I know I was born a coal miner’s daughter, I know that I have ink in my blood from being a printer for so long but I didn’t know that I was a WBE until today.  Actually, I did know that I am a Women Business Enterprise (WBE), being certified by the State of TN as such.  However today a company from Richmond, VA called and asked me if I was a WBE (it sounded like Weebie)  and I had to say as we say in the South “do what”.  Now the “do what” thing in the South is another blog all together. It really means we do not understand what you are saying or what you are asking. The person went on to explain that she was looking for a Women Business Enterprise printing company in the State of TN. I am glad that I have been given a chance to be a WBE by the State of TN.  That is the first step but what really counts is that we do a good job for the customer.  That is my number one priority. If you need a WBE printing company in the State of TN give Burns a call.

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Have heard the saying, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”?  Well I am going with the theory that its going to break soon so I am fixing it now.  We have been using an image setter to for film, then the image had to be burned on to a plate and then the plate was processed and on to the press.  Now the technology is from the computer directly to the plate with no processing and directly to the presses.  The time savings in enormous.  In business when something is paid for and it is working it is hard to make that decision to spend a lot of money but when the writing is on the wall that the technology has changed and you had better get with the program then it starts to make more sense. Our employees are excited about the new system and are looking forward to the new technology.

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Scan this QR Code with your smart phone to be directed to our website.

Have you have seen similar boxes like the one above in magazine, grocery stores and in direct mail and don’t know what they are? The image is a QR Code, it can be scanned with a smart phone or bar-code reader and it takes you to a site designated by the business.  For example the above QR code when scanned by your smart phone will take you to our website.  For a restaurant it could be directed to a site with their menu, for a college it could be to a tour of their campus.  You get the picture.

 The United States Postal Service is getting in on the QR action and is offering discounts on postage for mail pieces that have a QR code.  See below the latest postal bulletin with all the information.

 At Burns we can set up your QR code and direct it to your site, design your mailer, print you mailer and finally mail it.  That is the convenience that Burns offers with our one-stop, all under one roof concept. Call me to get started on your QR code mailer.

May 19, 2011                                                                 

DMM Advisory

Pricing — keeping you informed about the prices and mailing standards of the United States Postal Service

 Mobile Barcodes Deliver Value to the Mail

 On April 12, 2011, we notified the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) that we will run a Mobile Barcode Promotion this summer that provides commercial mailers a three percent discount for mail that includes a mobile barcode inside or on the mailpiece.

Now that the PRC has completed its review of the promotion, here is the latest information to help you take advantage of this special offering:

• The Mobile Barcode Promotion will run from July 1 through August 31.
• First-Class Mail and Standard Mail (including Nonprofit Standard Mail) letters, flats and cards with a mobile barcode inside or on the mailpiece can qualify for the discount.
• Participation requires electronic documentation.
• Commingled, combined and co-mail mailings are allowed and a separate postage statement is required for pieces with mobile barcodes.

Using mobile barcodes is a great way to integrate direct mail with mobile technology. Get more information, including updated FAQs, on the RIBBS website.

The Domestic Mail Manual (DMM^®) is available on Postal Explorer^® (pe.usps.com). To subscribe to the DMM Advisory, send an e-mail to dmmadvisory@usps.com. Simply indicate “subscribe” in the subject line.

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If you are reading my blog and you are in need of a printer/mailer who can handle your mailing projects from start to finish, you can use our services no matter where you are located in the United States.  We have customers in the state of Tennessee and out of state.  If you are a non profit and you mail newsletters or appeals we can help.  We have a large customer base of non profit organizations.  All you have to do is send us a word file, the pictures you want to use or we will buy stock photos for you. We design your project, send you a pdf proof and after approval, print and mail.  How simple is that? We know the postal regulations, paper specifications and are truly a printer that knows mailing and a mailer that knows printing.  Visit our website at www.burnsmp.com for more information and services that we offer.  Happy New Year!

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Having been in the mailing business for many years we have done some unique projects.  We put together a package for the State of TN for an advertising agency promoting business in TN and it included Goo Goo bars, White Lily Flour, CD music from Nashville and various other products that are made in TN.  We have mailed signs to put in customers yards for security companies, we have mailed head phones in a promotion for General Motors.  I am always looking for unique ideas for mail and today I have been researching seed infused post cards, invitations, business cards and even Christmas ornaments.  What a great way for customers to remember you if they get a post card that they can plant and have wildflowers grow.  That sure takes away the argument that it is junk mail doesn’t it?

That is one of the many things that I enjoy about my job is listening to the needs of the customer and finding a solution to that need.  After all, that is what sales is all about.  It is not giving the customer a sales pitch, it is listening to what they have to say and then fulfilling a need.  Do you have a need for seed infused mailing items?  Well you have found the right place, I am listening.

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I had visitors today from a company that I have been doing business with for years.  The purchasing agent for this company has been to our facility many times but his boss and a couple of other support staff, had never been to our company.  I got the opportunity to show them around and explain the various departments.  Essentially we are running 3 business in one..graphic design, printing and mailing.  Even though we had done business for years they were still surprised at all of the things that we do. 

