Part 1–Lists 101
Maybe you want to make a splash with a big product launch, drive more traffic to a retail store, tap into a niche market or simply grow your own email list. Whatever the reason, renting a list is one way to super-size your reach—and may be more affordable than you think.
Since the idea of renting mailing lists can be intimidating, this is the first in a short series on the topic. At the moment, we’re going to focus on actual postal mail lists. Email lists are a thornier topic so they’ll be covered in a separate article.
Do You Own or Rent?
While people often talk about buying a list, most lists are actually rented. This means you’re only allowed to mail to the list once (unless you sign-up for a multi-use rental). Try to get away with extra mailings and you’ll get caught because they “seed” the lists with fake names they can keep tabs on. Of course, anyone who responds to your mailing is fair game—you’re free to contact them as many times as you’d like at no additional cost.
The type of list you buy can make a huge impact on the success of your mailing. There are three basic list types:
Compiled lists. Basically, some has created a list with data from phone books, public records and other directories. These are the most common—and usually cheapest—lists to buy. But they tend to get the least response because compiled information can get old quickly and the people don’t necessarily have an affinity for your product or service.
Subscriber/Member lists. Taking a step up the quality ladder, thousands of publications and trade associations sell lists of subscribers and members. Because it costs them every time a mailing or magazine gets returned, they are constantly updating their list. And if you choose a publication or association whose interests dovetail with what you have to offer, you should get a much better response.
Response lists. These tend to be the most expensive type of list, but they’re the most desirable lists because the person has made a purchase or indicated an interest in the topic to get on the list. So, response tends to be much higher. Often, lists of purchasers can be segmented by:
- Recency of purchase–the more recently they bought, the better the expected response
- Frequency of purchases—since people who have bought two or more times are better prospects than one-time buyers
- Amount of purchase—or total sale per buyer, for example, purchasers who spent $50 to $100 at one time
Like marketing in general, the more you can refine the list to reflect your ideal target, the higher your ROI. That’s why most allow you to narrow the list by choosing one or more “selects.” List selects often include gender, age, job title, income, marital status, location, and whether they own or rent their home. For business lists, selects often include business size, number of employees, and SIC code.
Deciphering List Prices
List are typically quoted as a cost per thousand (CPM) names. So if a list has a $50 CPM, it would be $250 to buy 5,000 names. You can expect to pay an additional $5 to $10 per 1,000 names for each select you choose for the list. And generally, telephone numbers and email addresses are extra.
Of course, you should never choose a list simply based on cost. As mentioned above, a more expensive list may bring you a higher response, and other variables come into play as well. So next time we’ll talk about how to rent a good list.
