Case Study

Once the agent has subscribed and the account has been created in By Design Publishing’s Customer Management System, the client moves over to a New Accounts Representative to work with them through the order process, collecting photos, logos, mailing lists, and to sign off on the publication agreement. They will assist in getting the first issue sent to print as well as introduce and coach the agent on how to use the customer portal:

On the BDP portal you can:

• Preview cover templates and customize your pages.
• View and make updates to photos or content.
• Update account contact information.
• Maintain current mailing lists.
• See your billing information.

After the first issue has been printed, the client is assigned their own Personal Marketing Assistant (PMA) who will provide answers to any questions, assist with the online portal, send reminders and advise of upcoming deadlines to keep ontrack for printing schedules. PMAs will aid in proofing both online and print content to avoid errors.

Once the magazines are ready to print, all of the cover images are batched with associated data and sent to Digital Lizard’s digital presses and mailing data is sorted. This process is very unique in that he covers are printed in order of the sorted mailing data. Meaning these are sorted for postal efficiency and each cover is printed in order of the data per zip code. By utilizing this process By Design accomplishes a couple of things:

• All magazines are printed on the same paper and same press. This helps to make sure quality standards are met.

• It also allows all of the mailing information, indicia and intelligent barcode are printed at the same time and the print colors all match the magazine cover colors. It does not require another run through another printer to print this info, so it minimizes the potential for a cover to be damaged. It also enables us to avoid placing a sticker with this information on it.

• This process is also important because of the variable data used to tie the personalized “Dear” line featured on the customization option to the correct covers and have them correspond with the mailing data on the back. Digital print is the key to all of this.

Once the mailing data is sorted and all accurate covers have been ripped to the printer, By Design Publishing gets one more set of proofs. This is done to ensure the mailing data matches the “Dear” line, the mailing data appears as it should, no print anomalies are present, the appropriate mailing layout is being displayed, crop marks for magazine trimming are accurate, and paper/color meets our standards.

The magazines are then approved to print. Digital Lizard and Creel work together to print and bind the magazines. They deliver the magazines to the postal hub to begin the mailing of the magazines. We offer a complimentary copy of the magazine as well. We do this first as a gift, but it also lets our clients know that their magazines are arriving in their clients’ homes.

The magazine features the agent exclusively on the front cover and other cover pages making the magazine appear as a custom piece created exclusively for their clients. This is a timeless, quality print piece with longevity. It includes 52-pages of beautiful photography, design ideas and recipes. Home By Design magazine features content that encourages the end user to refer back to It again and again throughout the year.

A consistent reminder that the agent is there and available to their clients. Home By Design magazine shows that they are serious about doing business with them, unlike other printed products. The magazine mails out six times a year which means steady marketing to the Real Estate agents list of customers and potential customers. Each issue features a new theme related to home décor. Issues are not dated which means the content is relevant year-round and not just for that month.

The magazine features no additional advertisements so that the focus Is solely on the real estate agent and their brand. In addition to noncompete ads, the agent can sell ad space on their cover pages. For example, if they want to feature their favorite mortgage broker or local handyman. This helps to subsidize the cost of the magazine ultimately reducing the cost of this high quality marketing piece.