2011 February

V i s i t U s A t w w w . s A p A t o d A y . c o m

Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association (931) 490-0400 (931) 490-0488 fax 1

SAPATodayAdvancing the free paper industry by providing resources for success and venues for sharing ideas.

Board of DirectorsThe leadership of SAPA is in good hands. The board of directors, director, and assistant are listed with contact information.Page 3

The Salesperson Who Didn’t Have A ChanceJohn Foust tells a tale of woe with a happy ending. Page 3

Conference SchedulePlan today to join us at the fabulous Wynfrey Ho-tel in Birmingham, AL on July 15 & 16, 2011.Page 8

Graphics Series ContinuesEllen Hanrahan comes through for us again with a graphic training piece that will have you saying, “Golly!”Page 5

7 Questions To Ask Your ProspectLandy Chase of Char-lotte, NC shows us that in order to really help our customers we need to ask some questions.Page 6

USPS UpdateChanges at the Postal Service will effect us all. Learn what those changes may be so you and your staff will be prepared.Page 9

This is the third of a three-part series by Bob Berting on a Three Call System of sales suc-cess. The first call establishes credibility, the second focuses on building trust, and the third solidifies belief. This month Bob Bert-ing concludes the series by teaching how to solidify belief in you and your product.

Throughout this 3 call selling system, we have been stressing that this is a process by which the customer is being led to the conclusion that they can believe in the credibility of the advertising salesperson, trust in what they say, and finally on the third call, solidify their belief in what the salesperson can do for them.

The Third call:solidifying Belief

The third call is a critical call and should be done in a relaxed, confident manner. It is critical that the comprehensive spec layouts be shown at the outset—ahead of any plan being presented. The selling axi-om is “sell with emotion, and justify with logic (or facts).” At this point, it is impor-tant to guage the emotional reaction of the customer. Hopefully they will com-ment on how well the layouts reflect the image they want to project which trans-lates into more potential business. Re-member on the second call we wanted to do rough layouts with them and get their ego involved in the content of the ads.

Presenting the PlanThe plan for their advertising program should be relatively simple and not pages of demographic figures, graphs, studies, etc. It should be a yearly program broken down into quarters showing all the ways you think they should be using your pub-lication which will include weekly display ads and website banner ads, quarterly pre-print inserts, point of sale materials, and possibly sales pro-motion items. The only other item to be in the plan might be partici-pation in a yearly pro-

Southeastern Advertising Publishers Association

the monthly newsletter for the free pAper indUstry feBrUAry 2011



The Third callsolidifying Beliefmotion schedule as part of a collective merchant program—either an area pro-motion or a subject promotion.

The bottom line total of this plan is the amount which was the portion of their yearly advertising budget you have allo-cated for your publication. The alterna-tive to this yearly plan might be a highly seasonal business which may only settle for a 6 month plan.

ObjectiOnsIt is my experience that with proper re-search (history of the account) and ear-lier fact finding, most objections can be alleviated. Sales manuals devote tons of space about how to overcome objections. The key is to do such a good job with your spec layouts and plan that objections will be minimized.

clOsingThe key elements in closing are always finding ways to get the customer to say yes—and making decisions they will agree with.

Here are other key points to consider when you are entering a closing phase with the customer:

Establish value before closing

Don’t make closing so obvious

Study how to show empathy—problem solving and not be a sympathizer where you are responding and reacting to all

their plights

Talking pad—show answers to their problems by sketching or diagramming

Testimonials—show what their competi-tors have said about their success in your publication

cOnclusiOnThe whole purpose of this 3 part series on the 3 call selling system is to show how advertising salespeople can successfully walk through a proven process to close a prospect or customer by the third call. This system has resulted in averaging 2 cold contracts a week for 15 years in the business.

It has produced contracts that show a 90% record of 52 week contracts or 1000” at will contracts during a year. Finally the same application has been made to sell 20 regional shopping centers on a yearly contract basis.

I hope the reader has enjoyed seeing this 3 call selling process. It works.

Bob Berting (Mr. Community Paper) is a professional speaker, newspaper sales train-er, e-book author, and publisher marketing consultant. Bob’s website is www.bobberting.com. He can be reached at 800-536-5408 or [email protected].

