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The Carrier’s Curse: Questioning, Testing, and Why Everything Plain Is Exciting Again

Raise your hand if you’ve been here: you’re mailing a package with a heartwarming case for support, copy that hits all your marks in two pages or less, all in a gorgeous, full bleed, four-color carrier. The package is great, the message is strong, and your lists are ready to go. You’re so proud of…

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DM 201: Stop Getting Comfortable and Start Innovating

DM 201 is an intermediate-level course that’s perfect for anyone who already has some direct marketing experience under their belt—whether at an agency, nonprofit, list broker, production company, or analytics firm—and wants to go beyond the basics. Somewhere between being a total newbie and seasoned vet things start to fall into place. We get comfortable…

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Building a Zipper to the Moon

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I find group brainstorming sessions a bit intimidating. I mean, the creative team is there. And they always have the best ideas, right? And yet, here I was, attending a session on brainstorming, led by two top-tier creatives, Prudence Bovee and Steve Fleshman. The tables were set for…

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Educate for Success—Why I Attended DM101 and You Should Too

Are you fresh on the direct mail scene—a newbie like me? If so, the DMAW’s DM 101: The Basics seminar is one you don’t want to miss. Direct mail is a beautiful mystery—as I continue to learn and create within this industry, I’ve quickly discovered that I mustn’t forget the basics. Having a direct mail…

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My direct mail fantasy, and other myths

  I’ve found the perfect direct mail donor. Her name is Gladys, and she gives to everything I send her, 100% of the time. But I’m not sharing her with you guys.  She’s mine. When Gladys gets a mailing from me, she does exactly what she’s supposed to do. When she sees my piece of…

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Oyster Folds, Pixie Dust, and Lenticular Motion, Oh My! at the IFIT Forum

If you were in the audience of the 2017 DMAW Innovative Formats Integrated Techniques (IFIT) Forum on March 7th in lovely Arlington, VA, you know what I mean when I exclaim, “What a buffet of ideas!” The presentations kicked off promptly at 9:00 am with introductory remarks from the ‘time captains’ and brilliant co-chairs Shannon…

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The Skinny on DM101 – The Basics: A Participant’s View

  On March 2, I had the pleasure of attending DMAW’s DM 101 Course – The Basics. It was a wonderful event and like most ideal association communities, DMAW provides an excellent full day introductory seminar that has become the standard for bringing industry newbies, mostly 1-4 years in their careers, up to speed. Held…

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Direct Marketing 101: Creative, Lists, and Production

Part one of a new blog series. If you missed the sold out DM 101 workshop on March 2, 2016 below you will find some important key takeaways you need to consider for a successful direct marketing program! So what were some of the key takeaways from industry leaders at the DM 101 workshop? Kerri…

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