Collateral and direct mail have a bigger impact if they’re in color.

Affordable-priced 4-color printing is an easy choice when planning your next brochure or other direct mail pieces.

Red is probably the most popular color chosen for “pop” in print projects. It is a powerful color that stimulates a faster heartbeat and breathing.

We are conditioned to have a response to red from childhood. Even a young child could answer the question “red means …..”

Red is a good color to use to show tastiness, sexiness, power and alarm.

Red is used to evoke hunger. Many restaurants use heavy doses of red to attract hungry customers: Coke, Wendy’s, Burger King and Red Bull come to mind.

With so much power as a color, you may want to use red selectively as an accent to draw attention to your main offer in your next print project. Sometimes a little red can go a long way.

Contact us at info@marketplace-solutions.com or 919-848-4332 to get your design project started.

Once I have that information, I want to present it to the top people at the Post Office.

Every mailer I have talked to has a horror story about an incident that they were hassled for no cause, but are afraid to complain too loud for fear that future mailings will be rejected.

They are also aware that complaints will be ignored because that is the way the post office handles all the problems — just ignore them.

The mailers I know are not trying to cheat the post office. It would be foolish for me not to have the best address quality on the mailing piece. I want my clients’ mail to be delivered quickly and accurately.

If I have bad address quality, the pieces are likely to come back to the client — and they will not be happy. I would be out of business.

All I want is for the BMEU to verify that I have the number of pieces I claim to mail and that I have the postage in my account. A spot check of address quality (MERLIN) is fine as long as the mail isn’t delayed. The bulk mail clerks should be our partners — not our adversaries.

But don’t hassle me if the weight is .0004 lb  per piece off — especially if it doesn’t affect the postage. Don’t reject the mailing for incomprehensible reasons that don’t affect delivery.

I would like to start a discussion on the stupidest reasons that mail has been rejected. Maybe someone at the L’Enfant Plaza will wake up and tell these clerks that they should be helping us mailers instead of creating barriers.

Feel free to e-mail me at steven@marketplace-solutions.com.

Jay's Jokes

Yesterday at our weekly Raleigh Talkmaster’s Toastmaster meeting, the jokemaster did not have a joke prepared, so she read from Jay’s Jokes. It was a funny joke.

Jay’s Jokes was written by Jay Nodine, Distinguished Toastmaster extraordinaire.

Jay passed away last month after a long battle. I feel very fortunate to have known him.

I have been in Toastmasters for over 28 years. Although Jay was maybe 4’11″, I looked up to him as a symbol of what a true Toastmaster can be.

Jay was always so positive. So warm. And so funny!

He was always ready with a joke or a wry observation. He was incredibly important to District 37 Toastmasters, being an adviser to every District Governor.

His funeral was in Concord, NC, at a Baptist Church. Trust me, I was out of my comfort zone — especially since I was wearing a jacket & tie.

The turnout for the funeral was very much a tribute to all that Jay contributed to Toastmasters. Toastmasters from all over the state, including Past International Director Pam Christopher, came to pay their respects.

The pastor used Jay’s book’s to tell stories. It was often repeated that Jay’s motto was, “If you aren’t having fun, you aren’t doing it right!” Words to live by, for sure.

I gave a brief speech about Jay at our club. I recorded it and hope to figure out how to upload it.

I hope the the book  will be a living legacy and enjoyed by our club for many years.

One of the most moving parts of the service was when Bill Mintz,  Jay’s long-time friend and another Toastmaster extraordinaire, delivered a poem he wrote many years ago. I have taken the liberty of copying the poem because I think it’s so powerful:

Please Don’t Grieve For Me Now That I’m Gone

Don’t grieve for me now that I’ve gone.
I’ve lived a good life, it was time for me to move along.

To my family and friends, I thank you one and all.
For all your love and kindness, ’til I answered my Maker’s call.

I beg you, don’t spend a lot of time with tears and sorrows. Just remember
Our time together, and enjoy your remaining tomorrows.

I would have like to have lingered a little longer.
Just a little while.
For just a few more hugs, another kiss, another smile.

But that was not in G-d’s master scheme, he had other plans for me.
He beckoned me come. And now at last, I’m free.

Chores unfinished must remain that way.
Perhaps to be completed by others,
Some other day.

Please don’t grieve for me;
I’m free from life’s frenzied pace.
I’ve broken the bonds of earth;
I’m now in a better place.

If I’ve failed you in any way, I hope you’ll be able to forgive.
Accept that I was imperfect,
Don’t let it take from the life you have left to live.

Rejoice with me, I’m in a place free from pain.
Let this parting not mean goodbye, just so long.
Until we meet again. Until we meet again.

William L. “Bill” Mintz, Distinguished Toastmaster

Jay will be missed, but his memory will be around as long as there are Toastmasters who enjoy laughing.

