What’s not so easy to find? Hard facts and case studies that demonstrate if any of this creates profit on a sustainable basis. Yes, the occasional viral video hits the jackpot, and once and a while a local business scores big on Twitter. But day in and day out? Don’t bank on it.

Online marketing, is just that: marketing. Unless you’re amazon.com, that’s not the same as sales.

Especially for the B2B world, selling is a personal contact sport. Only to the extent that online tools enhance relationships and awareness, can they indeed lead to sales. Same for direct mail, brochures and printed collateral which are increasingly rare and correspondingly effective these days.

You’re gettng word of mouth, referrals and testimonials? Great. Increased credibility and visibility though internet channels? Super Duper! Top of mind presence though e-mail and direct marketing? Very cool.

Still, and especially in tough times, your business must address the question of selling. Not blog posts. Not impersonal e-mails. Not customer service. Selling. It’s a separate in-the-moment skill that has to be carefully woven into the texture of your company.

Taking a lot of time to develop, update and enhance your selling skills, product knowledge, and customer knowledge (and that of your team) isn’t fast, sexy or cheap. Which is precisely why so few companies get it right.

One quote stands in my mind:

“Coming home with 30 or 40 cards is not nearly as effective as having half a dozen [that were from] really good quality conversations where having the business card and the ability to reconnect was important to you,” Ross Parker says. “I think people miss that.”

Do you think business cards are obsolete in the internet era? Let’s hear your take!

In his new book Linchpin, revolutionary business thinker Seth Godin helps us find the art in our work, regardless of job description. Here’s a 60 second interview about what we can bring to each day of our working lives:

Linchpin Meetup

From Seth: This is first ever unofficial Seth Godin Linchpin worldwide Meetup. It’s a completely non commercial chance to find and connect with other members of Seth’s tribe, an opportuity to talk, challenge, and inspire your fellow travelers.

The first ever Rancho Cucamonga Linchpin meetup will be held on June 14, in the Copies&Ink meeting room. As of this post, we’re up to 7 attendees, but wherever you live, there’s a meetup near you. If you’d like to participate here’s some information.

My parents became American citizens early on and toiled for years to take their place among the millions of workers that helped to build our nation during its golden age of growth. They opened their first company, a modest letterpress shop in Chicago. Dad was a naturally talented artist, and found that this talent served him well in the printing industry. It was a career that lasted over his entire (all too short) lifetime.

Last week, Mom passed away after a long illness. I miss both my parents terribly, but beyond being sad, I’ve also been reflective. Could they repeat their successes, had they touched down in 2010? How will my own son be able to find his way within the new realities of the job market?

The notion of “hang a shingle, work hard and success will follow,” can seem quaint and even laughable in the age of commoditization, outsourcing and double digit unemployment. A college degree is now out of reach for many, and is no longer automatically equated with job opportunity.

Still, I’m grateful for America, the opportunities it afforded my family, and so many others. I’m grateful for a landscape that still seems to egg me on with a hopeful new vision of the future.

Bella Alpert passed away the day after Mother’s Day.

It’s practically child’s play to make a great impression using print. Just take enough time to write some decent copy for your ad, brochure or mailer. That simple practice has become so rare that even a perfunctory effort at story telling gets attention.

It’s really quite daring to step out and tell a story with drama. Much simpler to advertise with leaden bullet points, as if your reader where looking at a powerpoint presentation.

The art of advertising in print certainly goes back thousands of years, and will likely be around even when the internet is a distant, faded memory. That’s because there {hidden treasure} are always stories to tell, for those perceptive enough to find them, and bold enough to write them.

Selling complex financial products or services based on price alone is a very weak opening gambit. It assumes your readers are unsophisticated, and are willing to accept unlikely scenarios or outlandish claims. On the other hand, this approach works well if you are willing to bet your company on a large volume of buyers who are interested in low end commodity purchases.

Ready to sell on price? Then you should be ready to compete with the Wal-Marts of the world. That means your product comes in cheap on containers from China and/or that your employees are outsourced to an offshore call center. Not you?

Direct Mail is more than ever the premier outreach method for everyone from Mom & Pops to Fortune 100s. It’s just silly and wasteful to use it as a spamming tool.

Why would I want to do business with your company? “Discount pricing” is the same answer all of your competitors use, and they’re as close as a Google search. For most marketers, low price just isn’t good enough, and just the wrong approach.

Just spending a few hours in my office cleaning up the remaining tasks for 2009. The last decade has been a wild ride, to be sure. Hope it’s ending on a positive note for you, as it did for us.

To each of my friends, colleagues and customers best wishes for a very Happy New Decade!

I just had a phone conversation with a prospective customer during which I tried to explain the various methods and of binding a book. It’s tough to do that over the phone. So Stephanie, this post is for you!

Saddle Stitch

This method is fast and cost effective, especially when your making more than just a few books. Saddle stitched books are printed on large sheets, then folded in half before stiching. The “stitches” are much like staples, except that they’re extruded from a long coil of wire. It’s tough to stitch through more than about 50 sheets or so, thus you are limited to a 200 page folded booklet.

Perfect Bind

This method is great for thicker books, where stapling or saddle stitching can’t get the job done. It’s elegant and professional. It can be pricey for smaller runs. Not suitable for very thin books. In this method you’re using a glue to cement the text pages into the cover. Phone books and paperback novels are bound using this method.

Coil Binding
This is great for small quantities of books, and it enables pages to lie flat when opened. Coils come in various sizes, so you can bind very thin books, up to 150-200 sheets or more. This process is time consuming and labor intensive, so it can get a bit pricey.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. Many binding methods are available to fit your specific needs. Speak with your print professional to help you sort out the choices.

A word of thanks to everyone who participated at the recent Adobe PDF workshop at Copies&Ink. It certainly was a busy, informative session. Rave reviews abounded from everyone.

Kelly has once again shared her personal list of links and free resources. Here they are, for those who attended, and those who couldn’t. Enjoy!

Adobe Resource Guide

by Kelly McCathran

Adobe Groups
The group I mentioned at your event is Creative Suite Lovers, look for the white CS4 logo

http://groups.adobe.com

Kelly’s Extra Handouts

http://public.me.com/kmccathran

Adobe TV – Creative Suite 4 Demos
Cool videos on how to do almost anything in the Creative Suite
tv.adobe.com/

Creative Suite 4 Info
Suite breakdowns & Upgrade pricing
www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/

Adobe Design Center
Step-by-Step Lessons, Guides and Tutorials for CS2 & CS3 also access to User Forums & Feature Requests
adobe.com/designcenter/

Adobe Design Center Video Workshop
Flash Movies on all Creative Suite 3 Products and many new features
adobe.com/designcenter/video_workshop

Adobe Print Resource Center
Transparency guides and PDF Print Production Information and a wealth of print related resources
adobe.com/go/print

Adobe Events
Find Adobe Certified Trainers and Training Centers in your area, on-demand and live eClasses as well as road show events
www.adobe.com/events

Adobe Education
Educational resources for K-12 and higher education, free curriculum and more
www.adobe.com/education

Still, plenty of folks like the richness of Pantone colors, and I’m among them. Ever try building 8 point serif text out of a process mix? Can’t get just the shade you need using the CMYK tables? Then Pantone colors will generally do the trick.

That said, using the standard four inks can at times bring great economy to an otherwise pricey project. For jobs like that, use a color bridge chart color bridge chart to match your color.

It’s not a perfect solution, and in some cases the process equivalent of Pantone ink can look downright nasty. I keep a comparison chart at our front counter, in case you’d like to take a look.