Just when you thought you knew it all—there’s MORE!

Paul&Partners is proud to help with your printing, mailing and emailing campaigns, but  now we bring something more to the table.

Effective immediately Paul&Partners has partnered with PMC—Print Mail Communications—in Lorton, VA to serve you even better.  

 

Yes, YOU are the big winner.   Here’s why:

	MORE data processing power
	MORE personalization power (ask me—you’ll love what I have to say!)
	MORE mailshop capabilities
	MORE presses and printing options
	MORE staff to serve your every need
	And MORE terrific customer service.

There are even some truly creative packages that PMC can do and no one else can.  (Curious?  Call me!)

It’s all about serving YOU better.  You’ll still have all the great services that you’ve always depended on.  You may even hear familiar voices on the phone.

Need a quote?  You have my number:  703-996-0800. Want to talk about our new capabilities?  Call me!  703-996-0800.

Got the picture?  My phone remains 703-996-0800;  and our Paul&Partners emails will stay active for a while, but soon we’ll be all PMC all the time.

Looking forward to serving you MORE often and with MORE capabilities soon!

It’s everything you need from a great production team.  And more.

Come fly with us. The USPS reorganizes.

If you like the efficiency of the hub-and-spoke system that most US airlines use, you’ll love the new USPS organizational structure.  However, if you’ve ever missed your connection by 30 seconds, maybe you won’t.

In essence, the Post Office has proposed to reduce the number of major mail processing plants from 461 to fewer than 200 over the next two years.  Those closures mean fewer postal LaGuardias, Hartfields, LAXs and OHares, and more traffic coming through each remaining facility.

The question is, of course, can fewer—but larger—postal facilities handle the volume of mail?

The answer is:  they won’t have to do it all alone.  Each major postal facility would be supported by hundreds of smaller area ‘hub’ facilities.  However, exact details are still TBD, and even the assignment of zip codes is still up in the air. 

But wait a minute!  Three massive storms are approaching.  These storms may be enough to postpone reorganization liftoff. 

#1 is Unions, who have taken their complaints to the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC).  The proposed plan cuts 35,000 jobs—most of them union—from a total of 151,000 mail processing positions. Cutting 23% of the workforce will obviously affect the Union’s membership—and its pocketbook—in a big way.  The PRC says it will delay any decision until later this year. 

#2 is the political election cycle.  The USPS has already agreed to forego closures during the peak election cycle—September to early November—so that election mail is not jeopardized. 

#3 is the coming holiday season.  Not wishing to repeat its abysmal 2011 holiday delivery performance, the USPS has decided to suspend closures during the peak holiday season of November and December.

Those three factors pretty much preclude closures for 2012. 

2013 is another story.  USPS management hopes to move forward with the new network restructuring as early as possible, citing that it should save about $2.6B a year. 

The second question is, can 23% fewer employees process the same volume of mail?

The answer has to be some combination of more automation or less mail volume.  The Post Office has been ramping up automation for years (Merlin is a perpetual favorite!); reduced mail volume is taking care of itself. 

Postal Plan B is to cut Saturday delivery.  Despite evidence that 5-day-a-week delivery could save the USPS up to $3B a year, Congress is not ready to approve this step yet.

Print publishers especially are concerned that the shortened delivery week could impact their editorial relevance.  The USPS has agreed to continue overnight delivery for periodicals if the printers could deliver mail that has to be sorted to the Post Office by 11:00 a.m. and deliver carrier routed mail by 5 p.m.  Unfortunately, that schedule leaves the publications’ writers working on the red-eye express, writing until the wee hours.

Postal Plan C is to.....   Oops.  Sorry.  There doesn’t appear to be a Plan C.  

So to recap:  The Post Office, which has announced it will be insolvent by Labor Day, can’t take any cost cutting actions this year because of various external forces. 

Please fasten your seat belts.  It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

Do you get it Now?

If you're like most Americans, you've seen the Post Office ads for EDDM--Every Door Direct Mail--advertised on TV but probably didn't "get it." It sounds so easy. Small businessman, do the mailing yourself and save money!

But you can't believe everything you see in a 30-second TV commercial. For mailers who can use EDDM effectively, it is great. For those who can't, it isn't. It all depends on your market and your message. For just about everybody, it has the potential to be confusing and frustrating.

So in the interests of alleviating stress and confusion, here are SIMPLIFIED rules to help you take advantage of EDDM.

1. Your mailing piece has to be a "flat." That's post office lingo for larger than 6-1/8" x 11-1/2" but no larger than 12" x 15".

Oops. Sorry. After the TV commercials were launched, the Post Office changed the specs. Seems the pizza restaurant lobby convinced the USPS to shift the minimum size to accommodate pizza carryout menus. Now the minimum size is 6-1/8" x 10-1/2", but the maximum 12" x 15" is still unchanged.

2. Your mail must have a mailing panel with an indicia. The panel has to be in the right spot, with the right info in the right place. If you need clarification on any of these points, stop right now. Get help! You will only hurt yourself if you continue without adult supervision.

If you don't want to pay for an indicia--and it isn't cheap--then use a professional mail house to help with your mailing. They will take care of all the details for you, and let you use their indicia.

3. You have to mail at CRRT Saturation. That's more post office jargon for mailing to everybody on a carrier's route. No prejudicial skipping addresses. Now this is where the effectiveness of EDDM depends on your market and your message.

If you are a restaurant/dry cleaner/coffee shop/dentist/church or lawn care serving everybody in the neighborhood indiscriminately, then EDDM might be right for you. It's a cost--effective way to get the word out to everybody, in a large format that will be visible in their mailboxes.

However, if you are a specialty business like daycare/dog walking/hearing aid repair/senior services or SAT exam prep, then EDDM is absolutely NOT for you. You need to target specific people who need your specific message. You will waste printing and postage with EDDM, and you will be unhappy with the results.

Need help figuring it all out? EDDM is not as easy as it sounds. Check with a professional mail house.

4. You don't have to show actual names and addresses, thus saving the cost of list rental and presorting. But each piece DOES have to have a generic address like "Postal Patron."

Before you leap for joy at the financial windfall, read item #6 below for a reality check.

5. You have to mail out of the DDU. That's even more post office speak for the destination delivery unit, aka the post office that serves the people you are mailing to.