The quality of your life is determined by how you feel at any given moment. How you feel is determined by how you interpret what is happening around you, not by the events themselves.

Brian tracy

You cannot tailor make the situations in life, but you can tailor make the attitudes to fit those situations before they arise.

Zig Ziglar

Resolve says, “I will.” The man says, “I will climb this mountain. They told me it is too high, too far, too steep, too rocky, and too difficult. But it’s my mountain. I will climb it. You will soon see me waving from the top or dead on the side from trying.”

Jim rohn



PresidentRussell

QuattlebaumSoutheast SunEnterprise, AL 334-393-2969

Vice PresidentTony OnellionBargains PlusSlidell, LA

985-649-9515

Past PresidentGreg Ledford

Shelby Shopper & Info

Shelby, NC 704-484-1047

TreasurerAlan Lingerfelt

The Piedmont Shopper

Danville, VA434-822-1800

Board MemberWill ThomasExchange, Inc.

Fayetteville, TN 931-433-9737

SecretaryCaroline

QuattlebaumSoutheast Sun

Enterprise, AL 334-393-2969

Executive Director

Douglas FrySAPA Headquarters

Columbia, TN931-490-0400

Board MemberBill Derby

Johnson City News & Neighbor

Johnson City, TN423-979-1300

Past PresidentGary Benton

Peddler ADvantageParis, TN

731-644-9595

Administrative Assistant

Vickie BeldenSAPA Headquarters

Columbia, TN931-490-0400sA

pA

lead

ersh

ip Integrity is the most valuable and respected quality of leadership. Always keep your word.

Brian tracy

By John Foust, Raleigh, NC

On an out-of-town trip, I walked through a shopping center to kill a little time before a meeting. While browsing through one of the smaller stores, I couldn’t help but overhear a brief conversation between the store owner and a local media sales person. Here’s a recap:

Sales person: “I’m here to talk about your newspaper advertising.”

Store owner: “We’re tightening our budget this year.”

Sales person: “Yeah, we’re hearing a lot of that lately.” Then he tucked his notebook under his arm and walked out of the store.

End of conversation. That sales person wilted before he gave himself a fair chance. I felt sorry for him. In the face of resistance that wasn’t even stated as a direct objection, he quit. He walked out of the store thinking that he was a victim of the economy, when in reality he had been victimized by his

The Salesperson Who Didn’t Have a Chance

continued on page 4



approach (perhaps I should say his lack of approach) to selling.

The damage didn’t stop there. In addition to losing a potential sale, the sales person inadvertently reinforced the store owner’s concerns about the economy.

Here are some lessons to learn from that unfortunate incident:

1. Have a positive attitude. Author Earl Nightingale wrote, “You become what you think about.” There is great truth in those words. If you wake up every day worried about the economy, it will show in your words and in your actions. Your advertisers will sense your anxiety, and – sure enough – they will be likely to make your worries become reality.

On the other hand, if you think about all the ways your paper – your advertising product – can help businesses thrive in today’s economy, you will have a spring in your step and enthusiasm in your voice. When prospects talk about their marketing problems, it will be easier to keep your focus on positive solutions.

Obviously, a positive attitude can’t guarantee that you will make a sale. But in most cases, a negative attitude will guarantee that you won’t.

2. Ask questions. Your positive attitude should be accompanied by an investigative mindset. See yourself as a detective. Don’t be afraid to dig down to the answers.

Was the store owner really tightening his ad budget? Or was he simply attempting to dodge a sales pitch? The sales person never found out, because he didn’t try to find out. What could he have done differently? For starters, he could have asked the store owner to clarify the vague statement about the budget. For example:

- “You’re tightening your budget?” (Rephrase prospect’s statement as a question to invite explanation.)

- “Does that affect all advertising, or just your newspaper advertising?” (Narrow the focus.)

- “How are you deciding what to keep and what to cut?” (Open-ended probe for specifics.)

Later in the conversation, the sales person could have asked for details on

budget amounts and results of past ad campaigns.

In the world of selling, knowledge is power. A statement like “we’re tightening the budget” isn’t the end of a sales call. It’s the beginning.

