Developing a mailing list by from your current client database is one of the best ways you can use direct mail. Even if you don’t already have the addresses, there are steps you can take to start capturing this information.

Sending a mailing to people that have done business with you in the past is the best way to get a high response rate. They already know who you are, hopefully had a good experience, and perhaps only need a reminder. A simple newsletter or promotional flyer can generate new interest in these old friends.

If you’re in retail, you may think you can’t develop a list. It can be more of a challenge. Most people won’t want to give out their address and other information. However, some will volunteer if you place a comment box, catalog request form, or newsletter signup sheet near your checkout. Another good technique is to use contests. We’ve all seen the boxes where you drop your paper to win a car or trip. A large percentage of folks will sign up if they have a chance to win something. You don’t have to spend a lot to do this either. We’ll talk about prize insurance and travel certificates in future articles, but a quick Google search will get you started.

The main issues you run into when creating your own mailing list are…

• Data entry
• Address format
• Address quality

If you don’t want to do the data entry yourself, there are several service bureaus that can handle the task. Hiring a professional may save you more time and money down the road with the other issues too.

The address format can mean the way you store the list. If you don’t have a list manager program Excel is good. Avoid using Word to enter the list. When entering the records, you should use the available fields in the same way. Store names as First Name, Last Name on every address, or the other way around. Just do it the same way all the time once you decide how you want it. It is very important to have separate fields for City, State and Zip. Most of the time, you can get away with one address line. If you are building a business to business (B2B) mailing list, you will probably want to have a place for company name and job title.

Address quality begins will good data entry, but it doesn’t stop there. Once you have your list prepared, you should have it run through NCOA (National Change of Address) and LACS (Locatable Address Correction Service). Most classes of mail require you to do this within 95 days of a mailing anyway, but it’s in your interest to have the address as correct as possible. If you use First Class Mail, you should edit your list for any returned mail or address corrections you receive. The more accurate your list is, the less you’ll pay for postage, and the more likely you are to reach your target audience.

Getting started in developing your own list may seem like a lot of work. Once you get started, you’ll find the benefits far outweigh the costs. In the end, you’ll know more about your customers, be better able to reach and serve them, and you might even develop a mailing list you could sell yourself.

A lot of people have been writing the obituary of Direct Mail for a while now. They say email is going to take its place. While email has many useful features, and is quite handy for some purposes, Direct Mail is much more effective in the way it works, and in the impression it creates.

I don’t know about you, but electronic mail marketing messages have to cross a lot of hurdles to reach me. Our email server has a spam filter that rejects messages based on the address and other criteria. After that, my mail reader program examines the content, and dumps most of the rest in a junk mail folder. Of what’s left, I just scan the subject lines, and read very little of it.

If I receive unsolicited email from a company, it’s very likely to create a negative impression, rather than a positive one. Then. there are so many software compatibility  issues that can make your creative message look like trash. You’re left with the choice of making boring, plain text messages, or taking a chance that your intended client can’t read what you’ve sent.

On top of all that are the legal issues. It hasn’t happened often, but people have been prosecuted and convicted of violating the CanSPAM act.

On the other hand, with Direct Mail Marketing, all those filters are bypassed, and I have to hold the piece in my hand, read it, and decide if I’m interested or not. If the outside of the letter, self mailer or postcard catches my attention, I’ll open it and look into it further. The copy and art on the outside of the piece can easily have just as much information and “flash” as the entire message in an email. Once I’ve opened the letter, I can have much more text and graphics to fully explain my product or service. Many people, even “computer people”, simply like having an item they can hold, examine and save.

 Mailing lists are a big advantage for direct mail as well. A physical address is much more permanent and easier to verify than an email address. Mailing lists also allow the targeting of customers by demographics, magazine subscriptions and other special interests.

 All in all, email is a good way to keep in touch with existing customers. As a way to find new customers, direct mail is hard to beat.