If your mailing is going to two adjoining towns, then you have two DDU drops to make.

6. You have to present your mail in USPS--approved fashion, ie counted out, strapped, bagged, and tagged, with a covering sheet on each packet showing zip code, carrier route number, number of addresses on that route, etc. If this makes no sense to you, get help. It's a deal--killer if you show up at the DDU without proper paperwork.

Getting it right takes time, effort and yes, moola. If you're a small business and you need to focus on your business, this time and effort will definitely take you outside your area of strength. Use a mail house that understands EDDM, the post office, and can ensure that all your paperwork is in order.

7. You may mail only 5,000 pieces a day. If you intend to mail more than 5,000 pieces you'll need to budget for multi--day drops. Be prepared for more paperwork, more aggravation, and higher costs.

But back to point #5. If you're mailing to adjoining towns, then you can mail 5,000 a day to each DDU.

Finally, if you've been able to successfully navigate all of the above, then your reward comes:

8. Your postage rate will be 14.5 cents each.
Whew. Take a deep breath and relax. Now you can see that despite convincing commercials, EDDM is not a fit for everybody. Some mailers need to send more than 5,000 pieces or to multiple areas; some are too specialized in their messaging; some don't need or want all that acreage to tell their story; and most small businesses do not have the postal expertise needed to pull off their own EDDM mailing.

And that's EDDM in a nutshell. If you meet the restrictive criterion, it's useful. If you don't, it's not.

Now do you get it? You win some and you lose some.

When Good Names Go Bad

Direct marketers have known for years that even great lists can go “stale.”  People move away, become disinterested, or die.  Life happens; marketers adjust.

For years these marketers have cleaned their postal data regularly and eliminated bad or duplicate addresses through merge/purges, and running data through NCOA (National Change of Address).  Marketers who wanted to go the extra mile could run client data against lists of the deceased and (I’m not kidding!) prison inmates.

Well-maintained data meant lower printing costs, lower postage costs, and a higher rate of return.  It was a win/win for everyone—and ruthlessly reinforced by USPS penalties imposed on those who “forgot” to follow the rules.

Now email marketers are getting in the list clean-up

business too.  But instead of the post office mandating clean-up action, emailers are finding their ISPs are behind the effort. 

Even though spam has declined (in large part to the dismantling of several nefarious organizations that spewed spam from Bulgaria, Romania, India and China), spam complaints are actually up. 

Why?  It seems that disgruntled consumers, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of emails they receive each day, are hitting the “spam” button with greater frequency and vehemence.

Since each “spam” hit besmirches the reputation of the sender, ISPs find it in their own best interests to police their user community.

When an emailer gets too many “spam” warnings, the ISP neighborhood watch committee gets alarmed.  It’s like having abandoned cars suddenly appear in a neighbor’s unkempt yard.  It’s ugly, the whole community suffers, property values fall, and soon no one wants to live there.

At bottom, it’s a financial decision.  If an ISP gets a reputation as being easy on spammers, legitimate emailers will take their business elsewhere.  So the ISP enforcers have stepped in, encouraging email marketers to clean up their acts...long before weeds take over the user community and the abandoned cars arrive.

Like keeping a lawn trimmed and tidy, ISPs are asking emailers to remove recipients who have not opened emails in six months, transfer those records to an “inactive” file and treat them as prospects. 

Grass that is cut too short and too often dies; so can a lead that gets too much unwanted attention.  Hence ISPs recommend marketing less frequently to avoid the dreaded overload factor.

Re-engage the lead by sending content based on the last meaningful interaction.  This judicious fertilization, applied sparingly, can revive flagging interest, ISPs reason.

But just because a name is on an email list, it doesn’t mean it belongs there, the ISP enforcers insist.  If the individual initially signed up for a whitepaper or to enter a contest, it is likely he got what he wanted and he is gone.  Pfffft.   Hit him with Roundup.  He is a weed growing in your driveway.

Sadly, lists, like neighborhoods, can gradually decay.  Even committed customers/subscribers/donors/friends drift away.  Emarketers not keeping an eye on their data may miss the early warning signs that their lists’ “shelf life” have expired.  They are letting the untended grass and shrubs grow helter skelter.  Soon, the ISP police will come knocking at the door with a warning:  “Clean up or Move out.”

Like mailing to an outdated list, the potential downside of marketing to a stale email list is higher cost, reduced response rate and missed opportunities.

But unlike direct mail which can inconspicuously but expensively end up in a dead letter office, unwanted “spam” damages the reputation of the entire email community including the sender and his ISP.

So now ISPs are putting the word out:  Play by the rules. Or else.
Enforcement will follow.

What’s the Big Idea this time?

You’ve got to hand it to those folks at the Post Office.  They keep coming up with new and inventive ideas.  Some of the ideas are great (intelligent mail tracking comes immediately to mind), some fail (remember banks, drug stores, toy trucks and stuff animals?) and some simply drive us nuts.

Their latest idea falls into the third category.   But let’s back up a bit. A couple of years ago the Post Office allowed people and organizations to create their own customized stamps.  They anticipated (with an excess of exuberance, apparently) that people would pay extra moola to personalize their First Class stamps.

 

The idea was to have the happy couple’s wedding portrait on stamps they used to mail their wedding invitations.  Or a grieving pet parent could memorialize Fido and Fluffy forever.  Or a school could have its mascot on the appeal letter sent to doting grandparents.  Or whatever. 

Despite all the hype, I saw one stamp in actual usage.  That’s it.  One.

So if the idea fell flat the first time around, the Post Office reasoned, let’s give it a new spin and try it again.  OK, I’m into leftovers and recycling, maybe the idea could work this time. 

The “spin” this time is that a business mailer can create a Picture Permit Imprint Indicia.  It’s not even a stamp.  It’s a fancy schmancy indicia.

  

Indicias:  those preprinted thingies that replace stamps, scream “Junk Mail” and for legitimate reasons get opened less frequently than postage meters or the aforementioned stamp. 

Anyway, should this idea appeal to someone who wants to invest a lot of time and energy in the effort to have his mail labeled “Junk Mail,” here is what it takes:

Step 1.  Complete the online registration process.  You’ve got to get the ball rolling somehow.

Step 2.  Complete a second online registration form.  This one for the Picture Permit Application. The USPS is, after all, a bureaucracy, and bureaucracies like things in duplicate.