(c) Copyright 2010 by John Foust. All rights reserved. E-mail John Foust for information about his training videos for ad departments: [email protected]

Tight Economy? Revenue Down? You need More Than Just Content!

2005: 80,000

2009 Kidsville News! Circulation 1.1 millionnationwide!

Award Winning Editorial • Educational Worksheets CVC Audits • Website • Online Edition • Truman, the dragon

New revenue sources, higher profits, solutions & opportunities

2007:806,125

FOR INFORMATION ABOUT BRINGING

KIDSVILLE NEWS TO YOUR COMMUNITY CALL

Bill Bowman, [email protected] or 910.391.3859

Kidsville News! is NOT a franchise, insert or special section.

Find out why the Kidsville News! educational resource and children's newspaper is the fastest growing publication in the nation.*

www.KidsvilleNews.com

“ReadKiddoRead is about getting the very best books into kids’ hands, the ones that will create life-long readers. Kidsville News! understands how important this

is — they have a solid, entertaining paper that gets kids and parents reading together. What a great place to showcase a taste of what’s going on

at ReadKiddoRead.” — James Patterson, Author

The Nation’s Fun Family Newspaper

“Kidsville News! is a unique publication that is not only well read in the classroom, but CVC research shows the editions are brought home and shared with parents and

siblings. Each month nearly 60% of Kidsville News! editions are still in the hands of child & adult readers when the new issue is distributed. This high retention

rate allows sponsors a unique opportunity for their message to have an impact in communities.”

— TIm Bingaman, CVC



myJust TypeA TYPEFACE CHOSEN FOR AN AD IS AS IMPORTANT AS THE RIGHT ARTWORK IN CREATING A CLEAR, COHE-SIVE AND ORGANIZED AD…

Ellen entered the publishing business after nine years as a high school art teacher and taught software pro-grams at the technical school level. She also writes a graphics column for The Independent Publisher. Reach her at: [email protected] Hanrahan ©2011

golly!x height:The standard height of the lowercase letters in a particular typeface—measured from the baseline to the top of the lowercase letter.

cap height:Duh… the height of the uppercase, or capital letters in a particular typeface.

descender:The part of the character that hangs below the baseline.

baseline:The imaginary line on which all type is aligned. Think of first grade, when you learned to print, and this was not an imaginary line!

mean line:Line above baseline the height of the letter “x.”

counter:The space that’s fully or partially enclosed by the letter.

width/set-width:The individual character’s width. Set-width is the width plus a set amount of spaces to the right of the character to give it breathing room.

ascender:The part of the character that reaches above the x-height.

VARIOUS PARTS OF THE LETTER FORMS

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Last month we looked atterms that are a part of every graphic design-er’s vocabulary. This month you will see how some of these “terms” work. Type used correctly is hard work. Here’s a challenge—try to create an ad using only type! You have to convey the message rely-ing not on just the words, but the feel of the type to create a “voice.” A few years ago, I was in a session at a Design Conference—The Art of Typography. Let me share a few essential type elements: Tracking provides a way to control the spacing between the letters in a group of letters, a word, or a group of words. In most programs, positive numbers increase the space between the letters and negative numbers decrease the space. The Art of Typography default tracking The Art of Typography +30 tracking The Art of Typography -30 trackingT h e A r T o f T y p o g r A p h y uses a lot of tracking to add a little elegance. I chose small caps, but see how the lower case let-ters would look as well: T h e A r t o f T y p o g r a p h yIt really depends on usage. When the let-ter forms become too hard to read, you’ve

