Business Marketing Newswire

Archive for October, 2009

MT. PLEASANT, MI – On Friday, Oct 23, 2009, former postal worker and direct mail technician Bobbie J. Sinko, appealed her 33 month sentence for Federal fraud and embezzlement charges. Sinko is the 53 year old bulk mail technician who worked at the Mount Pleasant Post Office from 2004 to 2007. During this time she and 49 year old Matthew E. English, conspired to defraud the U.S. Postal Service.

English is the owner of English Direct Mail Services who prepared bulk mail for the post office. Authorities have stated that Sinko manipulated postal records so that bulk mail shipped free from Central Michigan University.

Sinko was convicted and received 31 fraud-related and embezzlement counts on which a jury delivered guilty verdicts earlier this year in March.

U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg stated that the amount involved was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

On Tuesday, Oct 20, U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Ludington sentenced Sinko 33 months for each of 31 fraud-related and embezzlement counts on guilty verdicts delivered by a jury. Sinko was ordered by the judge to serve the sentences concurrently.

In addition to her prison sentence, Judge Ludington ordered Sinko to pay restitution in the amount of $354,498. She was also ordered to surrender her $6,000 retirement account toward the sum.

Court records show that English pleaded guilty to 33 counts of conspiring to defraud the Postal Service in October 2008. In February, English received a 24 month prison sentence from Ludington who also ordered him to pay restitution of $428,559.

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REUTERS – In a report by Ben Gruber on May 22, 2009 he cites that direct mail – or “junk” mail – whether you love it or hate it, is here to stay and that it can help stimulate the troubled U.S. economy.

In his report, Gruber points out that nearly one third of all mail delivered anywhere in the world is U.S. direct mail. While that volume has decreased in 2008, the figure is still staggering. According to the U.S. Postal Service, nearly 100 billion pieces of advertising mail were delivered to U.S. households last year.

Direct Mail Supporters and Detractors

Direct mail has its supporters and its detractors. William Craven works for an environmental group called ForestEthics. He says direct mail is a “pointless waste of natural resources.” Craven says, “Direct mail’s impact on the environment is enormous, especial considering that it’s something that most Americans don’t want and have no user for.” Craven points out that for direct mail there are 100 million trees are logged every year for something people largely don’t want and don’t use. Aside from the logging issue,  he also points out that the carbon footprint for the production and distribution of direct mail equates to that of some 6 million cars on U.S. highways.

But a strong case can be made for direct mail. One of direct mail’s supporters is Matthew Broder from Pitney Bowes, whose company represents the interests of direct mailers. He says that direct mail is recyclable and emits the same amount of carbon as that consumed by Americans when brewing their morning coffee. Broder says that the benefits of direct mail far outweigh the costs. He points out that direct mail very much stimulates economic activity. He says that study after study shows that consumers respond to direct mail. He points out that Pitney Bowes did a study showing that almost half of Americans have started a relationship with a business because of a direct mail piece they received.

According to the Direct Mail Association, the industry generates some two trillion dollars of sales and charitable contributions annually. Gruber points out in his report that although opinions on direct mail vary, most people are not ambivalent. They either love it or hate it.

As one woman being interviewed in the Reuters video report says, “If it can bring attention to a particular product or service, we need to stimulate the economy. We need to have people go out and purchase and buy and so the best thing I think to do is to find really creative, good ways to recycle those papers and to be creative as far as using it best for the environment.”

According to Broder, one thing is for certain – direct mail is not going anywhere, anytime soon. Broder also points out that there are several ways for consumers to decrease and have a say in the type of direct mail they receive. One such online service is dmachoice.org  that has 4 million registered users. Ironically, the association is seriously considering using direct mail to increase their membership.

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In the wake of the global economic slowdown, small businesses are faced with a big challenge: how to cost-effectively build their business with an extremely limited budget. Many of these businesses should consider a “DIY” (do it yourself) direct mail campaign.

Sometimes small businesses balk at the idea of spending money on a mailing list, especially when they are unfamiliar with direct mail marketing. Hopefully this article will shed some light on how easy and cost-effective it can actually be.

