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You see a lot of Forex trading systems online that claim that there complicated mathematical formulas can beat the market but this is not true for one simple reason.

Fact – Forex markets do not move to a mathematical theory which you can predict forex price movement with and the rest of this article will explain why, give the proof and show you a better way to win with your forex trading strategy.

You will hear a lot of traders telling you maths works and that gurus theories such as Gann, Elliot and Fibonacci are scientific and mathematical ways of doing trading but the definition of a mathematical theory is:

It works ALL the time not now and again!

The theories just mentioned don’t and neither do any other mathematical theories – its rubbish to say forex markets move to mathematics.

You often see systems sold that say they work to complex mathematical algorithms or were devised by a wiz kid – but look at the track record and what do you see?

A made up track record in hindsight, using closing data and knowing everything that happened! Well that’s not hard to do, anyone can make a profit if they know tomorrows price today but that’s not real life. Real life is – trading without knowing the price.

The track records are simply bent to show a profit, on the data segment studied and the more it’s bent, the more unlikely it is to work in real time, as no two segments of data ever repeat exactly.

If You Want to Win at Forex Remember this:

The markets don’t move to some mystical law that repeats exactly – but they do move on probability and by trading high odds set ups, you may not win every time but you will win more than you lose and with sound money management you can win long term.

The key is to use a simple odds based method, as simple systems always work best, as they have fewer elements to break in the brutal world that is forex trading.

Think About this key Point

In 100 years despite all the advances in computers, forecasting and speed of communications, we have seen no increase in the number of winning traders and this goes to show that complicated mathematics and fancy theories do not increase the odds of success.

A Simple Way to Succeed

Success in forex trading is dependant on a simple robust forex trading system, combined with discipline and sound money management; this has always been so and always will be.

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It is hard to define good and bad, especially when they are terms slapped on to something as subjective as a brokerage service.

A broker serves a few primary functions in the trading cycle. The brokerage takes orders from sellers and buyers and matches them. The broker also provides the most recent prices and most brokers provide a charting service as well. These services are not provided for free, the broker takes a commission from you each time you trade. This charge is called the pip spread. What that works is that when you enter a trade, you are automatically in the red. This spread varies from broker to broker but on the whole as a market, pip spreads for trading the majors are very low as compared to trading exotic currencies.

A good broker can then be define as a broker who provides the basic services and keep the spreads low and fixed. The issue about floating spreads is that there are times when the spreads can go to atrocious levels and that means if you place your stop loss too low, there is a high possibility that you get kicked out of a trade through no fault of yours or because of any market movements. The good thing about having fixed spreads is that you can work the spreads into your trading plan. That gives you control of how you want to direct the trade.

The reason why having a good broker is essential to your profits is that; you want to have reliability and stability when you trade. The last thing you need is a brokerage that might go bust, or not pay you or worse take your money and run! I have had experience with brokers who refused to pay out my profits especially if they were large good runs and these brokers even made it such that it seemed that it was a technical error so they were not liable to pay! As you can imagine, I quickly closed my account and switched services. The crazy thing was that the broker refused to give me MY money! After a few phone calls and a couple of weeks later I finally managed to resolve that ugly spat and recovered my funds.

Reliability and stability are absolutely essential for traders to have especially when we are faced with an ever changing market. With market situations as such, the last thing you need is for your broker to pull a fast one on you. For example when you are in the midst of a trade and suddenly the trade window hangs. It might be a technical issue you think, so you log back on immediately. To your surprise you realize that your trade has been canceled and that the money you placed into the trade was lost! This is something that you don’t need, so you try to contact the broker, but you emails never get answered and your calls fall on deaf ears.

At this point in time the only thing you can do is to switch brokers. This will affect your trading and throw a wrench into your profits. Choose a good broker at the onset and you will fair better in the long run.

Dr. Joshua Geralds is a successful Investment Specialist with over twenty years experience increasing the income of people world wide. Visit http://www.pipsalot.com to learn how to make steady profits through safe trading and down load your FREE e-book “Money Management” for a limited time only!

Diversification as defined by the American Heritage dictionary is: “To distribute (investments) among different companies or securities in order to limit losses in the event of a fall in a particular market or industry”.

