Johnson’s World: Make It Fascinating

The girl who sorts our company mail walks into my office. Her background isn’t in print; she works in the accounting department. (Full disclosure: she’s my daughter Roxane.) She hands me a large envelope.

“I have no idea what this is,” she says, “but it looks fascinating.”

Congratulations to Printograph of Burbank, CA. Your mailing piece just captured the attention of a 20-year old – so much so that she not only noticed your piece, but hand delivered it to the president of our company instead of just putting it in my box for my secretary to open. If that wasn’t enough, she made sure I would look at it by declaring your mailer to be “fascinating” as she handed it to me.

Printograph, also known as Gotprint (gotprint.com), obviously practices what they preach. Their full-color, full-bleed 10 x 10-inch square envelope contained a diecut folder made to look like a portfolio, which in turn contained a catalog along with a collection of printed paper samples. 

The catalog is crammed full of information about Printograph’s products, services, and equipment lineup, as well as a tips and requirements for submitting work. They make no bones about their audience. They are a trade printer, and they know that recipients of this mail piece are experts in the field who want facts and figures. I’m not normally an advocate of equipment lists and photos of machinery, but in this case such things are entirely appropriate.

Many “Johnson’s World” readers have received this mailing. I’ve seen it before, but this time I saw it through new eyes: the eyes of Roxane, a post-millennial member of generation Z. In her media-saturated world, things don’t automatically grab her attention. If you want her business, you’d better make your pitch fascinating.

Print has unique opportunities to reach this generation that is only starting to come of age. Generation Z doesn’t use Facebook or Twitter – those are for old people. They have email, but check it once or twice a week at the most. They are overwhelmed with digital media, but don’t receive much print mail.

When the postman does bring a letter or a package, however, they look at it. That is your golden opportunity to connect. Don’t blow it. Make it fascinating.

Something to hold in their hands

I’m an unabashed advocate of newsletters. Printed newsletters. Mailed newsletters. If you’re in the business of print, show the world what you can do. Show them that you believe in your product.

Congratulations to Lane Press of South Burlington, Vermont, for taking this idea a giant step farther. Lane Press (lanepress.com) prints magazines, so they’ve launched Pages, their own magazine. When does a newsletter become a magazine? The dividing line may not be clear, but this 9 x 11-inch, 32 page + cover saddle-bound publication with bound-in reply card surely qualifies as a magazine.

Filled with information of interest to publishers, this publication quietly showcases Lane Press’s capabilities to the audience most likely to need their products and services.

Sure, Lane Press has a blog. It has a presence on LinkedIn and Twitter. It has a website (and now a separate site for Pages, pagesthemagazine.com). It is all well and good to be visible on the internet, but everyone else is on the internet, too. Giving your prospects something to hold in their hands takes marketing to another level. True for any company, but doubly true when print is the very product you are selling.

There was a time not all that long ago when print was generic. Everybody did it, out of necessity more than enthusiasm. Now, print is just one of many communication options. Those who aren’t enthusiastic about print can simply not do it, to their own peril.

Those of us who do believe in the incredible power of print have a better chance than ever to get our message across. Give it your very best shot. Make it fascinating.