This is my journal following the method outlined by 7878 in this thread.

He did 22 letters, I'm doing 100 letters just for the sake of it! It was a PIA finding 100 companies to generate letters for, took me almost 2-3 weeks I think.

I didn't add too much creativity to this and I think it's largely because I got lazy due to how I scaled it. I went with the dice method, even after I found out 7878 is in my area, and he possibly already used this method on the same folks I will be sending letters to.

When I purchased the die, I bought a box of 100 purple die as opposed to 200, which 7878 called for (2 dice in each envelope).

I attempted to drop off the 100 letters last night at my post office, but they told me I could not mail it for .44 because of the dice in each letter, it made it a "package." Also, they said if they tried to run the envelopes thru their machine sorter, the dice would get ripped out of the envelope and not delivered. They said I would have to mail it in a bigger envelope and pay $1.71 per each "package." I was bummed out and me and my GF left back to the car with the letters.

We discussed it a bit then we changed our mind. We went back because after ALL that time of hand addressing letters and marking up review sheets, we had gone too far. I didn't want to pay $1.71 per letter. If I did more of a laser targeting thing, then ok maybe... but not now.

We bought the 100 stamps, then dropped the letters off at two different mail boxes in the city.

On the mailbox it said something about letters .13 oz or more need to be mailed at the POST OFFICE! I don't know how heavy the pieces were, but I dumped them in the box anyway! I'll probably have 100 returned undeliverable letters in a week or so.

In two weeks I will be making up follow up calls to the businesses with the worst reviews. Wish me luck!

Wishing you the best of luck!!!

But 7878 did warn about the increased postage. I think in your shoes I would have sent 20 or so of the letters at $1.71 and waited to see a result or two, then sent the rest as soon as I could afford them. It will be a shame if the letters get sent back to you.

At least you've acted on it, kudos to you, and I'll be following your progress.

I would say try a different post office next time. I think the bit about a larger envelop is BS.

Side note: you could've just cut the address off each letter and taped on a larger envelop. IMHO

Best of luck great you took action.

or you could'a took out the dice and put in a nice sponge bob sticker....people love that little guy

Best of luck! Hope it works out, I am tempted to give this a go in my local area so looking forward to your results, ive found about 15ish prospects which I am going to mail to first as a test run.

Just wondering,

Have you made a website?

I am thinking of making a webiste to seem more professional but just wondered in you had.

Thanks

Dude glad you took some action. I got my hands wrapped around a few different projects currently but I am going to try 7878 method soon myself. I wish you luck my fellow bhm.

Originally Posted by barca

Wishing you the best of luck!!!

But 7878 did warn about the increased postage. I think in your shoes I would have sent 20 or so of the letters at $1.71 and waited to see a result or two, then sent the rest as soon as I could afford them. It will be a shame if the letters get sent back to you.

At least you've acted on it, kudos to you, and I'll be following your progress.

I must have forgotten that part or overlooked it. I should have reread the thread one more time before I set everything up.

Originally Posted by lincolnave

I would say try a different post office next time. I think the bit about a larger envelop is BS.

Side note: you could've just cut the address off each letter and taped on a larger envelop. IMHO

Best of luck great you took action.

TRUE, but I figured it would look tacky... but at the same time I kind of just threw my hands and the air and said lets get this shit moving!

Originally Posted by highrider778

or you could'a took out the dice and put in a nice sponge bob sticker....people love that little guy

lol. yea, sponge bob is awesome, but I didnt want to go thru readdressing my hand.

Originally Posted by Execute

Best of luck! Hope it works out, I am tempted to give this a go in my local area so looking forward to your results, ive found about 15ish prospects which I am going to mail to first as a test run.

Just wondering,

Have you made a website?

I am thinking of making a webiste to seem more professional but just wondered in you had.

Thanks

I kind of have a website, kind of dont. I have a domain for an old in-field marketing company I was going to start. I was going to keep the domain and convert for offline use, but the name doesnt make much sense. I am trying to think of a catchy name for the company and then set things up.

I have a few methods that I am going to force myself to use for offline IM, so I def will need a web presence soon! got any ideas for a name? :-)

Originally Posted by Ifanafi

IMHO - a pair of dice is BS. Too large and thus too costly to mail as you found out. Ouch. $1.71 each. Yikes. I agree with another OP that you ought to have mailed 20 test pieces and waited on the results.

