Lowering NCRA members dues by $20.00 - Step 11

[Bill Parsons]

Item number 11 should be added to thie list of steps necessary to change the JCR Court Reporter Listings from a non-growth ad section into the healthy ad section it used to be and is capable of being.

Item 11:

Current billings for the NCRA Source Book, on-line Professional Services Locator and JCR Court Reporter Listings will include an announcement offering ads in JCR Magazine.

The improvements mentioned in items 1 through 10 will be instituted, and it is expected that some firms will buy multiple ads for several cities in their states as is the present case in other court reporter directories.

The above marketing method will involve no great cost and no taking of time of present NCRA staffers.

Also, non-NCRA court reporter directories will be used to compile the names of freelance firms presently not advertising in the Source Book, the on-line Professional Services Locator or JCR Magazine.

The names of firms collected from non-NCRA advertising sources will be contacted and offered ads in JCR Magazine.

Also, testimonials will be sought from present JCR Magazine advertisers attesting to the great results they have had from their magazine ads including job referrals and the publicizing their agencies to new court reporters looking for jobs.

I have personal knowledge of agencies which have hired employees through making their firms known through their advertising in the JCR Court Reporter Listings.

Frieda Katramadas years ago told me she called agencies advertising in JCR Magazine asking them about the results of the ads, and Frieda was told that an agency hired employees by virtue of their ad in JCR Magazine.

Also, let's remember Jere West, former NCRA president. He has had an ad in the JCR Court Reporter Listings for over 30 years, and he doesn't even bother with a Source Book ad or Professional Services ad, and Jere at one time was charging other agencies hundreds of dollars as a consultant in the best running of their agencies.

Also, I have personal knowledge that agencies say all their advertising dollars spent are well worth it in giving them a chance to be in the running for that one big job or contract that is worth thousands and thousands of dollars.

Also, I have knowledge of human nature, and agencies like to have their names known as leaders in the field, and people like to advertise where they will get recognition.

Also, I have knowlege of the nature of competition, and agencies compete as hard as they can, and an ad by Agency A, if known about by Agency B in the same town, will result in Agency B buying an ad to meet their competition.

Also, doesn't it make sense in direct marketing to enclose sales promotions in the billings a business sends out?

Doesn't Pengad include advertisements in its cartons of stenotype paper?

If you are paying the postage anyway or going through the bother of electronic billing, why wouldn't you want tag-on advertisements for the other services your firm or association offers?

Is that not good business to get the most out of the money invested to conduct your business, i.e. if you are paying for an envelope and stamp, why not include advertisements to increase sales?

If you have a large e-mail list that you notify of electronic billings, why wouldn't you use that large e-mail list to send advertisements for other services your firm or association offers?

Submitted by Bill Parsons

[Bill Parsons]

As of the October 2009 issue of JCR, there were 156 individual freelance agencies advertising in the JCR Court Reporter Listings.

The 2010 NCRA Source Book contains 985 freelance agency advertisements.

So in the NCRA Source Book there is a pool of possible new advertisers to be signed up for the JCR Court Reporter Listings which is over 6-times as large as the present number of JCR CRL advertisers.

Bill