Associate Membership in AMSP
What can being a member do for you? Plenty, if you want your share of a billion dollar marketplace!

Joining AMSP as an Associate
Member can be good for your business. The Association of Marketing Service Providers (AMSP)—can provide numerous opportunities for you to reach a large portion of the mailing and fulfillment marketplace. Your membership can provide your organization with an easier path for reaching inside these companies, and to the top decision-makers within them. Using conservative numbers from a recent membership survey, AMSP’s 500 member companies recently generated some impressive figures for 2008.

For example, 8.9 billion was spent on postage, 25.8 billion standard mail , 6 billion first class mail, 1.43 billion periodicals, and 40 million parcels were processed in 2008. Some members are not able to report their figures so conservative figures were used. That is a very big market—one you probably cannot afford to overlook. The following information provides the methods an AMSP membership will provide your company with the intelligence and access you need to improve your bottom line.

Telling the industry who you are and what you do.

• On-line member directory—Free on-line AMSP member directory listing. The online directory lets prospective customers search for your company by product, location, and name. Your online listing includes a full description of your contact information, a live link to your website, and a 50-word summary of what you do.
• New products issue of PostScripts—Twice per year, AMSP’s official member publication, PostScripts, produces a new products issue, in which associate members are given the opportunity to publish an article of up to 500 words describing new or enhancements to existing products.
• Announcements section of PostScripts—We will regularly print brief news items about supplier members in PostScripts. The news items include staff or location changes, acquisitions, honors and brief new product announcements. We also print an announcement describing who you are and what you do when you join AMSP.
• Provide editorial to PostScripts—AMSP’s popular monthly newsletter is always looking for valuable editorial to fill its pages. Our readers are eager to learn of new solutions to mailing and fulfillment services.

Gain intelligence about the marketplace!

• AMSP’s listserve—As a member, you are eligible to sign up for and participate in the AMSP Discussion Listserve. This is AMSP’s e-mail based, 24/7, realtime, electronic discussion forum. Think of the Listserve as your finger on the pulse of the industry. More than 600 individuals are signed up for the Listserve so that they can share information and help their fellow members solve problems. By participating as a vendor, you have an opportunity to identify leads, understand challenges your customers face, offer solutions, and receive feedback you might not have known otherwise. It’s a hugely valuable resource.
• Members Only Resources on Web Site—You get full access to the “Members Only” section of AMSP’s website, www.AMSP.org. Our website has rapidly become a primary source for knowledge about the mailing and fulfillment industries. Behind the Members Only section, you will find more than 1,500 documents covering virtually all aspects of mailing and fulfillment company management and operations.

Staying abreast of key industry trends and developments!
Vital, relevant news—AMSP will keep you informed through these member-only publications:

• Postal Points—Use this informative newsletter to stay on top of important USPS developments affecting the mailing industry. Chances are that major developments affecting mailers will affect your business as well.
• PostScripts—You will certainly be “in the know” about current trends in the mailing and fulfillment industry with each issue of PostScripts, AMSP’s official member publication.
• Members regularly contribute articles and insights about advances in management, production, technology, finance, and much more.
  eNews—Monthly email newsletters drive members to the website where information affecting the mailing and fulfillment industry is posted, we’ll let you know right away, so you can be prepared.
• Surveys and Manuals—From industry wage and salary reports to pricing studies, forms manuals and job descriptions, chances are you will find AMSP’s products useful in your business. And with significant member discounts, they are affordable as well.
• Chapter and local events—one way to stay abreast of the industry, is to attend local and chapter events. AMSP has developed 12 national chapters throughout North America. These chapter events are a great place to network and meet new people while staying connected.

Creating Goodwill
Less easy to quantify, but still quite valuable, is the knowledge that simply by joining AMSP you will find some doors easier to open. Many members factor in whether a company is a member of AMSP before deciding to do business with them. Your membership tells them that you are committed to this industry and their business, and more likely to be around over the long haul. Putting less stress on your wallet. Last, but by no means least, AMSP members receive special membership pricing on advertising, exhibiting, mailing list purchases, Web advertising, and virtually all other products and services offered by the association. These savings alone can more than cover the cost of membership!

Summing up why you should be a member AMSP can provide you with the “inside information” and access you need to effectively tap into the billion dollar market. The dues you pay will be repaid many times over in increased sales and profits.
Can you afford not to be a member?