BTW - back in the last-gasp days of direct-marketing mailings, some 25+ years ago, we tested and used many attention getters and, believe it or not, found the best to be a new, shiny copper penny (1 cent) glued to the top of the letter using a glue stick. Fast, affordable and attention getting. We changed the letter's classic intro referencing the one-dollar bill to a one cent piece... and could bang out dozens of mailing pieces fast.

Try it; you will like it.

YES! Indeed a lesson learned! My next method I will use the penny trick. Did you just glue it to the center I assume, and not where the stamp goes? And can you post the $1 reference intro. I would like to try this.

Originally Posted by moneyneeded

Dude glad you took some action. I got my hands wrapped around a few different projects currently but I am going to try 7878 method soon myself. I wish you luck my fellow bhm.

Man, I've got like 4 different projects in the air. youtube, adsense site, a custom SaaS company I am starting, and this ORM method. Next friday I will have implemented another method I found about offline clients. By the time thats in the mail, I will be following up with the clients from this method!

I've got nothing to lose and I might as well do as much as I can!!

While I'm glad you took action too, I personally think it was a waste, regardless if you put mail through a box or a post office the fees are still going to be the same, they're not going to let a package that cost $1.70-something slide for $0.41 cents. You should have about 100 packages returned to you pretty soon, unless the dice get ripped out and then the envelope gets sorted, but then you lose the nice little 'surprise' for your prospect.

If you do get 100 packages back, you'll HAVE to redo every package (if you want to continue with the venture), because USPS will put a nice little Insufficient Funds stamp on your envelopes. The best / easiest thing you could have done is simply added more 4 more stamps (for a total of 5) that would have covered the $1.70-something postage fee and then some (a total of $2.05 worth of stamps / package).

Also, you said you have nothing to lose and might as well go all in, but I'd recommend you don't spread your self to thin too fast, get one venture up and going (i.e. the ORM or SaaS company) where you know the ins-and-outs and then start outsourcing each stage, starting with prospect finding, mailing then sales. Then while that venture is up and running (bringing you in money for little work), start your next one.

Regardless, I wish you the best luck, and hopefully the USPS Gods smiles on you and lets the package through and you make bank!

Good luck.

I'm not trying to be a bitch or anything, but in a day or two, you're going to have 100 envelopes and $44.00 wasted in postage (unless you want to resend with that huge stamp they put on it). Just my experience as a large mailer.

In the future, if you choose to, I'd advise getting a stamps.com account and you'll save money in the long run.

You may get lucky and most will ship, especially if they are local.
good luck please keep updating.

Maybe this is not a popular thing to say but I want to give you credit OP for actually trying this method!!! I can't tell you how many times no one has even attempted a method, now we all know there are roadblocks but you can adjust to it and things will turn out better. If nothing less, it shows your pure motivation which beats a lot of people who "its to much work etc". Very proud of you and remember bounce around ideas, so the dice didn't fly so try something else, maybe different color envelopes or something else but at least your trying.

Originally Posted by Ifanafi

IMHO - a pair of dice is BS. Too large and thus too costly to mail as you found out.

The idea of the dice is because they make a lumpy package...and therefore people are tempted to open just to see what's in it. Once the envelope is open, they are gonna see all their shitty reviews staring at them, and few people not then read the whole thing.

Although the penny might make the mailing more memorable than without it, it doesn't get them to open the envelope in the beginning. I don't think $1.71 is high if you are able to convert at a reasonable rate, just that 100 might be high when you are on a budget.

Plus, if only 10 percent pf prospects call you, you are dealing with 10 leads all at once. If 30 percent want to know more, that's 30 people...even 10 might be a lot to keep up with when you are first starting out at this. If you get those letters back, don't give up, just resend them in smaller batches, but hopefully you'll get them sent.

I also ran into the problem of not being able to mail for .44 however, they mailed it out for .66. Idk where they came up with the 1.71 price.

Sub'd. 7878 is from your area? That's not a good news for you or 7878. Specially you op. ;-)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You better re-write the addresses man. They're all smeared...

Originally Posted by KraftyKyle

You better re-write the addresses man. They're all smeared...

they did that on purpose, I believe.

That version of the letter will actually be $1.77, I specified that in the OP. They can't run these through automated processing so you're forced to pay higher postage to mail them as a parcel. I'd recommend a cardboard, plain white, legal size envelope with the tear-off strip over a standard envelope. They outperform the standard envelopes 2:1.

Take that letter to Chris Hurd and throw it in the trash, he's a douchebag, I used to work for him. There are some highly visible competitors in that niche as well so make sure you know who they are and what they charge before you talk turkey.

