|
Mailing List Secrets Revealed
By Joseph Iorio
©2004 All Rights Reserved
There are 2 questions that everyone who has ever purchased a mailing list would like answered.
First, how does the mailing list company obtain their names? Second, what type of response should I expect?
Let's start with the first question.
Many mailing list companies claim to offer Super Hot names that are less than 30 days old. Can they always deliver on their promise? Probably not. Here's why. Most mailing list companies obtain their lists by placing ads in Business Opportunity publications. When an interested party responds to their ad, they have obtained their lead.
Are these leads good?
Yes! In fact, the names generated from Business Opportunity publications will be very responsive. However, here lies the problem. Let's say a mailing list company buys advertising in national business publications. Unless they spend thousands of dollars buying many ads, they probably would be hard pressed to generate a few thousand new names each month. (If they could even generate that many). After a few sales, those names are gone. They are now forced to use their older names or resell the same addresses over and over again.
What happens when this is done........
The post office receives 107,000 change of address requests every single day. 40 million or so each year, while a total NCOA file of 110 million currently exists.
This is one of the reasons why you will see so many undeliverable pieces of mail, known as "nixies" in the mail order industry. In addition to these change of addresses, there are data entry errors, illegible responses requests and postal errors. No list is nixie free. Even a 30 day old list can have up to a 4% rate of undeliverable mail. Lists typically fail at 2%-4% per month. A list older than 4 month's can spell disaster.
Focus on the response......
Is a list that contains nixes a bad list? Not necessarily. Some marketers get so caught up in the nixie rate that they loose site of what really counts, the response rate. Successful marketers always focus on the response rate. They know it's a numbers game.
Let me give you an example of a good list which has a high "nixie" rate. Our company obtained a mailing list of business opportunity seekers who paid money to attend a home based business seminar. Each attendee paid $79 using a credit card. The list contained the contact name, address and phone #. This list was over 2 years old and was a "maintained" list, which meant it needed to be cleaned and updated periodically.
The feedback......
This list was primarily used by telemarketers and produced fantastic results for many of our customers. We received feedback from customers that were absolutely thrilled with the list. We also received feedback from a few who were concerned about the undeliverable rate. The few that complained really missed the boat. They had a list of people who actually got up and drove to a home based business seminar; and paid money to attend! Although this was a fantastic list, it was extremely difficult to maintain due to all area code and phone # changes and since the market demands deliverability, this list took a back seat to our more current lists. The point of the story......judge a list by the response it generates....nothing else matters!
A few tips......
Professionally written letters are a must. A cover letter including a contact name and phone # have shown to dramatically increase response results.
Something that might surprise you........
Our research has shown that when a prospect receives multiple offers in the mail, it actually INCREASES the response rate. This is probably because the person is currently in the frame of mind to try an opportunity. The more opportunities someone
sees, the more their wheels get turning, prompting them to take action. You'll never hear a mailing list company tell you this because the market views the best names as ones that are only used once.
A new solution........
Our company, Consumer Mailing Lists has implemented a strategy that enables us to provide over 190,000 fresh names available each month. We are working with some of the finest people in the mail order business. Our approach is to set new standards in the Mailing List Industry by pooling our resources as opposed to working against each other. This will always ensure the customer's interest is best served.
JOSEPH IORIO
The Ultimate Edge
http://getwebhits.com
Consumer Mailing Lists is ranked the most popular mailing list site on Internet by many of the major search engines. Visit them at:
http://opportunitylists.com
They invite you to partner with them in their top rated affiliate program at:
http://getwebhits.com/resellers.htm
To read more interesting articles, visit:
http://www.ezinemagic.com/articles/home.htm
|
Click Here to Email Bob Smith
