Before you start your direct mail campaign, make sure you know your target audience thoroughly before spending any money on renting a list to mail to.
You have spent some good money on making a great product, and you know that it fits what your market needs, you composed attention grabbing copy on your sales piece and you have all your call center in place to take orders. But remember that the most important thing is the mailing list you are sending mail to. What good is your sales piece going to do if you send it to a poor performing list?
Here are some pointers on how to “shop” for a profitable mailing list.
One of the most important things you can do when selecting a mail list house is to look in the Standard Rate & Data Service Directory under mailing list brokers. This is a very reputable publication that only contains good to very good list brokers. These brokers explain within the directory the different lists that are available for rent, what kind of buyers the lists are made up of, and the date the list was last cleaned–that is, the last time all the names on the list were verified relative to the correctness of addresses.
Once you narrow down your list brokers to a select few companies, contact them and let them know about your current mailing campaign and ask them if they have good lists to attract their specific lists. Quite often, a good list broker will have much knowledge and start asking you pertinent questions to further help you. When you get the feeling that you are talking to a sincere list broker, ask them for their minimum list of names along with prices. Then call on the other companies you were also intersted in and see if you can spot a trend of pricing and kind of lists available.
Once you and the list broker and have decided upon the mailing list best suited to your offer, the broker will require you to rent a minimum of 5,000 names. The going price will range from $35 to $95 per thousand names. This may seem like a lot of money to you at first, but you have to look at the quality of the list that the broker will give you to translate those names into “paying customers.”
Remember too, that the list brokers have their own interests to get repeat busines from you and will do their darnest to give you a quality list.
For all your direct mailing service needs, call us at 480-483-7677.
Filed under Arizona mail services, direct mail by on Nov 9th, 2009. Comment. 
Direct mail is the most important part of your marketing plan. Developing and executing the campaign can be very confusing. Today’s mailing regulations are getting more complicated–postage rates are changing all the time and the flood of mail makes it harder to get noticed. The right message and presentation is very important and must get to your target market in the correct way. Capturing your reader must happen quickly and your reader must be motivated to take action.
Here are some valuable tips when planning out your direct marketing campaign:
- consult with a direct mailing house before planning your next campaign
- keep your mailing piece simple and readable
- consult with a copywriter regarding your sales content
- use a reputable list broker
- use colored envelopes to get attention
- personalize the message in your mail piece
- have a clear message on what you offer
- insert a strong call to action – call in, fax in or mail back
- develop a free gift to further intice action
- offer a free trial period of your product or service
- have a professional graphic artist design art work
- mention guarantees (risk avoidance)
This is only a partial list of direct mail marketing techniques, but you get the idea. There are so many things to develop for your next mailing. Always remember to test and change things slightly to measure the effectiveness of your mailings. For example, the wording of the headline on the mail piece can be changed to make two or three versions. You measure the response rate of each headline….the headline that brings in the best return or response will prevail on all mailings from now on.
Stay tuned for more valuable tips and tricks from Mail Marketing Masters!
Make a comment here if you have some tips you can share with our readers. Just click on the comment button below.
For your direct mail processing needs call Business Helpers at 480-483-7677. Serving all of Arizona, USA.
Filed under Arizona mail services, direct mail campaign, mail services by on Nov 20th, 2009. 1 Comment.
Quite often the simplest way of mailing is the best. I am talking about a simple letter on your custom printed letter head and stuffed inside of a #10 business envelope with your logo on the return address and sent to your targeted prospect list.
This could be a simple introduction of your services to a full trial coupon of your product or service attached. Sending something on your stationary is far better than sending it in a postcard or fancy custom cut piece. Personalized stationary builds strong branding to the eyes of your prospects.
Sending personalized letters just to thank the customer or to continue to expose the prospect with the kinds of products and services you offer is a great goodwill builder with prospects. Remember the old sales adage, a minimum of “7 touches” is required before anyone will buy from you. What better way to send at least as series of 7 letters to your prospects to get their trust and attention.
Whatever you do, keep consistent with mailing out your letters or mail pieces. Believe it or not it will eventually convert at a modest rate and make your mailings pay for itself.
Filed under Arizona mail services, direct mail campaign by on Nov 29th, 2009. Comment.