Behind-the-Scenes Secrets of a List Broker
by Debbie Stanley
Direct response experts will tell you that the list you mail to is one of the most important parts of your campaign. Mail to the wrong audience and it doesn't matter how good your copy or your offer is.
That's why a good list broker is crucial to your success in the mail. But if you've never worked with a list broker before, you may wonder why you need one.
I've been in the list broker business for a long time now, so I know a lot of the questions you might have. To help you understand how we work and how to get the most out of your relationship with a list broker, here's an insider's view of the business.
There are about 700 list companies in the U.S. Some have one broker, some have many. Brokers at large firms are employees that come and go, so you may never be sure who you'll be working with.
As you might expect, you'll get more personalized service working with a list broker who has his or her own business.
Should you try to find a local list broker? Only if you feel you absolutely need to work face to face with this person. But there's no real advantage. I successfully work with clients all over the country and even outside the U.S.
The location of your list broker is less important than the service you get.
If you're working with a letter shop and they say, "Sure, we can get you lists" — be careful. Find out if they have a dedicated list broker in house. If not, then you might as well find your own. You don't want the guy who runs the envelope-stuffing machine to be selecting your lists in his spare time.
What now? First, don't think of the list broker as just another vendor. Think of this person as a marketing specialist who can bring valuable knowledge to the table — the kind of knowledge that will help you make money.
Treat your list broker as an important member of your marketing team and you'll be pleasantly surprised at the results.
At the beginning of the relationship, you're going to have to answer some questions. It's relatively painless, but be prepared for questions like ...
- What are you marketing?
- Have you marketed it before?
- What lists did you use?
- What promo package did you use?
- How did it do?
- What are your goals this time?
The more information you can provide, the better the chance your list broker will be able to get you the best lists possible — and steer you away from ones that aren't likely to work for you.
As your list broker, I want to see what you're planning to mail, to get a feel for how you're marketing to your prospects and how you're presenting the offer. I also like to see past mailings you've done.
If you're new and just launching your product or service, I'll spend time with you finding out who your prospects are. I'll also ask about your competitors. Just knowing that gives me a good idea of who your potential audience is.
A good list broker will have all the typical resources — the SRDS, M.I.N. (Management Information Network) — and should subscribe to publications that provide up-to-the-minute information on new lists that have just come on the market.
But for any list broker worth his or her salt, that will just be the beginning.
When you come to me with a project, I start with those resources plus I scour my own database that I've built over the last 15 years. But just from knowing what your product is, I'd have a pretty good idea of what lists to look at. Experience helps here.
Now comes the fun part.
One of the first things to look for is how frequently the owner updates the file. That tells me if the names are hot, recent buyers — or if they're stale, neglected names. If somebody hasn't updated their list in a year, that goes into the "B" pile. It may not be worthy of your mailing.
I'll also see who's been using the list. Not who's testing the list — everyone may be testing the list. You and I are only interested in who's continuing to use the file, month after month. If it's your competitors, so much the better. That means the list is working for them and it has a great chance of working for you.
Some beginning mailers (not you, I'm sure) make the mistake of thinking that a list that's been mailed to over and over has been drained dry. They would rather mail to a "fresh" list that hasn't been used much. Wrong.
Marketers go back to a list again and again because it works. If they test it and it fails, they leave it alone.
And because I have clients who are in the mail all the time, I'm continually getting inside information on what's working and what's not. While I can't share the specifics with you (that's proprietary) I can use the information when putting together recommendations for you.
How to find hidden, unadvertised lists
Some lists take a lot of digging to find. They're not all advertised in the directories, so a list broker often has to be a detective to uncover a good list.
Let's say I have a client who has a newsletter about hospital equipment. There aren't a lot of hospital lists available from the usual resources. Not even in my own continually-updated database. What to do?
I'll pick up the phone and start calling the publications in the industry to see if they'll rent their lists. Some may have never even thought about making their lists available, because the lists are so small. But if you're in a specialized niche, a small list of quality names may be all you need.
Whatever it takes, I'll track down that list for you.
After all the sifting and reviewing and culling, I present you with list recommendations based on your goal of how many names you want to mail to. If you're just getting started, I'll offer helpful suggestions on what you should do at this point — based on your budget.
Okay. We've agreed on a set of lists for you, but my job has only just begun.
Next, I'll get a sample of your mailing piece and start the process of clearing it with the list owners. They'll all want to see what you're sending to their customers, so I handle this necessary step for you. (If you've ever mailed to 50 lists at once, you'll know what a chore this is. Aren't you glad you don't have to do it?)
Be aware — things are going so fast in the industry that a lot of people don't take the time to pre-clear their samples. Bad idea. If you have plans to mail to 25 lists, and some of those people turn you down, that can cause delays while you find backup lists.
Not only is it important to get your mailing piece approved, we also need to secure the mailing date for you. That way, we know the list owner isn't going to be renting the list to five other mailers at the same time, which can dilute your response.
Once the sample is approved, I'll order the lists and coordinate gathering them together and getting them to the mailing house.
Through all this, you only have to deal with one person. You don't have to call all the list owners ... send your sample to each one ... keep track of who's given their approval ... haggle with the list owners over minor details ... order the lists ... and make sure they all get delivered to the letter shop on schedule. That's my job.
What a relief for you.
© 2004 DS Direct Communications
Debbie Stanley is a list broker with over 18 years experience. She helps marketers in health, finance and other specialty areas get the highest rate of return on their direct mail campaigns by finding lists of buyers most likely to be responsive to promotions in the mail. Contact Debbie through Finn Communications.