Renting Direct Mail Lists

However, you must keep in mind that your message and call-to-action for Suspects will be very different from an ad that targets your Prospects and Buyers. You will want to budget a yearly direct mail program that reaches Suspects, Prospects and your Buyers (although the emphasis should be on maximizing your conversion of Suspects to Prospects.)

Once you have created a compelling low-entry point ad, how do you put together the best mailing list? There are 3 basic types of direct mail lists you will be putting together for possible mailings. They are:

1. Suspect List
2. Prospect List
3. Buyer List

We'll focus on renting an effective Suspect list.

In previous articles, I've discussed the importance of coding Suspects in your database. If you have been doing this, then it will be easy to export all your Suspect data into a mailing list.

Most companies, however, will have a fairly small number of Suspect names unless they are regularly collecting names from associations and other business groups. Most of the time, you will need to rent some additional Suspect names for your mailing.

Remember, the main reason for mailing Suspects is to convert them to a prospect, not make the sale. You can't attempt to sell a Suspect if you don't even know if they are interested in what you offer. This is the key behind multi-step low-entry point advertising. Give them something of value and make it easy for them to obtain (and capture their contact info in the process.)

You can augment your house Suspect list by renting names from a targeted magazine that falls within one or more of your target markets. Follow this simple step-by-step approach to rent qualified Suspect direct mail lists.

Step 1: Identify Your List Sources
Research and identify targeted magazines in your industry. Not all magazines will rent their mailing lists but many do. For the ones that do, it is typically better to rent them through a specialized service rather than directly through the magazine. A specialized mailing list service, also known as a list broker, can help you identify direct mail lists within your target market and customer demographic.

Here are two companies that can help you put together your targeted Suspect list.

Step 2: Request Data Sheets
Call one of the above list brokers (or one that you have researched yourself) and have them email you data sheets on all the magazines and journals you have identified as being focused on your target market. These data sheets will contain the information you will need to select Suspect names for rental.

Step 3: Work With Your List Manager
Work with the mailing list manager to focus on Suspects that have demonstrated past purchase behaviors that fit within your target market. Your identification of publications within your target market will help the manager identify additional direct mail lists for your consideration.

Your best bet is to select names from at least three sources and then have the list manager pull out any and all duplicates. This process is known as a merge/purge.

Step 4: Negotiate the Best Terms
Once this merge/purge process is complete, you will have your final Suspect list. Typically, there is a minimum number of names you must rent, usually 5,000. However, everything is negotiable and if you are planning to do a few mailings a year, many list managers will waive the minimum order requirement in order to develop a working relationship with the potential for additional rentals.

By working with a list manager and taking the time to pull together a targeted list from several sources, you can build a very narrow list of targeted Suspects. Keep in mind that it is much better to mail 200 targeted Suspects five times a year than it is to mail 1,000 Suspects once a year.

One other word of caution - when you rent a list, you are paying for the right to use the list one time. List companies will monitor this by seeding the list with a few spies so if you attempt to mail the list a second time, you'll get caught. However, once a Suspect responds to an offer, they are yours to keep.