The primary goal of diversification is to “capitalize on returns” through investments in different areas so prevent a total wipe of your positions should the market turn against you. Nearly all investment specialists have the same opinion that, diversification is absolutely necessary to avoid risks for long-term investments.

Just imagine that you have an account in Forex, and you only trade the EUR/USD, can you diversify your position?

The answer is YES. A very resounding yes at that as well! Even if you trade just one currency pair you still should diversify your holdings. In a while we will go through just how to do that. Let us first explore the advantages and disadvantages of diversification in Forex.

One of the advantages of having a diverse holding would create more stability in your account. Just image if one trade turns against you (which is highly likely) you have at least some other trades that would win. Thus your final profit and loss statements for a day will show a profit. If you had just one trade most likely you would be facing with a loss for the day.

A disadvantage of diversification is that there is the possibility that you get carried away and over diversify your positions. Focus is needed to maintain profitability in your account, an over diversification will dilute that focus which makes it difficult to grow your account.

To illustrate the above 2 examples let’s work through some figures:

For instance you fund your account with $10,000 and each position size you take is normally 5% of your total account. How should you diversify your account?

There are three ways of diversifying and I recommend that you do at least two. First method is that you break your 5% into 1% each and trade with 1% per trade instead of a huge 5% in a single trade.

Second is that you trade different time frames, for instance you normally trade 5 minutes, now have two position one 5 the other 15 minutes.

Third, you can trade non related currency pairs. For example The EUR/JYP and the GBP/USD

Based on your money management rules, use at least 2 of the above 3 points to help you diversify your positions.

Next we have to address the issue of over diversification. It can be a potential problem if you lose focus and over diversify. As the old saying goes, “too many cooks spoil the broth” over diversification is like that. I would suggest that you should have no more then 3 positions opened at any point in time.

For example, you decided to use 5% of your account to trade and instead of having in all in one trade, you slit it up into 2 different trades with 2 pairs.

You use 2.5% to trade the EUR/JPY and the next 2.5% to trade GBP/USD. This spreads out you risk a fair amount. You can still focus on these two trades and if thing go well you will earn on both. If one fails there is a chance that the other will win.

There is that possibility that both trades turn against you. That’s why at the onset you only use no more than 5% of your account to trade!

Diversification is a part of good money management; it will protect your account and help you make more money in the long term.

Dr. Joshua Geralds is a successful Investment Specialist with over twenty years experience increasing the income of people world wide. Visit http://www.pipsalot.com to learn how to make steady profits through safe trading and down load your FREE e-book “Money Management” for a limited time only!

How many times have you come across a new Forex expert advisor that claims to make you overnight riches within the Forex market. These trading systems are being pumped into the industry at excessive levels and unfortunately they have saturated the market and in turn given the automated Forex trading industry an abysmal reputation.

Most of these Forex Expert advisors have computer software they have programmed within their system which they claim will make you money – however the vast majority of them are based on unsound logic which has no chance of working and producing consistent winning trades.

The major issue concerning these phony expert advisors is the fact that most of them will present you with a hypothetical back test as evidence of the systems money making power. These records are basically made up and simulated to fit the creator’s needs and they prove absolutely nothing. The vendor clearly knows all the opening and closing prices, the exact tops and bottoms, and therefore knowing all these facts he is easily able to simulate a dodgy track record to prove his system is making immense profits. Obviously the main problem is that these records are not real and just a tactic to steal your hard earned money.

Most of these systems are released by those extra savvy marketing gurus, who have only one thing on their mind, SELL SELL SELL, and they don’t care if their product works or if it is actually beneficial, they just want to make that sale. Their sites are fairly easy to spot out, as they will have pictures of tons of cash, Ferrari’s, mansions etc. and also don’t forget about that “ever convincing” backtest record. If you come across an expert advisor vendor who has all of the above elements on his site then you should leave the site immediately, it is 99% likely the trading system is a scam.

