It seems like spring is finally here and I love the beauty of this year. However, it was confusing as to whether it was winter or spring. One thing that we are not confused about is that it is time for our non-profit friends to get those newsletters, appeal, post cards and invitations in the mail.
Email me at phyllis@burnsmp.com or call 865 584-2265
Working on a mailing list today, I got very frustrated when I lost about 30 minutes of work. Now I don’t usually do files for mailing but this was a list that I wanted to go over to take out names that were no longer relevant. Fortunately for me and for Burns Mailing & Printing, I have an employee who is way beyond Guru when it comes to Excel and our mailing lists. She has many tricks up her sleeve when it comes to getting our customers files ready for mailing.
I am a mailer and I am about to do a mailing, so yes, I definitely believe in direct mail.
If you are ready for your next direct mail project, email me at phyllis@burnsmp.com or call 865 584-2265 for a free print and mail estimate.
I just got back from Blue Ridge GA on Wednesday. I was invited by my friends of 50 years, Willie and Charles Stancil. Charles and Ken worked together at Lockheed back in the 60s and the two families quickly became friends. At the time they had Doug and we had Kathy who were just 6 months apart. It was Doug’s and his wife Allison’s cabin in the mountains where we stayed. On Sunday their daughter NIcki and her family came and we spent some great time catching up. What is really special about this friendship is that Ken and I moved back to Knoxville about a year after we met them but we have kept up over the years, visited, camped, and enjoyed the times that we got to see them. When we are together it is just like we saw each other yesterday.
If you have not been to the mountains in North GA, I highly recommend it. The drive from Knoxville is beautiful, but the roads are winding. Weekends are very busy in Blue Ridge, but we visited on Monday and it was not crowded. Also if you are in the area, I recommend you go to an apple orchard called Mercier’s. They have fresh baked goods, honey, a brewery and of course, apples when they are in season.
It was good to have some time with friends, relax and see a new place.
There are a lot of things happening at my house this summer. One is that I am keeping my Granddaughter’s dog, Lincoln for two weeks. Today was the first day that he came to work with me and he really loved it when he came in and saw all the people who wanted to pet him. After the excitement died down he just pretty much sleeps under my desk. He likes confined spaces, I guess it makes him feel secure.
The second thing is that I am doing some work to my kitchen. 32 years ago Ken and his two best friends took out all the old cabinets and put in new ones. Ken and I sat down at the house we had just bought and planned out the kitchen. We must have done a pretty good job because in 32 years I have never once thought that I would like to change something. Instead of new cabinets, I opted to paint them through a company called the Painted Room. They have been customers of mine in the past and I like to do business with folks who do business with me. The doors and drawers have been off for over a week and tomorrow they come and put all the drawers and doors back in place. Can’t wait to see how it will look. The next step is new counter tops and back splash.
It is hectic at my house, I think I need a beach trip.
At Burns we are not so hectic that we can’t handle your design, print and direct mail needs. Call me today at 865 584-2265 or email me at phyllis@burnsmp.com.
P.S. I am looking for a social media guru to help me with marketing and social media. Know someone who would might be interested? Call me at the above number.
Personalization is the best way to have a professional look to your mailing. If a person has a connection to your organizations they want to think that you know their name. This is especially true with non-profit organizations who are seeking donations. With variable data the mailer can be personalized within the body of the letter or on a post card. At Burns we have the capability of putting a bar-code on the back of the letter and inserting it into a closed envelope (non window) with our insert/match machinery. The machine reads the bar-code on the back and puts the correct address matching the personalized letter. It is like a hand match with out the high cost of a hand match. Our NeoPost DS-1200 inserter runs at speeds of up to 12,000 per hour.
I love this golly, gee whiz technology. Call Phyllis Burns at 865 584-2265 or email me at phyllis@burnsmp.com for a free quote.
It is one thing for us to say that we are really good at helping non-profit organizations with their appeals, annual reports, newsletters and more but it is another thing when a non-profit customers tells us about results.
“Thank you for your great work on our Annual Appeal Letter in November/December. It went phenomenally and raised 10x what it had the year before!”
Bent W.
I am glad when our non-profit customers get good results because it means that we have done our part to help and also because when our non-profit customers raise money, it is good for the community as well.
If you aren’t using Burns Mailing & Printing, Inc. for your non-profit organization, call me today for a free consultation. Phyllis Burns 865 584-2265 or email me at phyllis@burnsmp.com. We are the experts in non-profit direct mail.
I had an appointment in Nashville last week and so I thought I would combine it with a visit to my daughter. I had the appointment on Monday and this is what I woke up to on Tuesday. It was beautiful but made it impossible to come back to Knoxville that day. I actually stayed until Thursday and enjoyed time with my family and especially my 10 year old granddaughter, Kate. She completely amazes me with some of the things that she says such as “you still wear makeup?” and “I will not lose to a Grandma” when playing UNO, and “I can’t believe that a Grandma is beating me at UNO”. I told her that old age and treachery will get you every time. LOL We had a great time playing and she beat me several time as she is a good UNO player.
A few day off is fun but I was glad to get back into the office this morning and see all of my work family. We are all trying to avoid the flu but some have already had it. Come on spring we are ready for you.
If you are over the holidays and have started planning your next printing and mailing project, give me a call at 865 584-2265 or email me at phyllis@burnsmp.com.
Millennials are in a category all their own. They were raised in the digital age and technology is second nature to them but that doesn’t mean that they don’t respond to traditional marketing methods such as direct mail. They are on the go, buying houses, renting apartments, buying cars and they are a force in the workplace.
What does all that have to do with direct mail?
Direct mail has continued to be a great source for marketing with a response rate of 5% as compared to digital marketing with a response rate of less than 1%. I recommend to my customers that they do both direct mail and social media marketing. Millennials are experiencing digital fatigue but they still spend a lot of time online, so use direct mail to guide them to your website or social media page and give them a reason to go to your page, such as an offer of something free such as consulting, free estimates, or a discount. The marketing landscape is always changing but direct mail remains as influential as ever, or more so. When I started in the mailing business in the early 1990’s the response rate was 2-3% and now it is 5%.
At Burns Mailing & Printing, Inc. our consulting is FREE to our customers. I just showed a non-profit how to save over $4000.00 in postage and all it took was sitting down and listening to what they had been doing and what we could do for their organizations. Call me, Phyllis Burns, today for a FREE consultation 865 584-2265. You may email me at phyllis@burnsmp.com for a free estimate.
Our Open House and Non-Profit seminar was a huge success. We enjoyed having everyone for a Non-Profit seminar, cookout and tour of our facility. Our customers and friends got to see the many capabilities of Burns Mailing & Printing, including graphic design, digital and offset printing, bindery and direct mail department. We truly are a printer that knows mailing and a mailer that knows printing.
If you are a non-profit organization, please register for our FREE non-profit seminar starting at 10:30 AM and then stay for our FREE lunch and tour.
For more information call CJ Mitchell at 865 584-2265.