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    Tube Cuts Made Easy - A Cutting-Edge Technology
    Dynasties fall, empires break, seasons pass—but one thing that never ends is mankind’s technological progress. To prove it one more time and this time, with remarkable prospects, laser tube processing has come to make things easier for the tube-cutting industry. Laser cuts being a reality now, production efforts have sharply shrunk to a minimum of 50%; and quality has spiked like never before.Who would want to rely on high-frequency systems or flying cutoff machines to cut tubes and pipes anymore, when the same job is done faster and better with lasers? Now that doesn’t await an answer of course. For, the arrival of lasers has changed the face of tube fabrication. The flexibility of laser application has enhanced tube-cutting production both in quality and quantity, and with a speed much higher than what would have been possible in other manual processes.Using lasers to cut tubes and pipes has been a practice since the 1970s; but, today it is being applied to many other manufacturing processes. As demand grew, manual processes fell short of meeting expectations, thereby giving way to laser cutting systems. Designs and techniques, which seemed an impossibility, are now being created on a dedicated tube processing laser.Here’s how lasers make it bold and brilliant:The First CutLaser tube cutting allows amazing accuracy, with hardly any tool wear. It also allows cuts without any burr, dross, or contamination, thus making these proper for a clean
    ay you send out 5000 postcards.

    Out of that 5000, 150 hang onto your postcard.

    Out of that 5000, so many call the 1st week.

    Out of that 5000, so many call the 2nd week.

    Out of that 5000, so many call the next month.

    Out of that 5000, so many call in 6 months.

    Out of that 5000, so many never call…

    There is a dwindling inflow from that first mailing and therefore can give a false impression of what occurs from one mailing. Someone sends out a postcard and says, “I only got four responses from my mailing!” But there is a whole dynamic that is going on that is continuing from that one mailing way after the person who sent the mailing expects things to happen. Think about it. Do you jump at every single advertisement that you get bombarded with that you think is a good idea? If you do, you are either a millionaire or broke. But most likely, you see some advertisement that catches your interest and say to yourself that you’d like to check that out some day. Then, you see it again and remember that you wanted to check that out one day. And then, you see it again and this time you decide to check it out.

    You want continuous and consistent growth. So what do you do? Look at this scenario:

    What if, You send out 5000 postcards one week and you have all that going on that I mentioned above.

    You send out 5000 the next week and you have all that going on that I mentioned above.

    You send out 5000 the next week and that dwindling flow chart is going on, on each one of those outflows.

    What is going to happen? Eventually it is going to snowball – it’s coming in from all different places!

    You are really putting your communication out there consistently in a big way.

    And yes, it costs a lot of money to do it. (Once you have your list which you’ll use over and over – only paying for it once – postage is more then 55% of your costs) So, FIND THE MONEY. If you are going to borrow money to do a business, spend that borrowed money on marketing!

    Start with a list and mail to one list one week, another list the next week

    Writing an Annual Report - How to Put Together the Lists
    Lists of donors, board members, and sometimes staff are included in a nonprofit annual report, often on the report’s final pages. Here are five frequently asked questions about these lists.Do we need to list absolutely everyone who donated any amount of money?No. Many organizations set a minimum dollar amount for inclusion in the annual report to keep the donor list to a reasonable length (one or two pages in an 8-12 page report, three-four pages in longer reports). Smaller donors can be recognized publications like a newsletter. Rather than using expensive printed pages in the annual report some nonprofits photocopy the full list and insert it into the report that way.How should the donor list be organized? You can either organize the list alphabetically or group donors according to the level of contribution and alphabetically within those categories.Seven of our donors want to remain anonymous. How do we recognize them? If you have several donors who wish to remain anonymous, you can list “Anonymous” once as the first entry in the list or you can include a brief statement at the beginning or end of the list thanking all the donors who wish to remain anonymous.Should we list non-voting, honorary, or advisory board members? The main list under your "Board of Directors" heading should include only the voting members. If there is space, you can list other categories of board members under an appropriate
    The number of businesses using direct mail marketing now compared to how many used this medium 10 to 15 years ago is staggeringly higher. More and more marketers understand its effectiveness and are on the bandwagon - especially Mortgage Brokers.