So forget those get rich quick methods that don’t work and seek out a Forex expert advisor which has a real track record or something worthwhile to teach you so you can devise your own. Legitimate Forex expert advisor will always show you proof of their results, and yes all of them will incur losing trades, there is no trading system out there that doesn’t ever lose, if you have found one then please let me know. However the best expert advisor will consistently produce a lot more winning trades than losing ones and will have a very low drawdown level, in turn assuring you make some decent long term profits off the market.

When searching for a good Forex expert advisor always look for live forward test statements, these tests are conducted in real market conditions with real money, therefore they actually let you know how the EA will perform in real live market conditions. These tests are probably the closest things to letting you know how profitable the expert advisor is and they should be the basis of your selection criteria when looking for a legitimate expert advisor.

If you do manage to find a mechanical Forex trading system with a real track record over a few years, just check the logic, make sure you understand it and can trade it with discipline through losing periods. Make sure it is suited to your risk and money management levels and do your research before making any final decisions. Also ensure that the vendor provides regular ongoing after sales support, so you know you are in good hands and will be looked after shall you encounter any problems.

Just remember most phony vendors will attempt to fraud you out of your money by hoping you fall for their simulated track records, and then one day get wiped out of your trading account. Don’t fall for their trap, shop around and find a real Forex expert advisor vendor, who provides legitimate live forward test statements, and is well recognized in the industry as a legitimate seller.

It is no secret that in order to succeed in the world of Forex Trading You must follow a good trading system and adhere to strict money management techniques. An Expert Advisor can seriously simplify the process and get you well on your way. If you wish to automate your Forex Trading Decisions by using a Forex Expert Advisor then check out this Collection of The Best Expert Advisors available for Forex Trading.

If you’re unfamiliar with terms like “financial planning” and “personal finance” and what they entail, then you probably need a financial planning book. Personal financial planning has been emphasized quite a bit lately through the various media channels, and terms such as those mentioned above have become buzzwords with how people seem to be going on about the importance of financial planning. Fact of the matter is, anyone who isn’t a financial adviser or a financial planner should have a financial planning book. To determine if you need a financial planning book, read the rest of this article. If most of the concepts presented seem alien to you, then you should get yourself a book today.

For those who are not aware of what financial planning is all about, it is a process by which a person works out the necessary steps to meet his expected needs and come up with countermeasures for the unforeseen circumstances he might encounter financially. Factors such as inflation and changing lifestyle need to be taken into consideration when coming up with a personal financial plan. When planning for your future financial needs, you need to know the technical jargon and concepts of certain financial instruments and how money works. Without adequate knowledge of any of these, it would be hard pressed for you to come up with an effective financial plan for yourself or your family.

Take debt for example. Are you aware that debt is one the major financial issues that people face today? Are you in debt yourself? Just how do you get out of debt? Most people who are in debt feel like they’re trapped in a vicious and endless cycle, especially those who borrow to pay off their debts. They feel like they have no way out; no way to be free from the shackles of debt that weigh them down financially. Getting out of debt requires careful planning, and adequate knowledge of how to make your money work for you. A book on personal money management can help you to come up with ways of how to manage your debts and eventually become debt-free.

How about retirement? Do you know how much you need at the end of the day for your retirement fund? With increasing inflation and changing lifestyle needs, are you prepared for a costlier cost of living by the time you’re old enough to retire? Do you know what investments to consider when planning for your retirement? Should you bank on day trading or mutual funds? How about insurance? How will that help you financially at the end of the day?

So in summary, a financial planning book can help you understand the concepts that you’re required to know when coming up with an effective financial plan. A comprehensive book can cover anything, from basics like personal money management and budgeting to something even more complex like money market investments and insurance. If you find yourself having more questions about financial planning by the end of this article, then rest assured you do need a financial planning book. So get one today.

Click Here to discover the Millionaire SECRETS to financial freedom! Jamie McIntyre is a Life Coach, Philanthropist and self-made Millionaire providing life-changing advice on How To Make Money Easily to build your wealth.

This article is all about forex trading for beginners and facts you need to know before you start trading. You can make a lot of money but keep in mind most traders lose but by being aware of these facts and getting the right forex education, you can win…

Let’s look at our list of key facts for forex traders for beginners.

