Direct Mail Fundamentals - How to Build a Mailing List
One of the most important elements of any direct mail marketing campaign is the mailing list (a.k.a. database). These are the folks you'll send your postcards or letters to -- in the hope of generating a response and, ultimately, some new business.
The first thing you need to realize is that your list is more than just a bunch of names. It's a primary ingredient of direct marketing success. Because sending the right message to the wrong audience is always wrong.
Fundamentals of a Good Mailing List
- Your audience should match your product or services.
- Your list should be as current as possible.
- It should be tightly focused (age group, location, etc.).
- It should be easy to validate, update and manage (electronic format).
Remember, your contact database is the direct connection between you and your audience, and your audience determines your direct mail success. So give your list the attention it deserves. Ask all the hard questions: Is my data current? Are these the right people I should focus on, given my objectives? Is my list too broad? Should I segment it into categories?
Segmenting Your Database
When you segment your contact database, you are able to be more specific with your message. After all, you will know precisely who you are writing to, and those people will have certain things in common (if you've segmented properly).
Common ways to segment a list include:
- Potential customers vs. current or past customers
- Grouping past customers by purchase history
- Organizing by location, income level, age group, or other criteria
Obviously, it takes more effort to segment a mailing list into tighter groups, and it may not be necessary for all occasions. But for now, just understand that the process will give you more message flexibility. In this age of information clutter, you have to make your message more relevant in order to make a connection.
Where to Find a List
Basically, you have two ways to come up with a database of names and addresses for your marketing campaign. You can build it yourself, or you can buy one from a data service.
Option 1 - Building It Yourself -- If you build a mailing list yourself, it will likely be reliable and well targeted. But it will also be a lot of work. To get started on the right foot, build your contact database with a common software application like Excel or Act. These programs simplify maintenance and allow you to export your list into a format that a direct mail vendor might require, such as a comma-separated values (CSV) format.
Option 2: Purchasing Data -- If you buy a list, there's virtually no effort on your part, but you'll obviously pay for the convenience. Using a data company, you can enter a series of demographic choices (location, household size, income level, etc.) and then purchase and download the database right off the website. You might pay anywhere from $200 to $2,000, depending on the number of recipients and the types of demographic choices you make.
Common Threads
Regardless of what option you take, make sure your list has the three most important qualities, which are relevance, accuracy and currency.
- Relevance -- It should include the kinds of people who would be most inclined to purchase your products or services, and therefore most likely to respond to your offer. If you sell luxury products, don't send your materials to lower-income neighborhoods.
- Accuracy -- The big list providers use double or triple verification to check the names and addresses in their databases. This reduces the number of undeliverable addresses (wasted postage).
- Currency -- There's a lot of flux when it comes to postal addresses. People move, new neighborhoods arise, streets get renamed, etc. An old list is a bad one, and it will result in a higher number of undeliverable materials. So make sure your database is as "fresh" as possible.
About the Author: Brandon Cornett is the publisher of Postcard Smart, a vast library of direct marketing advice. To learn more about direct mail lists and similar topics, please visit http://www.postcardsmart.com
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Print Article | Download PDF | 158 views | Mar 31 2008
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