HOW TO MAKE MONEY SELLING RECIPES

HOW TO MAKE MONEY SELLING RECIPES

Practically everybody's got hundreds of recipes stashed away

somewhere. Why not sell 'em? So why don't you? The right way is

to run a small classified ad in any of the tabloid newspapers.

You could also try a local newspaper, even put up a little note

on the bulletin board in your local grocery store, church,

community center or dozens of other places.

If you have something unusual, especially if you offer a package

deal like 5-10 recipes for $2.00 or so, you can get quite a few

responses, and indeed make a profit. Of course most people try a

market a single recipe, charge upwards of $5.00 and end up with

nothing to show for their efforts.

Anyone running recipe ads will be guaranteed lots of responses.

Promise. No, they won't be from people wanting your favorite

recipe. Well, maybe one or two will. Most inquiries will be

offers to join a recipe club. Right now this very minute

hundreds of people are going through the classified ads getting

ready to send the unsuspecting recipe advertiser an offer to

join their recipe club, which is another version of an illegal

chain letter.

The first thing promoters of this type of scheme will tell you

is that every one of their members gets hundreds and hundreds of

people to send them one, two, even five dollars per recipe. It

won't happen and it's illegal. As I already said very few people

will part with $2-$5 for a single recipe, unless you know how to

turn lead into gold or something equally exciting. So don't

waste your money joining any clubs.

OK, now that you were warned what is likely to happen, it's time

to tell you how you can, with a little luck, make money selling

recipes. To keep your advertising costs to a minimum you must

use classified ads. To compete with the dozens of others

offering recipes you have to grab the readers attention. I know

of no one who reads classified ads. People just skim through

them and stop if they see something interesting.

So the most important part of your classified ad must be the

first three or four words Choose powerful words that make your

potential customer excited enough to read the rest of your ad.

Note the difference between the two ads on the following page.

It's the same recipe but the choice of words in the first is so

bland that practically everyone will pass it up. The second

should at least spark a bit of curiosity, and get your potential

customer to read the rest of your ad.

GRANDMA'S CHOCOLATE TORTE CAKE

Delicious easily prepared dessert that your family will love.

Send $2 & SASE to Helen A. Smith, 1234 W. Cherry Lane Chicago IL

60629.

FOR CHOCOLATE LOVERS ONLY.

Mouth watering sinfully delicious desserts. 5 tempting recipes

you'll love. $2 Smith, 1234 W. Cherry Chicago IL 60629.

Write and rewrite your ad to get maximum impact with the fewest

possible words Not only will your ad be more effective, it will

cost you a lot less to run it as well.

Note the all too common mistakes in the first ad. A single

recipe for something that probably can be found in most cook

books. Unnecessary words that cost extra money. Nothing left to

the reader's imagination. The reader's probably thinking I could

call up Aunt Betty and get her Chocolate Torte recipe, besides I

owe her a phone call anyway. Such an ad will draw few if any

responses.

The first ad implies the recipe is easy to prepare. Usually a

fatal mistake in recipe ads. Either the potential customer will

think "if it's so easy to fix... it isn't worth the $2, or heck,

I don't have the time prepare anything elaborate, I think I'll

pass. It's a lose/lose method. Don't use it!

Another mistake is saying your family will love it. The reader

may be thinking "You don't know my family." What you should be

doing is get the reader to think about what he likes in

desserts, without bringing back any bad memories. Since there's

no way to know what the reader of your ad likes, stick with

general terms. The exception should be the ad's headline (the

first three or four words) which should qualify a general type

of recipe without getting to specific.

The second ad serves this purpose and also uses a little

psychology. How many ads have you seen that say "Don't read

this?" It's only human nature that you will want to read it all

the more.

Using verbs to describe the desserts probably gets the reader's

mind to thinking back to the last dessert he enjoyed, without

causing him to remember a specific dessert he may not have liked

at all.

Not telling exactly what recipes you'll get will peak curiosity

if the price is right. Of course offering 5 different recipes

for the same price others charge for one recipe will improve you

response rate without really increasing your costs.

Eliminating unnecessary words not only makes the ad more

readable, it saves money too.

Finally, don't come across as being cheap. Asking for a self

addressed stamped envelope will turn off a lot of potential

customers The whole purpose of your ad should be to get

inquiries so you can sell additional items. Remember, a

satisfied customer is likely to order from you again. The key to

making money in mail order is repeat business

Everyone likes a "free gift" so include a bonus free recipe or two.

When responses come in, fill orders daily. Don't wait around to

see what the mailman brings tomorrow. Have a collection of

additional recipes you can sell ready to go. Make a circular and

include with the recipes you just sold. Offer a discount or some

kind of special for ordering right away.

Consider selling hard to find kitchen tools you purchase

wholesale or cook books from publisher's over stocks. Don't give

up if you don't have success immediately, but be smart enough to

know when things aren't working.