Ya Gotta Start Somewhere, Step One: Getting the Most Out of Your Catalog Printer
A few points to add to last week’s article on where to start, then on to today’s topic.
The good news is, there are many places to learn about catalog marketing.
Earlier in my direct marketing career, when I switched to the specialization of catalogs, I found Catalog Success magazine to be an enormous resource. There also are a lot of great books on general direct marketing, but not many about cataloging. The one book I found, which has become the go-to guide for me, is “How to Profit Through Catalog Marketing” by Katie Muldoon (NTC Business Books, 1995). While it’s currently out of print, you can buy a used copy from most online booksellers.
I’m also an advocate of education in general, which is why last year I started teaching direct marketing at Miami International University. As it happened, in 1993 after I sold my publishing company, it was New York University’s Direct Marketing Certificate program that really jump-started my career in direct. Currently, there are a number of universities that offer courses in direct marketing, right up to an MBA level.
Also, regarding my mention of the Direct Marketing Association, there are local chapters in many cities throughout the country. There are some other mail order clubs, too. Also, there is an organization called the National Mail Order Association (www.nmoa.org) that can help as well.
Getting Print Bids From Catalog Printers:
If you look at a catalog printer’s price quote, and you’re not already in the catalog business, you may be awfully confused. I know I was the first time I got a catalog print quote.
The thing is, with a catalog printer you’re not just getting a quote on printing alone. The most efficient catalog printers — and the only ones from which you should get quotes — also do the following:
- Categories:
- Printing/Production
Jim Gilbert has had a storied career in direct and digital marketing resulting in a burning desire to tell stories that educate, inform, and inspire marketers to new heights of success.
After years of marketing consulting, Jim decided it was time to “put his money where his mouth was" and build his own e-commerce company, Premo Natural Products, with its flagship product, Premo Guard Bed Bug & Mite Sprays. Premo in its second year is poised to eclipse 100 percent growth.
Jim has been writing for Target Marketing Group since 2006, first on the pages of Catalog Success Magazine, then as the first blogger for its online division. Jim continues to write for Total Retail.
Along the way, Jim has led the Florida Direct Marketing Association as their Marketing Chair and then three-term President, been an Adjunct Professor of Direct and Digital marketing for Miami International University, and created a lecture series, “The 9 Immutable Laws of Social Media Marketing,” which he has presented across the country at conferences and universities.
