Attendance down, spirits up at NEPA's annual marketing conference in New Orleans.

Attendance at the Newsletter & Electronic Publishers Association marketing conference, held November 4-5 in New Orleans, dropped to about 140 participants from last year's 175 in New York City. Janine Hergesell, NEPA's director of meetings, said many they talked with who were not planning on attending were "simply too busy--too busy marketing, too busy with everything because business is picking up."

That's the same impression we gathered from talking with publishers, marketers, consultants and vendors. Direct marketing is making a big come-back. People are aggressively in the mail again. A printer told us that their business has also picked up dramatically--and the same for list brokers--both good signs if you ascribe to the notion that vendors are a pretty good leading economic indicator.

David Foster, president of IOMA, with $21 million in revenues, said that after 2000 and 2001, "It's starting to be fun again. We're seeing patterns of success again."

Jim Sinkinson, president of Infocom Group, with $2.5 million in revenues, said, "Growth is back in our strategy. We've created a new-product development mandate in the company, which is woven into the fabric of Infocom." He said they've set an annual growth level.

Conference co-chairmen both upbeat

Conference co-chairman Samantha Saldukas, president of The Coding Institute, told NL/NL, "A financial publisher said to me, 'The last conference I went to was in Philadelphia several years ago. That was very depressing, so I haven't been back. I'm so glad I came back this year. Very positive and lots of great information. I can't wait to get back and set the ideas in motion.' I feel the same way as this person. Everyone seemed very upbeat.

"I heard there seems to be a trend to add sales teams, and ancillaries are ever popular. For some, they are taking up about half of their revenue," Saldukas said. "Direct mail is on the rise again, and I heard multiple publishers say, 'Back to basics is the way to go.' They have been seeing a spike in packages that had stopped working, but now are pulling great."

Conference co-chairman Ed Coburn, publishing director of Harvard Health Publications, told NL/NL, "I was delighted to have repeated confirmation of my sense that things are looking up in our industry. Members and vendors were decidedly upbeat. I think the recent M & A activity is further evidence of things picking up.

"After the June NEPA conference I was heartened to find that direct mail was alive and kicking. In New Orleans, I reconfirmed that our industry as a whole is the vibrant, dynamic business I have always thought it was is," Coburn said.

"The web is a big factor for most publishers, both in marketing as well as in content delivery, but print and in-person media (such as audio conferences, training, consulting and conferences) are a very important part of most of our business," Coburn said.

Richard Harper of The Hideaway Report

Richard Harper, associate publisher of Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report (founded 1979, 12X, $135/year), described in detail the phenomenal but quirky growth of Harper Associates Inc. Many of the creative initiatives they are taking and which he chronicled were described in the June 30, 2004 NL/NL, "Is this the ultimate ancillary service?"

Harper is a humorous iconoclast who even made fun of the NEPA marketing conference's marketing copy. He said that "Blow Your Response & Profitability Through the Roof!" promises too much.

But Harper also offered some serious advice if publishers want to be as successful as he and his brother, Andrew, have been:

1. "Go with your best instincts." Go "with your gut," even against the number-crunchers' counsel. In other words, "Don't listen to people. Do what you think will work."

2. "Give more than you promise."

3. "Do what your readers want."

4. "Never do an offer lower than the renewal price."

5. "Pay your employees well." Give bonuses and set up retirement packages. Harper said their generous treatment of their employees has eliminated two expensive practices: turnover and the concomitant need for training new employees.

Harper also revealed two "secrets" of the brothers' success:

* "We have a great gimmick."

* "We're nimble. If heavy weather (i.e., a hurricane) hits a place we're writing about, we go there and look at the damage ourselves."

Next year's marketing conference

Janine Hergesell said that NEPA was considering moving the marketing conference back to the first week in December, when it was held for its first 19 years.

NEPA, 1501 Wilson Blvd., #509, Arlington, VA 22209 703-527-2333, fax [phone], www.newsletters.org.

Harper Associates, P.O. Box 50, Sun Valley, ID 83353, 208-622-3183, fax [phone], www.andrewharpertravel.com