How to Plant Stories in Target Marketing & Inside DM

Profile #33 in Our Continuing Series on Marketing Journalists

Hallie Mummert
Editor in Chief
Target Marketing/Inside Direct Mail
North American Publishing Company
401 N. Broad St.
Philadelphia PA 19108
Tel. (215) 238-5437
Fax (215) 238-5270
www.targetmarketingmag.com
www.insidedirectmail.com

->Circulation:

Target Marketing, a monthly magazine has an audited circulation of 46,085 who are typically VP’s of marketing and direct marketers.

Inside Direct is a monthly print newsletter with a guaranteed circulation of 5,000 (a mixture of both paid and controlled subscribers) with 900 who pay $150 for a yearly subscription, and 4,100 coming from a name file created each month. Read by direct marketers.

-> Mummert’s Background:

An internship during her senior year at Temple University brought Mummert to North American Publishing Company in 1992. She was studying marketing and advertising but wanted a practical experience before graduating. “I did a lot of faxing and collating of surveys but when I got to write a feature on Lands' End, I was immediately hooked on marketing.”

Mummert went back for her last semester and freelanced until she was offered a full-time job right before graduation. Target Marketing had acquired the print newsletter 'Who’s Mailing What' and they needed somebody full time. “So, I walked straight out of college and into a job. I didn’t realize how lucky and blessed I was, all of my other friends were still interviewing.” Since then, she has written for both publications and moved up the ranks to Editor in Chief.

-> Current editorial coverage:

Mummert describes the magazine, “It exists to help people in marketing and direct marketing positions understand their customers better and their marketing goals. A typical feature focuses on channel integration,” says Mummert. “And it can be more targeted into certain channels like email, direct mail, telemarketing or the web.”

The magazine always covers basics such as lists, offer, creative, and the different channels that marketers have to use, as well as stories on customer acquisition and retention.

Both the magazine and the newsletter are how-to publications but the difference is that Inside Direct focuses primarily on direct mail while Target Marketing covers all channels.

Originally, Inside Direct was called “Who’s Mailing What,” which was begun as a direct mail archive for copywriters. “The newsletter then evolved into a mouthpiece for the archive and a how-to on direct mail. It’s about how to get into the head of the prospect,” Mummert says. “We want to show direct marketers the packages and direct mail pieces that other people are trying and sending out. It’s about what’s working what’s not.”

-> What Mummert looks for in a story pitch:

“I look for an interesting angle. A lot of what we’re covering is so similar because the basics we cover again and again never go out of style.”

Winning pitches are either somebody who covers the basics very well or can provide a twist. “I love to see someone who can break the mold – someone who’s doing something different so as to bring in better results, or something no one else is currently doing.”

“What sticks out is someone who calls in with specifics and with a goal in mind already. A writer with a client that is very smart and knowledgeable and has something to offer to the industry is great. But, they need to have already thought through the idea and know the story they want to tell.”

-> Deadlines

Both monthly publications go to the printer a month before printing so three to four months' lead-time is advisable.

-> Best way to pitch Mummert:

Mummert likes to get an email first alerting her to the idea, and then a follow up phone call.

-> Submitting pre-written contributions:

What really catches Mummert’s eye is a story that fits her editorial calendar.

“We’ll print something if it’s dead-on; I like the content, it’s timely, and fits the challenges for marketers right now.”

You can find a detailed editorial calendar for both publications with submission instructions and contact information at:http://www.targetmarketingmag.com/doc/editcal.html

Mummert warns, “People who go to the trouble to write a story can’t expect it to be published just because it’s done.”

What Mummert dislikes the most is to see a piece that is supposed to be how-to and help the reader but winds up beings a promotional article.

-> Becoming a regular columnist

“At this point we have a number of regular columnists so we’re sort of columned-out. All the people we’ve turned to for columns have an educational flair and many teach at local colleges where they can make sure people know what direct mail is.”

“The press portrays direct mail in a negative light, it gets a bad name, so we want proponents of direct mail done the right way. Our columnists are eager to help people learn the basic rules, and once you’re successful, how to break them."

-> Where you can meet Mummert:

Mummert goes to all the major DM trade shows, Direct Marketing Association Annual, DM Days of New York show, Circulation Day, DM to Business Shows and she tries to make it to the local clubs as well. Mummert recently joined DMIX and occasionally makes it to Direct Marketing Club of New York shows.

-> What Mummert looks for in an online pressroom:

Mummert tends to go to online pressrooms for studies, statistics, and news coverage. She also uses them to find names of key people at organizations that she might want to profile or interview. “I like to see things that are not just internal to the company, or just housekeeping such as promotions or new accounts,” she says.

->What Mummert looks for in printed press kits:

“True content. I hate having to call and track down all the information in the press releases. If all of it’s promotional and none of it is about what’s actually happening I stop
looking.”

“For example, a company that invests in the education of its employees had better cover the content of the workshops and maybe some highlights, not just the investment, and surface level information.”

-> What Mummert reads everyday:

Mummert scans the headlines of the NY Times in her email inbox and goes through “3D,” the DM association digest for a round up of headlines from industry publications and major news sources.