Mailing List Issues and Direct Mailing Postcards

By: Rachelle Lim
Submitted: 2008-07-18 15:09:11
Print this article | Tell a friend | For publisher |

Rating:

 

When it comes to postcard marketing campaigns, direct mailing postcards is a proven method to deliver advertising materials to your consumers. 

To do this, you must first develop your mailing list.  A mailing list is simple a collection of names and addresses that you want to send your letter or print ads to.  To get a better picture, recall the address book on your email account.  That is a good representation of a mailing list, except that postal addresses are used instead. 

The same principle is used when you subscribe to a magazine publishing house.  They have a comprehensive list of subscribers which they send copies to on a regular basis.  You can utilize the same method with your postcard campaign. 

Mailing list woes

Mailing lists are relatively easy to prepare but there are certain problems that arise occasionally, and when these are not properly addressed, you might end up losing your marketing investment, or worse, your customers. 

1.    Unreliable data providers

If you do not have your own mailing list or if you would like to expand your network by getting more addresses, make sure that you get reliable data providers for your mailing list. If not, you may end up sending postcards to wrong or non-existent addresses. 

There are plenty of data providers, as well as mailing list brokers.  Some mailing lists are leased while some are bought.  When rented, these mailing lists can only be used for a certain period of time.  Some brokers have a way of determining if a mailing list client is not following the terms agreed upon so it is best to stick to what you both agreed on. 

2.    Inaccuracies in mailing lists

Once you have your list, do not rush into direct mailing postcards.  You need to check the details in your addresses plus the list itself to reduce the risk of undelivered mails.  Evaluate the contents and check the spelling of the names and streets, as well as the street numbers.

Zip codes are another concern that can affect the success of your mass mailing campaign.  Ensure that the zip codes correctly match the streets in the address.

There are also some occasions wherein same entries pop up.  If, for example, you encounter similar names, remove the duplicate.

3.    Customer complaints

If your mailing list includes people who did not sign up, there is a risk that some recipients would find your postcard annoying.

To prevent this, make sure that the recipients of your postcards are consumers who are likely to avail your product.  That way, they would find the information on your postcard useful and relevant. 

You can specify certain characteristics to your data provider so that they can zero in on potential customers.  For example, you can tell your data provider to pick out those that fit into your desired demographics. 

If you do get complaints, remove the name and address from your list to avoid irking the complainant even more. 

You may review the United States Postal Service guidelines for mailing lists.  This way, you can prevent unfortunate events when direct mailing postcards for your marketing solution.

Article source: Expert Articles