So you think you've got it hard now? IRS eliminates 14% of nonprofits

With a click of the computer, the IRS has trimmed 275,000 nonprofits—or about 14% of the national total—from its roster of tax-exempt organizations, claiming that the organizations had not filed legally required documents for three consecutive years.

Three years??! Now that's a Big Oopsie! They shoulda oughta known.

While some of the de-listed groups are doubtless defunct, most are small charities providing vital services to their local communities, including food banks, clothing distribution centers, art centers, abused women counseling, resume' preparation assistance, abandoned animal rescue and fostering, and help to injured firemen, policemen or veterans. Especially at risk are very small nonprofits with annual revenues under $25,000.

Wait a minute! These are the "below the radar" groups who are repairing the shredded safety net in our communities every day. They make life livable for thousands of our neighbors!

Because of their small size and limited staff, (who are busy doing the work we've asked them to do!) many of these groups may not be aware that they have a three-year filing requirement (enacted by Congress in 2006 to better track groups claiming tax-exempt status). Congress gave micro groups three years to comply; larger groups must file annually.

Hold on! 2006? That was a whole different landscape. We need every possible do-gooder on the scene now to help those affected by this intractable recession.

So as to not appear cold-hearted about the public whacking, the IRS is offering to assist groups that are still active regain their tax exempt status.

Groups that find themselves de-listed can apply for retroactive tax-exempt status. Applying can cost as much as $850, but the fee can be reduced for small groups with legitimate reasons why they failed to file in a timely fashion. (Too busy serving the community during the worst recession since 1929? That works for me!)

Larger groups seeking retroactive reinstatement may not see as much generosity of spirit from the IRS.

These words were hard to type and may never leave my fingertips again: Thank you, IRS. These groups are vital to the wellbeing of millions of Americans. Any assistance you can provide is appreciated.

And here's a final word to my generous readers: If you donate to one of these groups, your gifts made after de-listing will not be tax exempt. At such time as the group is reinstated, then your generous gifts once again became tax exempt.

Doing it By the Numbers...

If a picture is worth a thousand words, sometimes a few statistics can trigger a million thoughts. To wit:

52%. Percent of total US mail volume that is direct mail.

$45.2 billion. The sum US businesses spent on direct mail in 2010—a 3.1% increase over 2009.

$48 billion. The projected expenditure in the US for direct mail in 2011—a 5.8% increase over 2010.

149 million. The number of addresses to which the USPS delivers mail.

171 billion. The number of pieces of mail delivered by the USPS in 2010.

$5.2 billion. The estimated amount in fundraising driven by non-catalog direct mail in 2010.

13.5 billion. The number of catalogs mailed in 2009.

15% and 12%. The percentage of consumers receiving respectively a catalog or a letter/postcard/flyer who then made a purchase on the company's website.

28%. The additional sum spent by individuals who received a catalog compared to individuals who did not receive a catalog.

43%. The number of B to B campaigns that fall in the 5,000 to 50,000-piece range.

33%. The number of B to B campaigns that fall in the 1,000 to 5,000-piece range.

391,000. The average number of pieces of mail processed at the USPS per minute. That's 23 million per hour and 563 million every day, in case you're curious. And yes, I know this number doesn't tally with the 171 billion number quoted earlier. It's another example of how statisticians and their numbers lie.

41.5 million. The number of address changes in 2010.

40%. Estimated percentage of new movers who changed addresses for economic reasons in recent years.

98%. The percent of consumers who collect their mail every day.

77%. The percent of consumers who sort through their mail immediately upon arrival.

3.1 million. The number of individuals employed in the direct mail industry.

A penny. What I'm willing to pay for your thoughts after reading these statistics.

Postal Rates Going up. But not for everyone. And then, not by much. Usually.

Unless you've had your head in the sand for the last decade, you know that the post office has been hemorrhaging money. Despite aggressively cutting jobs, closing facilities and taking draconian measures to staunch the flow, the loss continued in 2010, with the USPS losing $8.5 billion. (That's Billion with a "B"! dear reader.)

Desperate to reverse the trend, but hamstrung by legislation that mandates the USPS can not ask for increases in excess of inflation year over year, the USPS has proposed a very modest rate change that will increase postage 1.7% in a blended average over all mail classes. The increase, which goes into effect in April, will generate only about $340 million in 2011 to fill the deep hole that the USPS is in. But every little bit helps.