For a professional look, always assign a spe-cific leading to the paragraph. Depending on the typeface, your leading may vary. A typeface with short descenders can have the leading set tighter. If I had my leading set to 9-point, I would write it like this 9/9 (9-point type with 9-points of leading). This paragraph is set this way and as you can see, it’s just a little too close for easy reading.HEADLINE TEXT SET IN ALL CAPS CAN HANDLE TIGHTER LEADING BECAUSE THERE ARE NO DESCENDERS. THE LARGER THE TYPE, THE TIGHTER THE LEADING. THIS IS 9/8, BUT DON’T EVER SET ANYTHING THIS LONG IN ALL CAPS BECAUSE IT’S A PAIN TO READ! Dashes Whew! Back to normal paragraph styles. OK, there are three types of dashes; hyphen used between parts of a compound word or the syllables of a divided word.En dash a line longer than a hyphen, about the width of the letter N. Used primarily to indicate a length of time.Em dash about the width of the letter M. Used in a sentence to set off a thought or a change in thought without using a comma or colon. State-of the-art hyphen 8:30am–5:30pm En dash Typography essentials—they’re back! Em dash usage. Sometimes these dashes have a letter space before and after — I add just a little space—I kern them!Hanging punctuation If you create call outs or pull quotes, you’ll want to hang the punc-tuation for a professional look. The top ver-sion is typical; the bottom version shows an understanding of typographic details.

“Hanging punctuation adds a more professional look to your text”“ Hanging punctuation adds a

more professional look to your text”The bottom hanging indent is easily achieved by using the “indent to here” func-tion in either QuarkXPress or InDesign. Put your cursor after the first quote mark and press Command-\. Using type correctly is just part of know-ing what we do. While there still is a lot more to learn about the effective use of type, I think next time we’ll take a look at clip art and its use in our ads.

crossed a line because you have tamp ered with the legibility of the type which will—repeat after me —impede readability! Kerning provides a way to adjust the space

between a pair of letters to make them visu-ally “fit.” I used kerning to adjust the quote marks to fit closer to the period in that last sentence. Here are more common examples: Travel Water WATER Vote 100% Travel Water WATER Vote 100% Had a little trouble with this one because InDesign sort of kerns pairs automatically on the fly, so had to take off the kerning. I hate when software programs get smarter! There are some subtle differences, but various typefaces set differently, and the larger the point size, the more obvious these “spaces” become. Try setting some words with your type and see what happens. Leading (pronounced ledding) adjusts the distance between the lines of type—mea-sured from baseline to baseline. Programs usually default to Auto Leading, which is based on a percentage of the type size. For example, this text is 10-point Myriad Pro SemiCondensed Italic, set with auto lead-ing, which turns out is 12 point. Not too bad, but I’ve chosen 11-point leading for my paragraphs, so you see a slight difference between this and the previous paragraph. But what if I decided to emphasize some words or even a word, like DESIGN (made it 11-point instead of 10), somewhere in the

paragraph—well it really messes up my paragraph leading in the first and second lines. You be in charge of the leading… in this case, the computer isn’t that smart!



effective probing:7 Questions to ask the prospectby Landy Chase

Because, in the competitive sale, the prospective account has initiated an inquiry, your Influencer has a built-in reason to cooperate with your need for information. While they rarely vol-unteer details, they are almost always cooperative when asked for them. In fact, the opening situation – that they, by contacting you, have demonstrated interest in a discussion – provides you a gilded invitation to collect information for your initial meeting. This is a huge opportunity if it is handled properly. The key here, given that we have limit-ed time on the phone, is to ask the right questions – in the right order – to learn as much as possible about the current state of the buyer.

Most formal RFPs provide a contact

person for questions. Whether respond-ing to an RFP or handling an incoming phone call, the request should be as follows: “To make the best use of your time, do you have a moment to answer a few questions for me?” Because of the pre-established interest of the account, the response you will get is, “Sure, what would you like to know?” Once you get this response, follow this seven-ques-tion sequence to lay the foundation for your strategy.

1- How did you hear about us? Preda-tors always keep close tabs on where their leads are coming from. Enough said.

2- What prompted you to contact us? This will provide you with the Domi-nant Buying Motive – the primary rea-son for the action taken in contacting

you. Let them talk – and take notes.

3- What else can you tell me about what you are looking for? This is often the most important question of the ini-tial interview; this additional “dig” for more information can provide crucial details. In most cases, it will provide you with secondary data about the de-sired outcomes of the account – details that your competitors will usually miss.

