What does it take today to start a catalog? Deep pockets, that’s what it takes. It is expensive to start a catalog and it takes time. Building wealth by starting a catalog is what you read about in the tabloids. The reality, however, is much different. Not having...
Direct mail is experiencing a long overdue resurgence for retailers, hastened by the pandemic. Increasingly crowded ads on social media and Google, full email boxes, SMS dings all day long…while the much-misaligned mailbox remained emptier as credit card offers...
Response rates to outside prospect lists have been declining for many catalog companies the past few years. Last year was no exception. In some cases, results to tried and true continuation lists are off by as much as 50%. This is not a trend that is likely to reverse...
Catalog circulation planning has changed forever. Significant changes have occurred making it more difficult to plan. Previous proven methods may no longer be effective. It is all about multichannel marketing today. The key to success is knowing how to use your...
My entire career since graduating from Indiana University in 1971 has been devoted to catalogs. There have been good and off years. However, I can honestly say that this is the most difficult and challenging year I have seen. Gas prices, consumer debt and the National...
There is a tendency to think web buyers don’t need to be mailed at all. Or, not as much as catalog buyers regardless of their R-F-M. It is easy to jump to the conclusion not to mail web buyers as a way to save money by circulating fewer catalogs. I feel there is a...
I am optimistic that 2009 will be a better year for catalogers and on-line merchants even thought the experts say the recovery will be gradual. There are bright spots within given merchandise categories. For example, the religious goods, pet and hobby markets are all...
It has been common knowledge for more than a decade that Google makes hundreds of changes to its algorithm every year. Some are large-scale changes that come with much fanfare, but most are very small day-to-day changes that are more about testing than imposing...
Recently, Google changed the way it presents paid ads on the search engine results pages (SERPs) by eliminating text ads on the right side of the page. The new layout features up to four ads at the top of the page (above the organic results) and more at the bottom of...
