The right direct mailing list targets people who want your product or service.
The direct mail mailing list is a key factor in a successful direct mail marketing campaign and a major point to consider in small business marketing strategies where marketing ROI (Return On Investment) is a key concern.
What really makes your direct mail marketing and advertising campaign successful?
The biggest single factor in the success of your direct mail marketing strategy is who you send your mailings to.
A. You need a list.
This can be:
1) a list of existing customers or prospects who have inquired as a result of any of your marketing efforts or
2) a list which you purchase or in some cases obtain for free.
B. The mailing list must contain the names of people who are likely to be interested in the benefits of your products or services.
Don't try and sell beer to the Temperance Society or real estate to people who cannot afford it. You have to target your direct mail marketing efforts.
What kinds of lists are available?
C. The three basic kinds of lists that you can use are (you can use all three):
1. Your own list of prospects and customers. This is a list that you collected with your own personal marketing efforts. This is known as a house list. These people are most likely to respond to your offers, because they have responded in the past.
2. A response list is a list of people that have actually done something. They have either purchased something from the people who put together the list or inquired in response to some offer or asked to be on the list. They have some level of interest in the topic or purpose of the list.
These people have not previously responded to you, but they have responded to someone in a related area (if you have purchased a correctly targeted list) so you know they are at least warm.
This is a direct mail mailing list you can purchase from the owner of the list (such as a magazine or company) or a list broker.
3. A compiled list is a list of people who were selected to be on the list because they possess the characteristics that you asked the list broker to screen for.
Examples of characteristics used to target correctly may include age, sex, geographic location, income level, etc. These are more fixed characteristics than response list characteristics, which are behavioral characteristics.
Case study: California based Sun Pacific Mortgage's Forest Tardibuono found a great way to get the right direct mail mailing list for his company which has a very successful direct mail marketing strategy based on postcards and direct mail mailing lists.
"The title companies give us the mailing labels free. I'll tell them we want all the homeowners in 95401 which is a zip we get most of our business from. So they'll give us the mailing labels of anyone who is a homeowner from that lists. It saves money on labels and mailing lists. They'll even limit searches to specific categories such as all homeowners from that zip who got a loan from certain companies and they'll do the search according to that so I can really target the public so that the mailing will be more effective."
Mailing lists, correctly targeted, can make the difference in a mediocre promotional campaign to a wildly successful promotional campaign. It really just depends on what you are willing to have ? success or mediocrity. So which is it?
Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998, her only assets a computer and a phone. By 2004 the company did close to $9 million in sales and employed over 60 people. She attributes her explosive growth to her ability to choose incredible staff and her innate marketing savvy. Now she's sharing her marketing secrets with others. For more free marketing advice, visit her website at http://www.postcardmania.com
I'm always amazed that people would spend months to develop... Read More
As we study the demographic regional variations for small service... Read More
Toby is one of our two family pets (both cats).... Read More
How well do you know your customers?What is the primary... Read More
Are your direct mail response rates lower than you expect?... Read More
With its association to an affluent, sophisticated lifestyle, wine can... Read More
This newsletter is full of opportunities staring you in the... Read More
On Superbowl Sunday, Domino's Pizza delivered more than 900,000 pizzas-and... Read More
Would you like to learn the lessons of the businesses... Read More
Building a business that grows steadily in size and profits... Read More
Direct mail marketing is essential for a business to survive.Choosing... Read More
Here are three alternatives to increase your testimonial numbers or... Read More
Customer endorsements are an inexpensive and easy sales tool, particularly... Read More
Good marketing, whatever form it takes, always meets certain criteria.... Read More
The intellectual property transfer market is now estimated to be... Read More
Have you started thinking about your Valentines Day Promotion yet?It... Read More
1. Advertise in trade journals, ezines, and web sites that... Read More
It's a great concept, - and it has a 'cool... Read More
1) Word of mouth is the most cost-effective, powerful form... Read More
If you are a therapist, counselor, or an alternative or... Read More
1. Mail to a different list Your list is the... Read More
Who says scientists can't market? Here are 10 easy marketing... Read More
With the Internet opening up the doorway to the global... Read More
Whether you're a contractor a local merchant with 150 employees,... Read More
Special event and a special recipe- hand it out on... Read More
Everywhere you go on the Internet you find the words,... Read More
A while back a small business owner paid me a... Read More
Change is good, right? Not always. But when is it... Read More
I just collected my mail. As usual, more than 80%... Read More
No matter how small your marketing budget, your business can... Read More
Many people think that the quality of any graphic design... Read More
Each of the following Ten Marketing Tips is based on... Read More
Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what... Read More
Same old same old just doesn't sell anymore. To... Read More
For many of service-based businesses out there, it's not that... Read More
Keeping in touch can dramatically increase business, when done properly.It's... Read More
There seems to be a never ending argument among marketing... Read More
I have been working on a direct mail campaign for... Read More
Marketing is actually very simple. It involves telling people what... Read More
Many people think marketing is some type of mystery that... Read More
The intellectual property transfer market is now estimated to be... Read More
Starting and managing a successful small business takes time, energy,... Read More
I enjoy cleavage as much or even more than the... Read More
Businesses rely on brochures as their front line in communicating... Read More
Use your computer to send personalized color postcards in quantities... Read More
So you just dropped a tidy sum to attend a... Read More
Can I share a secret with you?I love working out.... Read More
Networking on the Internet is the same as networking in... Read More
In a crowded marketplace of ideas, it is important for... Read More
The year is almost over and the last half of... Read More
"Both the market and the distributive channel are often more... Read More
December is a month in which many organizations make plans... Read More
Learn a lesson from professional direct mail copywriters. They follow... Read More
While I am not talking about the movie "Matrix", you... Read More
The "Matures" are the generations that came along between 1909... Read More
Available to all small businesses are business lists, which come... Read More
Those who believe the web is not a direct response... Read More
Behold! He with the light cometh!He shall light thy darkest... Read More
Radio advertising can be a small business's best friend. It's... Read More
If you've never done a postcard mailing, you're probably wondering,... Read More
When Advertising, it's not always better to be the lone... Read More
Why does your business need a business card?Business card is... Read More
How often do you sit around and wonder how to... Read More
Here are 7 simple marketing tips to help you boost... Read More
This is it what I use BEFORE I begin to... Read More
Why are more businesses turning to full-color postcards as a... Read More
Marketing |