The key to successfully introducing your oil product is to understand – and articulate – your product’s Unique Selling Proposition (USP).  In other words, what is it specifically that makes your product superior to existing omega-3 oils?  By overwhelming the reader/prospect with a strong case for what makes your product superior, you’ll be off to a great start.
One other point – when it comes to those things you may perceive as a negative (higher price, established/competitive market, unknown product), I’d argue that you should use flip those points around and turn them into positives.  If your product is priced at a premium compared to others, use that opportunity to explain how individuals could actually be throwing their money away by buying an inferior product.  If the marketplace is competitive, explain to the prospect how fierce competition may lead suppliers to cut corners, resulting in a less-potent product for the user.  And if your product is unknown – take every opportunity to spell out what makes it unique.  Is the formulation different?  If so, why?  What is it about your product that not only justifies its space in the crowded market but makes it far superior to the others?

There are lots of ways to prospect for new clients. If you’re looking to reach consumers directly, I’d recommend a carefully orchestrated mix of direct-mail, internet marketing, and pay-per-click advertising.  The advantage of pay-per-click advertising is its ability to deliver real-time results, thus allowing for greater potential testing of new concepts, headlines, and ideas.  The advantage of e-mail or internet marketing is their relatively low cost, which allows you to potentially reach a larger number of customers.  And the advantage of direct mail is that you have the ability to put your product information in front of tens of thousands of proven, direct-mail buyers – thus affording higher response rates.

Keeping an eye on the ever-changing regulatory environment is an ongoing task for all supplement marketers. But concern about FDA or FTC regulations should not keep you from taking advantage of the potential revenue streams available to you through direct marketing.

The FDA’s primary interest when it comes to your direct marketing relates to claims you make about specific health benefits, cures, or prevention.  And the FTC’s role, generally speaking, is to make sure that you’re telling the truth–and that the claims you make can be supported.

As a general rule, you want to make absolutely certain that you have support for any claim you make, and documentation for any article or research study you mention in your sales or marketing copy.

For the most part, the companies that have gotten themselves into trouble with federal regulators have been companies that were either not truthful, couldn’t back up their claims, or had questionable business practices in general.

As a responsible, honest direct marketer, you shouldn’t let any of that even come into play.  But at the same time, it’s also important that you have your direct-marketing promotions reviewed by an experienced attorney prior to launch in order to be safe.

There are many considerations before adding a whole new dimension to your business, but direct marketing is a highly proven and measurable means of selling nutritional supplements. The industry is expanding quickly and you may find your return on investment to be that much greater. Here are some easy first questions you can ask yourself:

Is my target audience older, say 55+?
Is my product formulate unique and effective?
Is price point high enough, say $30 for a one-month supply?
Am I in a position to make the investment?
Am I willing to admit what I don’t know and partner with those who do?

If you answered yes to most or all of these, then you are definitely in a very good position to explore direct marketing as a means for expanding your business.

No question about it…direct mail can be expensive in some cases. But, when compared to other channels, the return can be outstanding.

With mail, your prospect literally holds it in their hands. There is no world-wide web lurking behind the mail like there is with the email that you’ve sent out or the web page that your prospect is viewing. And there is no channel surfing for other program competition that infomercial marketers fear.

The old adage “you get what you pay for” is true with direct marketing. My advice is to try both online and offline marketing of your products and services – you’ll likely find that online channels help you build a list quickly while offline channels provide you with prospects who are willing to buy once and buy again very shortly thereafter.

Direct mail will never go away completely because the buyers it generates are simply too valuable. Let’s look an example:

A Pay Per Click campaign, for example, may generate 10,000 new names…at a marketing cost of $10,000. Those names might carry a lifetime value of $25 each — meaning a total lifetime value of $250,000. When you subtract out the $10,000 marketing cost, you’re left with a total value of $240,000.

A Direct Mail campaign, on the other hand, may generate 5,000 names — at a higher marketing cost of $20,000. But those names would carry a much higher lifetime value of $75 each. That means you’d see a total of $375,000 over the life of those names — and a net of $355,000 once marketing costs are subtracted.