The really good news for mailers is that most will see minimal—if any—changes.

For instance, 4.25x6 postcard rates will rise by a penny, to 29 cents. First Class Presort rates for postcards will also rise, but only by fractions of a cent. And by "fractions of a cent" I mean one or two tenths of a cent.

Carrier Route saturation rates remain virtually unchanged—except for the same fraction-of-a-cent increases for DBMC deliveries, and at less dense delivery models.

Non-Profit and Standard mail will similarly remain virtually changed except in the fraction-of-a-cent category for less dense delivery models.

Periodicals—a target of recent huge rate hikes—will see only a 1.8% increase this time.

First class letters will remain at 44 cents. But for "overweight" letters, the additional ounce will go to 20 cents—one of the heftiest increases at almost 18%.

Other big increases will be First-Class flats which will increase by 5.3%, and first-class parcels which will see a 3.8% increase. First-Class international mail will also increase by 4%, and some parcels will see a whopping 11.3% increase.

So here's the bottom line: while there is a postal increase in the offing, the news is hardly doom-and-gloom for most of us. We should all be grateful for small (1.7%) favors.

Marketing in Miserable Times

The economy is slow. That doesn’t mean your marketing should be!

I admit it. This article may appear to be a bit self-serving. But it is also intended to help you survive the interminable recession. After all, marketing is the first department cut in bad times, so you’re probably trying to survive with a skeleton crew.

If you’re like most of us, your first inclination is to tighten your belt. That’s what Kmart did during the 2001 recession. After two months of decreasing its marketing, Kmart saw sales drop 5%. Bottom line: Kmart lost more in sales than they saved in advertising costs.

Kmart’s blunder is borne out by studies dating back two generations to the Great Depression. A 1927 study shows that companies which invested their marketing dollars well in the depth of the Depression gained market share and kept the momentum going afterwards. Companies that cut back were cut out.

If data from 1927 sounds like ancient history and therefore not applicable to today’s world, consider a 1993 study published by Penton Media which said “businesses that maintain aggressive marketing programs during a recession outperform companies that rely more on cost cutting measures.”

OK, cutting costs is truly important. Duh! But cutting communications with your base is cutting your own throat. Smart companies continue the dialogue, even in hard times. They listen and they learn.

Communicate with your customers. Email,…direct mail…telephone…visit them in person. You pick the method. Mix ‘em and match ‘em. But keep the channels of communication open.

Look for ways to differentiate yourself from the other guys. Use ideas, formats and technologies that maybe your base or industry hasn’t seen before.

Sure, you say. It’s Big Talk, but we have no budget.

So you think you’re different from everybody else out there? A small budget is just a big opportunity to be more creative!

If you’ve got nothing to invest but sweat equity, here are several ideas that might just help.

#1. Offer your customers and prospects something that they need. Something truly useful. It can be a whitepaper on your own industry trends (if you’re academically ambitious), a coupon (great for retailers), or an email newsletter providing relevant tips (it works—after all, you’re reading one now!)

#2. Promote your special offering through an online channel like a blog, e-newsletter or twitter. Point to a unique URL and require people to leave a small amount of personal data (name/address/phone/email) to “qualify” to receive the free info. Be sure to capture that data to track responses and capture potential sales leads.

#3. A number of industry websites are offering free whitepaper distribution. Simply let your industry association or leading industry publications know that you have created such a document and let them promote it for you, too.

#4. Seek out free publicity. For instance, one of our clients was recently featured in the Washingtonian Magazine as one of the best non-profits in the area. The extra coverage gave them great visibility and the third party blessing lent enormous credibility. Boy, did we make good use of that in their year-end appeal!

#5. Ask the eloquent and informed on your staff to do speeches at trade association meetings, chamber of commerce events, and other similar public events.

#6. Market your in-house experts to the media who always need a current list of who-knows-what about obscure topics. These in-house experts can keep your company name in the public eye and lend credibility to your company as leading industry experts.

#7. Recycle. Go to your industry periodicals and offer to write articles for them on leading indicators, trends, legislation that is changing your industry, etc. If you’ve done #1 and #5 above, the information is at your fingertips. Reuse it to your own benefit.