Get a 10% – 20% Response Rate on a 500 Piece Mailing For Under $400

Challenge: How can a small business owner on a limited budget use direct mail to cost-effectively market their business? Secondarily, how can a small business increase their odds of obtaining a meaningful return on their investment?

Background: Most small businesses lack the funds to do a large-scale direct mail campaign. Even a mailing of just 5,000 pieces can cost upwards of $2,500 for a simple postcard. Add another $1,000, or more, if you want to send something in an envelope via First Class Mail. Many companies offer small direct mail campaigns (called “short run” in printing vernacular) however the unit costs on these small campaigns can be as high as $2 per mailed item.

Solution: Create the mailing in-house and break the mailing up into smaller, manageable pieces.

Handwritten envelopes have been proven to increase response rates by upwards of 500%. Add a First Class stamp and a local return address and some businesses see a 1,000% increase versus machine-created bulk mail.

Many small businesses obtain a 10% – 20% response rate when using this method of direct mail marketing. That’s 50 to 100 new potential customers obtained from sending just 500 mail pieces.

Creating a Cost-Effective DIY Direct Mail Campaign is Easy

1. Work with a mailing list company that offers low minimums on smaller mailing lists. Look for a $50 minimum which can get you up to 1,500 names depending on the list. A New Movers list will allow you to target new people to your area who probably aren’t familiar with your business.
2. Create your marketing materials in-house or use a freelance designer to do a quick and easy design. Many freelancers will have direct mail templates to which they simply add your copy, contact information, etc.
3. Use your own color printer to print your marketing materials or find a printer who specializes in combining (“ganging”) multiple small print jobs into a single, larger job for cost efficiency.
4. Buy closed-faced envelopes and a roll of self-stick “Forever” stamps that are good for life even if postage increases before you use them all.
5. Buy an address “stamper” with your business name and return address to use on the envelopes.
6. Hand address the envelopes, stamp the envelope and insert your marketing materials.
7. Send out as many or as few per week as you like.

Do the Math

 
With less than $400 you’ll be on your way to generating sales leads for your small business!

Direct Mail Forecast

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – A comprehensive forecast of the use of digital printing in the direct mail market has been undertaken and published by INTERQUEST, a market research and consulting firm that serves the digital printing and publishing industry. The document is entitled Digital Printing in Direct Mail: Market Analysis & Forecast (2008-2013) – 260 pages.

The study contains 155 tables and charts and also provides an assessment of the impact of the financial crisis on the direct mail printing business. It was published in January 2009 and complements a previous study from June, 2008 entitled North American Transactional Printing: Market Analysis & Forecast.

This new study is based on in-depth surveys of 40 leading North American direct mail printers and large mailers. The collective volume of the survey participants interviewed for the report account for about 20% of the total digital direct mail impressions produced in North America.

INTERQUEST President, Gilles Biscos, pointed out that direct mail printing has generally been a bright spot in the printing industry for a some years, now. He has seen some dramatic advancements in recent years – the latest generation of equipment in particular – so he and his company felt that the time was right to take a serious look at how digital printing technology was being used in direct mail.

The study is aimed at industry professionals involved in sales and marketing, product management, engineering and product development, application and technical support, market research and strategic planning, sales and technical training, selection and purchase of printing solutions and printing and publishing operations.

Among the topics undertaken in the study are:

• The state of the direct mail market – both current and future
• The use of digital printing in direct mail – including technologies and applications for black-and-white and color
• Important business issues to consider – such as postage, the environment and legislative matters
• The use of laser and ink jet printing in direct mail
• The impact of promotional transactional applications on direct mail inserts
• The impact on direct mail by the current financial downturn

Business who use marketing lists for their direct mail campaigns will certainly be affected by the conclusions arrived by this new study. The study findings suggest that digital providers should be in a stronger position than non-digital providers and should stand a much better chance to weather the current economic downturn. Providers of direct mail lists who use the new digital printing technology will be on the bleeding edge.