Step 3.  Assuming your application is approved by the USPS Program Management Office, you then need to submit a PDF copy of your proposed indicia design online.

Step 4.  If/when your proposed design passes the postal censors’ scrutiny, you must then submit 500 live (aka “real”) mail pieces with the approved design.  Give yourself some leeway.  The test on these live samples takes the USPS 30 to 45 days to render their approval.  If you’re on a tight production deadline, this couldn’t be good.

Step 5.  Schedule the mailing date with your friends at the Post Office.  Oh yes, you must also tell them exactly how many pieces you will be mailing on that specific day.

But wait!  There’s more.

The mail has to have an intelligent mail barcode or IMB, effectively eliminating any do-it-yourselfer, small business or nonprofit from taking advantage of the idea.  Guess I should have mentioned that little fact earlier.  Oops.

And the surprises keep coming.

So not only did your mailing get hung up for 2 months in the postal bureaucracy, but you get to pay extra for the privilege!   You get to pay an extra 2 cents per piece if you’re mailing at Standard rate and an extra 1 cent per piece if you’re mailing at First Class.  

Is this a deal or what!

At the end of the day you’ve still got an indicia on your mailing.  An indicia that says this piece you fought so hard to get into the mail is part of a large, impersonal mailing. 

You’ve expended extra time…extra effort…extra cost…and the result is what?  A lower response rate?

The geniuses at the Post Office need to take this one back to the drawing board. 

Adios, Postnet. There’s a new guy in town.

The days of the Postnet barcode—familiar to anyone who has ever received a direct mail letter, postcard, newsletter, flyer, or magazine in the last 20 years—are numbered.

Faithful old Postnet is riding off into the sunset.  He has served us well, but like Sheriff  Will Kane in High Noon, Postnet knows when it is time to move on.

Looking a bit like the white picket fence around the retirement cottage that Sheriff Kane and his good wife Amy built far outside of town, Postnet has vertical bars of uneven heights aligned along a flat bottom line. 

In its time, Postnet directed billions of pieces of mail to its intended destination.  But Postnet is being retired by the USPS.  In its place comes IMB—Intelligent Mail Barcode—the new gun in town.  

IMB looks a bit jittery—maybe having overdosed on some of that strong coffee Sheriff Kane left behind.  IMB has vertical bars of uneven lengths extending both above and below an imaginary midpoint.  But he’s more robust than Postnet could ever be.

Officially taking over on January 28, 2013, IMB promises services that Postnet could only dream of.  IMB, for instance, will allow mailers to track progress of their mail through the US Postal System, like shippers can track packages through FedEx or UPS.

  

IMB also promises that if you use him, you can qualify for Full-Service mail.  (That’s the lowest appropriate automation rate for letters, flats and postcards.)  And as a final sweetener, if you quality for Full-Service, he will provide you with address tracking services.   For FREE!

But there is never a Free Lunch.  Like any new guy in town, IMB has to make and enforce rules.  His rules.  And if you don’t comply, he’s taking names.

Rule #1.  IMB doesn’t want to ride alone.  He demands that his IMB posse show up on your Permit Reply Mail and Business Reply Mail, too.  Be sure to deep six old artwork, too, so that going forward you’ll be printing only the right stuff.

This is use it or lose it time.  Use up your old stock with Postnet barcodes now or recycle it in January. It won’t be worth a plug nickel after that.

Rule #2.  Your mailshop will take care of this for you.  If you want to see just how much work is required, go to httpp://ribbs.usps.gov.  Click on “Intelligent Mail Barcode” in the upper left corner.  Then click on “Latest News.”  You’ll get an in-depth explanation and a 10-step verification process that IMB requires.

Rule #3:  If you want tracking services (aka “Tracking”), you must step up and register to get a unique mailer ID.  Apply through the Business Customer Gateway you’ll find at USPS.com.

Bad news for end-users:  this one is on you.  You’ve got to sign up.  And there may be a cost involved.

Rule #4.  IMB wants his brand to be noticeable, so he’s requiring a barcode clear zone in the lower right corner of every envelope/postcard/self-mailer.  That means he is mandating a block free of all copy or graphics (from the lowest right corner) 4” to the left and 5/8” tall.

Even if your IMB goes above the recipient’s name, IMB wants a barcode clear zone. 

After all, a man’s got to have his space. Be sure your graphic artist knows the rules.

Rule #5.  What he says goes.  Period.

Once IMB is in charge, there’s no looking back.  You’re with him or you’re agin him.  And IMB will take no prisoners, so you’ve got to get with the program.

Git along, Little Doggie.  Be sure your house is in order. 

R U QRious?

Last summer the USPS encouraged mailers to use QR (Quick Response) codes. Someone must have been listening. The use of QR codes increased by an incredible 4500% in 2011, and is expected to continue to rise.

QR codes-those checkerboard-on-a-bad-acid-trip thingies-are popping up everywhere. In ads for Macy's and Target, on real estate signs, on hats and tee shirts, on maps, emails, business cards, TV spots, YouTube videos, social media, and on the side of a truck I saw last week.


What does it all mean?

1. Build your social media "likeability." Simply by scanning your QR code, many people will follow your social media lead and "like" your page.
   
   
2. Promise happy scanners that they will get value for their efforts. "Like our Facebook page for latest news alerts and exclusive coupons."
   
   
3. Encourage purchases. Drive people to a special landing page where they can download coupons, make purchases, or conduct other financial transactions.
   
   
4. Become a product authority. Educate by offering access to product information, reviews and comparisons. Spice it up with a video or a mobile buy now option.
   
   
5. Get people to your website where they can sign up for a blog, request a quote, or just check you out to see if you are serious.

And while it may not mean dollars in your wallet, using a QR code will make you the hippest guy in town. At least for a couple of days-until the newest next-best-thing-comes along.

QRious about your very own personal QR code?

Contact me! The first 25 readers who request their own personal QR code linking to their website will get it absolutely free. Send your request to Ellen@PaulandPartners.net.

Do You Get It?

You've seen EDDM-Every Door Direct Mail-advertised on TV but probably didn't "get it." For mailers who can use it, it is a great system. For those who can't, it isn't. For just about everybody it has the potential to be confusing and frustrating.

So in the interests of alleviating stress and confusion, here are SIMPLIFIED rules to help you take advantage of EDDM.