4- What other options are you consid-ering? This is a subtle and non-threat-ening way of asking “who is my com-petition?” Granted, they may refuse to share this with you – but that rarely happens. Worst case, they will not mind your asking. If you learn that competi-tors are being considered, immediately add the two “bonus” questions below:

4a. Where are you in your meetings with them? This establishes pecking or-der. You will usually learn where you fall in the sequence of evaluating options, as well as how far along the account is in the decision process. If they have al-ready met with your competition, add the question below:

4b. What have you liked, and not liked, continued on page 7

Partners in Printing Since 1900

David C. ZehPrint Sales Consultant

mobile: 770.722.0076 email: [email protected]

www.waltonpress.com

402 Mayfield Drive • P.O. Box 966Monroe, GA 30655

toll free: 800.354.0235 local: 770.267.2596 fax: 770.267.9463

Organizational SoftwareOrganizational SoftwareTools you need to be more effi cient.

Software Developed by: Little Fish Big Ocean, Inc.

Lead Developer & Founder

[email protected]@[email protected]@MaxProPublishing.comwww.MaxProPublishing.comchris@[email protected]@MaxProPublishing.com

407-656-2777

Never miss a sales opportunity

AGAIN.Get the co-op info you need to sell

your advertiser through your smartphone.

309.690.5385 | [email protected] multiad.com/recas



about what you’ve seen so far? Again, they don’t have to tell you this informa-tion – but what is the harm in asking? You might hit the jackpot. I once asked a prospect this question about one of my competitors and his response was, “I disliked his presentation, and his pricing was out of line.” Would you find this information useful? I did – and it helped me to easily land the account.

5- What is your decision process, and who else besides yourself will be in-volved? As we will discuss later, there is almost never a single person who buys without the input of others. It is criti-cal that you identify this “inner circle” as quickly as possible. Don’t be afraid to press for detail – “and what role does _____ have?” – and take notes!

6- What is your role in this process? This will usually clarify the level of in-fluence that your initial contact has – or does not have – in the buying process. The most common response is “my job is to gather information for them.”

7- What is your time-frame for making a decision? This is an excellent ques-tion to establish the interest level of the buyer, and, incidentally, the quality of the lead. “We have to make a deci-

sion by ____” indicates a high-quality opportunity. “We are in no hurry” ob-viously indicates otherwise. “I’m not sure” translates to “I’m not high enough in our organization to know.”

As the result of this brief fact-finding mission, you now know:

What marketing channel brought the prospect to you

What the buyer’s Dominant Buying Motive is

Secondary details regarding what they are looking for

Who your competition is

Where the prospect is in terms of their buying timeline, as well as your location as you enter the opportunity

Their initial assessment of your com-petitors

Their sense of urgency regarding the decision process

It is also worth noting here that, as a result of asking these seven questions, you come across as being well-orga-nized, knowledgeable, and professional. Frankly, most people will be impressed with the way in which you conduct this interview. First impressions are impor-

effective probing: 7 Questions to ask the prospect

continued from page 6

tant – and following this sequence al-lows you to put your best foot forward. Also, be aware that it is highly unlikely that your competition will ask for this information. Because you did, you will begin the selling process armed with information that they simply do not initially have. And by the time they get it – if they do at all – it is often too late.

Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Landy Chase, MBA, CSP is an expert who specializes in speaking to corpora-tions and associations on advanced profes-sional selling and sales management skills. For more information, visit his website at www.landychase.com or call (877)550-2655.

Southeastern AdvertisingPublishers Association

Coming Soon!



saPa annual conference: birmingham, al july 15 & 16, 2011: SAPA always has the best conferences in the industry. Next year’s conference at the Wynfrey Hotel in Birmingham, Alabama will be no exception. Great speakers, enjoyable time to mingle with your publishing friends, and opportunities

Conference Schedulesto network make this conference another “must-attend” event. The Wynfrey Hotel adjoins a huge shopping experience so you might want to plan an extra day or two. Now, more than ever, you’ll benefit from attending this upcoming conference. Call Douglas Fry at 1-800-334-0649 for more info.

aFcP/cPF annual conference: st. Petersburg beach, Fl May 5-7, 2011. AFCP and the Community Papers of Florida team up to present another HUGE joint conference May 5-7, 2011 at the beautiful Tradewinds Resort on St. Pete Beach. If you can’t make the SAPA Conference in Birmingham on July 15 & 16, 2011 this would be a close second.