1. Forex Robots are NOT a Route to Success

More novices buy a robot and think it will give them riches with no effort and they end up disappointed – Why? Because most have never even been traded and present worthless paper simulations which mean nothing in the real world. There not real profits so avoid them at all costs.

2. Forex Day Trading Doesn’t Work

It’s obvious that you can’t tell what countless millions of traders, will do in short time spans. It’s a good story and vendors know this but like the robots they only have paper simulations.

3. Anyone Can learn to Succeed

This the good news! Forex trading is a learned skill and if you get the right forex education, you can win.

4. You Need to Have Confidence and Discipline

This means accepting responsibility and learning the right information. Only then will you have the confidence to trade with discipline. So by all means get education from other – but success rests on your shoulders.

5. Big Forex Trends are Always Present

They last for weeks, months or years and if you use a long term forex trend following strategy, you can make huge gains.

6. Leverage is an Advantage and Disadvantage

Forex brokers will give you 200:1 as standard and most traders use it all. This is a mistake, over leverage simply wipes out more traders than any other reason. 10 – 20: 1 is plenty for most traders.

7. Markets Don’t Move to Science

You will read a lot about how they do and how you can follow a system that predicts and win, no you can’t. Markets don’t move to science, they are simply an odds based game and you need to trade the odds to win.

8. You are Going to Face Periods of Losses

All the best traders do and it’s how you handle them that will determine your trading destiny. Make sure you have strict money management and the confidence and discipline, to ride these periods out.

9. You Don’t Need to be Clever or Work Hard

It’s a fact that a simple trading strategy can be developed by anyone and you can make a lot of money with it. A few weeks to learn and about 30 minutes a day is all you need – if you get the right education. No other business, gives you such great rewards for your effort. You get rewarded for being right, not effort in forex trading and that means working smart NOT hard.

10. Ignore the Majority View and You Will be Successful

Forex trading success is all about ploughing your own path and ignoring the frequent myths you see online and also be prepared to not run with the majority – the majority of course lose, go your own path.

You Can Achieve What You Want

Want a good second income or even a life changing one? Well the opportunity is there for you and it’s up to you what you achieve. Forex trading for beginners, sometimes seems daunting – but if you have read the above, you know what to do and can get on the road to financial success.

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Many new Forex traders have a naïve sense that Forex is easy. Ofttimes, this impression originates from hyped Forex advertisements like “How I made 300% per month in Forex!” and “Earn like professionals do! Use 100% Automatic Forex signals’… to ‘Earn Thousands of Dollars Each Day!”. These hype mongers distort the realities of Forex trading. They create a false sense of trading ease and in doing so are building an impressive army of new and ambitious Forex losers.

If you have spent any time researching Forex you have likely come across the statistic that 90% of Forex traders ultimately lose money in Forex. While, I don’t know if someone has ACTUALLY commissioned a study to prove that statistic’s accuracy, my experience in most every financial endeavor, including Forex, is that 90% of people do fail. Take selling Real Estate as an example, the common saying is that 10% of the salespeople make 90% of the money. And why is that? Because making money requires EFFORT. So it is with Forex, beating the market in Forex requires more than just a computer program that takes the trades for you. It takes more than just opening a demo account and practicing for a week. The traders in Forex that are successful long-term are those that take the time to truly understand what moves the Forex market, execute with complete discipline a strong trading strategy and management plan, and have learned to control the emotions that will destroy any trader.

With that said, I have compiled a list of 3 Easy Steps to lose it all in Forex. I have also included counter measures that will help you turn those losing steps upside down and make you money.

1) TRADE FOREX ON YOUR OWN. The simplest way to lose it all in Forex is to say to yourself: “I don’t need anyone else’s help. I bought this ‘Forex auto trader robot monster thing’” or “I read ‘Forex Guide to Making Billions’, This is going to be easy.”
Counter Measures -Don’t stop learning. Interact daily with other Forex traders by visiting Forex Forums or chat rooms. Join a signal service and try to figure out why and how the signals are chosen. Read blogs written by other Forex traders and market analysis by Forex professionals. And if you don’t have the time, find someone successful who KNOWS how to trade Forex and hire them to trade for you.

