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Direct-Mail Marketing Gems

By 5,000 Printers

When we started Ink Inc. back in 1988, we had no idea how successful we – and our customers – would be. Over the years, more than 5,000 printers have used our newsletters and other direct mail products. We estimate our subscribers have mailed more than 57,600,000 pieces of direct mail marketing using our artwork during that time.

We've had tens of thousands of conversations with printers about what marketing ideas work and which ones don't. These observations and feedback from our subscribers past and present represent what we call “the greatest marketing advice ever.” Here is a summary of some of the best thoughts and ideas we've compiled from those conversations.

It takes about 8-9 months of consistent mailing before you start to see results from direct mail. You have to view it as an investment in the future... not a quick fix.
  • Over the years, we've had approximately 2,200 customers cancel their subscriptions because “direct mail doesn't work.” Today, roughly 1,820 of those printers are out of business.
  • A lot of business owners in your community don't even know your printing firm exists. How can they know if you don't tell them?
  • Most printers are very gifted creatively, but those who use their creative skills to design marketing materials rarely succeed. Why? They're too busy managing their businesses, so they never quite get around to finishing their marketing materials.
  • It costs more – way more – to create marketing materials in-house than it does to use a service (like ours) that provides pre-formatted artwork. The average time to research, write, and edit an 11x17 newsletter is 16-23 hours each month. The same newsletter takes an additional 18-24 hours each month to design. It is estimated that you'll save between 87% and 90% of your monthly development costs by choosing us as your content provider, rather than creating your own newsletter in-house.
  • Technical newsletters that inform and educate customers are far less effective than general content newsletters. It's easier to find technical content for newsletters – and we'd all love to educate customers – but they simply don't work very well. Most customers aren't interested in reading a lot of facts about our industry. They would rather read a newsletter that entertains them, or provides them with good ideas for doing their jobs more effectively.
  • Many printers have told us that you can expect your employees and families to be the biggest critics of your marketing materials. They'll squawk about everything. If you don't ignore them, they'll eventually convince you to stop what you're doing. They mean well, so just give them a hug... and don't quit marketing.
  • You and your coworkers will know your newsletter is “canned,” but your customers won't.
  • Virtually every survey ever done analyzing direct mail marketing lists it as one of the top two or three ways to grow your business. It often finishes #1. Yet fewer than five printers in 100 mail regularly, and less than two in 100 mail monthly. Thus, direct mail marketing (in most areas) presents a wonderful opportunity to gain front-of-mind awareness for your printing firm.
  • Consistency is more important than style. Doing whatever it takes to get your mailing out is far more important than how it looks. Of course, you want your marketing materials to look good, but don't keep delaying your mailings just because you want to get things perfect. Get it good – and mail it!
Of course, not all printers are willing to share their advice so freely. We know about 15 very successful printers who mail and mail and mail multiple campaigns to tens of thousands of businesses in their communities on a consistent basis. What do they all have in common? Secrecy.

These guys have found a goldmine, and we can hardly pry information out of them. They don't even want to drop a hint to their competitors about how successful their direct mail marketing is.

Virtually all of them started as quick printers and now have $2-$7 million shops, with four, five, and six-color presses. Most have added mailing services to their product line, and most are heavily invested in digital color output. Another interesting common denominator is that many of the larger shops ($4 million +) have a person on staff whose sole job as marketing coordinator is to ensure the sales and marketing gets done on time each month.

On the flip side, about once a month, something very sad happens at our offices in Fargo. A printer, who is not a customer of ours, calls and says something like this: “We're in trouble. I'm losing money. Cash is gone, and if I don't do something fast, I'm afraid I'll go under and lose my print shop.” They then ask, “What can you do to help me?” Sadly, we have to say, “We're sorry, but there's nothing we can do. You've waited too long. You called 12 months too late.”

Don't wait until you find yourself in a similar situation. Listen to the “greatest marketing advice” from printers around the country. Take it to heart. Start using direct mail marketing to reach the businesses in your community. And begin to build momentum to grow your sales and profits, with consistent, proven direct mail.