Originally Posted by DaBlackHat

they did that on purpose, I believe.

It was what we call a joke my friend.

Originally Posted by imprint

While I'm glad you took action too, I personally think it was a waste, regardless if you put mail through a box or a post office the fees are still going to be the same, they're not going to let a package that cost $1.70-something slide for $0.41 cents. You should have about 100 packages returned to you pretty soon, unless the dice get ripped out and then the envelope gets sorted, but then you lose the nice little 'surprise' for your prospect.

If you do get 100 packages back, you'll HAVE to redo every package (if you want to continue with the venture), because USPS will put a nice little Insufficient Funds stamp on your envelopes. The best / easiest thing you could have done is simply added more 4 more stamps (for a total of 5) that would have covered the $1.70-something postage fee and then some (a total of $2.05 worth of stamps / package).

Also, you said you have nothing to lose and might as well go all in, but I'd recommend you don't spread your self to thin too fast, get one venture up and going (i.e. the ORM or SaaS company) where you know the ins-and-outs and then start outsourcing each stage, starting with prospect finding, mailing then sales. Then while that venture is up and running (bringing you in money for little work), start your next one.

Regardless, I wish you the best luck, and hopefully the USPS Gods smiles on you and lets the package through and you make bank!

Good luck.

Originally Posted by marusia

I'm not trying to be a bitch or anything, but in a day or two, you're going to have 100 envelopes and $44.00 wasted in postage (unless you want to resend with that huge stamp they put on it). Just my experience as a large mailer.

In the future, if you choose to, I'd advise getting a stamps.com account and you'll save money in the long run.

He clearly stated that he walked into the USPS retail unit to ship these and was told about the increased postage. Does anyone read the thread anymore?

I wish you big luck!

Just one thing - why you started 'test campaign' with 100 letters + all addresses written by hand!

I'm also thinking to do something like that. I already offering mobile marketing stuff - but never tried direct mailing.

Anyway, good luck again, hope you are going to inspire me

Originally Posted by 7878

He clearly stated that he walked into the USPS retail unit to ship these and was told about the increased postage. Does anyone read the thread anymore?

Yes, I did read the thread. I was just letting him know to expect them back. Also, if he's planning on running volume, printing the postage online is much cheaper. That was the only contribution I was trying to add.

Originally Posted by PurpleSEO

On the mailbox it said something about letters .13 oz or more need to be mailed at the POST OFFICE! I don't know how heavy the pieces were, but I dumped them in the box anyway! I'll probably have 100 returned undeliverable letters in a week or so.

Originally Posted by 7878

Why would he expect them back?

If the "letter" is over 1/4" thick, then it's no longer classified as a letter, it's a "large envelope". The standard size of a die is 3/4" of an inch. If the weight is 2 ounces, the price would be $1.71 . The weight is irrelevant here as a letter (anything under 3.5oz can be shipped as a letter). Since it's too thick, I guarantee that they will be shipped back in 1-2 days.

Originally Posted by 7878

He clearly stated that he walked into the USPS retail unit to ship these and was told about the increased postage. Does anyone read the thread anymore?

Yes sir, I read the whole thread, I know he was informed about the new prices, but the problem (and the reason he'll most likely be getting the letters back) is because even after being informed of the new price (the $1.71 instead of $0.41) he thought he'd get lucky by using a drop off location instead of the Post Office, but regardless of where you drop off the mail it's all going to get processed the same way, and underpaid postage is always a denial.

FYI - All of those details are covered it the first part of the original thread.

Originally Posted by 7878

FYI - All of those details are covered it the first part of the original thread.

Yes they were, so it's just a lack of attention on the OPs part.

Regardless, this is a solid method that 7878 shared, and good job for the OP taking action, just make sure the action you take, it counts!

@marusia
Thanks for dropping the stamps.com website, I forgot about their services but it's about time we get reacquainted.

I've got some interesting updates! I'll be posting back within an hour or so.

I appreciate the encouragement and appreciate the criticism. A lot of the criticism I am receiving was addressed in the first post, specifically being I EXPECT TO GET RETURNS! But what I am going to post soon will surprise you!

can't wait to hear results

You're a bot my friend.

Instead sending the 100 letters, you should have sent 50 and paid the $1.70 on those.

Stop cheaping out!

Now wait for them to be returned to you and send half of them out again, the right way.

And good luck, good on you for taking action!

Wow! Today has been an interesting day! I received FIVE calls today! I don't usually get calls from unknown numbers within my surrounding area codes, so I knew I was getting responses.