2) UNDERCAPITALIZED – OVERLEVERAGED. Want to lose it all in Forex? Open a “micro account” at your broker and trade with $250 or open a “mini account” and trade with $2500 or a “standard account” with $25000. Most pros trade a standard lot for every $50,000 and a mini-lot for every $5000. But the loser says, “Why trade with such low risk? I’m not going to lose it all.”

Counter measures – Continue to trade a demo account until you save up enough money to trade $1000 in a “micro account”, $10,000 in a “mini account” and $100,000 in a “standard account”. Design a system that does not risk more than 2 or 3% per day. I trade two strategies. One risks, on average, 0.25% per trade and takes about 8 trades per day (2% risk per day). The other risks 0.75-1.25% per trade and takes about 5 trades per week.

3) JUST GIVE UP. Lose confidence in your trading strategy. Stop believing in your money management plan. Give up on yourself and your ability to trade. This will not happen when you are winning, it only happens when you are losing. Here is how it goes: You start trading and soon find yourself in a winning streak. Your confidence builds and you come to believe that your system is invincible. Then comes the losing streak. After the first loss you say, “bummer”. After the second you say “that sucks”. The third makes you start to question your trade rules and the fourth loss has you throwing your arms up in the air and saying “This trade system just doesn’t work”. What all to often happens next is that the you STOP trading the strategy and return to the drawing board to find another system. The final result – you have given up and your account balance is smaller than when you started. This can turn into a deadly cycle. Each time, you build a new system only to give up when it starts to lose. Eventually you quit all together having lost significant money in Forex.

Counter measures – Remember that you WILL have losing streaks in Forex. Learn to understand why your system works and why it loses. Consult your system backtest and note the maximum drawdown and losses. Know your system and it’s limitations. Stick with your plan. The great American author, Harriet Beecher Stowe once said: “When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.”

You CAN lose it all in Forex. In fact losing it all is much easier than making it big. But for every nine Forex traders not doing the right things to win, there is one disciplined, educated, persistent trader sticking to his plan, using the right leverage for his trades and leaning on others for help. It is this one noble trader in ten that makes it in Forex.

Echo FX prides itself on being an experienced, honest, disciplined, and emotion-free Forex Account Manager and quality Forex Trading Education provider. For more information about the company, their Managed Forex Account Programs, or Forex Trading preparation solutions – visit http://www.echocurrency.com (Forex Managed Account) and http://www.AcademyofForex.com (Forex Education)

Trading Algorithms are relatively new to the Forex Market and there are a few products on the market which now incorporate these Algo trading detection mathematics into their software. One of these is the New Forex Tracer. Released on to the market in June 2008 this new software comes with the following trading system set up.

A sophisticated strategy developed to analyze currency markets, it combines break out systems with an indicator based system to confirm the market and is analyzed and set up the way it should be. A risk management tool, that calculates the amount of lots related to the risk associated with each trade and shields against excessive losses and margin calls.

A market engine strategy where an automatic engine enters the market as safely as possible, which through its algorithms protects the trade from unpredictable behavior and/or the brokers false doings. A set of money management tools that exit each trade as safely as possible to make the most of multiple trades.

Forex Tracer also trades their system live so traders who use the algorithm trading software can publish their live trades online. The Forex Tracer also runs a Blog where traders offer there day to day trading stats from up to 11 currency pairs available within this Algo trading software.

The Foreign Exchange Market is a relatively new trading platform and as this unpredictable market continues to be sourced and scalped with difficulty, only a few Forex Algorithm Trading Products have been released on to the market.

For beginners wanting to get ahead in this market it is strongly advised you trade on a play account before you get involved for real.

You can put this system to the test on a Demo account. You can do that here at http://www.forextracertrading.com which allows you to trade with play money, so you won’t be risking a penny. After you’ve tried, tested and retested, you can then open your real account where you can collect $100 and start trading on Autopilot immediately. A Final Note for Beginners: Stay focussed, be extremely disciplined, and you will succeed.

This is meant to be informative only.  This is not to be taken as legal advice.

Very surprisingly, only a small percentage of the U.S.A. population takes advantage of the wealth of informative material provided by the world’s largest publisher – the U.S. Government Printing Office.