Sometimes after we have been in business for a number of years that we get lulled into believing that most people know who we are and what we do.  Our business name is Burns Mailing & Printing but I don’t know how many times we have been doing a printing project and the customer ask, “you do mailing too”? The same with mailing, some are suprised that we do printing as well. We cannot afford to make that assumption.  Every sales person has had the experience of working with a customer and one day calls that customer’s company to find that the person they have been doing business with is no longer employed there and the new person has no idea who you are and what your company does.  Back to square one in building that relationship with another buyer.

How do I keep my business in front of the most people?  Direct mail of course.  Unlike television, radio and some social media, the recipient of a direct mail can lay the information aside and look at it later when they have time or in my case I may save it until I have a need and then I have a resource for the service or product that I anticipate buying. One of the things I love about advertising with direct mail is that it is measurable.  When I mail out a new post card and we have phone calls telling us they got our card, I know that my direct mail campaign is working.

On a personal note, my Grand Daughter (age 2 1/2) is going to be coming from Nashville today to visit with us for a few days.  Of course, we are always thrilled to see her.  We have been using Skype to keep in touch with her for a couple of weeks now and that is the next best thing to her actually being here. I love technology!

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Large Format Four Color Printing - Great for newsletters and booklets!

Heidelberg Folder

Request an estimate at estimating@burnsmp.com

Mail being addressed with state of the art inkjet addressing equipment

Inkjet addressing, applying permits, post it notes, live stamps or messages on the mailing panel is possible with our Kirk Rudy System.  Tabbing is done  inline for quicker turn-around.

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Kate, Phyllis and Ken

Things are changing rapidly in our world, some good and some not so good.  One of the good things, in my opinion, is the availability of using the web to market business.  Our business is such that our customer does not have to be located in the city where our business is located.  In fact, we have several customers who are out of state, some as far away as Alaska.   Graphic files can be downloaded, along with data base files and we can print and mail for our customers in a timely and efficient manner.

I recently decided to add this blog to our website for the purpose of sharing information about mailing and printing and to let potential customers get to know us a little better.  I know the very basics of blogging,  but last night I went to Barnes and Noble and purchased Blogging for Dummies.   It almost overwhelmed me with what all I did not know.  I had to sit back for a moment and tell myself that I could not learn it all at once, but I could learn it with just one step at a time.  I have never let ignorance stop me from doing anything I really wanted to do.  It probably should have stopped me many times but they say, “fools rush in where angels dare to tread”. So bear with me on this blogging thing, I am only up to Chapter I.

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Being in the mailing/printing business I have a lot of interaction with nonprofit folks .  I have also been a member of the Smoky Mountain Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) in Knoxville, TN since 2000.  I am convinced that people who work at nonprofit organizations have a heart of gold.  They are educated, dedicated and obviously their motives are not for money.

Recently, I have been in their shoes trying to raise money for Lost Sheep Ministry, where I serve on the board.  Lost Sheep Ministry only has two paid employees and everything else is done with volunteers.  Usually a nonprofit has a development director to raise money but we cannot afford a development director, so yours truly is trying to head up additional fund-raising.  Maxine Raines, our founder, with the help of many volunteers has been raising money for 18 years by speaking passionately about the ministry and by applying for grants and the suppport of local churches. Being in AFP has been beneficial for me because I have learned a lot in the monthly meetings and from my friends in AFP.  However, I am learning just how hard fund-raising really is and I am convinced that running a mailing/printing company is much easier.  They have my utmost respect.  I know that newsletters, mailing appeals, website and donor database is essential but most importantly doing them right is a must.

The list is probably the most important thing.  Making sure that the list does not have bad addresses is now a requirement at the United States Postal Service.  I recommend cleaning up the list by NCOA link move update.  In fact ,we offer this service free to our nonprofit customers who are printing and mailing with us. The person who already has an association with the nonprofit is the very best person to target.  Someone who already knows about the organization and if you are lucky has a passion for what is being done in the organization.  The next is the letter or appeal.  Make it personal, the recipient expects the organization to know their name.  Telling that person what their donation is doing to make a difference in a life or in their community makes an impact.  The appeal does not have to be fancy, in fact, if it is too fancy the recipient may wonder why so much is being spent on design, printing etc. Usually two colors of ink for the printing works very well.  Coding the mail is one way of measuring the success of the appeal and is easily done by adding a code to the return donation slip or envelope.  Measuring the success of the mailing is essential and coding allows you to determine that success and also to do a test market of more than one appeal. I am going to continue to to learn from AFP and my fund-raising friends but I doubt if I would have gotten very far without being around them for a number of years and my association with AFP.

I loved nonprofit fundraisers before I tried being one but now I really love them for what they do for all of us.  Everyone else should too, the world is a better place because of them.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed – it’s the only thing that ever has.”  Margaret Mead

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