2021

Jeff • December 15, 2021

Email marketing continues to increase, which is hurting its effectiveness, according to Ascend2's most recent email marketing study. Of the brands polled, over 70% are increasing the emails sent. Ironically, only 38% of respondents said their email marketing was successful. A big part of the reason for this is the volume of emails. We are all overwhelmed with more and more junk coming to our email box, and it's easy to delete emails just to clean up your inbox. The top three email marketing… read more

Jeff • December 8, 2021

Let me say first that I am always in favor of advances in technology – as long as it is helpful – which in most cases, it is. But not always. The whole concept of electric vehicles sounds cool. I drove a Tesla electric car once and was blown away at the power and quiet ride. It has the feel of "being off the grid." But my engineering mind has always guided me to wondering if we are really any better off from overall energy use and pollution standpoint. People often forget that electricity is… read more

Jeff • December 1, 2021

Normally, when we hear from the post office, it is almost always bad news. But for once, we have GREAT NEWS! By now, I am sure you heard that the USPS raised postage rates dramatically on August 29, 2021. However, there was a HUGE bit of GOOD NEWS buried in that postage change that we recently noticed. The maximum size for the mailing category First-Class Mail - Postcard has increased from 4 ” x 6” to 6” x 9”. This means you can now send postcards as large as 6”x9” at the postcard rate instead… read more

Jeff • November 17, 2021

Time is said to be the only resource that is truly finite. I personally agree, and over the years have explored a variety of methods and philosophies about improving my time management. My personal challenge has been adopting any one of the many systems in their entirety (some methods get rather complex and convoluted). However, I have picked up several tricks that I now use daily. One of those tricks is the “2-minute rule”, it has become my primary tool in combating procrastination. The rule… read more

Jeff • November 10, 2021

We often encounter business owners that hold a belief that is long overdue to be challenged. That belief is "direct mail is dead." However, the fact of the matter might surprise you; we are currently in the midst of a direct mail renaissance. Over the past two decades, we have seen a monumental shift in the marketplace to digital marketing (in all of its forms). The early adoption of digital marketing, such as PPC (pay-per-click, to rank on Google), wooed businesses in with low-cost,… read more