Here is a source of priceless, accurate and official information which is reported and written by experts. Almost every conceivable subject has been reported upon in detail in some government publication – topics such as energy, employment, health, business, investments, science and technology, education, careers, transportation, veterans and personal benefits, consumer advice, foreign trade, law, space, food and diet, astronomy, gardening, medical, maintenance, housing, money management, equipment, hobbies, travel – the list goes on and on.

These publications are available to you upon request. In fact, you indirectly helped pay for them. A part of your tax contribution is allocated to operate the government printing office.

Many of these publications feature business sand personal matters that may directly help you make or save money. This report, however, will outline the most simple and ideal method to reap a huge financial gain from these publications – selling this information by mail.

You undoubtedly have noted ads offering reports on government surplus, oil lotteries, land acquisitions, energy, etc. These ads appear in many national magazines monthly. year after year. Such reports contain information extracted from government publications. Often they are copied word for word. The “insiders” know how and where to get this valuable information free, or at low cost, then use this material to earn huge profits for themselves.

Few people realize that government publications are not copyrighted. Anyone has the authority to use this material for his own personal benefit. That includes copying it word-for-word if desired, reproducing it, and selling the information in the form of books, manuals or reports.

From this vast source of published material are many thousands of ideas you can adopt to prepare an informative publication which can be profitably sold by mail.

The first step, obviously, is to find out which publications are available, what subjects they cover and where they can be obtained. The second step is to select topics which would inform, appeal to and attract a large number of people who would be willing to buy your information by mail. The third step, is to compile this information into a book, manual or report, get it printed, then go about the business of marketing it profitably.

Step 1

Besides a huge volume of official documents, the government printing office issues about 25,000 other booklets and reports with topics that concern and interest the general pubic. The government also publishes guides which lists and describes new issues when they become available.

Write to the Consumer Information Center, Pueblo, CO 81009. Request to be placed on their mailing list to receive the “Consumer Information Catalog” which is issued periodically during each year. Also request to receive “Selected U.S. Government Publications” from: Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.

Many public libraries stock these catalogs and some government publications. You can check for titles of current and back issues and order anything that interests you or copy any information you need. You may also find copies at other U.S. and State agency offices and perhaps at your local chamber of commerce office.

Publications may also be obtained from government offices such as the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Agriculture, etc. These agencies offer many publications pertinent to matters in their field. For example, the Department of Commerce can provide data and information assistance in various business matters, foreign trade, etc.

The ruling powers in Washington are cutting funds to many agencies. It is likely that in future not as many free publications will be available as were printed in the past. The low cost of any government publication, however, is still a tremendous bargain. Never hesitate to pay a small amount for valuable information that could be the source of financial benefits for you.

Step 2

Which topics to consider for your publication? What type of printed information will the public buy? Basically, to sell successfully by mail, your product must fill a People need or desire. It must offer a specific appeal factor that will make the public want to obtain the product. Some of the strongest appeals are found in products which promise to help people:

Make Money Be Safe & Secure Have Fun & Enjoyment Save Money Eliminate Problems Find Out Where to Get Save Time & Effort Be Popular Something Beneficial Enjoy Comfort Do Things Better Something Useful Enjoy Health Gain Success

Thus, your publication should deal with the “How To” and “Where To” type of subjects. This is the main information the buying public seeks and will buy. The stronger information appeal your publication offers, the larger number of people will be attracted to you offer. This factor will translate into a greater sales volume and ultimately higher profits.

Emphasized again, the subject matter of your publication must interest and appeal to a large number of prospects. Among large group categories are: households, blue collar and white collar workers, opportunity seekers, investors, dieters, recipe fanciers, gardeners, teenagers, senior citizens, mail order aspirants, health and exercise enthusiasts, fix-it-uppers, hobbyists, sportsmen and many other specific classes of people seeking helpful information to fulfill their desires and needs.

Step 3

When you decide upon a suitable subject or subject or subjects, you next step is to compile the information into your own publication. You can copy word-for-word from the government literature, extract portions of the copy, express the ideas in your own words, or add some of your own ideas and thoughts to enhance the subject and provide the reader with additional information.