#8. Recycle the recycling. Go to your customer’s industry periodicals and offer the same information. Be sure to re-package it to get rid of any inherent industry jargon that may have crept in when you wrote for your own peers.

If you’re lucky enough to have a bit of coin to spend on direct marketing, here are some ideas that cost, but can have big pay-offs, too! Use techniques and technologies that your customers and prospects haven’t seen before. It will make you stand out from the clutter.

#9. One of our clients launched a PURL (personalized URL) program to better communicate with its marketbase. The two-way communications channel is open 24/7 and is exceeding expectations so far.

#10. Another client is using VDP—Variable Data Printing—to market to his base. If you bought a blue Camry from this dealership in 2002, then your “Buy Back” postcard shows a blue 2002 Camry. The client is using variable graphics the way other people use variable data. Eye catching? Attention grabbing? You bet! The last postcard sold 47 cars in one weekend!

#11. Another client is using VDP to create customized brochures which he is using as a “leave behind” when he markets his services to prospects. Each brochure has the name of the buyer and his/her company prominently printed on it in color. He’d have to create a leave-behind piece anyway. For just a bit more money, he’s got a truly eye-popping document that says a lot about his firm and how innovative it is.
See where this is heading? Sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees. Sometimes you just need to brainstorm with someone else.

There are a lot of no-cost and low-cost ideas that we can use to help you promote your company. Additionally, we’re bursting with ideas and energy to help you make your marketing the most innovative stuff around.

Call Ellen at Paul&Partners (703-996-0800) if you want someone to bounce ideas off. Or if you need an “out of the box” thinker to help you a bit.

Remember, when times are tough, the tough get going. Which side of the fence are YOU sitting on?

Paul & Partners Direct Marketing

43670 Trade Center Place,

Suite 150,

Dulles, VA 20166

Phone: 703.996.0800 Fax: 703.996.0888 1.866.365.2858

www.paulandpartners.net sales@paulandpartners

I am soooooo bored...

I am sooo bored. For a workaholic like me, a week at the beach is an eternity away from the excitement of the office. Sunbathing isn’t good for me. Getting sand in my ears and everywhere isn’t my thing. Sipping Pina Coladas before 4:00?—just too decadent. Yes, I am a desperately bored woman.

But I do have my computer, so I’ve decided to turn to you for help.

Send me your questions about postal regulations, direct mail strategies, postage pricing, using personalization, getting the best bang for your direct marketing buck. Or whatever is on your mind. If I can help, I will.

As your own personal downscale Dear Abby, I’ll try to offer advice geared to save you money, minimize your postage outlay, and enhance your response rates.

I want to hear from you. No, I need to hear from you! ellen@paulandpartners.net or 703-996-0800

Save me! My brain is stupefying.

Paul&Partners Direct Marketing
43670 Trade Center Place,
Suite 150, Dulles, VA 20166
Phone: 703.996.0800 Fax: 703.996.0888 1.866.365.2858
http://www.paulandpartners.net/ sales@paulandpartners

Why do I like direct mail?

As a marketer, I like direct mail because it is a proven marketing technique that’s been around for years. Yes, it’s a bit old fashioned. But that’s not always a bad thing. You can get hurt on a cutting edge. It’s all perspective.

I like the preparation and planning that goes into a mailing. The thousand and one decisions that can make or break the campaign. The copy. The graphics. List segmentation. Proofs and press checks. Deadlines and re-dos. The stress and the pressure. The teamwork. And the feeling when it’s all over that “We got it right.”

If, as my wise Grandmother used to say, “Anticipation is half the fun of getting there” then that time waiting for the mail to hit is indeed a delicious pins-and-needles pleasure. But much like Alaskans who wager on the day and hour when the frozen river will break up in spring, we wait anxiously for the day when the mail hits.

Watching early returns come in is like a game of expanding geography. First the areas closest to our mailing point come in, then spreading farther afield, moving from East Coast to West Coast in a predictable pattern validating our pre-launch planning.

As a user of direct mail, I know it works. I see responses come in, building housefiles, making sales and providing information we can use to make our next campaign even better. Every response is validates the planning process and ultimate execution. Our team rocks!

I value how targetable direct marketing is. I know that by pinpointing our message to each audience in our universe, we can make our approach more personal and generate more response. Manipulative? Maybe a little. Marketing magic? Absolutely!