Display & Classified Ad Sales & BillingCirculation Direct Mail Payroll Accounting

Integrated Management Software designed by publishers for publishers

MERRIMAC SOFTWARE ASSOCIATES INC.TAMWORTH, NH 603 323 8811 WWW.MERRSOFT.COM

Free PapersWorking For You

Wouldn’t you love to see one of these?Your free community paper lets you race around in many ways. You read our printed publication at your own home at your own speed, you can zip around our website with no limits, and you can even zoom through our content on your smartphone. Th at’s speed without limits.

Insert Your Logo Here

Another sign we’re working for you.


What does this sign mean?Some signs you see along the road leave you scratching your head wondering what they mean.

One sign you’ll never have to wonder about is ours. We are committed to bringing you the best our community has to off er each issue. Your free community paper has the best local content, the best values, and the most readers.


Another sign we’re working for you.By the way, the sign at the top is a European “Bridge Ahead” sign.


Does your advertising leave you feeling this way?Advertising can be pretty complex. You may not know which way to turn. Th ere is a sign you can rely on — ours. Call us today so that our professionals can make the most of your advertising investment.



Download These Ads And More Athttp://www.sapatoday.com/promoads.html



by Donna Hanbery

usPs tO allOW siMPliFieDOn December 21, 2010, the USPS issued a quiet press release that it would expand simplified addressing for businesses to allow simplified addressing for saturation flat size mail pieces and irregular parcels (typically samples) that are delivered by USPS city carriers or to post office box holders at post office locations with city delivery service.

The press release was issued after the release of a Postal Bulletin announcing changes in the Domestic Mail Manual to allow an extension of the simplified addressing format. The USPS described the action as “a move that is expected to help businesses grow – especially small businesses who currently don’t use the mail because the can’t afford it.” Paul Vogel, the President and Chief Marketing/Sales Officer, described simplified addressing as a tool that will help “small and mid-size businesses as well as large businesses drive more traffic and attract new customers. This can help strengthen the US economy as well as the Postal Service which is doing everything it can to drive revenue growth.”

Prior to the announcement, simplified addressing was permitted on saturation flat mail for rural routes and government mailings. Approximately 30% of the addresses in the country are designated as rural.

For the past five years, the Saturation Mailers Coalition and free paper publishers have asked the Postal Service to adopt an SMC proposal called “simplified but certified.” The simplified-but-certified option would have allowed program mailers, like free paper publishers and shared mailers doing flat mailers with a stated frequency (such as monthly or weekly) and a regular circulation, to do simplified addressing

upon meeting Postal Service registration and eligibility requirements. The simplified-but-certified option had faced resistance by some within the Postal Service that felt the address was the USPS “brand” and by organizations that sell address list services or advertising placement. The Postal Service announcement goes well beyond SMC’s simplified-but-certified proposal. The USPS clearly hopes this expansion of the simplified option will stimulate the growth of volume on a grass roots, small business basis. The Postal Service published a detailed article on its proposal in the December Postal Bulletin. The Bulletin explains:

The Postal Service is making this revision to facilitate the process for mail piece design and preparation, and to streamline the acceptance process for local businesses, national retailers having a local nexus, and first-time saturation mailers considering advertising their products and services through the mail. We expect this revision to reduce mailers’ expenses for mail piece preparation, enhancing their ability to advertise through the mail and to grow their businesses.

The new regulations are found in the Domestic Mail Manual in section 602.3.2, 345.6.9.4, 445.7.6.4, and 507.1.2.3. A summary of the new methods and requirements are set forth below:

• Mailers must use the simplified address “Postal Customer” when full distribution is intended to all active deliveries (residential and business) on any designated city route. Mailers wanting to restrict delivery to active residential deliveries may use the address “Residential Customer.” A more specific address, such as “PO Box Holder” may be used when delivery is intended to all active post office box deliveries.

• If the mail is drop-shipped to the local destination deliver y unit, it may be designated “Local” without the need to include a city, state and zip code for the delivery office. To eliminate the potential for mail pieces becoming undeliverable, mail that is not drop-shipped to the destination delivery unit must bear the city, state and zip code.

