Mailing List Brokers Boost Direct Mail Marketing Results

by Alan Sharpe

Last time I checked, there were 25,000 direct mail response lists and 50,000 compiled lists currently on the market.

Last time I checked, there were 25,000 direct mail response lists and 50,000 compiled lists currently on the market.

Among all of these lists, youll find hundreds that work for your product or service. Actually, you likely wont find them. Locating the best names for your mailing is complicated and best left to an experienced list broker.
A list broker is a specialist who researches and recommends lists for you, and manages all the paperwork and other details of renting the list. An experienced list broker:

helps you find new lists
identifies profitable segments on unlikely lists
helps you create a matrix for testing your mailing against other lists
negotiates the best prices for you with the list owner
recommends other media (such as email) to consider testing
makes sure the list gets to your lettershop on time
helps you evaluate your response rates, net revenue and other results
manages invoicing for lists you rent A Typical List Rental Transaction

You phone a list broker that specializes in lists for your kind of buyer
You describe your business and what you sell
You describe your ideal customer (such as "female, 55 years old, married, owns home, $150,000 household income, entertains regularly, lives in the United States and responds to direct mail offers for interior decorating products")
You email the list broker a PDF sample of the direct mail package that you are going to mail to the list, and the list broker forwards it to the list owner
The list owner reviews and approves your package
You tell the list broker the following:
a. the selects you want, if any*b. how many names you want to orderc. when you will mail your pieced. when you need to receive the namese. where you want the names to be sent (your lettershop, usually)

The list broker prepares your list and sends it to your lettershop or service bureau
Your lettershop keys your reply device and other components so you can track the results of this mailing back to this list
You mail your package to the names on the list
You process each order you receive, adding the names to your database (they are yours to keep), and flagging each new customer record to note the list, package and offer used to acquire the customer * A select is a process that the list broker conducts on your behalf to choose only some names from the entire list. You might ask the broker to select names from a particular zip code, for example, or only people with cats, or only women, and only rent you those names.
Mailing list brokers know the industry. The firms they work for have researched and tested thousands of lists. So working with a qualified mailing list broker is vital.
© 2006 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the "About the Author" message).

Alan Sharpe is a business-to-business direct mail copywriter and lead generation specialist who helps business owners and marketing managers attract new clients using direct mail marketing. Sign up for free weekly tips like this at http://www.sharpecopy.com/newsletter