Marketing consultant Robert Bly estimates that your house file—customer names and addresses—will pull double the response of any external list. Yet many direct mailers penalize themselves by not assembling such a customer list. And some shoot themselves in the foot by failing to keep their house files up to date. Recessionary times, when your phone may not be ringing off the hook with orders, is a great time to put your house file in order. Start by taking the job away from c

Well-chosen lists are key to profitable direct-mail advertising. Most observers agree that the list is as important to a mailing’s success as the offer— and far outweighs the impact of copy, graphics, and all other bells and whistles. Yet, according to nationally respected marketing consultant Jeffrey Dobkin, many advertisers do not pay more than cursory attention to list selection. He offers this advice: The best list of all—bar none—is your own house file of current and pas

Marketing consultant Ron Ferguson advises that you’ll boost your return on investment (ROI) from direct mailing lists if you: 1. Always mail to an individual By all means, stay away from lists that include “proprietor,” “homeowner,” and other entries instead of personal names. Such generic lists are often inexpensive to rent—for the very good reason that they usually generate lower response than full-name lists. 2. Aim your message at “you”—the singular “you” Direct mail, esp

The right mailing list makes a big difference in response rates. Who should you mail to? Direct mail performs best when your prospects are targeted based on the demographics of your current customers. Consider both Consumer Mailing Lists and Business Mailing Lists based on geographic location, lifestyle, purchasing behavior, business size, SIC code, sales volume and other categories. You can also market to "new movers." A new location—home or office—demands new purchases. Fro