subject: How to Read Broker's Mailing Lists [print this page] So you have decided to do a mailing and have approached a broker for information.Do you understand the information given to you?Let's go through the system. Obviously the information given varies from broker to broker but the following is fairly typical and should help you understand the basics A typical list will have the following:-A Title: This is the title given by the broker and not necessarily the one used by the owner. The owner is the person/company that obtained the list by selling to the people on the list previously. The broker on the other hand is a person/company which specialises in obtaining lists from many sources and renting them out. The broker will choose a title which will promote the list ie jazz it up a bit!!List Universe: A fancy title meaning the number of names available on the list. Obviously you want the number of names of buyers to be as long as possible. Why? Because if you have a successful trial campaign you will want as many names on the list as possible to get "roll out" potential.If you mail to a list of 5000 and there are only 7000 names on the list in total how are you going to follow up?How the List was Obtained: This is just a brief description as to how the list was obtained such as through advertising in a certain named publication etc.Demographics :Basically dividing people into "classes" A,B etcThis is not normally too important for most products/services but could be if you were selling helicopters. In that case you would want the very rich people in the A category!!Under this heading you often get a breakdown as to how many were home and how many were business addresses.It is far better to have the largest proportion of home addresses.Why?Simply because many mailing shots sent to a business probably won't get past the "gatekeeper" ie the secretary/personal assistant.Period over which the Data was collected: Often the information will tell you that x number of names were collected over the period of, say, 2006 to 2009.Take care here though because 95% of the names may have been collected in 2006 and only 1% in 2009. So check this out.You want "fresh" names as much as possible.Delivery: This is self explanatory. How long before you receive the list.Names automatically Flagged:What does this mean?This is one of the main functions of a list broker.If you go back later to the broker for more names then you want to make sure that they are "new" names and not on a list you have rented before.It is the broker's responsibility to "flag" each name you have rented so that it is not duplicated.Base Price: The price per thousand names without any "extras" (see later)Minimum Order: This heading is fairly obvious.The reason is that below a certain number of names it becomes less viable for the broker to make a profit.The "paperwork" involved for 1000 names is the same as for 100,000.Normally we are talking about a minimum of 5000 names but this can vary of course depending on the broker.Sex: Don't get excited!Obviously certain products/services will appeal more to one sex rather than the other so this could be important when considering whether or not to rent a listGeographical: This can be important if you only wish to promote locally or within a specified geographical area.Other Selections: This could be where you might want people of a specific political party, religion etc. Just ask!Format Options: There are normally several format options available.Some such as Cheshire Labels and Magnetic Tape are for the "Big Boys" only and won't concern you for a few years yet!!Hopefully they might in the future!! Think BIG!The formats which will probably be most appropriate for you are:-Self Adhesive Labels . Probably the best option for when first starting out. You just peel and stick them on to envelopes.DisketteThe list is sent to you on a diskette suitable for loading onto your computer.This method is useful if you already have your own list and want to make sure you don't send a mailing to someone already signed up with you. Could be embarrassing!Email.A list sent to you electronicallyOther Options: You could also be offer KEYCODING where every address is coded so that you can tell which campaign was successful.Mailsort: where all addresses are in one particular geographical area such as a major city so that the mailing service can offer you a discount as it saves them some time with their sorting.Other Items which may be included are:-In the U.K. to keep personal data on other people you must be registered under The Data Protection Act. So at least in the U.K. the broker will confirm that they are registered.I'm sure that other countries have similar regulations.There are also a large number of people that no not like receiving "junk mail" and again in the U.K. there is an organisation known as The Mailing Preference Service.People can register with this service requesting not to receive unsolicited mail . So in the U.K. the broker will confirm that the list is MPS Cleaned meaning that there should be no one on the list who has requested not to be contacted in this manner.So I hope that this article has given you a basic understanding of how mailing list operate but please don't hesitate to contact your reliable broker with any questions.The genuine broker will be only too happy to answer any queries you might have.To YOUR successJohn Beaumont Internet Marketer