1. Your mailing piece has to be a "flat." That's post office lingo for larger than 6-1/8" x 11-1/2" but no larger than 12" x 15".
   
   
2. Your mail must have a mailing panel with an indicia. The panel has to be in the right spot, with the right info in the right place. If you need clarification on any of these points, stop right now. Get help! You will only hurt yourself if you continue without adult supervision.
   
   
3. You have to mail at CRRT Saturation. That's more post office jargon for mailing to everybody on a carrier's route. No prejudicial skipping addresses.
   
   
4. You don't have to show actual names and addresses, so you save the cost of list rental and presorting. But each piece DOES have to have a generic address like "Postal Patron."
   
   
5. You have to mail out of the DDU. That's even more post office speak for the destination delivery unit, aka the post office that serves the people you are mailing to.
   
   
6. You have to present your mail in USPS-approved fashion, ie counted out, strapped, bagged, and tagged, with a covering sheet on each packet showing zip code, carrier route number, number of addresses on that route, etc. If this makes no sense to you, get help. It's a deal-killer if you show up at the DDU without proper paperwork. All this takes time. Expect to pay more in sort/tie/bag fees if you use a commercial mailing service.
   
   
7. You may not mail more than 5,000 pieces a day. If you intend to mail more than 5,000 pieces plan on multi-day drops and the resulting higher costs.
   
   If you've been able to successfully navigate all of the above, then your reward comes:
   
   
8. Your postage rate will be 14.5 cents each.

Despite convincing commercials, EDDM is not a good fit for everybody. Some mailers need to mail more than 5,000 pieces; some mailers are too far from the DDU to make the shipping economical; some mailers don't need or want all that acreage to tell their story.

And that's EDDM in a nutshell. If you meet the restrictive criterion, it's useful. If you don't, it's not.

Now do you get it? You win some and you lose some.

Need help with an EDDM project? Let us know! We'll keep it simple. Email me at Ellen@PaulandPartners.net.   

The Small Screen is Big News

Perhaps if your temples are greying, you can remember when TV was "The Small Screen." Now the family television is 60" and expanding, while movie screens are shrinking to fit intimate art house venues.

Today, "The Small Screen" means that ubiquitous palm-sized smart phone you schlep around everywhere. That little device has been a technology game changer.

Marketers have redesigned websites to accommodate it. QR codes have sprung up to give you immediate access to that redesigned website. Text messaging has become a merchandising power tool and texting between friends is now de rigeur. APS for everything have emerged. Movies, games, music and news came to your hand. And who knows what's next.

And then there's the biggest secret: people spend 38% of time on their smart phones reading emails!

If you're sending emails, a significant portion is probably ending up on that itty bitty screen. Here are a few ideas to help you get your message across:

1. Keep your subject lines short. Max: 6 words
2. Keep content short.
3. Use a single-column format.
4. Put call to actions in a larger font so they are easy to see.
5. Include "click to read on mobile device" link.
6. Include a plain text version. Just in case.
7. Test. Use a simulator-or send it to your own phone as a test case.

Remember, not everyone has great eyesight. It goes before the hair.

Survey

Please let me know if you're reading this on your smart phone. I'm keeping score! Email me at Ellen@PaulandPartners.net.   

Warning: You've missed 90% of what I'm saying!

Statistics show that recipients misinterpret emails 90% of the time. That's absolutely horrifying! Emails are the most common form of business communications today. If 90% of what you send is not taken as you intended it, and 90% of what you read is not as the sender intended it, there are huge margins for interpersonal upset.

That upset in turn can lead to lost friendships, lost opportunities and lost business.

So what's an email dependent person to do? Here are a few hints to help make your emails e-mazing!

1. Keep your sentences to 11 words or less. Statistics (where do I get this stuff?) show that even college grads have difficulty with sentences longer than 11 words. English majors like yours truly are the exception. (OK, I made that part about the English majors up, but it sounds reasonable, doesn't it?) So keeping sentences short may help understanding. (After all, when was the last time you read a Victorian novel voluntarily?)
   
2. Keeping your message short can help, too. Maybe. The popular culture is training us to have short attention spans and to think in little bits. Short messages may help those with short attention spans.
   
3. Or not. Brevity may not always be your ally. You may need extra words to convey a nuance or emphasize the core point. If you need it, use it, but remember your recipient may be from the sound-bite generation. And you may be trying to convey TMI-Too Much Information.
   
4. Write it then reread it. Does it make sense to you on a second read? Can you think of a better way to say it? If so, edit. Just because your fingers typed the words doesn't mean they deserve to see the light of day. James Michener once said he was not a great writer; he maintained he was a great editor. Follow Michener's cue.
   
5. Still not sure if your message is clear? Send it to a coworker. Ask her to read what you've written. Then ask her what you said. If she got your message, send it. If she has questions about what you were saying, go back to point #4.
   
6. Simplify your presentation. I do NOT mean "dumb it down." I mean simplify. Cut out extraneous words. Shorten sentences. Break up paragraphs.
   
7. Be aware of high-risk factors. You take extra risks when you use humor (ask me-I'll give you a dozen stories!), slang (regional, professional, generational), unfamiliar multi-syllabic vocabulary (don't be showboating!), and foreign words.

OK. You've done everything right, but you still want to be sure the intent of your message was received. How can you be absolutely sure that what you're saying is crystal clear? 

I know this sounds like business practices from the Dark Ages, but the absolutely best proof that someone received your message correctly is to pick up the phone and call him. 

Take-away:

Did you like this article? Did you learn something? Send me an email! Ellen@PaulandPartners.net. Tell me about it. 

   

In case you were wondering...

If neither rain nor snow nor dead of night can stop the US Post Office, now we can add a new non-stopper: Congress.

This is the same Congress that has handicapped the post office with massive early retirement payments...the same Congress that is up in arms about the huge deficit that the USPS is running...the same Congress that is insisting that the Post Office get its house in order. Or else.

And yes, it is the same august body that is unwilling to accept the post office's Hail Mary plans to trim delivery to 5 days a week, close underutilized facilities, and lay off (or grant early retirement to) thousands of postal workers to help curb the gaping deficit.

What made Congress change its tune?

When Congress wasn't arguing amongst itself about national debt ceilings, recess appointments, and photos of peers proudly preening in their underwear...

