To Mailing List or Not Mailing List... That is the question Pt. 2

Continuing our series on mailing list we continue with the types of mailing list available.

House Lists: Basically the internal database of a company. Includes: Current customers (their purchases within the last year), former customers, and inquiries/prospects.

House list however must be constantly updated. The reason for this is the USPS (United States Postal Service) forecasts that 14% of the US population moves each year (this tallies up to about 45 million address changes per year). Lastly, significant money is wasted via outdated list. Why would you send your direct mail pieces etc to a list that won’t reach your target?

Response List: These are the “House lists” of other companies and organizations.

The list themselves are comprised of individuals with a specific interest or type of behavior. Past behavior here is a great indicator of future activities and most often used within the consumer marketplace. As a marketer I can more accurately forecast results for future programs using these type of lists.
Some examples of response lists include: Buyer lists, Attendee/Membership/Seminar Lists, and Donor Lists etc.

Compiled Lists: Using a compiled list the advertiser doesn’t know the specific willingness to respond or the buying history of the records, but is confident that they (target market via the list) possess certain defined identifiable traits. These lists are both available for consumer and business prospects.

Where do we Rent Lists?

There are literally thousands of list to choose from… but they are only three key sources to obtain a list.

List Owners: Make the final decision on who gets to rent the list and often utilize a list manager to maintain their lists

List Brokers: Think of these individuals as the middleman in the list acquisition process. They are experts at their craft.

Following a general rule you want to choose a broker based upon either a referral or by their area of expertise.

Compiled List Owners: Straight to the point these owners sell directly to the advertisers.