Things to Consider When Purchasing a Direct Mail List

May 17, 2023 0 Comments

You can start a direct marketing campaign to reach your current customer database or you can purchase a direct mailing list from a list broker or list manager to connect with new prospects. If you are considering purchasing a direct mailing list, there are several factors to think about.

Decide on the method of contact

The first step is to decide how you want to reach your prospects. Do you want to run a direct email campaign, do you want to communicate by phone, or do you want to try an email campaign? Each contact method has its own considerations.

When deciding on a contact method, it is extremely important to make sure you are aware of the various rules and regulations that govern each method of direct marketing. If you plan to purchase a telemarketing list, take the time to research Do Not Call regulations. If you decide that sending a mass email is the way to go, make sure you are aware of the CAN-SPAM requirements.

Not learning about the rules that govern the marketing method you use could cost you dearly.

Know your target market

The next thing to do is determine which group would be most interested in your products and services. This is called the target market, and your direct mailing list should be specifically tailored to reach them. Are you promoting your products to consumers or businesses? If you don’t know who your target market is, try looking at your current customer base and use their features as a model for your target market.

How often are you going to communicate?

Is your direct marketing campaign going to be continuous or is it going to be one and that’s it? This factor will likely be determined by what the purpose of the campaign is. Are you reaching out to new prospects to try to build awareness or are you trying to promote a limited time offer? Repetition is important with any marketing campaign, the more you can get your message across the better.

Direct mailing lists allow single or multiple uses. Single-use mailing lists are often cheaper than multi-use mailing lists, since you only use the list once. With multi-use lists, you pay the full fee for the first use and a reduced fee for each subsequent use.

You just need to make sure you are clear about the usage guidelines for the mailing list you are purchasing. If you use a mailing list multiple times when it is a single use list, you will be charged a hefty fine.

How many contacts?

The size of the mailing list you purchase can be determined by a couple of factors. The first is the marketing method you decide to use.

Email lists have a higher success rate if they are sent to a large number of contacts. The average open rate for an email campaign is 18-20%, with an average click-through rate after it’s opened is 3-4% (rates vary by subject line and relevance). This means that out of 1,000 emails sent, approximately 200 will be opened, and of those, 8 will respond to the call to action. A larger email list will ensure that your message is opened and reacted on.

The size of the telemarketing list should be determined by the number of callers. If you plan to outsource to a call center with multiple callers, then your telemarketing list should reflect that. A telemarketer can make between 300 and 500 calls in an eight hour shift. If you have 4 telemarketers calling, you can review approximately 8,000 names in a week. Conversely, if you only have one internal person who makes calls when they have time, you might only review 100-150 names in a week.

The number of contacts on a mailing list will depend mainly on the budget. With direct mail campaigns, the list is often the cheapest part, especially if you have a lot of contacts. Printing and postage can be quite expensive if the list you are mailing to is large.

The other factors that can determine the size of your list are the number of contacts that match your target market and your budget.

The more defined your target market is, the better the mailing list will perform. The key is to be able to properly narrow down your target market. If your target market is too broad, your mailing list will be too big. However, if you narrow down your target market too specifically, you’ll end up with a mailing list that’s too small to market to. You have to find the happy medium.

When do you need the list?

It is also important to know that mailing lists have a shelf life. People move, get married, change staff, new businesses open, others close, etc. Whether it’s a business list or a consumer list, there are countless influences that can affect the data on your purchased mailing list. If you don’t plan to use the mailing list right away, don’t request it until you’re ready to use it.

What is your budget

Nobody likes to answer this question. In a perfect world, you would buy as many names as you could to get the best result from your direct marketing campaign. Unfortunately, we all have to budget. Paying for printing and postage or paying for call center or email design and software or implementation services eat up a large chunk of the marketing budget, leaving little for the mailing list. Fortunately, as mentioned above, the mailing list is often the cheapest part of a direct marketing campaign.

That being said, you also don’t want to skimp on your mailing list. The more specific you want your mailing list to be, the more effective it will be, and as a result, it will cost a bit more than a generic, non-targeted mailing list. But it will be much more effective than a generic, non-targeted mailing list.

As the old saying goes, anything that can be bought very cheaply is probably not very good. You can probably buy a cheap mailing list with tens of thousands of names, which is inaccurate, non-compliant and non-targeted and probably won’t work. A properly sourced, compliant, targeted marketing list is not going to come cheap. You get what you pay for and if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

The answers to the six points above are the foundation of your direct marketing campaign. Whether you’re going to find your direct marketing lists directly or use a list broker, you’ll need to know the answers to these points. It’s always good to really think about the different aspects of a direct marketing campaign. If you’re not sure what your answers might be, find an experienced listing broker. They can help guide you through the listing buying process.

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