• The same eligibility and preparation standards for saturation flat mailings or irregular parcels will still apply. The same postal rates for a saturation flat, and any additional weight, will still apply.

• Mailers must prepare sufficient pieces to provide complete distribution to each active delivery in accordance with the process described in the revised DMM 509.1.1 delivery statistics file. The Postal Service has a data base available on CD-ROM and an Address Information System viewer (AIS) that are available on the USPS.com website. [http://www.usps.com/ncsc]

• The Postal Service has announced that it plans to build an interactive website to provide information to small mailers seeking to do saturation mailings with a simplified address. This website will provide mailers with delivery statistics for specific carrier routes based upon entered search criteria and will generate the saturation documentation required under DMM standards, such as facing slips and providing instructions on completing postal forms 3602 and 8125. The Postal Bulletin announcement explains: “Because this tool is primarily designed to assist small local mailers, customers will be limited to accessing the delivery statistics information for no more than five zip codes per visit.”

• Larger and more established mailers are expected to obtain their delivery statistics directly from the Delivery Statistics File or AIS viewer.

• The Postal Bulletin states that the p ro c e d u re s c u r re n t l y i n p l ac e to

USPS Update

continued on page 10



accommodate customer “do-not-deliver” requests from mailers of simplified address mail pieces in rural routes will be extended to simplified mailings on city routes.

• The statistics used to determine the number of delivery stops must be obtained within 90 days from the mailing date or, if permitted, from the Postmaster of the destination office.

The reaction of SMC mailers to the announcement ranged from cautious to jubilant. Many free paper publishers described the change as making it possible for them to improve printing press efficiency and to extend the delivery window for receiving advertising copy and inserts. The cost savings to be achieved by not having to do a final press run to put a carrier route walk sequence address on each piece could be significant in terms of labor and production savings. For free paper publishers that rely upon the service of a printer, the savings and efficiencies with lower production costs and greater capacities for the printer could allow publishers to expand geographic coverage and open new zones.

Some SMC members were more cautious. The elimination of the address requirement could allow more businesses to offer competing products or shared mail options. Some small business customers may think they no longer need the services of a free paper or publisher. On balance, however, most publishers seem to believe that the high cost of doing a solo mail piece will keep local advertisers interested in the savings and service they can achieve from a free paper publication.

For SMC, we will hope that this new development benefits our members and makes the Postal Service more responsive to the needs of locally delivered saturation program mailers. We will be asking our

members to give us feedback on the success, or any problems, with this proposal as it is used by our members and other businesses encouraged to explore direct mail advertising.

eXigent uPDateThe Postal Service was not successful in persuading the PRC to let it do an extraordinary, exigent, postal rate increase of approximately 5% in mid-2010. Although the PRC decided the Postal Service was failing extraordinary or exigent circumstances, it found that the Postal Service’s proposed rate adjustment was not directly related to the economic downturn and erosion of mail volumes but was due more to the structural problems the Postal Service faced with the health care prefunding requirement. The Postal Service is appealing that decision and the Court of Appeals could issue a ruling on the appeal as early as March or April 2011. Even with a favorable ruling, the Postal Service will likely face further proceedings and potentially an opportunity for public comment before the PRC.

rate caPYou would not think that an increase based upon the rate cap or CPI would be controversial. Surprisingly, a number of proceedings and opinions have been issued by the PRC that relate to the calculation of the price cap increase. In one opinion, the PRC ruled that the Postal Service’s proposal to assess a charge for mailers that did not have the most up-to-date and accurate move update lists was a form of price increase. The PRC ruled that the Postal Service’s proposal to increase the charges for move update costs would reduce the amount the Postal Service could seek in its next CPI rate cap increase. In response to the PRC ruling, the Postal Service filed a notice on

December 22, 2010 that it would withdraw its plan to start assessing a move update change. The Postal Service announced that it was withdrawing its notice of move update changes and would not implement that change absent a subsequent filing with the Commission.