Call #1 - I missed this call while in a meeting. The owner was angry because she was charged $1.27 for my lack of stamps! I DID NOT SEE THIS COMING! I will be mailing her a check for the postage, but I will still try to sell her!Listen to the voicemail.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/98624428c94adf71/

Call #2 - After the first voicemail, I was hesitant to pick up any other calls. Call #2 was from a restaurant who got my mail. They told me they didn't appreciate the "shit" I sent them, and that their customers go to REWARDS NETWORK not Google Places. He told me my information was out of date because their most recent review was from said site, and all of Google places reviews were a few months old. Needless to say he wasn't interested! Sorry, no phone recording.

Call #3 - I was done for the day. This call came in around 2:30pm and I was fed up already and couldnt take any more abuse that this method has costed so far! He called and I let it go to voicemail. He left no voicemail, but instead CALLED ME BACK AGAIN! I decided to pick up the phone and take a beating!

He tells me, the guy I sent the letter to no longer works there BUT... the new VP of marketing got the letter and was interested. I tried to setup a meeting but the VP just wanted some basic questions first about the method and the cost. I gave him the basic BS about pushing up positive reviews and flooding the page with more recent positives. I also gave him a ballpark of $500/month depending on the work needed and a commitment to a 3 month contract. He said he is going to talk it over with the VP and call me back to setup a meeting.

NOW.. from here... MY SPIRITS WERE UP! But, I wasn't prepared for that call. Everything was off the cuff and I didn't have my laptop or reviews in front of me, so I couldn't talk about their situation and touch the "pain" points which are critical to induce action! I decided I wouldn't take any more calls for the day without my laptop so I let the next few calls go to voice mail.

Call #4 - Interested and wants to setup a meeting
Listen here: http://www.zshare.net/audio/98624849bbdf39ba/

Call #5 - Interested and wants me to call back
Listen here: http://www.zshare.net/audio/986248646de76b42/

Thats a 5% response rate after only ONE DAY! I checked the PO BOX and only 5 letters were returned.. SO FAR! They had a not saying I needed to pay .20 extra postage for each. I will pay it and resend the letters.

Haha, I loved the first voicemail, she has some undiscovered issues about her, business must not be to well if she needs that check. Number 5 seems like she already has her checkbook out and just wants your name, .

OP once again, good job taking action, and good luck with your sales, mail those returns back out ASAP!

As a USPS former employee we actually manually check whether the mail is considered a parcel or general mail. Two things come into consideration- weight and size. Your mail will either be rejected by the closest P&DC, or they'll just bring it to their manual sorting area and charge your clients (which will most likely happen). Best of luck mate.

Congrats on taking action man!

Fantastic responses you got so far, dang that first lady was ANGRY though!

Haha dude mad props. After reading your original post, I thought you were gonna get pwned by the returned letters, but instead you already have 2 people wanting a meeting, and a possible 3rd just today! Great job man.

I am also doing 7878's method and I have picked around 10 companies so far. I know it's a low start, but I'm in a smaller populated area than most.

Did you send out letters based off how close of a drive they were from your house? Or did you go balls deep and grab people from different sides of the state lol.

Brilliant, glad to see that you have secured yourself some new potential clients, hope the meetings go well

That's awesome man! Congrats!! Very inspiring! I have decided I wanted to pursue this method. Your success has been very motivating! Don't let the "no's" get you down. That is 100% success. Yes or a no is always the right answer. Cross them off and move on. Good luck with the rest!! Just don't forget to send a follow up letter to all the "no's" Leave a business card. No and never are 2 different words!! Well, except for the multi-talented lady in call 1! She does it all! Oh, thanks for the awesome share 7878!!!

Caller #1 is funny as sh*t! I think she was dropped on her head as a baby.

It amazes me that some business owners are so quirky. I hope she gets a life someday.

Originally Posted by PurpleSEO

Wow! Today has been an interesting day! I received FIVE calls today! I don't usually get calls from unknown numbers within my surrounding area codes, so I knew I was getting responses.

Call #1 - I missed this call while in a meeting. The owner was angry because she was charged $1.27 for my lack of stamps! I DID NOT SEE THIS COMING! I will be mailing her a check for the postage, but I will still try to sell her!Listen to the voicemail.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/98624428c94adf71/

Call #2 - After the first voicemail, I was hesitant to pick up any other calls. Call #2 was from a restaurant who got my mail. They told me they didn't appreciate the "shit" I sent them, and that their customers go to REWARDS NETWORK not Google Places. He told me my information was out of date because their most recent review was from said site, and all of Google places reviews were a few months old. Needless to say he wasn't interested! Sorry, no phone recording.