    Years back the novelty of receiving an advertisement in your mailbox was such that any direct mail pieces were not only looked at but mulled over. Not so anymore. The term ‘junk mail’ was coined sometime since then and I’m sure you’ve thrown out your fair share of unread pieces enough to understand why. So, what can you do about it as a marketer? How can you ensure you get the biggest bang for your direct mail dollar? Now more than ever, you have to understand how to put together a direct mail piece. More than ever you have to really target your mailing to go to a specific market. And more than ever you need to be patient and learn how to campaign – because that is the key to success. Don’t get me wrong… direct mail is not dead – and I don’t see it dying any time soon. It is still the quintessential part of the largest company’s campaigns. Because it works.

    In this article I will teach you some of these three topics:
    • Designing a direct mail piece
    • Targeting your specific market
    • Campaigning

    A Great Design
    Many people think that the quality of any graphic design is determined by how aesthetically pleasing it is: Although making the card look good is important, this couldn't be further from the truth. The only true measure of any design, at least commercially, is "How well does it pull?". By pull we mean what type of response does it elicit? Does it pull in calls, or pull people into the store? In essence, does the design accomplish what it set out to do?

    From this fact it is not a reach to come to the conclusion that the merit of a graphic designer is based on the performance of his or her designs. You may be able to put together the most beautiful ad that the world has ever seen, but if it doesn't make the phone ring it isn't worth the paper that it is printed on.

    You need to make designs that are not only attractive but, more importantly, that get the response needed to turn a profit. You want to ensure people see your ad and want your services. In short, if the ad doesn't make you any money, it’s not a good ad.

    To BE or Not To BE
    Easy. Say there is a monkey loose in your office and you can't seem to get any work done. The only solution is to catch the little distraction and FedEx him back to the jungle that he came from. Question: How do you catch a monkey? You have to get into his head, think like him. You have to “BE” the monkey to find out what is going to bring him close enough for you to catch him.

    Every potential customer is like the monkey. They are going to do whatever they want unless you can persuade them to listen to you. You have to get into their head, think like them, “BE” them. A monkey is a simple animal so you can probably get his attention with the stereotypical banana.

    Human beings on the other hand are extremely complex. Then you add in the fact that the mailing list is targeted and it can get quite challenging. To help you answer the question of what you should say in your ad, you should use three things:

    • Reasoning
    • Experience
    • Research

    Take an unrelated subject to your own industry – sometimes it’s better learn that way. Pick something. Say you have an upscale Italian women’s shoe boutique. You want to appeal to women that like that sort of thing. Get in her head. What would make her want to buy from you? Remember, she gets bombarded with advertisements every day. What can you say that really draws her in? How about “Tired of Wearing the Same Styles as Everyone Else?” Have a graphic that supports the message - show a fantastic pair of shoes or better yet a good looking woman with a great pair of shoes on.

    Now pretend you are a family man or woman with a household income of the $75k with revolving debt of $15K and you’ve got two kids! Kids can be pretty expensive. So, why would you like to refinance?

    Find a Specialized Mailing List
    If there is one thing I can’t say enough it is that the most important part of your mailing campaign is your mailing list. It is vital that you put the right amount of energy into learning about lists – who to mail to – so that your mailing efforts aren’t wasted. There are a few different ways that you can get an adequately targeted list.

    As always the first step is to determine who your target market will be. Say you want to market to homeowners. Good, now we have narrowed it down to only 291,324 people in your area. As a minimum, your mailing campaign should send to the same names three times. So all you have to do is send out 873,972 postcards at $0.185 per piece & you get the point. We need to narrow it down some more.

    So how do you accomplish the narrowing of your list? Many factors can be considered, including age, gender, zip code, annual salary, profession and number of children are some of the more common qualifiers. It may take a while to figure out what combination works for your specific product. Don’t worry about political correctness when considering whom you should mail to. It is perfectly acceptable to test certain lists that may be considered "stereotypical". Many times these lists will work well. But you never know until you test them.

    No matter how great an idea you have about a certain market, ALWAYS DO A SMALLER TEST MAILING FIRST! Average test mailings run around 1000-1500 names. Once you see acceptable returns on the smaller mailing then you can jump in with the larger numbers. Test, test, test!

    The purpose of special mailing lists is to target a specific type of customer for your specific type of business. The eventual end result is more customers and a better bottom line. And this is what we all want, right?

