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Has your mailing list failed to generate much rental income lately? If so,
several list industry experts have suggestions for adding value and
generating more interest in your file.
1) Update your data
Your list should be meticulously maintained and regularly updated (at least
twice a year, though preferably more often) with new names or demographics,
or it may lose its appeal. "A list should never be allowed to die off,"
says Tom McCulloh, vice president of list management for Listworks, a
Pleasantville, NY-based list management service. "Most lists, if updated on
a regular basis, won't see sales dwindle."
"A good manager should make sure that a list never loses its steam," agrees
David Todd Waldman, director of list management for New York-based list
company 21st Century Marketing. "Once a file has been tested a few times,
its data should be evaluated and updated." Regularly using basic list
hygiene tools such as the National Change of Address (NCOA) service and the
Locatable Address Conversion System (LACS) is key.
2) Expand your market
According to Roy Schwedelson, CEO of Boca Raton, FL-based list firm
Worldata, a mailing list that flops in one market can sometimes be a big
money-maker in another. "We might have 20 tests for a list, and only three
may work," he says. "So we look at what mailers it did work with, and then
we tailor the next promotion for that list toward similar mailers."
3) Test peripheral mailers
Along these same lines, look for any kind of affinity with peripheral
mailers, says Listworks' McCulloh. If, for instance, your catalog sells
golf equipment, you could pitch your mailing list to a cataloger of NFL
merchandise. "The sports may be different, but the list will consist mainly
of men who are outdoors people and like sports," he says.
4) Narrow your target
Mike Doepke, executive director of sales and marketing for Des Plaines,
IL-based list management firm Cahners Business Lists, advises that once a
list has been tested, you try targeting your marketing efforts more
narrowly. "Highly targeted direct mail efforts to prospective mailers can
prove successful," he says. "One strategy might be to send a package
overnight to a targeted group of 50 or 100 potential catalog mailers,
instead of sending one mass-mailing to 10,000 prospects."
5) Be willing to negotiate
And finally, if your list lacks specialized selects or a sizable quantity
of hotline names, you may have to negotiate on price to generate interest.
"For instance, if the NFL cataloger isn't convinced that his market is at
all related to that of the golf catalog," McCulloh says, "I might offer him
$10 off the base price as incentive."
