Sponsored Content WEBINAR: ELECTION 2008: E-mail Tips from a Political Insider   WEBINAR: Becoming the Illusionist: The Magic of Using "Brand" to Drive Response without Results Disappearing in the Process   WEBINAR: Score and Win Through Cooperation   TOOLS OF THE TRADE: Holiday's are prime-time for email marketing - maximize your ROI by getting to the inbox   ON DEMAND WEBINAR--MASTER CLASS: High Performance Online and Off-line Strategies for Large Scale Customer Acquisition   FREE WHITE PAPER - Direct Mail and the Internet Find any supplier you need - agencies, CRM, fulfillment, lists, e-commerce, paper, printers, telemarketing, and more. Featured Categories Lists and Data Telemarketing Database Marketing E-commerce Web Marketing Agency & Creative Services Print, Production & Paper Lists and Data Processing :: view all categories Get free access to more than 50,000 list data cards - one of the most comprehensive databases in the industry. >> Search Now DIRECT Buzz Blog Webinars Buyer's Guide Calculators JobZone ListFinder Promo Calendar Research Store E-Newsletters Print Magazine This Month in Direct Magazine Deal With It Direct had a full house for this year's list roundtable. Considering all the additional responsibilities on brokers' plates, that's impressive... See Full July Issue

If there are two things direct marketers dread, it's economic downturns and elections. This year we have both, and you can catch up on them in Direct.

Our special supplement features a report by Richard H. Levey on the results of Direct's annual forecast survey. Revenue and margins are down for many firms and flat for others. And while DMers seem to be doing more prospecting, that doesn't necessarily add up to revenue for list owners.

The good news — if you see it that way — is that online budgets are going up.

Whatever your channel, there are tactics that can help you through this rough time. For example, offers can be tailored based on customers' needs and fears, as Russell Kern pointed out in a recent Direct Webinar (find it at www.directmag.com/events/webinars/).

Then there's the election. The Democratic race may be over by the time you read this (or maybe it won't). Either way, politics is now top of mind for most of us.

As Ken Magill re-ports in our cover story, the candidates are barraging their supporters with e-mail. This will continue into November and beyond.

Traditional DM lore has it that this is a bad time for mailers. But isn't it possible that, far from being a distraction, the candidates' e-mail blasts can stimulate response in general?

If all this is too unsettling for you, read Ken's sidebar on Richard Viguerie.

Viguerie is the father of political direct mail — he helped Ronald Reagan get elected in 1980. The story of how he compiled the first real list of conservatives in 1964 is downright inspirational.

Every nonprofit mailer, whatever their political persuasion, owes Viguerie a debt. Isn't it time he was elected to the DMA Hall of Fame?