I am giving up on AT&T U-verse.

Why? Because when I signed up about a year  with AT&T, I was told my price would be about $95/month with 3 HD cable boxes and high-speed internet.

That was about 1/2 the price of what I was paying for Time Warner cable at the time. That’s a lot of money over the course of a year.

TWC was going to give me a good rate, but not as good as AT&T. One thing I learned was that it’s important to negotiate and the price is flexible if they really want to keep you.

However, the price of AT&T U-verse service kept jumping. I would call — I had a special “secret” number that has since been disconnected — and get some type of promotion.

But now the AT&T bill is over $180 a month — double what is was a few months ago. It’s what I was paying for Time Warner.

Now Time Warner is cheaper — so I am switching back.

If I ran my direct mail marketing business the way these two giant companies run their business, I would have failed many years ago.

First problem is being put on hold for an eternity.  The endless requests for more information. Being transferred from one operator to another. With AT&T, many of them were not native English/American speakers and could not process my requests.

With Time Warner, they wanted my social security number before giving me a price quote! I refused the first time, but called back and got the “real” Time Warner — not an authorized dealer — and did not have to give my SSN to get a price quote. (Though I did to get the appointment made!)

Can you imagine any other business that would require that information before doing business with you!

I can’t complain about the quality of the picture, service, or internet speed with either one. To me, cable is a commodity without any significant differences.

But I can’t stand the way my AT&T bill has varied over the last several months. Time Warner was expensive, but at least consistent.

I am not alone in my anger at the cable companies, according to this blog post which I just found.

Any comments out there? I still have time to keep AT&T and skip the re-installation hassle.

There are now nine blog posts  complaining about service in North Carolina.

Echoing my gripe about the attitude at the Raleigh BMEU, Glen Swyers wrote, “One issue that we have had in Raleigh they just take the mail and they process the paperwork when they get to it. We can get calls at 10 p.m. with questions about the paperwork. My favorite was the late night call informing us and calling the permit holder that based on the clarity of the signature – the mail was rejected.”

Other blog posts indicate that the authorities are aware of the situation, but why isn’t anything done?

I just had a very small (422 piece) mailing go through the system last week. Because I use Postal Wizard, I saw that the clerk took a bit over an hour to process the mail through Merlin.

I guess the clerk is trying to protect his job by pretending to stay busy.

I don’t have the answers to the Post Office’s problem, but I know that leadership starts from the top. There are some very good people at the Post Office that I deal with, and there are others who should be made aware that bulk mailers are the Post Offices’ best customers and should be treated with respect.

Yesterday, I received — via e-mail — the letter from the Postmaster General that the reports of the death of the Postal Service are premature.

The Post Office is not going to disappear, but can it support the infrastructure it has built over the years? How many people are being affected by the enormous changes that are coming?

I’m not sure what is going to happen, but the Post Office needs to be more dependable on delivering the mail in a timely basis. It’s getting ridiculous how long it is taking to process and deliver the mail.

I just received a calendar,  non-machinable flat,  yesterday that I mailed over 3 weeks ago! A local delivery! My hunch it went to Greensboro and then back to Raleigh.

My client sent out over 6,000 of these calendars at a cost of about $1 each for postage. Surely, the Post Office can do better than the Pony Express for local delivery!

My client did not complain to me, but I found out another client was disappointed with a month delivery time for their magazine. Again, most of it was local delivery.

My direct mail marketing business depends on efficient delivery of what I mail. Prices are going up in a few weeks. I want to stay in business — and I am counting on the Post Office to be there. Hopefully, service will improve and be more consistent once all the dust settles from the reorganization.

I’m not holding my breath, but as a small business owner, I have to be optimistic!

Now that we have all the colors available to use in our print projects, the question is how to most effectively use color?

Color is a powerful tool and may be one of the most overlooked aspects of design.

I have come across several clients who choose sentimental colors based on their alma mater.

Here in Raleigh, NC, lots of bright red (go NC State!) and some light “Carolina blue” and “Duke blue” are requested as corporate colors in logo designs.

These die-hard fans avoid the colors worn by their opponents in their logo, advertising materials and on their website.

Good use of color (regardless of your favorite team):

• Facilitates attention
• Perceived quality
• Resulting sales

It is critical to get the most out of your marketing dollar in today’s competitive marketplace. Effective use of color will highlight important information and convey a professional look and feel.

Considering the consumer takes less than 3 seconds to decide whether to keep or reject a direct mail piece, effective use of color is critical. You can improve your brand recognition, leave a positive impression and enjoy a bump in sales with high quality color documents.

Let MarketPlace-Solutions.com handle your next graphic design project. Call us at 919-848-4332 to get started.

It was not so long ago that the bulk mail center in Raleigh (BMEU) was open from 10:30 to 7. And that I could deposit checks at the BMEU instead of going to the counter. Or that I could pick up trays and supplies from the BMEU and not have to go to the other side and wait an hour.