Call #3 - I was done for the day. This call came in around 2:30pm and I was fed up already and couldnt take any more abuse that this method has costed so far! He called and I let it go to voicemail. He left no voicemail, but instead CALLED ME BACK AGAIN! I decided to pick up the phone and take a beating!

He tells me, the guy I sent the letter to no longer works there BUT... the new VP of marketing got the letter and was interested. I tried to setup a meeting but the VP just wanted some basic questions first about the method and the cost. I gave him the basic BS about pushing up positive reviews and flooding the page with more recent positives. I also gave him a ballpark of $500/month depending on the work needed and a commitment to a 3 month contract. He said he is going to talk it over with the VP and call me back to setup a meeting.

NOW.. from here... MY SPIRITS WERE UP! But, I wasn't prepared for that call. Everything was off the cuff and I didn't have my laptop or reviews in front of me, so I couldn't talk about their situation and touch the "pain" points which are critical to induce action! I decided I wouldn't take any more calls for the day without my laptop so I let the next few calls go to voice mail.

Call #4 - Interested and wants to setup a meeting
Listen here: http://www.zshare.net/audio/98624849bbdf39ba/

Call #5 - Interested and wants me to call back
Listen here: http://www.zshare.net/audio/986248646de76b42/

Thats a 5% response rate after only ONE DAY! I checked the PO BOX and only 5 letters were returned.. SO FAR! They had a not saying I needed to pay .20 extra postage for each. I will pay it and resend the letters.

Originally Posted by mindgame1212

Haha dude mad props. After reading your original post, I thought you were gonna get pwned by the returned letters, but instead you already have 2 people wanting a meeting, and a possible 3rd just today! Great job man.

I am also doing 7878's method and I have picked around 10 companies so far. I know it's a low start, but I'm in a smaller populated area than most.

Did you send out letters based off how close of a drive they were from your house? Or did you go balls deep and grab people from different sides of the state lol.

Good to see some folks grasping the material and making money. Letters tend to hang around desks for a long time so expect the calls to keep coming.

I love reading these kind of threads. Keep us updated mate.
I hope the best for you and i'm sure you WILL succeed!

Originally Posted by highrider778

or you could'a took out the dice and put in a nice sponge bob sticker....people love that little guy

The point of the dice is to make the package more bulky and thus attract more attention to the letter.

man I love this , you sure did grab their attention cause they had to pay to receive the package lol. You could even use this in your pitch , yes I costed you money to receive my package , but I will make you lots of money if you hire me so it was well worth the investement. Nice of you to also include the phonecalls , good luck and I am sure you will make it.

Originally Posted by PurpleSEO

Call #1 - I missed this call while in a meeting. The owner was angry because she was charged $1.27 for my lack of stamps! I DID NOT SEE THIS COMING! I will be mailing her a check for the postage, but I will still try to sell her!Listen to the voicemail.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/98624428c94adf71/

Put $1.27 in an envelope and stick another 2 dice in and don't pay the adequate postage for sending the letter.

When she rings back with her rage call, post here for lulz?

Very good thread for motivation specially when you also include the calls! VERY GOOD WORK

Originally Posted by PurpleSEO

Call #1 - I missed this call while in a meeting. The owner was angry because she was charged $1.27 for my lack of stamps! I DID NOT SEE THIS COMING! I will be mailing her a check for the postage, but I will still try to sell her!Listen to the voicemail.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/98624428c94adf71/

Haha! Thanks, funniest thing I've heard this week.

Anyone interested in marketing should definitely get a gig as a telemarketer for a few weeks. After that you will have thick skin and these phone beratings will have no effect on you.

Also funny that she mentioned the dice were pointless when she paid to receive the envelope, opened it, read it all, called you... lol

That's awesome! I've been doing this on an extremely part time basis and it has been going well. I sell for a roofing company and the hail storms last year kept me too busy. Not complaining. I however am going balls deep and taking this statewide.

You are learning very valuable lessons. Your next mailing you won't make the mistakes. Your first sales presentation, you might make a few mistakes, however you won't make them again.

Congrats on taking action. Within a few months, you will be a valued expert!

Fantastic mate! .. The voice mail was damn funny ... But looks like you have made some serious business here .... Good to see people taking action here ... Keep the thread updated please we would like to hear more angry voice mails and success stories