The Best of Lists, the Worst of Lists
A good mailing list, by itself, won’t make your direct marketing campaign; but a bad list surely can break it.
The best list is your own house list, made up of current customers and prospects who’ve expressed an interest in what you have to offer. However, you want your campaign to go well beyond that, reaching perhaps another 10,000 or 20,000 names. Where do you get those names? And how do you know that they’re valid prospects?
There are thousands of mailing lists available to you, covering the whole spectrum of price and quality. The higher quality lists are response lists, which include subscribers, buyers (mail order or Internet), inquirers, members, and survey respondents. The least expensive lists are compiled lists, made up of names and titles which somebody has put together from public records. Here, you get what you pay for: you don’t know for sure if the addresses and titles are current or accurate. Also, there are limitations on the amount of information available to sort the list by different categories, and target your campaign more precisely.
You need somebody with expertise in the mailing-list marketplace. You or your agency should talk to a reputable list broker.
Who's Who in the List Market
The list marketplace has three layers, roughly comparable to the manufacturer-wholesaler-retailer layering in the product market:
The list owner is the original source of the names. For example, a magazine may decide to put its subscriber list on the market to generate rental income. The list owner will determine the cost of the list, and the conditions of its use. In most cases, a list owner will need to approve a marketing campaign before it is sent out.
The list manager works with a number of list owners, marketing the lists and processing the transactions. The list manager will handle the approval process, set pricing based on volume, and process the rentals.
The list broker is the retail generalist, and the person you or your agency should be talking to. A good broker will have a broad knowledge of what lists are available, and know about their quality, strengths and weaknesses. He or she will work with you to refine your campaign based on the different list categories that are available, determine where the people are that you want to reach, and then recommend a list solution that meets your requirements and budget. The broker also knows how to deal with list managers, to keep that whole side of the relationship running smoothly.
Note that a typical minimum for list rental is 5,000 names.
What Am I Trying to Do?
Some companies have very straightforward needs, and know exactly where the people are that they want to reach. Other people come to list brokers with a mandate from their boss to "get me 10,000 warm bodies". Most clients fall in between these extremes: they want a targeted list but aren’t sure how to put it together.
The most effective campaigns are built with a list in mind. Do you want to reach VPs of Communications, or VPs of IT? What businesses or industries do you want to target? What’s the revenue range of the companies that you want to get your message? As you answer these and similar questions, your agency can help you fine-tune the campaign, and the list broker can fine-tune the list to hit those different targets.
You’ll need to send a sample of the campaign to the list owner. Approval is usually routine, as long as you’re not marketing a product or service which competes with the list owner’s business to the owner’s own list. Some owners frown on campaigns not in their subscribers’ best interest, or considered objectionable, such as a sweepstakes.
Ideally, you’d like to form an initial relationship with as many people on the list as you can. Get them to come on board by signing up for an offer. Then you can add them to your house list of qualified prospects.
e-Mail Lists
Postal lists have been around for awhile, and their care and handling is a pretty well-developed art. E-mail lists are relative newcomers. Currently, they lag postal lists in the number of different lists available, the overall number of names, and the level of detail available to you (so that you can sort by category and criteria).
E-mail has taken the business world by storm, and direct marketing by e-mail was initially a very attractive proposition, not least because it was so much cheaper than postal print mailings. However, since e-mail is now an important business tool, many people are reluctant to have that channel clogged by marketing materials, and don’t want to give out their e-mail address.
Privacy concerns are also very important among Web users, so that people are not always willing to give out demographic information; industry privacy regulations further complicate the picture. On the other hand, many e-mail lists are opt-in lists: the addressee has checked a box indicating a willingness to be contacted by third parties. Naturally, this makes the leads much more qualified.
Your best bet may be a double campaign, using a postal and an e-mail list. Make sure your e-mail list is opt-in; even better is a double opt-in list (they’ve answered yes to a second query, "are you sure it’s OK to be contacted?"). And keep track of the results of your campaign — you can adjust and refine your lists for the next one.
Thanks to Mark Linse of MGM Lists for contributing to this article. Mark is at mgmlists@cape.com and 508-539-1300.
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How do I find a list that’s best for my direct marketing campaign?
Since most postal lists are generated from subscription lists, you might start by asking what publications your target prospects are likely to read. For the best lists, work with highly respected, widely read publications. A good list broker can help you rate list quality.
Which is better, a postal list or an e-mail list?
Each has its advantages. Postal lists have been around longer, and are often more highly evolved; also, more people are receptive to direct mail than to e-mail solicitations. E-mail campaigns are very cost-effective, and opt-in lists in effect pre-qualify prospects. If a list owner offers both formats, why not start with a postal mailing and follow up with an e-mail blast?
How many times can I use a list?
Lists belong to the list owner, and are rented on a one-time usage basis. Each list contains ‘seed names’ so that the owner can detect unauthorized re-use. Often you can place a re-use order and use the list again at a discount.
If a list contains 100,000 names and I only want to mail to 5,000, what do I do?
You can always order an nth of the file. For example, the computer would select every 20th name. However, that’s kind of a crap shoot approach. Work with your list broker to choose the selects that best match your campaign, for example, CFOs of companies with revenue over $50 million in the northeast.
How much more will I pay for a list broker?
Nothing. The list owner pays the broker directly.
What do I need to do to sort the list for bulk mailing?
Most lists come pre-sorted by zip codes. The first three digits of the zip code denote the Sectional Center Facility, allowing you to sort for larger geographic areas.
What formats do lists come in?
Most list owners have lists available in several formats, including pressure-sensitive labels, chesire labels, magnetic tape, CD-ROM, diskette and e-mail.