Based upon the most recent PRC proceedings, and CPI announcements, it is predicted that the next rate cap increase the Postal Service will seek in late January or early February will be approximately 1.8%.

incentiVes aPPrOVeDThe PRC approved the Postal Service’s filings of two pricing incentives for first class mail automation letters (Reply Rides Free) and the saturation high density standard mail incentive. Both of these incentives have effective dates of January 2, 2011. The Postal Service announced an extension of the date for registering for the incentives until January 31, 2011.

saturatiOn Flats PrODuce PrOFits

As part of its annual reporting requirements, the Postal Service needs to calculate and show the cost coverage of its various mail products. Commercial saturation flats, the type of mail used by many free paper publishers and shared mail providers, continue to have one of the highest mark-ups (profit margins) in the postal system. The cost coverage for commercial saturation flats was 257% with saturation letters showing a mark-up of approximately 210%. The cost coverage for commercial high density flats, the type of mail used by many newspaper TMC programs, was 194%.

These figures support the ongoing efforts of SMC and other saturation program mailers to urge the Postal Service, and the Postal Regulatory Commission, to seek a reduction in this cost coverage in future rate adjustments and pricing policy to stimulate the growth and retention of this profitable product line.

USPS Updatecontinued from page 9



PaPerchain seeks a rOle in natiOnal Financial

literacy caMPaignSubmitted by Jim Haigh

Washington, D.C - When the federal government quietly announced that it is gearing up to promote financial literacy in a significant way, the free community paper industry let them know that our publishers would be a perfect fit for their plans. Years before the economic downturn, Congress created an obscure federal commission tasked with promoting good personal financial hygiene. That agency, the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, is itself comprised of representatives of twenty-two prominent federal entities. Behind the bureaucratic scenes, they forged and solicited public feedback on a Draft National Strategy for Financial Literacy.

In response, PaperChain on behalf of its Member Associations and the united Free Community Paper Industry, filed formal Comments to the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, and its lead agency the Department of the Treasury, endorsing key components of the Draft National Strategy for Financial Literacy while simultaneously demonstrating concrete ways our industry could advance

Reportthis worthy cause. Of particular interest to our hometown publishers and the diverse communities they serve across the land is the Plan’s call to create a National Media Campaign.

Weighing in at this stage of the game could pay dividends, as only 69 unique comments were filed in response to the Federal Register Notice. And of those, less than a dozen came from interested trade associations. By any measure, this raises the profile of PaperChain’s recommendations as well as the Free Community Paper Industry itself, before both the Commission and its nearly two dozen member agencies that span federal government. It’s worth noting that many of the Financial Literacy and Education Commission members have their own awareness campaigns and media budgets, and include such prominent players as the Departments of Agriculture, Defense and Education as well as the Small Business Administration.

While the free community paper industry comments were specific to the FLEC Draft Plan, they offered a blueprint for successful national media campaigns for any federal entity:

Read PaperChain Comments here: http://scr.bi/hhHZvi

Justin Gerena, President, Director of Salesp: 888.592.3212 x710e: [email protected]

JB Multimedia, Inc. P.O. Box 704 N. Bellmore, NY 11710 888.592.3212 phone/fax www.jbmultimedia.net

M a k i n g p u b l i c a t i o n s i n t e r a c t i v e.

It's time for a new business venture…Needing new Revenue for 2011?

theBOOKcreators.bizCONNIE GIBBS

[email protected]

JOEL [email protected]

620-947-1923

It's time for a new business venture…Needing new Revenue for 2011?

theBOOKcreators.bizCONNIE GIBBS

[email protected]

JOEL [email protected]

620-947-1923

The history of the human race is the history of ordinary people who have overcome their fears and accomplished extraordinary things.

Brian tracy

If you don’t like who you are and were you are, don’t worry about it because you’re not stuck either with who you are or where you are. You can grow. You can change. You can be more than you are.

Zig Ziglar


Does your advertising leave you feeling this way?Advertising can be pretty complex. You may not know which way to turn. Th ere is a sign you can rely on — ours. Call us today so that our professionals can make the most of your advertising investment.





Publishing

Is A Picnic For

Our Members

Join Us In

Birmingham, AL

July 15 & 16, 2011

And Find Out Why

Southeastern AdvertisingPublishers Association

Documents

2011 February