you’ll certainly get plenty of exercise. This isn’t for everyone but if you aren’t afraid of a bit of hard work then it could suit you right down to the ground.

If you’re thinking about giving this a try, leave us a comment by using the form below. We are always pleased to hear from you.

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