    Repeating Your Message

    cam•paign n.

    1. A series of military operations undertaken to achieve a large-scale objective during a war: Grant's Vicksburg campaign secured the entire Mississippi for the Union.

    2. An operation or series of operations energetically pursued to accomplish a purpose: an advertising campaign for a new product; a candidate's political campaign.

    intr.v. cam•paigned, cam•paign•ing, cam•paigns

    To engage in an operation planned to achieve a certain goal: campaigned through the jungles of Vietnam; campaigned for human rights.

    [French campagne, from Italian campagna, field, military operation, from Late Latin camp nia, open country, battlefield, from Latin campus, field.]

    Definition number 2 above is the one we’re using. But from studying the entire definition along with the derivation (the word origin) you can see how all the definitions tie together. Campaigns for marketing are, in a nutshell, a series of advertising steps including repeat mailings that are strategically planned so that there is maximum benefit (more new customers) for your business.

    Nota bene (that means “take note” in Latin – and I do mean take note): If you are not doing repeat mailings then you are flushing money down toilet. Sorry, I know. The truth sometimes hurts.

    Why is this true? One mailing of one postcard once is barely going to get anyone’s attention for more then the minute they see it. Think about it. How many times have you seen the same TV commercials over and over? A one shot in the dark postcard mailing is not going to change your business, your bottom line, your life or your anything.

    So, if you are not up to confronting that you need to do a campaign then maybe you shouldn’t be in business. And that may sound harsh – it is harsh. It’s a harsh world. And I want you to succeed in it.

    There is another reason. Credibility. In some cases people will hold onto your postcard for a while. They can hold onto your postcard for six months. They may even hold on to your card for three years. But in most cases they’ll think “Oh, I may need that some day” and then while tidying up they’ll throw it away. When you repeat your mailings to those same people and they see your image, logo, slogan, message over and over you become credible to them. Your chances of them responding just got greater. Repeat mailings cannot be repeated enough.

    To give you an example, I call it the ‘Trickle Down Effect’:

    Say you send out 5000 postcards.

    Out of that 5000, 150 hang onto your postcard.

    Out of that 5000, so many call the 1st week.

    Out of that 5000, so many call the 2nd week.

    Out of that 5000, so many call the next month.

    Out of that 5000, so many call in 6 months.

    Out of that 5000, so many never call…

    There is a dwindling inflow from that first mailing and therefore can give a false impression of what occurs from one mailing. Someone sends out a postcard and says, “I only got four responses from my mailing!” But there is a whole dynamic that is going on that is continuing from that one mailing way after the person who sent the mailing expects things to happen. Think about it. Do you jump at every single advertisement that you get bombarded with that you think is a good idea? If you do, you are either a millionaire or broke. But most likely, you see some advertisement that catches your interest and say to yourself that you’d like to check that out some day. Then, you see it again and remember that you wanted to check that out one day. And then, you see it again and this time you decide to check it out.

    You want continuous and consistent growth. So what do you do? Look at this scenario:

    What if, You send out 5000 postcards one week and you have all that going on that I mentioned above.

    You send out 5000 the next week and you have all that going on that I mentioned above.

    You send out 5000 the next week and that dwindling flow chart is going on, on each one of those outflows.

    What is going to happen? Eventually it is going to snowball – it’s coming in from all different places!

    You are really putting your communication out there consistently in a big way.

    And yes, it costs a lot of money to do it. (Once you have your list which you’ll use over and over – only paying for it once – postage is more then 55% of your costs) So, FIND THE MONEY. If you are going to borrow money to do a business, spend that borrowed money on marketing!

