Starting A Co-Op Coupon Business From Your Home


Mail out coupons, circular and ads for up to 30 clients at 
a time on a cooperative basis. Contract to print (have 
printed or use provided) and mail out coupons to area 
residents and/or businesses on a cooperative, non-competing 
basis.

Although you mail offers from several clients at any one 
time in the same envelope, you guarantee that only non-
competive offers are contained in any one mailing.

For example, you would not include a 5 cent discount 
coupon for potatoes from store A, and another 7 cents from 
store B (store A would never do business with you again). 
But you could include a free oil change coupon from a 
service station with either.

Generally, it is best not to include two of the same type 
stores or merchants in the same mailing --even though the 
products themselves are not competitors, the merchants are.

Most businesses find it difficult and expensive to send 
out their own flyers (advertisements, coupons, etc.), much 
less work out the details of coupon discounts.

It requires know-how and is consuming to design a coupon 
program and even more so to set up a workable mailing 
program for one store.

Most merchants are not particularly talented or experienced 
in this department, which makes the job all the more difficult 
for them.

The cost of envelopes, manpower to stuff and address them, 
rent for the mailing list and postage can quickly add up to 
50 cents or more for each piece mailed!

This is why so many local merchants use newspaper inserts, 
despite the fact that they are very expensive and not 
everyone sees their ads there -- it is cheaper and a lot 
less work than trying to do it themselves.

A person in the coupon business will soon become quite 
knowledgeable in this type of advertising, which means they 
can fulfill a definite need for the merchants in their 
community.

This business involves showing merchants in your area how 
you can print AND mail their coupons, flyers and ads to an 
up-to-date, qualified local mailing list for 3 to 4 cents 
per item! Not only will you relieve them of the requirements 
to invest a good deal of their (non-expert) time and money, 
you will save them as much as 90% of the cost. If you were 
a merchant, wouldn't you listen?

You can help design coupons, offer standard models, or 
use the client's design -- the possible varieties are 
endless.

One plan would be to offer one or two color coupons for 
"Windy Bucks" (in Chicago) coupons for discounts and free 
introductory services such as 10% a permanent or a free 
soda with a meal, two dinners for the price of one, or a 
free car wash with a lubrication job.

This is where YOUR imagination needs to "catch fire" -- 
write down all sorts of ideas and have them ready to suggest 
when you need them.

For example, you could have the basic Windy Bucks printed 
with black ink on light green paper and then pay the printer 
a little extra to insert specific client information red ink 
(their name and offer) in red. You could use different 
colored paper for several different clients, or even offer 
an "exclusive" design or border (at an extra price, of course).

One "buck" could be printed with a five and become $5 towards 
the purchase of $50 at Jones Hardware; the next, worth a free 
shampoo at Sally's Salon and so forth.

You must promise to mail our a certain number of coupons to 
bona fide residents (and/or businesses) within a specified 
period of time (say, 30 days) and inform your clients that 
although there will probably be others in the same mailing, 
there will be NO COMPETING offers OR BUSINESSES (this is 
VERY important).

Your printing should be based on your costs, including 
printing, postage, paper and of course, your time.

Be sure to scale your offers so the larger the order, the 
cheaper the price, AND work out "specials" to offer -- 
combination orders of either different products and offers 
or future mailings.
 
For example, 1,000 Windy bucks with their info printed in 
red, mailed out might be $45 per M; 3,000 - $39; 5,000 - 
$37, etc.

Then, a combination of 3 different offers might be offered 
at the 3,000 price -- or a contract for 1,000 per month for 
five months might be offered at the 5,000 price. These are 
just a few examples of many possible ways to offer discounts 
that encourage larger orders -- which is your objective 
because you not only make more profit; you get better rates 
on larger orders too.

One thing you might need is a good mailing list, which is a 
viable alternative to the "occupant" approach. You can rent 
or purchase one or start accumulating your own.

If you live in a rural or small town area, you can build a 
pretty good mailing list from the phone book (use the prefixes 
to help determine the zip code).

If you have a computer, you can get a program with ZIP  
codes -- or you can look them up in the post office 
directory (assuming you don't want to buy one).

Some merchants will have their own mailing lists -- and may 
allow you to use them. If so, you could combine theirs with 
yours to eventually build a pretty good list. of course, you 
can also purchase club and organizational listings, voter 
registration lists and keep all addresses of anyone 
answering mailed out offers.

A fairly important decision might be necessary in a promotion 
like the Windy Bucks example -- you will need to determine if 
you want to emphasize your company and idea or simply promote 
whatever the clients desire.

Of course, the client's wishes always come first and you may 
not have a good promotion idea (yet). If you do, you will be 
able to offer some pretty good prices as well as a chance for 
merchants to "get on the bandwagon" -- join in a program that 
is working. Otherwise, you (and your company name) stay behind 
the scenes as an advertising agent that helps design, print 
and disseminate your client's materials for their promotion.

In either case, the longer you are at it and the more qualified 
will you become -- and the more merchants will want to take 
advantage of your experience and services. As the saying goes: 
"the harder you work, the luckier you will get."

Before signing up any clients, work out arrangements with a 
printer (unless you can do your own). Find out all the 
"shortcuts" price breaks and cost of different paper, ink, 
color combinations, as well as what sizes the printer can 
accommodate and what type of cuts or logos are available (at 
what price).

Normally, standard cuts (borders, pointing fingers) are 
provided at little or no charge and custom cuts are so much 
per square inch.

Note that you can usually save money by having more than one 
made at a time. Standard coupons should be in the 3 x 8 inch 
range, but always sized so that you can get as many as 
possible on a single sheet of standard or legal sized paper 
(to save $$).

Your cost for printing good quality single color coupons 
should be in the 2 to 5 cents per page range (depending on 
quantity, how many prices you check and how well you bargain).

Using colored paper and inks can increase the effect without 
much extra cost (in comparison to two colors of ink or color 
printing).

Mailing list addresses run about a half cent each; envelopes 
one to 7 cents each, postage 10-13 cents, and your bulk 
mailing permit about $50 over year after the initial permit.

Printing costs can be lowered by designing and keeping 
general formats and merely substituting internal copy for 
clients.

One color ink is cheaper than two; black and white is much 
cheaper than color, colored paper and/or various ink colors 
are cheaper and almost as effective as two color printing 
(which requires two "runs" through the press).

Some local printers are quite expensive, while others will 
want your business enough to "deal" (The more business you 
can bring them, the more "clout" you will have).

If you have or can hire a desktop publishing system, you 
can prepare "camera ready" masters that can be reproduced 
inexpensively by a photo offset printer (small runs can be 
+handled by copy services).

Note that some of your clients will provide their own 
material (from their home offices) -- either to copy or 
ready to mail. You may also be able to save by compiling 
your own mailing lists (see B235).

Finally, you should offer "exclusive" mailings, where you 
mail out client's material -- for a significantly price of 
course. It may be worth it to a client because you have the 
know-how, production facilities and the bulk rate permit.

They certainly don't want to believe their product is not 
good! Your advice should always be honest in the sense that 
you first advise them on how to be effective; second, how to 
save money, and third, according to your profit margin.

You also should be extremely careful not to get in between 
rival clients or appear to be favoring one over the other.

Never discuss one client with another (if you talk about one, 
you will talk about all of them). Just "steer" them away from 
advertising or layouts that would appear to compete directly 
through your services.

Finally, be especially wary of "distress orders." Many 
businesses, when they are on the brink of disaster will try 
to bolster their position through heavy advertising. trouble 
is that if it doesn't work, the advertising is added to their 
list of unpaid bills. Don't be their "last resort."





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