An out-dated press list can make you look like an amateur, and less than efficient lists of customers or advertising respondents can waste large sums of money. It can also deny you new sources of revenue. It’s really unfortunate that most operators haven’t discovered the merits of an effective direct mail advertising function for their area which good lists make possible.
Direct mail does not have to be expensive. Even the smallest operations should engage in an effective campaign to recultivate old customers and those who have written inquiries or responded to your advertising. Repeat business normally costs much less than new business. Once these names have been reached an area can consider the rental of commercial lists.
Most writers and broadcasters are hard-nosed, busy people. They figure that if you want them to consider your handout publicity material then the least you can do is direct it to them personally, on time, and in a form which they can use. If you keep names and addresses current you earn some useful respect from them. Don’t be like one New England operator who used to send a personally typed release to a certain Massachusetts newspaperman so to impress his source with an “I care” attitude, but the man had been dead for two years!
A good press list is one which is screened at least once per year. Ideally this should be done once in late summer and again just after the season closes. Updating can be as simple as sending a personally typed two paragraph cover note along with a very brief survey which, when completed by your contact, will reflect any address or personnel changes. Also it should provide for unstructured comments which the person might wish to make which would help you to better service their news needs. It’s always advisable to enclose a pre-paid envelope to encourage response.
If a media person doesn’t respond, don’t quit then and there. Try at least one more time. At that point give serious consideration to addressing an inquiry to the publisher or station manager, hoping that they will provide you with the information you need. This is particularly true with key media which you just should not be out of contact with.
Regardless of what kind of mailing list you are dealing with, there are a few basic rules which have proven effective for those who have used them.
- Show the date and source on all cards or stencils so that you can weed out older names that make your list ineffective.
- Code your list according to special interests so that you can approach each catagory with special appeals.
- Use of different colored cards and multi-positioned tab cards speeds selectivity in any card list.
- Whenever possible, maintain your list in zip code order which will save time in sorting for the post office if you use third class or bulk distribution.
- Test your lists chronologically to learn how long names are effective. Purge your list of older names (especially those used in direct mail) once a year.
- Whenever possible, code names with whatever demographics you can assemble. Targeted communications then become possible.
- Use first class mail instead of third class occasionally to insure that mail is being forwarded.
- Use a “Return Requested” pledge two or three times a year to help ascertain your list’s accuracy.
- If you mail less than five pieces per year to a certain list, consider using duplicate labels rather than more expensive means of storing names.
- Never add a name without including a zip code. National zip directories are available from the Post Office.
- Before setting up a mailing list, decide first on what categories and subcategories are needed. One general list is inefficent and valueless in terms of targeting your message.
- Put the post office to work for you. For a nominal charge they’ll correct known list inaccuracies so long as names are submitted on appropriate cards.
If you have created your own area mailing list, remember that it is a very valuable asset that can also produce revenue for you. Rental of your list of active skiers can bring you $35.00 per thousand from ski publications, for instance. If your list is big enough you can have it handled by a list broker which will work on a commission of roughly 20 percent of all rentals they arrange.
Good mailing lists take a lot of work to produce and maintain. However, they enable you to efficiently direct your selling message to new revenue sources, as well as open the door to recultivating business you already have. In terms of cost-efficiency, it’s one of the best programs you can budget time and money for.