All of these changes have made it more difficult to do business with the Post Office.

And the Post Office complains that nobody mails!

I understand the need for the Post Office to reduce overhead and cut costs.

However,  the biggest problem at the Raleigh BMEU is their attitude towards mailers like me.

The clerks at the bulk mail center here in Raleigh need to recognize that mailers like me pay their salaries. Instead we are treated as annoyances. We are put in a “penalty box” waiting for a surly clerk to process our mail.

Again, it wasn’t that long ago that we could drop off the mail without waiting. Some excuse about Sarbanes-Oxley.

There are clerks at the BMEU center who are especially annoying. These people are protected by their unions so they can’t be fired.

There are so many postal regulations — and they are changing every day. I tell prospects that there is a reason  for the expression “go postal” and it’s my job security.

When will the post office recognize that we are partners and not treat us mailers as adversaries?

I want mail that I address to be delivered as quickly and cheaply as possible.

I know that if I do not follow regulations and have a clean address and barcode, the mail won’t be delivered promptly and my clients will be upset.

But yet there are a few clerks at the BMEU who think their job is to prevent the mail from going through. They are busy trying to find incredibly obscure regulations — actually they make them up! — to keep the mail from going through.

It’s not about address quality, list quality or even money in the account. It’s some imaginary infraction that I have had to call the big shots to fix.

There is no excuse for this behavior. The clerks at the BMEU need to treat us like the customers that we are. Trust me, if I treated my customers with the same level of service I get at the post office, I would have been out of business a long time ago.

I do not have a union job. I am a small business person who depends on the post office. My clients have options to handle their mail, even though all of us mailers complain about the treatment we receive in Raleigh.

I am active in the local Postal Customer Council and am not afraid to make my voice heard. I have often called the top people in the district to vent my frustration with certain clerks.

Let the Raleigh BMEU make a 2012 resolution to treat local mailers with respect that we deserve!

But we have to have minimums. It’s all about time.

At the end of the day, all a small business has to sell is time and expertise. And it has to sell enough time & expertise to pay the bills and hopefully generate a profit.

Graphic design takes time. It really doesn’t make any difference if the design is for one customized piece or a million postcards. We have high standards — and it takes the same amount of time to produce something we are proud of and will work for our clients.

For printing, the biggest cost is set up. Most of our jobs are done a color press. It takes time to set up the plates and adjust the machinery before you can even produce one copy. Once the printing press starts operating, the only difference is paper and a few extra minutes. That’s why it costs a lot less on a per piece basis to do 10,000 postcards than it does to 500 postcards.

Mailing services are the same. It takes time to process the list, set up the machine, organize the trays and run the job. And that’s before we even take it to the post office. It often takes less time to run 10,000 pieces than 200 because of the machine.

Usually the sweet spot if we are doing design, print & mail is about 5,000 postcards. A complete campaign is several thousand dollars.

If a client designs the piece, we can do the printing as cheap as anyone — with outstanding quality. Mailing prices are set with a minimum and then on a per piece basis.

Our clients value their time — and appreciate our services. We handle it all from start to finish. If you want to know how MarketPlace-Solutions.com can help your business grow, give us a call at 919-848-4332.

I’m still standing — which cannot be underestimated in this economy. MarketPlace-Solutions.com has generated enough income to pay all the bills — and I am grateful.

It’s been a tough year with my wife’s illness. I have had to learn how to work without her, plus take on additional responsibilities.

My clients have stayed with me because I they appreciate the customer service I give routinely in my mail marketing business.

My niche is helping other business owners with their design, printing & mailing needs. I have the experience and knowledge to help my clients keep their phones ringing.

The Post Office is suffering tremendously.  The are trying to lay off up to 200,000 people as soon as they can.  Mail volumes are down.

Yet direct mail marketing is the only way to touch prospects and clients with a tangible piece of mail.

But it is not cheap. Certainly it’s not free. If done correctly, it can be very cost-effective. That’s why I am in business — I bring my clients more revenue than they spend with me.

What will 2012 be?

The good news for my business is that I am unlikely to have any more competitors than I already have. Nobody in their right mind would start a mail marketing business that offers one-stop service.

The knowledge I have of postal regulations — and the people I know to contact — cannot be duplicated.

I don’t need a whole lot of new customers. I am looking for a few more good clients. Clients who will do direct mail marketing consistently, mailing out postcards on a weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or quarterly basis. Although I appreciate the clients who only do a mailing one-time, my foundation is based on a few good clients.

I am expanding my marketing efforts with this blog. I am committed to writing something on a regular basis. My goal is to find new clients who are looking for a partner to help grow their business. Call me at 919-848-4332 if you are interested in making 2012 a profitable year!