Direct Marketing List Selection & Use to Purchase Retail Mailinglist

Direct marketing list choices are many. Properly used, high-quality direct mail data is a powerful tool to help generate awareness and draw in new customers, or create business with established ones. A business can't afford to overlook harnessing direct-mail marketing with the appropriate direct marketing list or lists. It's affordable, highly targeted and fairly easy to do.

Whether you hire a direct-mail agency or a print broker, or create the mailer yourself, a successful mailing must reach the right person, be read by that person and persuade that person to buy something or to be open to receiving a follow-up call from your company.

Compiling a correct, targeted direct marketing list is just the first step. How your direct-mail piece looks, how it's sent and what it says are the other critical factors that work together.

Remember, the more personalized your mailing looks, the more likely it is that your prospect will open it and read it. At its most extreme, this means first-class mail and envelopes that look hand addressed or typed and are hand stamped. You don't have to go to these extremes, but if you can afford regular First Class mail rather than bulk mail, go for it. You can cut corners in other areas and control costs by choosing a different weight paper or cutting down on the number of pieces you send.

You want your message to be meaningful and succinct. If your message can fit on a postcard, send one. Postcards are the most inexpensive type of direct mail, and the recipients don't even have to open an envelope to read your message.

The most critical part of the message is the call to action. You must tell people what you want them to do and why it's in their interest to do so. Better yet, make them an offer they can't refuse. Special, time-sensitive offers help get responses. For example, "Save 25 percent on your purchase by ordering before June 1st!" tells prospects they can save money if they act by a certain date. Remember, it's easier to get people to call you than send something back to you. If you must ask customers to return an order form or something else via mail, include a pre-stamped, pre-addressed envelope.

Once your mailing is out, learn from it. The direct marketing list you start with and the direct marketing list you stay with are very often different. When you use First Class or Standard Mail, your undeliverable mail can be returned to you, so you can use it to clean your direct marketing list. It's better to start small and increase subsequent mailings based on your success. Code all special offers and promotions so you can track which direct mailings work and which ones don't. Ask customers how they heard about your sale, your promotion or your company, and record the data. Refer to your direct-mail tracking data before you send out future mailings.

For more tips on how to plan and execute a direct-mail campaign, check out the U.S. Postal Service Web site.