The size of your publication will depend upon how many words are necessary to fully cover the subject. Provide every essential and important detail so the reader will completely understand and benefit from the information. Don’t skimp, but don’t include anything that is superfluous or inappropriate to the subject. Give the customer at least what he expects – more if possible. A happy, satisfied customer is a confident prospect for your future offers.

For example, a publication entitled “Second Opportunities”, explaining a large number of money-making activities, might require a booklet form of many pages. A publication entitled “How to Grow Prize-Winning Roses” might be a report of just a few pages.

As stated previously, you can reproduce any government printing, even page for page, if that size would fit the style of your publication. to test your offer, you can get initial copies mimeographed, but the best-looking reproduction can be provided by an offset printer. He can reproduce printed copy. Type your own copy on a machine with carbon ribbon. It will provide clear, dark copy which the printer can reproduce with sharp results.

Adopt a title for your publication that will create attention. The title in a descriptive circular, or stated in a classified or space ad, can affect sales. The title should explain the subject matter in as few words as possible. Bring out as many of the appeals listed in Step 2. Yet, keep the title short without sacrificing any word or phrase that might keep a reader form becoming a customer. Look through magazines for titles of books and reports sold by mail. You will get ideas for preparing titles to attract the mail order buyer.

What price to charge for your publication? Only testing can determine the right price. The right price is the selling price that brings in the most profit Not total sales necessarily, but profit… the bottom line in any business activity. Set a price initially based on the suggestions in the following paragraph. Later tests may determine that you can make more profit by charging more and selling less. Or, tests may prove that by lowering the price and selling more units, you earn more total profits. Often the introduction of a new mail order product requires testing… and testing again… until the most effective sales copy and the right selling price is established to provide the most profit from each promotion.

To make big money selling information by mail, consider pricing your publication at least 10 times its cost. And, that’s just the norm for a multi-paged publication. A report of just a few pages must be sold for 15 to 20 times its cost to realize adequate profits from promotions. To start, get just a few copies printed. but, don’t base your selling price on this cost. Request the printer to quote you on 1,000 and higher quantities. This will be the volume you will be purchasing if your publication is successful and that cost should be the basis for initially pricing your publication.

To promote sales of your publication, use one or all of the usual mail order methods… classified ads, space ads and direct mail.

Classified ads are seldom productive if the advertiser solicits orders for items priced over $3.00 directly from the ad. Classified ads are mainly used to obtain inquiries for higher-priced items. So what can you do with a publication that must sell for $5.00 or $6.00? You should promote this publication through space ads or include the publication in a descriptive circular or catalog featuring this publication among other offers of your own or that of other publishers.

Space ads are what the terms implies; they feature more space than a classified ad. This greater space allows for bold headlines, more details about the offer and inducements for the reader to send in an order. If space permits, an order form is included in the ad.

Direct mail consists of People your offer to a list of names. These names could be your customer list or names obtained from a list broker. Use only name lists that will be responsive to your offer. For example, an offer for a gardening publication should not be sent to a list of auto mechanics. Such a mailing would stand little chance for success. Also, it would hardly pay to send out a mailing for a $5.00 or $6.00 offer. Use direct mail to promote $10.00 or higher items, or send circulars or catalogs featuring several publications to receive orders for multiple items and higher dollar average per sale.

Selling information by mail profitably, requires application of the basic methods used by other successful mail order operators. This report, of course, cannot provide a complete course in mail order techniques. Obtain some books which explain how to operate a mail order business efficiently.

To summarize, check over the list of government publications that might provide suitable material for your own book or report. Then send for it. Determine if the contents can be the basis for a publication with strong appeal to a large group of prospects. Compile this information into an interesting book or report. Promote your offer slowly and carefully at the start. If promotional tests are favorable you can increase your advertising and promotion efforts, sell larger volumes of your publication and earn larger profits.

Follow these procedures faithfully and you could be on you way to earning a fortune – making your start with free government publications.

Copyright 2004 by DeAnna Spencer

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DeAnna Spencer is a virtual assistant that helps entrepreneurs run a successful business by providing affordable administrative help. She also publishes a blog for small business owners. Visit this small business resource today.