When Congress actually stopped its chasing-its-own-tail Red state vs Blue state sniping and Republican vs Democrat spatting that have gotten this country absolutely no where...

 

One day Congress woke up and discovered THIS IS AN ELECTION YEAR!

"OH NO!" Congresspersons of all ilks suddenly realized, "If the Post Office went forward with its plans to consolidate operations, then political mail-my ticket to reelection-might be jeopardized!"

Hence in December of 2011, Congress asked that the Post Office consolidate or close no postal facility prior to May 15, 2012, thereby protecting the sanctity of the primaries, caucuses and other political shenanigans taking place this spring.

Since the political season takes on new fervor and ferocity after the conventions in July and August, Congress again appealed to the USPS to forego closures after September 1.

The agreement left May 15 to August 31 as fair game for closures.

There is but one small fly in the ointment. The Post Office has announced loudly and often that it will be bankrupt by Labor Day if its plans to consolidate and close are not implemented immediately. But this agreement with Congress will prevent that from happening...unless there's a miracle.

Since the Post Office is prevented from downsizing by the very body that is the judge, jury and executioner, (and coincidentally the potential chief beneficiary of delaying closures)...this blatant conflict of interest may require Congress to give the USPS what it truly needs: a "too big to fail" monetary infusion at the eleventh hour. And maybe a reconsideration of that odious retirement requirement.

But if Congress lives up to its usual level of teetering on the brink of disaster long enough to give each of the 435 members ample opportunity to have his/her say in front of friendly TV cameras, then on August 31st-after the USPS has closed 2 small post offices in remote Alaska-then Congress will vote the Post Office a huge amount of money to tide it over until after the elections in November.

After all, the political mail must not be imperiled.

Remember: You read it here first. 

Dear Upset Customer,

I am truly sorry that your event announcement did not arrive until after your event. I am sure that not having your audience aware of the event until two days afterward did indeed have a dampening effect on your turnout.

I can only imagine how many dollars you lost at the door. And I don't wish to imagine your boss's reaction to a largely empty room.

If you need help with editing your resume, please let me know. I'd be glad to help.

In the meantime, let's look at my job log to see what went wrong.

Event day minus 10. You came to me with another rush project. I know you were on a budget-you're always on a budget-but opting to mail at Standard rate this time is penny wise and pound foolish. You certainly will save a lot of money in postage. Hurrah for that! Even a cheapskate like Scotty, intrepid engineer of the Starship Enterprise, would appreciate the effort. But what you'll save in postage you'll spend in extra time in the mail. You need warp drive. You won't get it.

It's always a time-versus-money equation at the post office. Ignore that basic rule-the Postal Prime Directive-at your peril. At this time when the Post Office is in flux, you should be super sensitive to the PPD.

I did warn you that the post office is cutting staff and closing facilities to trim costs. Smaller staff means longer delivery times. Delivery is less predictable than ever. Even First Class is taking 3 days; mailing at Standard when you have a short window of opportunity is like hugging an angry Klingon warrior. No good can ever come of it.

Yet somehow you thought your mail would be exempt from the Postal Prime Directive: More Postage, Faster Delivery; Less Postage, Slower Delivery. It was my first clue that you were suffering from Magical Thinking.

Oh yes, you still don't have your data or artwork ready.

E-Day minus 9. You want me to Guarantee (your word!) that your mail will arrive "in home" on a specific day. I can't and I won't. I'm not nuts, after all. Once we drop your mail at the post office we have no control of it. It drops into a black hole, a time warp, and who knows where or when it will come out on the other end.

Still no data, but you sent some of the artwork today. Now we're making modest progress.

E-Day minus 8. You want us to put a note on your mail piece requesting the Postmaster to deliver on a specific day. And we did. But will the Postmaster see your magical message? Probably not. Will he act on it? Nope, again. But it makes you feel better-like Bones' placebo makes a sick man feel healthier. It's more magical thinking.

You sent your data today. That's good. But you changed your artwork twice. That's bad.

E-Day minus 7. Today we had to fix your newest artwork-your third-again. It lacked an address panel and didn't allow for bleeds. And of course, it was full color, not the 2-color you had initially asked for and we had spec'd.

We're losing time in printing. But finally data is moving ahead. BTW, sending data at 5:00 last night is like sending it first thing today. Nothing happened overnight, but now we can get on it.

E-Day minus 6. Finally on press. We're waiting for materials to dry so we can start addressing. Your event is only 6 days away, and I have an intense feeling of dread. You refused again to let us mail at First Class because your budget won't allow it. My anxiety increases.

 E-Day minus 5. We've taken your mail to the post office today, but I fear you've lobbed the fatal photon torpedo at your own promotion. Your event is less than one week away and your announcements are just going out.

Mailing late is courting disaster under the best of circumstances. Mailing late and mailing at Standard is a lethal combination. Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock are down for the count on a hostile planet circling a star going super nova, and the transporter is out of commission. Yet somehow Kirk and Spock (with able assistance from Scotty and Bones) always seem to pull off a miraculous rescue at the end. Maybe the post office will do the same for you, I theorize hopefully.

Yikes! Now I'm using your Magical Thinking!

But no, it didn't happen. The Post Office delivered two days after your event-but still ahead of its performance standard.

I'm so sorry. We did everything we could to make your mailing a success. We advised, we counseled, we wheedled, but you remained adamant in your decisions. I guess this job was star-crossed from lift off.

We tried to pull off what no man has pulled off before. But the realities of the Postal Prime Directive, poorly prepared artwork, and an intransigent, ill-prepared client spelled doom. And that's all she wrote.

Next time, listen to your mailshop when they try to give you good advice.   

Rumors of email's demise are similarly misguided. Sure texting and social media are getting bigger, but email is projected to be a $1.6 billion dollar business in 2012. And $1.6 billion is nothing to sneeze at.

While SEO and social media currently make up 70% of online marketing budgets, 94% of online behavior is checking emails. So maybe the budget is out of whack.

Consider the numeric evidence. 35% of consumers spend more than 3 hours a day online. Of those hours, 94% are spent checking emails, searching for something (87%) or doing product research (78%). That leaves only a small fraction of time and attention for YouTube and the other social media venues that are getting so much attention...and budget.

