Millennials continue to mystify marketers. Millennials are a massive buying power, but also notoriously hard to reach. They skim content, sniff out deceit and only engage on their terms.

With the summer coming to an end and the fall quickly approaching, you might not be thinking about the new year quite yet, but in the printing industry now is the time to get started on your 2018 calendar projects.

While an annual calendar may not seem like the most original marketing idea but the reality is that they are one of the best avenues to promote your company. 

With the way that Millennials and Boomers dominate discussions about generations, it’s easy to forget that other generations are also key buying powers. Generation Z – those born in 1995 or later – makes up 25.9% of the population. These are the future decision makers. If your current direct mail strategies aren't impacting Generation Z, there are some tweaks you can make to reach them where they live.

Direct mail marketing can be a powerful tool, allowing companies to reach past or potential customers who may not be actively engaged via email, social media or another medium. Direct mail encompasses a wide variety of materials, including postcards, newsletters, brochures, catalogs and more. It can be one of the easiest and most effective ways to reach out to new and existing clients.

Guilt is a powerful, negative emotion, one which has been used by Marketers for decades. Throughout history entire cultures have been influenced by guilt. A guilt culture is one in which social control is based on individuals believing certain behaviors are undesirable and avoiding those behaviors in order to prevent feelings of guilt. It is the internalization of a moral code which produces conformity. Marketers have learned to harness consumer feelings of guilt by crafting messages designed to elicit a specific response. Nonprofit organizations are especially adept at utilizing consumer guilt as a central theme of multi-channel marketing campaigns, and they have perfected direct mail solicitations which rely on the emotion.  79% of Nonprofits use direct mail, according to the DMA Statistical Fact Book 2016. Nonprofit class mail generates higher response rates than regular Standard class and First class mail. 

With a century of practical application, the validation of countless business and academic studies, and robust statistics supporting its effectiveness, direct mail marketing is firmly established as an essential marketing channel. Any marketer can create a successful campaign by sticking to the core elements of a quality list, appealing design, and a strong offer. You may be satisfied with achieving average response rates, but you could take your direct mail to the next level by triggering response through appealing to our hidden addictions.

You designed what you believed to be the perfect mail piece for your direct mail marketing project. You incorporated eye-popping color and catchy graphics. You narrowed down your target audience to the best possible prospects. You're sure you did everything right, but your mailing was a failure anyway. You find yourself asking how is this possible? Where did I go wrong?

When was the last time you received a birthday present, wrapped in decorative paper, tied with a brightly colored ribbon, and you chose not to unwrap the gift? If you’re like me the answer is never. What’s in the box? Shake it. Does it make a noise? Is there something loose inside rattling around? How heavy does it feel? What could fit inside? These are some of the thoughts that might go through your mind.

The cost of paper is one of the most important considerations for any print project. In fact, paper can account for 50% or more of the total project cost. If your marketing budget is slimmer than ever, you may be tempted to buy your own paper from a paper mill or distributor as an alternative to buying it through your printer. But does buying your own paper really save you time and money?