I appreciate how statistically quantifiable direct mail marketing is. No other media allows us to know exactly how many people received our message, how many opted to respond, and at what level of commitment. It proffers verifiable, concrete proof of performance.

On the other hand, as a recipient, I like direct mail because it lets me choose who/what to let into my home, my head, my wallet. It’s polite and gracious, allowing me to respond as I deem appropriate.
I like direct mail for its “keeper” value. I can act on it immediately, or I can store it away for action later. I go back to it when or if I want to, on my time, at my convenience. I keep catalogs so I can see fashion trends on the horizon—and confirm just how truly hopeless I am.

I like direct mail because it has tactile value. I can hold it in my hand. It has physical heft and reality.

I like direct mail because it has a wonderful freshly printed smell that is faintly reminiscent of my Father’s beloved workshop.

My bottom line: I like direct mail because it works. On so many levels.

Need help with your direct mail marketing? Consult a professional like Paul&Partners. We’ll help you navigate the postal regulations to ensure you get the best postage rate available to you. We’ll help you design a package that is the right one for you and your budget.

Check us out at www.PaulandPartners.net. Let us know how we can help make your next marketing program more successful.

43670 Trade Center Place, Suite 150, Dulles, VA 20166

Phone: 703.996.0800 Fax: 703.996.0888 1.866.365.2858

www.paulandpartners.net sales@paulandpartners

The Death of Direct Mail?

If Mark Twain famously wrote that "rumors of my death are highly exaggerated" much the same can be said of direct mail marketing. Just look at these new statistics:

Nearly 40% of American consumers have tried a new business because of information they received from that business via direct mail. (DMNews/Pitney Bowes survey)

That same survey also disclosed that nearly 70% of consumers have renewed a relationship with a business because they received direct mail from that business.

And if having those overwhelming figures in your favor isn't enough, consider this:

* Most consumers say they prefer mail as the delivery method for "must-read" documents. (infoPrint Solutions)

So if you are not considering incorporating direct mail marketing into your marketing plans, then you are missing a real opportunity to reconnect with old friends and make new ones. That means lost opportunity for you. And lost opportunity = fewer $$. Fewer $$ means...well, you get the picture.

Consider this: despite the current economy, 29% of marketing professionals indicate they are increasing their 2009 marketing budgets. More than 40% say they are maintaining their 2008 budget levels. So that's almost 70% of marketing pros maintaining or increasing marketing dollars.

The pros know. Direct marketing is good for business.

Trim your marketing spending by even a smidgeon, and it can cost you big. The now-classic textbook case of Kmart proves the point.

In the 2001 recession, Kmart cut marketing slightly for two months in the early fall. In month 1 of the cutback, Kmart sales dropped by an astounding 5%, costing them more in sales than they saved by trimming back on the marketing budget. Management quickly reversed the decision and put bucks back into the marketing budget.

Need more proof of the vitality of direct mail marketing? Here you go....

Can you guess what is the most dependable, most response-trackable media? You got it: Direct Mail. Only direct mail can tell you exactly how many pieces you mailed to generate a specific response.

TV can deliver "eyeballs" but those eyeballs are often snoozing in front of the tube. Radio brings "ears" but those ears may be tuning out your message. Newspapers are losing so much marketshare that they are shutting down. On-line ads are annoying, expensive, and/or ignorable. Only direct mail requires that you interact with it.

When someone gets direct mail, he has to make a conscious decision to read it or toss it. He can't just ignore it. That split second as he makes his read-it-or-toss-it decision gives you, the marketer, a little window of opportunity to get your message across.

It's a tiny window, but it's often enough. When 40% of the American public says direct mail influences their buying patterns, you've just got to go with the flow. Ignore direct mail at your own financial peril.

Need help with your direct mail marketing? Consult with a professional like Paul&Partners. We'll help you navigate the postal regulations to ensure you get the best postage rate available to you. We'll help you design a package that is the right one for you and your budget.

Check us out at www.PaulandPartners.net. Let us know how we can help make your next marketing program more successful.

43670 Trade Center Place, Suite 150, Dulles, VA 20166
Phone: 703.996.0800 Fax: 703.996.0888 1.866.365.2858
www.paulandpartners.net sales@paulandpartners