Find the Right List: A Real World Example

Alright, I left you hanging on the last post. I told you I would have a real world example waiting for you when I got back. So with any further ado, here it is.

You might discover that the majority of your customers live within an x-mile radius of your business. Or, you might discover that the majority of your customers drive late-model compact cars...have Mastercards and Visa cards...subscribe to a certain magazine...are between the ages of 25 and 40...are married.

Armed with this information, you can obtain a mailing list, or compile a mailing list, of prospects who closely match the characteristics shared by the majority of your customers.

You might, for example, get a mailing list of all the subscribers to FAMILY CIRCLE MAGAZINE, who are between the ages of 25 and 40 and who live within a 50-mile radius of your business. Is such a list available? You bet!

You might get another list of Mastercard and Visa cardholders, who are married and live within a 50-mile radius of your business. This is generally called LIST SELECTION and many direct mail experts believe it to be the single, most important factor in success or failure with a direct marketing campaign.

I happen to agree, and firmly believe that money spent in obtaining the best possible list is more than recovered via savings on printing quantities (in direct mail) and via improved response.

If you are unfamiliar with the availability of mailing lists and with list selection, you should begin your education with a visit to the main public library in your area, to study a huge directory: Standard Rate And Data Service (SRDS).

This directory provides detailed information on tens of thousands of available mailing lists and list suppliers. In your local Yellow Pages, you’ll also find list brokers under the category “Mailing List.” You should meet with several of these people before choosing to do business with one of them. You may also want to deal with national list brokers. There are a number of long-established, reputable list brokers and many of them publish catalogs of the lists they own and/or represent.

As we discussed, getting the proper list should be your #1 priority when starting a new direct mail campaign. You’re in-house list should be your most profitable one.

But what if you’re ready to move to cold prospects? How should you start? I’ve teamed up with a list company to make that quick and easy for you. Just give me a call at 888-250-1834 and we'll find the right list for you!

Next week I've got a great discussion on how you can create your own hyper-responsive list with prospects drooling over what you've got to offer.