Advertising Mailing List - Facts:

 

Mailing lists let you be even more selective. You have thousands of lists from which to choose, and many lists are sliced into smaller sections based on various criteria from demographics to buying histories. Some lists are just that, lists. Others are vast databases containing a variety of information on thousands or millions of potential customers.

 

Buying, creating, and Using Lists for Fun and Profitother sources are often used by retailers, service firms, and self-employed professionals such as accountants or dentists to reach a certain geographic area, without regard to other characteristics of the residents. Some compiled lists give you additional information about the people, such as demographics, automobile ownership, and other factors, but the lists do not tell you if the people have responded to a specific type of direct response offer.

 

Compilers also offer business lists, organized by standard industrial code (SIC). Again the emphasis is on large quantities, but depending on the list, various background information is usually available on each company. Lists of just about any business imaginable are available, from Thai restaurants to used brick dealers to industrial hygiene consultants. Paging through catalogs from large compiling firms can give you market ideas as well. Some compiler catalogs are 75 to 100 pages long.

 

Compiled lists are usually your second choice after direct response lists. If you can't find the people you're looking for through a direct response list, you're sure to find them on a complied list. The difficulty is that you may not be able to identify them clearly. Complied lists cover nearly every household and business in the United States, so although nearly everyone's address is available, you don't want to mail to 80 or 100 million addresses to reach a few hundred or a few thousand prime prospects.

 

Basically, list testing means selecting a test quantity from several different lists, coding each list for tracking purposes, and evaluating the results with the intent of reusing some lists, adding new lists, and potentially eliminating some lists. Again, this is something you should not "fool around" with—a direct marketing agency or experienced list broker can be a valuable ally when it comes to list testing.

 

Your house list of existing customers and prospects remains your best re-source, but to learn more about using your house list you should learn how to use rental lists, which in many cases are other people's house lists. You can use other lists to add to your house list. there are two types of outside lists you can rent: direct response lists and compiled lists.

 

Begin your exploration of lists with a directory. The SRDS direct mail list di-rectory is the industry standard and is available in many public and college libraries.

 

More about Direct Mail Marketing List.   See also: Direct Mail Fulfillment and Consumer Direct Marketing.

 

Response Makers - Advertising Mailing List