    Start with a list and mail to one list one week, another list the next week a

    Management of Non Profits; Are all Non-Profits Inefficient?
    Most business people feel that Non Profits are highly inefficient like government agencies. Few would deny that government agencies are inefficient, yet many hold short when criticizing non-profits; why is this? Well we know from watching disaster response that many non-profit groups operating on a shoestring get the job done. They are often much more efficient than government throwing huge amounts of money at each problem.Are all non-profits inefficient or just the large organizations? Are non-profit groups inefficient in all nations? One business management consultant recently spoke of the situation in Canada; Rather, I have seen governmental and non-profit agencies around us here in Canada that are wasteful and inefficient.That happens everywhere bureaucracy is. So, NGOs, Government and the largest non-profits are always having this problem. But on the flip side look at GM, IBM, etc. Corporations also are often inefficient; even cheat to hide that fact to keep up shareholders equity and quarterly profits by calling in favors from government regulators, switcheroos on book-to-bill ratios or even cooking the books. Many are top-heavy, slow to get out of their own way and such.You know the school systems, United Nations, even the US Military has its moments and you just look and say; "Oh my gosh, can't they do better than that?" All bureaucracies of humans stagnate. Sports teams, which get too cocky, legislatures, committees? Our Canadian Business Management Consu
    are not only attractive but, more importantly, that get the response needed to turn a profit. You want to ensure people see your ad and want your services. In short, if the ad doesn't make you any money, it’s not a good ad.

    To BE or Not To BE
    Easy. Say there is a monkey loose in your office and you can't seem to get any work done. The only solution is to catch the little distraction and FedEx him back to the jungle that he came from. Question: How do you catch a monkey? You have to get into his head, think like him. You have to “BE” the monkey to find out what is going to bring him close enough for you to catch him.

    Every potential customer is like the monkey. They are going to do whatever they want unless you can persuade them to listen to you. You have to get into their head, think like them, “BE” them. A monkey is a simple animal so you can probably get his attention with the stereotypical banana.

    Human beings on the other hand are extremely complex. Then you add in the fact that the mailing list is targeted and it can get quite challenging. To help you answer the question of what you should say in your ad, you should use three things:

    • Reasoning
    • Experience
    • Research

    Take an unrelated subject to your own industry – sometimes it’s better learn that way. Pick something. Say you have an upscale Italian women’s shoe boutique. You want to appeal to women that like that sort of thing. Get in her head. What would make her want to buy from you? Remember, she gets bombarded with advertisements every day. What can you say that really draws her in? How about “Tired of Wearing the Same Styles as Everyone Else?” Have a graphic that supports the message - show a fantastic pair of shoes or better yet a good looking woman with a great pair of shoes on.

    Now pretend you are a family man or woman with a household income of the $75k with revolving debt of $15K and you’ve got two kids! Kids can be pretty expensive. So, why would you like to refinance?

    Find a Specialized Mailing List
    If there is one thing I can’t say enough it is that the most important part of your mailing campaign is your mailing list. It is vital that you put the right amount of energy into learning about lists – who to mail to – so that your mailing efforts aren’t wasted. There are a few different ways that you can get an adequately targeted list.

    As always the first step is to determine who your target market will be. Say you want to market to homeowners. Good, now we have narrowed it down to only 291,324 people in your area. As a minimum, your mailing campaign should send to the same names three times. So all you have to do is send out 873,972 postcards at $0.185 per piece & you get the point. We need to narrow it down some more.

    So how do you accomplish the narrowing of your list? Many factors can be considered, including age, gender, zip code, annual salary, profession and number of children are some of the more common qualifiers. It may take a while to figure out what combination works for your specific product. Don’t worry about political correctness when considering whom you should mail to. It is perfectly acceptable to test certain lists that may be considered "stereotypical". Many times these lists will work well. But you never know until you test them.

    No matter how great an idea you have about a certain market, ALWAYS DO A SMALLER TEST MAILING FIRST! Average test mailings run around 1000-1500 names. Once you see acceptable returns on the smaller mailing then you can jump in with the larger numbers. Test, test, test!

    The purpose of special mailing lists is to target a specific type of customer for your specific type of business. The eventual end result is more customers and a better bottom line. And this is what we all want, right?

    Repeating Your Message

    cam•paign n.

    1. A series of military operations undertaken to achieve a large-scale objective during a war: Grant's Vicksburg campaign secured the entire Mississippi for the Union.

    2. An operation or series of operations energetically pursued to accomplish a purpose: an advertising campaign for a new product; a candidate's political campaign.

    intr.v. cam•paigned, cam•paign•ing, cam•paigns

    To engage in an operation planned to achieve a certain goal: campaigned through the jungles of Vietnam; campaigned for human rights.

    [French campagne, from Italian campagna, field, military operation, from Late Latin camp nia, open country, battlefield, from Latin campus, field.]