So if you agree that your emails could use a bit of tweaking to maximize their potential, here are a few handy tips:

1. Message Congruency. Sure it's a big word, but it's so critical, it's item #1. Congruency (or lack of it) can make or break your email campaign. Congruency means to be sure that your message, your branding and your product are in alignment. And confirm that those elements are in sync with your customers' needs and wants.
 

2. Check your work before you deploy! Maybe I'm a snob, but emails with misspellings are an instant 

turnoff. Links that don't link frustrate me. Emails without a subject line are suspicious and get deleted immediately. And messages that are off-target completely make me reach reflexively to the "Block this Sender" icon.

3. Optimize your Results. Sending emails to dead mailboxes is a tragic waste of electrons. Work on your list quality regularly. Keep an eye on the basics: Check your "from" field and subject line. Be sure your subject line is compelling, provocative or illuminative of what follows. Monitor content to see if some material earns higher response rates; monitor launch frequency data as well as day of the week and time of day. There is magic in data if you but analyze-and act-on it.

4. Buy into Branding. A successful email doesn't have to get opened to have an impact. An email increases your brand awareness, whether opened or not. Recipients still see your brand name in their inbox, and that reminder may be enough to influence their next buying decision.

5. Repeat. Like any type of direct marketing, you need to repeat and repeat and repeat. There is value in 

repetition. Maybe your first message didn't land when the recipient had time or interest. But something will resonate eventually. If you but keep at it consistently. Quitters never win; winners never quit.

The stock market and hem lines may go up or down, the weather may be hot or hotter. But email is still the most frequent online activity your customers engage in. Plan for it. Prepare for it. Launch it. It will bring results.  

Marketing Take-away:

94% of the time consumers spend online is reading mail. If you're not in their in-box regularly you are missing a huge opportunity. If you need help is developing or deploying an effective email campaign, call Paul&Partners. We'll help make your email exceptional! 703-996-0800. 

Write it Right! 9 Tips to Creating Great Headlines

Headline writing is often excruciatingly difficult. That's why headline writers are respected more than any one else and paid more than anyone else in a newsroom. [No, wait! That's wrong. Let's start again.]


Headline writing is often excruciatingly difficult. [I got that part right].

No one notices if the headline works, ie if it synopsizes the story that follows and does so in a clever and succinct fashion. But when a headline fails, then everybody knows. Headline writers may toil away in anonymity, but they fail publically. [That about sums it up.]

Headlines are to articles and emails what teasers are to envelopes: The most challenging part of the entire package to write.

Whether appearing in print or email, headlines should entice people to read the material that follows. Here are a few hints to make that most important piece of writing work for you, and help you avoid the danger of public humiliation:

1. Keep it short. No more than 50 characters. We're all in a rush these days.

2. Keep it pertinent to the material that follows. Misleading people makes for angry (or disappointed) readers. No one likes to feel tricked.

3. Humor is great if you're up to the task, but humor isn't easy and can be misinterpreted.

4. Allow yourself time to write-and rewrite. It can take as long to get the subject line right as it took the write the rest of the material.

5. Personalize, if possible. Research shows that personalized subject lines increase open rates by up to 64%. Personalized copy within the email further increases readership.

6. Selling something? Set a deadline. Creating a sense of urgency or exclusivity works. 

7. Don't end up in a spam filter. Avoid FREE!!, Save $, Lowest Prices, URGENT!, or for that matter avoid !!!, $$$ or other spam-attracting shorthand. You know 'em when you see 'em. Don't ask for trouble.

8. Test. Not sure exactly what will work? Test! You may not have this luxury, but it's the perfect application for an A/B split test.

So what's a bad headline? How about Dewey Wins! Oops! Nuf' said about this famously wrong headline from 1948. This brings us to hint #9:

9. Be accurate. Check your facts before your launch. Don't jump the gun. Proof your work. And have a friend proof it, too. Two sets of eyes are always better than one. 

[But this article just did. I hope it was useful.]

Marketing Take-Away

1. Writing a great headline is hard work. Don't let anyone tell you anything else.
2. Be willing to write and rewrite to get what you need.
3. Test (ever heard that before?)

So you think you've got it hard?

The USPS is losing money at the astounding rate of about $23.3 million a day. A Day!


And this humungous loss comes after it encouraged employees to take early retirement...retired the once-ubiquitous blue curb-side mail boxes...closed about 7% of the post office locations around the country just two years ago...merged under-utilized facilities...hiked postage rates repeatedly...and begged (so far unsuccessfully) for 5-day-a-week delivery.

Whew. What's a beleaguered but beloved institution to do but whack even more?

Undertaking a task that even Tony Soprano would find gargantuan, the USPS is on the prowl for targets of opportunity to whack. And they are everywhere. Or so it seems.

Not only are there about 32,000 retail post offices in the US, but there are more than 70,000 "Approved Postal Providers" selling stamps and services. That's more than 100,000 postal facilities nationwide, or one for every 3100 Americans.

The USPS reports that more than 35% of the USPS retail revenue comes from expanded access locations-those "Approved Postal Providers"-such as grocery and drug stores, office supply and retail chains, self-serve kiosks, ATMs and-of course-the USPS's own website, usps.com.

Think about it. When you can buy your steaks and your stamps at the Safeway, the post office across the parking lot is rendered obsolete.

And that is where the USPS sits today: with a lot of obsolete but still neighborhood-centric facilities. These "unprofitable" facilities are the first obvious volunteers for elimination. The post office is looking for 3700 worthy candidates to deep six in the first wave of closures.

But like Tony Soprano, post office management is not without a heart. They understand that the post office is a place for neighbors to meet and catch up on juicy gossip. So in lieu of eliminating a local postal facility totally, they are creating "The Village Post Office" a scaled-down version of the late lamented real thing, as an alternative. The Village Post Offices would operate inside a local retailer, much like banks inside many newer grocery stores.

A USPS spokesperson explained "By working with third-party retailers, we're creating easier, more convenient access to our products and services when and where our customers want them. The Village Post Office will offer another way for us to meet our customers' needs."

I guess that's progress. Of a sort.

I'm still troubled by the idea of getting my antifreeze oil and prescriptions at the same store I get my antipasto and pretzels. I'll get used to the idea, I suppose. Eventually.

Marketing Take-Away

The world is changing. It isn't coming to an end. Don't panic. Keep reading this blog every week to see what the latest and greatest news is about the USPS.

