On Wed, Sep 07, 2005 at 10:17:27PM -0400, Pete Theisen wrote:
> Paul M Foster wrote:
> <snip>
> >>Don't even think of doing your own bulk mail, cheaper to have it
> >>done. I have about 4,500 pieces going out next week.
> >
> >Not true. I pay $150 per year for a bulk permit, and the cost can be
> >a little over half the cost of first class postage, depending on how
> >you do it. You do need to learn how to do bulk mail and get trays and
> >such from the P.O. But you can definitely save money if you're
> >willing to get your hands dirty.
>
> Hi Paul!
>
> Really! Have you figured yourself an hourly rate for getting your hands
> dirty as you put it, or do you have yourself on salary? <s>
>
> That is what I was getting at, *all* the costs. Wages for whoever does
> it, supplies, postage, a mailing list, the permit you mentioned,
> printing/folding/stuffing machines, forklift, truck and a place to keep
> all of it . . . You add all that up and you are working awfully hard to
> pay about the same, usually more.
>
> Of course, if you are in that business anyway . . . "Quill and Mouse"
> sounds like you might be.
We do desktop publishing (graphic design and typesetting), and we do
mailing for our customers. And we charge _them_ less than first class
postage would cost. But more than it would cost them to do the bulk
mailings themselves.
More to your point, though, in doing our own mailings for ourselves--
small business owners often consider their time worth zero, when it
comes to certain aspects of their businesses. Like promotion. I won't
work on my customers' jobs on the weekends or evenings, but I will spend
time if needed doing our own promotion. It goes with the territory.
Plus, I don't pay myself by the hour, so the more work my boss (me) can
get out of me, the more he likes it. ;-} And I have to consider what
profits I will reap as a result of the promotion I do. If I were just
starting out, I'd be spending a lot more free time and straining my
budget doing promotion.
Paul
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