    Definition number 2 above is the one we’re using. But from studying the entire definition along with the derivation (the word origin) you can see how all the definitions tie together. Campaigns for marketing are, in a nutshell, a series of advertising steps including repeat mailings that are strategically planned so that there is maximum benefit (more new customers) for your business.

    Nota bene (that means “take note” in Latin – and I do mean take note): If you are not doing repeat mailings then you are flushing money down toilet. Sorry, I know. The truth sometimes hurts.

    Why is this true? One mailing of one postcard once is barely going to get anyone’s attention for more then the minute they see it. Think about it. How many times have you seen the same TV commercials over and over? A one shot in the dark postcard mailing is not going to change your business, your bottom line, your life or your anything.

    So, if you are not up to confronting that you need to do a campaign then maybe you shouldn’t be in business. And that may sound harsh – it is harsh. It’s a harsh world. And I want you to succeed in it.

    There is another reason. Credibility. In some cases people will hold onto your postcard for a while. They can hold onto your postcard for six months. They may even hold on to your card for three years. But in most cases they’ll think “Oh, I may need that some day” and then while tidying up they’ll throw it away. When you repeat your mailings to those same people and they see your image, logo, slogan, message over and over you become credible to them. Your chances of them responding just got greater. Repeat mailings cannot be repeated enough.

    To give you an example, I call it the ‘Trickle Down Effect’:

    Say you send out 5000 postcards.

    Out of that 5000, 150 hang onto your postcard.

    Out of that 5000, so many call the 1st week.

    Out of that 5000, so many call the 2nd week.

    Out of that 5000, so many call the next month.

    Out of that 5000, so many call in 6 months.

    Out of that 5000, so many never call…

    There is a dwindling inflow from that first mailing and therefore can give a false impression of what occurs from one mailing. Someone sends out a postcard and says, “I only got four responses from my mailing!” But there is a whole dynamic that is going on that is continuing from that one mailing way after the person who sent the mailing expects things to happen. Think about it. Do you jump at every single advertisement that you get bombarded with that you think is a good idea? If you do, you are either a millionaire or broke. But most likely, you see some advertisement that catches your interest and say to yourself that you’d like to check that out some day. Then, you see it again and remember that you wanted to check that out one day. And then, you see it again and this time you decide to check it out.

    You want continuous and consistent growth. So what do you do? Look at this scenario:

    What if, You send out 5000 postcards one week and you have all that going on that I mentioned above.

    You send out 5000 the next week and you have all that going on that I mentioned above.

    You send out 5000 the next week and that dwindling flow chart is going on, on each one of those outflows.

    What is going to happen? Eventually it is going to snowball – it’s coming in from all different places!

    You are really putting your communication out there consistently in a big way.

    And yes, it costs a lot of money to do it. (Once you have your list which you’ll use over and over – only paying for it once – postage is more then 55% of your costs) So, FIND THE MONEY. If you are going to borrow money to do a business, spend that borrowed money on marketing!

    Start with a list and mail to one list one week, another list the next week

    EFT Frauds
    Electronic fund transfers is a secure and efficient system that assists electronic payments and collections. However, EFT systems and securities may contain loopholes creating possibilities for EFT frauds. Over the years, EFT frauds have resulted in losses running into the millions.Fraud in an EFT occurs as a result of unauthorized instruction, alteration of the amount or name of the receiver, etc. A number of electronic funds transfer frauds have involved the direct interception or modification of electronic data messages transmitted from the computers of financial institutions. This revelation also confirms that offenders have most likely worked inside the concerned financial institutions and operated upon so called secured systems.Risks of EFT frauds are enhanced if the electronic funds transfer system is dependant upon general telecommunication facilities. If the system provides authorized access to a large number of people, it automatically increases the chances of an EFT fraud. It is important to employ methods wherein unauthorized access to secure data is minimized.A dedicated communication network is considered to be less vulnerable to illegal access. This helps control and prevents EFT fraud. EFT frauds can take place at work by insiders and outsiders. Insiders are able to evade the sending body?s secured system and modify payment information. Outsiders may include controlled crime associates who have access to a network of illegal bank accounts. Fraud fr
    the most important part of your mailing campaign is your mailing list. It is vital that you put the right amount of energy into learning about lists – who to mail to – so that your mailing efforts aren’t wasted. There are a few different ways that you can get an adequately targeted list.

