The narcissist makes my job easier. Dealing with narcissists makes my job more difficult.

That’s what some eager interviewees are being told during the process of applying for a job – and what has media buzzing about privacy and employment issues.

Pinners are the enthusiastic and creative people who grow their individual Pinterest presence by creating “boards” (think old-fashioned bulletin boards) and filling them with “pins.” Pins are images found around the web, especially from blogs, or shared from the pins of other pinners. Content that is off-limits includes right-protected web images, copyrighted or adult material, and everything on Facebook.

The New York Times article, "For $2 a Star, an Online Retailer gets 5-Star Product Reviews," was intriguing enough to make the doctor - a relative not particularly interested in e-retailing - send it straight to me.

As a marketer with decades of working with catalogers, and helping to market catalogs, I have observed both opportunities and challenges with print catalogs. There is more competition in the retail arena due to the explosion of multiple channels – radio, television, internet . There is also more opportunity. The challenges of making a print catalog one part of a cohesive multi-channel marketing effort are creatively energizing.

Print catalogs are not dead; they have just found a new place in the total marketing plan, for niche, mid-sized and large businesses.

Here are ten catalog marketing tips to help businesses get the best out of every catalog dollar.

10. Keep it focused

Make sure your catalog is focused on the products you really want to sell through that channel. While background is nice, and branding is important, make sure the message in your catalog marketing is focused on the product.

Dennis Kirk hires us for lead generation. Shoppers on Catalogs.com do request Dennis Kirk's big, 1" thick catalog - I know because people in the office get Dennis Kirk's big paper catalog. But when we generate names to build Dennis Kirk's opt-in list, the company can market to those potential customers in any number of ways.

That's why getting Dennis Kirk's CD in the mail made me look twice. The CD was unexpected, different in a good way, and felt "new."

The CD accomplishes exactly what we tell online retailers to implement. Provide shoppers with many options to access your products. Guide them to your website. Print a catalog - or series of mini-catalogs. Send an email newsletter. Build a digital catalog that is optimized for every device: iPads and smartphones.

Remember that each of your marketing tools should promote your brand consistently. All your marketing efforts should offer the shopper other ways to browse and purchase your merchandise. From your website, feature your digital catalog. From your print materials, show your website address. From your CD, offer easy links to your website.

The CD from Dennis Kirk does this seamlessly. It is simple to click from the Dennis Kirk CD to their website. But if I didn't have an internet connection, I could still shop ... like on long plane trip.

And the CD is easy for me to pass on to a friend, much more convenient than the huge catalog.

And don't worry that one of these will "steal" business from your other marketing efforts. In the end, it's all about your product, no matter where people land and how they prefer to shop.

It's about giving all kinds of customers what they want. This is the oldest rule in selling, right?

I'm not complaining, because I appreciate how fortunate Catalogs.com is to be in hiring mode. We are actually trying to fill three positions. Lots of business owners are still feeling the crunch of the still-sluggish economy.