Monday, December 3, 2012

To Purchase Mailing Lists Go The Source Of The Best Ones

By Brandie Montgomery


Direct mailing is still a very good approach for a vast array of products and services. Do not let anyone tell you differently. A nice piece, designed to offer something of value to the recipient, delivered to an interested party in pristine condition is the ultimate in direct response gathering. The most important part of that equation of course is where and how you purchase mailing lists.

Before the mailing list is even talked about with the several places you can find them, a little homework is necessary. You will want to identify what you are selling to whom and at what time during the year. This will help you know what lists to look at. Those patterns and the types of goods and services will be invaluable to your knowledge base.

The particular types of lists should also be looked at. There are lists created from the responses and purchases made from direct mailing pieces of related products and services. These are people who have shown the willingness to be on a mailing list because they have actually purchased items that are closely associated with your niche or even from competitors.

Another type of list would be the one that is of all members of a sub group, such as all fast food restaurants in a given area. It also might list those by menu categories, size and whether they are a franchise or not. Important information if your product is marketed to these types of businesses. Listings of all other industries are available.

When you have decided what it is you need, approach the source with enough questions to make sure they have what you are looking for. The fresher the list, the better the results. The tighter the entities interest in your service or product, the better. The larger the list, the better, all things being equal. You will still need to do the testing but you have a fair chance by checking into everything having to do with the list you are looking at.

The over 10,000 magazines, published in the United States, alone, can help you get a very wide distribution of your best mailing piece. These magazines, some of which are for a tight interest group, will rent or sell their subscription lists for the right deal. Present their readers with a good product that helps them enjoy the magazine better and the price will be right.

Catalogs, especially the specialty ones will often rent their customers name and mailing addresses. This might only be for a one time use, however, with an appropriate appeal to their interests, as expressed in the nature of their previous purchases, it might be all you need. A tightly worded offer, with a seasonally adjusted message, might help you surpass the normal expected response rate of two percent.

The planning stage is important as it gives you the ideas and the focus for the direct mail piece you design. Getting the information about your customers and potential ones will assist in this. The ability to purchase mailing lists of the correct type and from the right source is your key to a successful campaign.




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