    As always the first step is to determine who your target market will be. Say you want to market to homeowners. Good, now we have narrowed it down to only 291,324 people in your area. As a minimum, your mailing campaign should send to the same names three times. So all you have to do is send out 873,972 postcards at $0.185 per piece & you get the point. We need to narrow it down some more.

    So how do you accomplish the narrowing of your list? Many factors can be considered, including age, gender, zip code, annual salary, profession and number of children are some of the more common qualifiers. It may take a while to figure out what combination works for your specific product. Don’t worry about political correctness when considering whom you should mail to. It is perfectly acceptable to test certain lists that may be considered "stereotypical". Many times these lists will work well. But you never know until you test them.

    No matter how great an idea you have about a certain market, ALWAYS DO A SMALLER TEST MAILING FIRST! Average test mailings run around 1000-1500 names. Once you see acceptable returns on the smaller mailing then you can jump in with the larger numbers. Test, test, test!

    The purpose of special mailing lists is to target a specific type of customer for your specific type of business. The eventual end result is more customers and a better bottom line. And this is what we all want, right?

    Repeating Your Message

    cam•paign n.

    1. A series of military operations undertaken to achieve a large-scale objective during a war: Grant's Vicksburg campaign secured the entire Mississippi for the Union.

    2. An operation or series of operations energetically pursued to accomplish a purpose: an advertising campaign for a new product; a candidate's political campaign.

    intr.v. cam•paigned, cam•paign•ing, cam•paigns

    To engage in an operation planned to achieve a certain goal: campaigned through the jungles of Vietnam; campaigned for human rights.

    [French campagne, from Italian campagna, field, military operation, from Late Latin camp nia, open country, battlefield, from Latin campus, field.]

    Definition number 2 above is the one we’re using. But from studying the entire definition along with the derivation (the word origin) you can see how all the definitions tie together. Campaigns for marketing are, in a nutshell, a series of advertising steps including repeat mailings that are strategically planned so that there is maximum benefit (more new customers) for your business.

    Nota bene (that means “take note” in Latin – and I do mean take note): If you are not doing repeat mailings then you are flushing money down toilet. Sorry, I know. The truth sometimes hurts.

    Why is this true? One mailing of one postcard once is barely going to get anyone’s attention for more then the minute they see it. Think about it. How many times have you seen the same TV commercials over and over? A one shot in the dark postcard mailing is not going to change your business, your bottom line, your life or your anything.

    So, if you are not up to confronting that you need to do a campaign then maybe you shouldn’t be in business. And that may sound harsh – it is harsh. It’s a harsh world. And I want you to succeed in it.

    There is another reason. Credibility. In some cases people will hold onto your postcard for a while. They can hold onto your postcard for six months. They may even hold on to your card for three years. But in most cases they’ll think “Oh, I may need that some day” and then while tidying up they’ll throw it away. When you repeat your mailings to those same people and they see your image, logo, slogan, message over and over you become credible to them. Your chances of them responding just got greater. Repeat mailings cannot be repeated enough.

    To give you an example, I call it the ‘Trickle Down Effect’:

    Say you send out 5000 postcards.

    Out of that 5000, 150 hang onto your postcard.

    Out of that 5000, so many call the 1st week.

    Out of that 5000, so many call the 2nd week.

    Out of that 5000, so many call the next month.

    Out of that 5000, so many call in 6 months.

    Out of that 5000, so many never call…

    There is a dwindling inflow from that first mailing and therefore can give a false impression of what occurs from one mailing. Someone sends out a postcard and says, “I only got four responses from my mailing!” But there is a whole dynamic that is going on that is continuing from that one mailing way after the person who sent the mailing expects things to happen. Think about it. Do you jump at every single advertisement that you get bombarded with that you think is a good idea? If you do, you are either a millionaire or broke. But most likely, you see some advertisement that catches your interest and say to yourself that you’d like to check that out some day. Then, you see it again and remember that you wanted to check that out one day. And then, you see it again and this time you decide to check it out.

    You want continuous and consistent growth. So what do you do? Look at this scenario:

    What if, You send out 5000 postcards one week and you have all that going on that I mentioned above.

    You send out 5000 the next week and you have all that going on that I mentioned above.

    You send out 5000 the next week and that dwindling flow chart is going on, on each one of those outflows.

