Direct Marketing News

Direct marketing guru Ed Mayer famously said that the mailing list you use accounts for 40% of the responses from your mailings.

With that much of your revenue riding on the result, it’s important to make sure that you use a high-quality list. The trouble is that there are a bewildering array of lists; thousands and thousands of them. There are lists of businesses, lists of physicians, lists of gardeners, even lists of Jewish vitamin buyers (?!). And, prices range from $25 for a list of thousands of names to $1,000 for only a few hundred names.
How do you find the right one?

TYPES OF MAILING LISTS

Compiled

These are lists of names from directories, new business registrations, and other public records. They are generally cheaper than other kinds of lists. They can be useful for lead generation, but are less useful for direct sales. The data is likely to be older than other kinds of lists, leading to more undeliverable mail, and lower response rates.

Mail Order/Online Buyers

Lists of people or businesses who have purchased something (a book, software, clothing, etc.). This list will cost more than a compiled one, but will also generate more revenue.

Subscribers

Lists of people who have subscribed to a magazine, newsletter, or other publication. The more closely the publication’s target audience matches your customers and prospects, the better your response rate is likely to be.

E-mail

E-mail lists tend to be the most expensive, costing up to $350/thousand. This is partly due to the scarcity of e-mail rental lists and partly due to concerns about spamming. If you can get a good one, e-mail is, of course, considerably cheaper to send. Plus, you can generate responses more quickly and track clicks, click-throughs, and pageviews at every stage of the buying process.

In-house lists

House lists are names owned by a particular company. This includes customers, conference attendees, subscribers to a specific publication or newsletter. It can also incorporate people who have been past customers or who have inquired about a product or service.

HOW TO CHOOSE A LIST

Check its profile

Each list has a data card (its profile), which will tell you:

• the name or description of the list
• whether it’s a business list (made up of companies) or a consumer list (made up of individual people)
• how many names are on it
• the last time it was updated
• details about the people and businesses on the list (such as number of employees, type of business, and job titles)

Look to see if the details match the profile of your target audience, and how many of them there are. For example, if you want to mail to 5,000 people, but only 200 of the people on a particular list meet your requirements, you’ll need a different list.

List rental v. list purchase

There are many lists available both for rental and purchase. Purchased lists are generally compiled, and less responsive, plus you can’t update the data.

• Before you pay for a list, consider what you’re going to use it for, and how long you want to use it.
• Rental lists are generally for one-time use and the list owner will often want to see a copy of the material you are mailing (a draft is usually OK).
• You will save money (even for a list that costs more) because you will have fewer undeliverable names and less wasted paper and postage.

How much to pay for a list

Prices can range from free (and generally worthless) to thousands of dollars. Here are a few general rules to follow:

• Business lists usually cost more than consumer lists
• Subscriber, mail order, or house lists will cost more than compiled lists
• Costs are generally quoted in $ per thousand names, such as $50 per thousand or $300 per thousand.
• “Selections,” or narrowing down the list, by certain job titles, geographic locations, or other criteria will cost a fixed price per thousand names. The list owner may also charge additional fixed fees for different media (such as labels, disk, or electronic delivery).
• The list that’s “best” is not the one that costs the least, but the one that will get the best response.

The best list for your product or service will get a response rate that is ten times higher than the worst list.

Make sure the list is fresh

Like fish, lists become less and less appealing the older they get. While they won’t literally stink, the quality will go down considerably.
Check to see when the list was last updated. Older lists will have more errors (people who have now moved, businesses that have closed, or subscribers who have expired).

See where the names come from

Are the names from a single source, such as subscribers to a particular magazine? Or does it contain several files grouped together (such as subscribers to several magazines, plus general inquiries, plus expired subscribers)?

Lists from multiple sources give you access to a larger number of names, and often have additional data added (called an overlay). This can include company size, personal income ranges, etc. However, such lists can also be too broad, or include compiled names and directories. Check carefully, and make sure you know what you’re paying for.

About the author:

Jodi Kaplan is a marketing expert and founder of KaplanCopy, a direct marketing consulting firm. She fixes “broken” marketing by turning ineffective marketing and unappealing Web sites into powerful marketing tools with clear benefits and measurable results. Her professional network gives her clients “one-stop shopping”: marketing, copywriting, graphic design, and Web design all in one place - with one phone call. To learn more, visit http://kaplancopy.com

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