Marathon Press

[TCz photo]

Has anyone used Marathon Press? If so, what was the outcome? I am rather new to the profession and I am looking for a way to get my name out. I have looked over the information sent by Marathon but I am a little worried about the two year commitment.

Is a membership worth the money?

[edleg]

The Marathon Press I know about prints yearbooks and church directories. They also sell postcard mailers and flyers....

What 2 year committment?
Maybe a web link?

[TCz photo]

2 year contract for the Marketing basics plan (MBP) or the Marketing Value plan (MVP). The initial fee for the first one is $200 plus a monthly fee of $149 for 24 months. The MVP has a initial fee of $995. plus a monthly fee of $314 for 24 months.

Click here for the link

[edleg]

You need to look at the "added value" they are offering. Marathon has a lot of marketing materials which you can just outright buy (postcards, flyers, etc.) and then mail yourself. When I looked at their info I did not see where they could help me compete in my areas of photography in my geographic location(s) with their plans.

Maybe look at the costs of renting good mailing lists. Develop your own lists by looking through phone book, etc.

[Unkl Buck]

Yes, it is worth it. If nothing else, it allows you to market in a lesser expensive way.

[Unkl Buck]

Originally Posted by edleg

Develop your own lists by looking through phone book, etc.

That's a waste, imo. You NEED to have some kind of qualifier for you list. Otherwise, you are wasting money sending info to someone that isn't interested.

[edleg]

I, too, would like to have qualified lists of potential clients.

But, how do you know how the other provider "qualified" their list?

[brian.austin]

Originally Posted by edleg

I, too, would like to have qualified lists of potential clients.

But, how do you know how the other provider "qualified" their list?

Most mailing list developers don't just pull names from the phone book. They buy raw data from a variety of sources, including the government (feds, state and local), subscription lists from magazines, open information available from credit bureaus and more. They combine that data into a profile that is then used to develop a mailing list targeted to certain demographics. The good ones get feedback on the success of the lists and refine them further.

So when you buy a list for marketing high end wedding packages, you'll probably be getting single women who are subscribers to Bride magazine with estimated incomes of $45K or better (as an example). Or if you're targeting commercial photography, you might get a list of companies who have advertised $100K or more in regional and national magazines.

Ask the companies how they develop their lists and the qualification criteria you're allowed to specify. They might suggest things or just have standard packages. Regardless, though, make sure they TELL you the criteria for the selections. If they don't, it may not actually be "qualified".