    What is going to happen? Eventually it is going to snowball – it’s coming in from all different places!

    You are really putting your communication out there consistently in a big way.

    And yes, it costs a lot of money to do it. (Once you have your list which you’ll use over and over – only paying for it once – postage is more then 55% of your costs) So, FIND THE MONEY. If you are going to borrow money to do a business, spend that borrowed money on marketing!

    Start with a list and mail to one list one week, another list the next week

    Business Rules Engines
    IntroductionMost businesses have rules that define and implement policies, whether they relate to internal operations or to the products and services they offer to their customers. Often these rules define the strategy of the business and determine its success or failure. Adjustments to the strategy typically mean changes to business rules. The problem is this—these days business rules are implemented in software, and everyone knows that software changes don’t happen quickly. Business rules engines (BRE) expedite rapid changes in business rules within enterprise software.The Business Rules BottleneckFor years enterprise architecture has separated systems into three tiers—a presentation tier, a flow control or application tier, and the data validation tier. Business logic is usually embedded across all three tiers. When policy makers decide to change direction, often database routines must change, application server enterprise software may require adjustment, and user interface options will have to be altered. The entire IT infrastructure is affected. To bridge the gulf between IT and policy makers, business analysts are often charged with creating detailed requirements and other documents which coders use to implement the business requirements in software. This translation of business logic into code creates a bottleneck for change and slows responsiveness to developing business needs and priorities.The RBE SolutionThe central principle of business r
    aign.

    intr.v. cam•paigned, cam•paign•ing, cam•paigns

    To engage in an operation planned to achieve a certain goal: campaigned through the jungles of Vietnam; campaigned for human rights.

    [French campagne, from Italian campagna, field, military operation, from Late Latin camp nia, open country, battlefield, from Latin campus, field.]

    Definition number 2 above is the one we’re using. But from studying the entire definition along with the derivation (the word origin) you can see how all the definitions tie together. Campaigns for marketing are, in a nutshell, a series of advertising steps including repeat mailings that are strategically planned so that there is maximum benefit (more new customers) for your business.

    Nota bene (that means “take note” in Latin – and I do mean take note): If you are not doing repeat mailings then you are flushing money down toilet. Sorry, I know. The truth sometimes hurts.

    Why is this true? One mailing of one postcard once is barely going to get anyone’s attention for more then the minute they see it. Think about it. How many times have you seen the same TV commercials over and over? A one shot in the dark postcard mailing is not going to change your business, your bottom line, your life or your anything.

    So, if you are not up to confronting that you need to do a campaign then maybe you shouldn’t be in business. And that may sound harsh – it is harsh. It’s a harsh world. And I want you to succeed in it.

    There is another reason. Credibility. In some cases people will hold onto your postcard for a while. They can hold onto your postcard for six months. They may even hold on to your card for three years. But in most cases they’ll think “Oh, I may need that some day” and then while tidying up they’ll throw it away. When you repeat your mailings to those same people and they see your image, logo, slogan, message over and over you become credible to them. Your chances of them responding just got greater. Repeat mailings cannot be repeated enough.

    To give you an example, I call it the ‘Trickle Down Effect’:

    Say you send out 5000 postcards.

    Out of that 5000, 150 hang onto your postcard.

    Out of that 5000, so many call the 1st week.

    Out of that 5000, so many call the 2nd week.

    Out of that 5000, so many call the next month.

    Out of that 5000, so many call in 6 months.

    Out of that 5000, so many never call…

    There is a dwindling inflow from that first mailing and therefore can give a false impression of what occurs from one mailing. Someone sends out a postcard and says, “I only got four responses from my mailing!” But there is a whole dynamic that is going on that is continuing from that one mailing way after the person who sent the mailing expects things to happen. Think about it. Do you jump at every single advertisement that you get bombarded with that you think is a good idea? If you do, you are either a millionaire or broke. But most likely, you see some advertisement that catches your interest and say to yourself that you’d like to check that out some day. Then, you see it again and remember that you wanted to check that out one day. And then, you see it again and this time you decide to check it out.

    You want continuous and consistent growth. So what do you do? Look at this scenario:

    What if, You send out 5000 postcards one week and you have all that going on that I mentioned above.

    You send out 5000 the next week and you have all that going on that I mentioned above.

