Direct Mailing List Tips Self-publishers and business owners need to know

Many self-publishers, book publishers, entrepreneurs, and home and small business owners know nothing about mailing list rentals: how to order direct and targeted mailing lists, for example, for a direct marketing campaign, what to look for and what to be careful of. And they often make some costly mistakes. The following tips and trade secrets will help you avoid some of these mistakes and help you make better decisions when looking for quality mailing list services.

First of all, you typically rent, not buy mailing lists. They remain the property of the mailing list company and are generally not for sale.

Many business owners rent lists but don’t use them right away, which is a mistake. Most lists change significantly in 30 days or less. Some lists, such as the mailing lists for public libraries, prisons, hospitals, hospital gift shops, elementary schools, high schools, universities, newspapers, television stations, and radio stations will have very little change. They are quite stationary, so they are unlikely to move. Bookstore lists, new age bookstore lists, organization lists, specialty lists, MLM lists, and business mailing lists can all have a high return rate. To avoid many returns, please rent selected lists just before you ship.

Be careful when renting any mailing lists directed at individuals: consumer mailing lists, senior mailing lists, residential mailing lists, homeowner mailing lists, and opportunity seeker mailing lists, for example. With 20% of the population moving each year, you can make significant gains.

But expect some returns. Whenever we send mail using lists, we always receive returns (called ‘nixies’ in the trade) from the post office. People move, reship orders expire, people expire, PO Boxes close, and businesses close their doors.

The administration and maintenance of the mailing list is expensive. It takes companies a lot of time and work to compile, add, clean up and mail their lists and other necessary maintenance. They also use expensive mailing list software programs that can have their own costly bugs.

To help you plan ahead, before you order your mailing lists, ask when you can expect your order to arrive. This can vary considerably from company to company. Some companies may take up to two weeks or more.

Mailing lists can generally be ordered in at least three formats: self-adhesive labels (pressure sensitive) or Cheshire (18lb, spreadsheet-sized computer paper, less common these days) or on a floppy disk ( which is used less often these days). ) ) or CD. Ask for peel-and-stick labels if they are to be affixed by hand to your piece of mail. Or if you know how to import the lists you can order them on CD. If your post office is going to do your mailing, they will probably prefer the diskette or CD; check with them before ordering.

Mail houses used to require the Cheshire format instead of peel-and-stick labels before the advent of computer technology and the CD ROM. They have machines that cut Cheshire printouts into labels and stick them to envelopes. When ordering playlists on CD, specify the format you want to use for conversion, usually comma-delimited ASCII. However, you should know how to import it when you get the disc. Mailing lists will always be for one use only, even if they are on a CD or disk. And some mailing list companies offer instant list downloads.

Also, if a post office is going to do your mailing, they may want the labels merged if there is more than one listing, or bar-coded, which will save considerably on postage. If they can’t answer your technical questions, have your mailing house call your mailing list rental company to work out the final details.

Consider the cost of mailing your piece of mail. You may want to test a small number on the list first if you have an expensive or heavy package.

When you ship First Class, you will receive returns from the Post Office at no additional charge. If you send third class mail (bulk mail), you will not receive returns. They will be disposed of at the post office UNLESS you have printed ‘Return Service Requested’ on the envelope. Then each return (nixie) will cost additional postage (based on first class) or ‘Requested Service Exchange’ (cost based on piece regardless of weight). Be sure to check current costs with the post office because they change their rates AND rules periodically.

Always send the nixies to the company on your mailing list, even if there aren’t enough for a credit, which is almost always offered. This is a good practice, especially if you plan to send emails to the same list again soon. They usually have a time limit as to when they can accept nixies as credit because the lists you rented will be out of date pretty soon.

When you hire a list to rent, some mailing list companies may require a sample mailing piece. This is so the company can determine if you are mailing a competitive or objectionable piece.

The mailing list rental business is based to some degree on the honor system, but this honor system also has a built-in alarm: Owners protect their data by planting lure names (seeds) on the mailing lists they rent. If a tenant contracts to use a list once and uses it a second time, the decoy will receive the unauthorized mail and report the misuse to the list owner. The decoys are usually friends or relatives of the companies’ staff. Additionally, many mailing list companies employ companies that specialize in tracking or monitoring emails for any misuse. Since the lures are different for each listing request, it’s easy to track down the renter who abuses a contract.

Mailing lists are protected by copyright and trade secret laws. The courts strictly uphold any violation of a listing agreement. Once a listing’s lease has been broken, the listing owner has a legal recourse to sue for compensatory and punitive damages. Punitive damages could be up to three times the list value and more.

All list owners have good reasons to be so protective of their data. List rental is a multi-million dollar business. There are literally thousands of listings available for rent in the United States alone.

If all else fails, you can enlist the help of a mailing list broker. Brokers generally collect their fees from the mailing list company. Watch this first.

In any case, warning emptor! In either case, you can reap great rewards by sending out brochures, press releases, press kits, book reviews, and other materials through your choice of direct mailing lists.

These tips and trade secrets should help self-publishers, book publishers, entrepreneurs, small business owners, or those working from home make better decisions when working with mailing lists, mailing list rentals, and mailing list companies.