Caution: Reading this article could make you sick, too!

Unless you've been living under an imposed news quarantine, you know that the USPS is in trouble. Big trouble.

The famously (and arguably) non-governmental organization must report to the government overlords of the Postal Regulatory Commission and the US Congress--(an arrangement that is enough to give even a healthy organization schizophrenia). But for the USPS—forever in a sick bed—the last few years have been especially trying.

Hemorrhaging money as mail volume dried up due in part to the ascendancy of email and exacerbated by the decline of the economy, the USPS has tried to persevere by cutting costs.

It pulled the once nearly-ubiquitous blue collection boxes from street corners. It closed under-performing post offices and consolidated processing centers. It let people go by the droves and urged others to take early retirement. It consolidated carrier routes so it would require fewer vehicles and fewer staff. It introduced expensive equipment that would extract financial punishment from unwitting mailers.

It became a shopping destination—while not rivaling the Mall of America, one could get stamps, stationery, gift wrap and boxes there. It even flirted with becoming a bank.

Nothing seemed to work.

And then the PRC and US Congress hammered it with a requirement to prefund retirement benefits. When the post office asked for emergency postal increases, its lawyers lost the argument on an obvious technicality they had not anticipated.

Late last week the USPS's sniffles turned to pneumonia when the USPS announced it had lost almost $10 billion this fiscal year—a staggering amount, and yet another historic high in a string of lamentable historic highs going back ultimately 10 years.

With mail volume predicted to fall farther (every 1% in decline equals $300 million of lost postal revenue) the post office's options are getting fewer.

Now the post office is left with the option of closing as many as 3600 mostly rural post offices and consolidating operations at 250 processing centers. Another 120,000 postal workers face layoff, and Saturday mail delivery may become a dim memory. Privatization is a possibility. As the negotiators say, "All options are on the table."

See whether your favorite post office is on the cutting block, click on the maps. Blue for soon-to-be-closed local post offices; red for regional processing centers.

For interactive maps, please visit here.

Then take an aspirin and be thankful you don't have the Postmaster General's job. It won't cure anything, but it might make you feel a bit better.

To view larger images, please click to open.

SOURCE: USPS. GRAPHIC: Emily Chow and Wilson Andrews -
The Washington Post. Published Sept. 29, 2011.

Name that Tune!

List brokers are singing the blues. Competition is vicious; rental volume, blamed variously on the weak economy, jittery clients and postal increases is down; prices—which do seem to obey certain inviolate economic laws are down; ultimately commissions—the lifeblood of list brokers and managers—are down.

All in all, it's truly a downer. In years of being in direct marketing, I have never seen so many emails from list mavens desperately hawking lists, offering to make free recommendations, or to put lists "on sale" to get my order.

As striking as the situation appears to be, the pain is not felt evenly across the list rental market. Specialty subsets within the larger list industry are faring better or worse than their peers. Here's a quick view of what's what, according to information just released by Worldata, one of the largest list brokerages in the world.

Attendees/Members, Public Sector and Donor files are the only categories of lists that have increased in price since 2006. They have seen increases of $16/M ($16 per thousand records), $12/M and $2/M respectively.

Donor files remain the lowest priced list category, with an average rental price of $85/M.

Permission-based email lists have gone from $290/M in 2005 up to a high of $299/M in 2008, dropping slowly to their current average rate of $269/M. Even with the drop in price, this category of list remains the most expensive domestic category.

Permission-based consumer email lists fell 49% in cost over the past 5 years. Why? The market is oversaturated. Too much supply; too little demand.

Permission-based international email lists have remained stable, with a continued average price of a whopping $407/M.

Permission-based Business-to-Consumer email category saw the largest price decrease year over year, plummeting 20.54% since 2006 to today's $89/M.

The highest percentage increase was in the Attendees/Members list category which saw a very modest 1.54% increase in price year over year.

So what does this mean to a list broker? Simply put, it means pain. Intense economic pain. List brokers are desperately looking for ways to differentiate their lists from the pack, even as margins get tighter, the rental market shrinks, and competition gets increasingly fierce. Times are bleak.

What does this mean to you, a list user? It means you may have just gotten lucky. Most list brokers are hungry. They are willing to reduce costs, accept lower minimum rentals, multiple use for a one-time use fee, or strike other deals with you to get the sale.

But those deals still do not include turning over lucrative opt-in email lists to the end-user. It's a line the legitimate list brokers/managers/owners are not prepared to cross.

Times are undoubtedly tough in the list industry. As a list user, you can expect brokerage consolidation soon. Expect to see marginally performing lists disappear off the rental market. Expect new selects that will help you dig down to find exactly the right people for your project. Expect new "hidden fees" for "special services" to emerge. And expect prices to keep moving around.

On a less upbeat note, you can expect a plethora of fly-by-night operators who offer a terrific-sounding product for an amazingly low price. If the offering price seems too good to be true, (I've seen offers of 100,000 records with full postal and email information for $99!), then it probably isn't true. Walk away. Don't let opportunistic predators into your wallet.

The list industry is in a bit of an upheaval right now. "Hard Times" to be exact. And that's the name of that tune.

Coming soon! To a mailbox near you! The next Great American Make-Over! Starring: The United States Post Office!

Not unlike the popular TV show in which a busload of contractors arrive at a home of a deserving-but-beleaguered "every family," intent on re-inventing the dilapidated structure (while sending the gob-struck family to Disney World for a week), the USPS is starting a dramatic make-over of its own. But without the diversionary trip to Disney.

Not unlike the TV show, the heroes in the rock-star bus do not show up until the last second, when the inhabitants are at its collective wits' end.

Not unlike the TV show, no one really knows what the outcome will be until later. And no one truly knows if folks will like what they get.

While not beset with awful diseases like these TV families, the USPS is seriously ailing and needs help fast.

Acknowledging that its current business model is unsustainable, USPS management cites huge declines in mail volume (thank you, internet and email)...as well as expensive-to-maintain, but probably-no-longer-necessary facilities...the folks who work (or don't have enough work to keep busy) in those underutilized facilities...and the dreaded Congressionally-mandated retirement pre-funding.

The cumulative effect is that the USPS has been saying if things are not resolved, they will be insolvent by September 30th.