    You send out 5000 the next week and that dwindling flow chart is going on, on each one of those outflows.

    What is going to happen? Eventually it is going to snowball – it’s coming in from all different places!

    You are really putting your communication out there consistently in a big way.

    And yes, it costs a lot of money to do it. (Once you have your list which you’ll use over and over – only paying for it once – postage is more then 55% of your costs) So, FIND THE MONEY. If you are going to borrow money to do a business, spend that borrowed money on marketing!

    Start with a list and mail to one list one week, another list the next week

    The Golden Era of the Consignment Thrift Shop
    A consigment thrift shop is a combination of a thrift shop where people donate their stuff usually to a charitable organization so that they can sell it to make money in their shop and of a consigment shop. The later is where somebody hands in their stuff to someone, not donating it, and that somebody sells it for them.Apart from supporting a good cause when used for charitable purposes these consignment thrift shops have pretty much become a necessary part in our world today. We have always been gatherers and with new modern possibilities of buying pretty much anything at anytime we gather more than ever. The consignment thrift shop has become a vital part of our consumption cycle as self storage are bulging with our goods.The history of charity shops go several decades back and so in a sense does then the history of the consignment thrift shop. The first charity shop for example in the UK opened in 1948 in Oxford. In several countries across the globe there are chains of these establishment that has taken this area of business from small local affairs to nationwide organizations.Usually in consigment thrift shops the original owner of the goods gets a portion of the sales, thus seperating it from a strictly thrift store. This however though can vary from location to location. Popular merchandeis sold at these establishment includes items such as antiques, automobiles, books, clothing, athletic equipment, music, furniture, tools, musical instruments and toys.
    ay you send out 5000 postcards.

    Out of that 5000, 150 hang onto your postcard.

    Out of that 5000, so many call the 1st week.

    Out of that 5000, so many call the 2nd week.

    Out of that 5000, so many call the next month.

    Out of that 5000, so many call in 6 months.

    Out of that 5000, so many never call…

    There is a dwindling inflow from that first mailing and therefore can give a false impression of what occurs from one mailing. Someone sends out a postcard and says, “I only got four responses from my mailing!” But there is a whole dynamic that is going on that is continuing from that one mailing way after the person who sent the mailing expects things to happen. Think about it. Do you jump at every single advertisement that you get bombarded with that you think is a good idea? If you do, you are either a millionaire or broke. But most likely, you see some advertisement that catches your interest and say to yourself that you’d like to check that out some day. Then, you see it again and remember that you wanted to check that out one day. And then, you see it again and this time you decide to check it out.

    You want continuous and consistent growth. So what do you do? Look at this scenario:

    What if, You send out 5000 postcards one week and you have all that going on that I mentioned above.

    You send out 5000 the next week and you have all that going on that I mentioned above.

    You send out 5000 the next week and that dwindling flow chart is going on, on each one of those outflows.

    What is going to happen? Eventually it is going to snowball – it’s coming in from all different places!

    You are really putting your communication out there consistently in a big way.

    And yes, it costs a lot of money to do it. (Once you have your list which you’ll use over and over – only paying for it once – postage is more then 55% of your costs) So, FIND THE MONEY. If you are going to borrow money to do a business, spend that borrowed money on marketing!

    Start with a list and mail to one list one week, another list the next week and another list the following week. Then you rotate those lists – again. And again. And again.

    Now you ask - what if you only have one list? You can still rotate one list. And it is always good to put it on a spreadsheet or a flow chart to track what you are doing and what you have already done.

    For instance: You get one list of 6000 identities. You can mail to 2000 one week, 2000 the next week and 2000 the third week. Then you rotate. There are your three different lists!

    A campaign is mailing to the same people over and over and over again. The point is you want to hit your prospects with different communication about the same thing or hit them with different products with the same look and feel or both. The rest will come.

    Because what you are building with a marketing campaign is credibility. You are building your business through communication. You are communicating consistently, so much that people will believe you (credibility) and they will respond; they will come, they will spend.

    1744, Benjamin Franklin published and mailed the first direct marketing catalog which sold scientific and academic books. Direct Mail has come a long way since then, so DON’T let your piece get lost in the mail, so to speak, make it stand out by applying these three basics of successful marketing:

    • Being
    • Targeting and
    • Repeating

    Good luck!

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