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In this issue:
• Marketing Article: It's All About the List!
• Marketing Article: The 8 Do's and Don'ts of Direct Mail

This week, the USPS Commissioner approved a 2-cent increase in the price of a stamp, set to take effect in June or July. It is more important than ever to keep your address lists clean and up to date.

Our list Move Update / Cleaning Services are an all-in-one solution to make sure you do not waste postage by mailing to non-existant addresses. It includes:

It's All About the List!
by Accutips.com © 2007

Did you know that 40% of any direct mail campaign's success lies in selecting the right list? Read our Top Ten Tips for creating, sourcing, expanding and maintaining top-quality data.

Top Ten Tips for Selecting the Right List

1. Find the right data consultant. Almost all list brokers, managers and owners are willing to handle the administration of your chosen list. However, it's best to find a consultant who can offer more: good advice, proven experience and a wealth of options for you to consider. A reputable consultant will spend considerable time collecting information about your business and your needs, before making a recommendation.

2. Practice list hygiene. Mailing to a poorly-maintained list can be very costly and inefficient. List hygiene will help you maximize your customer data and keep your house list clean so that you can catch outdated information before it costs you.

3. Play by the rules. In these days of increasing privacy concerns, make sure any list you buy has been scrubbed against the national Do-Not-Call list. For increased response, you might also look into purchasing an "opt-in" list, comprised of people who have given permission to be contacted, or a "double opt-in" list, which contains targets who have confirmed their desire to be contacted.

4. Use what you've got. Your own customer data may be the most responsive list you'll ever use. Many companies falsely assume that their customers already know all about their products and services—but in many cases, they would be likely responders to new or even current information and offers. Mail to your house list at least once a month. Remember, you own it—it's free!

5. Expand your list whenever you can. Your list can become even more valuable as you add to it with names of people and businesses through customer referrals, invoice stuffers or on-site signups.

6. Ask yourself two important questions. First, if you could identify your perfect customer, who would that person or business be? And secondly, how do you know that your perfect customer has those particular identifiers?

7. Be specific. When you define your perfect customer, don't be afraid to go into detail. There are so many lists available today that the right data provider or broker will be able to find almost anything you desire. Looking for first-time home buyers within a certain salary range? Or retired pet-owners in a particular state? From complied to response, from consumers to businesses, your list is probably out there.

8. Test, test, test! This is common advice in the direct marketing world, but followed too rarely. Don't give up after one shot. You could have a wonderful design, great copy, and a solid offer, but be mailing at the wrong time. In the end, you have to test until you see what works for your situation. Test variations on lists, design and timing to find out what works.

9. Work your best lists. As part of your testing program, use parts or all of your best lists frequently, until response starts to wear off. Until you test, you won't know how often your new customers want to hear from you.

10. Monitor your results. Of course, this tip goes hand-in-hand with testing, above. But it is crucial to keep good records of all your results, even for tests, for a year or more so that you can put all that learning to good use. Use "keycoding" (a unique code on mailing or parts of mailings) so that you can accurately monitor your responses. Then be sure to share the results with your data provider, so that you can tweak your list purchases to get better response next time.

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AccuTips is a free monthly e-newsletter full of direct marketing news and legislation, strategies, how-to information, case studies, resources and more. For more information, visit www.accutips.com.

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Our database puts you in direct contact with these organizations.

The 8 Do's and Don'ts of Direct Mail
by Accutips.com © 2007

Here's a collection of easy steps to follow—and ensure success for your next direct mail campaign.

1. Don't run a direct mail campaign without a clear plan. Make sure you have set measurable objectives, brainstormed a strong creative strategy and run through the P&L and Breakeven Analysis exercises. Don't drop the ball! Lead follow-up and record keeping is critical.

2. Do make sure to prove your list's effectiveness in a properly managed test. Otherwise, you could be throwing good money down the drain.

3. Don't run your tests casually. They must be thoroughly reviewed, designed and carefully implemented, from strategy formulation to final results. Ultimately, your testing strategy will have a huge influence on your direct marketing success.

4. Do make sure to use direct mail in conjunction with other media. These days, a multi-channel marketing strategy is the most profitable way to go. Explore every avenue, including telemarketing, web marketing, print advertising, trade shows and more.

5. Don't assume that a single creative approach works for every medium. From print to web to direct mail, every campaign deserves its own specific creative approach. In direct mail, you need to focus on a great offer and the benefits of your product or service.

6. Do include an urgent, compelling call to action in your direct mail piece. "CTA"s drive customers to respond (or order) more promptly and result in more orders (or higher responses). These devices are best used with a time-sensitive mechanism, such as countdown, to create a stronger sense of urgency for the customer to respond more quickly.

7. Don't neglect your own data collection. With every campaign, your marketing department should develop procedures and systems to capture as many behavioral characteristics of your prospects and customers as possible. These traits are essential for better understanding your customers and knowing how to anticipate and match their needs, in order to make your business more successful.

8. Do plan for an analysis phase after every campaign. Examine every aspect of your process: what went wrong, and what successes can you build on? Be sure to connect with all your partners, internally and externally, to gain valuable insights for improving your next steps, both in the next campaign and in your overall marketing strategy.

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AccuTips is a free monthly e-newsletter full of direct marketing news and legislation, strategies, how-to information, case studies, resources and more. For more information, visit www.accutips.com.