Cue the bus. It's time for triage.
The USPS has manfully tried to forestall the current situation. Since 2006 it has closed 186 facilities, deep-sixed 1,500+ pieces of equipment, and decreased staff by more than 110,000. Result: $12 billion saved.

Good start, but not enough.

Realizing that it needs to save $3 billion (that's billion with a "B"!) a year, the USPS is considering closing or merging 250 more processing facilities, reducing equipment by another 50%, decreasing the transportation network, and eliminating up to 35,000 more jobs.

Ouch!

So what does this mean to those of us who mail to promote our businesses or non-profits, and hope to see mail in our mailboxes when we get home every night?

#1. Time delays. Fewer people and less equipment could mean delivery delays. The USPS Standards of Performance tell the tale:

Standards of Performance
	Today	Proposed
Priority	1-3 days	1-3 days
First Class	1-3 days	2-3 days
Periodicals	1-9 days	2-9 days
Standard Mail	3-10 days	3-10 days

OK, that's not too bad, all things considered. But what about...

#2. Postage increases. Count on it. Stay tuned.

#3. Closure of local post offices. Absolutely. Non-profitable locations—mostly in small towns—are already packing up.

#4. Procedural changes for mailhouses. No doubt. But exactly what and when is still TBD. Among the items on the table are:

• Reduced points of entry for dropshipped mail
• Rate changes in zone-based mail
• Schedule shuffling to meet required "in home" dates

So when will this take effect? September 30th is, after all, just days away.

Protocol requires that the USPS (1) put its proposal out for public comment. That happened on Thursday, Sept 15th. Then the USPS (2) asks the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) for approval. The PRC (3) considers, then proposes. A "reasonable amount of time must pass" before the USPS implements any nationwide service change (4).

Using the debt-ceiling debaters as a role model for bureaucratic efficiency, the USPS hopes to have its proposal presented to the PRC (step 2, above) by the end of October—one month into its insolvency.

The PRC is expected to respond by—well, we really don't know. But the USPS says it hopes to begin its consolidation and constriction efforts (step 4) by February or March of 2012. Only six months after its September 30th deadline for insolvency.

Adding more stress: The economy is showing few signs of recovery. The Super Committee (Debt Ceiling Part 2) isn't making headway yet. And the American public is understandably antsy.

Cue the bus! Disney World is looking better by the minute.

Psst! I'm talking to YOU! Almost 8 hints to cut through the noise

Machines run our lives today. They ring. They beep. They vibrate. They unfailingly demand our attention. And if you're like most of us, you readily give in to their insistent electronic demands. That we can still function despite all the electronic distraction is a testament to our capacity to multi-task.

Multi-tasking is both an amazing intellectual skill unique to humans and the bane of a marketer's existence. For to be successful in marketing, you've got to get someone's attention. And that means cutting through all the cacophony of electronic noise that fills heads today.

As a marketer, you know the first challenge is to make your message heard above the noise...to make people stop, listen and respond to your message. But it isn't as easy as it sounds. "Psst! I'm talking to you!" has never been more difficult.

But hey! You're in marketing, and you're up for a good challenge. So here are a few techniques to help you combat the multi-tasking madness:

1. Repetition. If they don't hear you the first time, say it again. How many times a day do you hear ads for McDonalds? It's about getting someone's attention and cutting through the clutter. And coincidentally about selling a burger or two.
2. Choose your Audience carefully. Studies show that 40% of your success is based on the list you use. If the audience is wrong, your message—even a brilliantly creative one—will fail.
3. Personalization. Catch your recipient's attention—at least momentarily. Call them by name. Refer to their last purchase/donation by date or dollar amount. Mention their hobby or passion. Make your message about them. After all, everybody likes to talk about themselves.
4. Timeliness. Make your message pertinent to your recipient. It is no coincidence that Super Bowl ads often have football themes.
5. KISS it. Keep it short and simple. Attention spans are shortening. Recipients only have so much time they will expend on your message. They've got to get back to their texting, after all.
6. Make it amusing. They may not have much time, but everyone likes to laugh.
7. Experiment. If your message or audience isn't suited to one media, change your message, change your audience or change your media. Find the combination that yields best results, then "work it."
8. Repetition. Successful marketing today is a lot like voting in old-time Chicago. Market them early and market them often. And yes, I am repeating myself.

You get the picture. Marketing in this noisy environment is not for the faint of heart, but there are techniques that will make you more successful.

I could go on, but Dancing With the Stars is starting soon, I've got to check my email and the phone is ringing.

I know you understand.

Do you want Tea or Coffee? Multi-tasking makes it tough on marketers

Anyone who has a kid (or a wife/husband, for that matter) will understand. Ever ask a simple question ("Do you want tea or coffee?") and get "uh-huh" or "Yes, Mom" for an answer?

Someone didn't hear, wasn't listening or was probably multi-tasking. Maybe all three.

Our brains only have so much capacity. But ask a tricky question (Tea? Coffee?) of someone whose mind is focused elsewhere (football? Grand Theft Auto?) and you can expect a lot less than their full time and attention.

Consider this: a report from the University of California at San Diego says that in 2008 Americans spent 1.3 trillion leisure hours consuming information. That's leisure hours! Or 12 hours per day every day for each one of us.

Since we typically use 9 hours at work (or enroute) + 8 hours in sleep and the length of the day is still 24 hours, we are cramming 12 hours of information processing into the 7 remaining hours, assuming we do nothing else. No eating. No exercising. No shopping. No showering. No walking the dog. Nothing else. Just processing information.

We do it by multi-tasking.

Watch TV and check your email—that's multi-tasking. Multi-task for an hour, and you earn 2 hours in the UCSD study. Play video games and listen to music all Saturday afternoon, while texting your friends regularly and you'll really rack up the hours. See how easy it is?

UCSD says we each spend 5 hours in front of the TV per day...2 hours with the radio...2 hours on the computer...1 hour gaming...36 minutes reading print media and 27 minutes listening to recorded music.

No wonder a deeply philosophical question like Tea or Coffee gets lost in all the noise!

All this noise presents an immense marketing challenge. As the media options expand (remember, in 2008 there was no Wii, no I-pad, no Droids or i-phones, and FaceBook and Twitter were just getting a head of steam) our challenges will only increase.

What are you doing to get your message heard through all that jumble of noise?

I'd love to hear from you! If you can spare the time away from Pandora.