Count On Coffey

Who are your readers? That's a question you likely considered long before you started working on your newsletter or magazine. But when it comes time for distribution, the question is, "Where are your readers?"

There are many options when it comes to rented mailing lists. Understanding those options will help you reach the right target audience for your thoughtfully crafted message. Here are a few to consider.

Consumer name lists

What they are: Consumer name lists contain name and address data that the list company compiles from a wide variety of sources. The data is updated frequently.

These lists may also include demographic information, such as:

• Age ranges.
• Estimated income.
• Gender.
• Homeowner or renter.
• Presence of children.
• Duration of residence.
• Dwelling type.

You can use this data to help refine your list. Or you can choose a list that contains specialty demographics—such as new movers or new homeowners.

When they're ideal: When you want to choose specific recipients and to include their names on the address labels.

Specialty lists

What they are: Specialty name lists are highly targeted and contain a wide variety of demographic information, such as:

• Ethnicity.
• Religion.
• Occupation.
• Buying habits.
• Behavioral data.

When they're ideal: A specialty list can work well if you need to reach a very specific segment of people.

Resident lists

What they are: Resident lists contain address data without any names and are compiled with data from the U.S. Postal Service. Instead of a recipient name, your piece is addressed to "Resident" or a variation. You may be able to personalize the recipient line; for example, replacing "Resident" with "To our neighbor at."

Resident lists can be refined with geographic and demographic selections, such as:

• Type of delivery route (city, rural, P.O. Box).
• Single-family or multifamily dwelling. Businesses.
• Median income.
• Home value.

These selections are available at the carrier-route level rather than at the individual household level. That means you'll make broad selections rather than choosing between individual households.

When they're ideal: Resident lists are perfect for reaching the greatest number of households at the lowest cost. Rental fees are low, and postage will be at the lowest available rate when you use this type of list.

More options and next steps

Once you've settled on a list, you have a few more decisions to make. You can rent the list for one-time use, or you can rent it for a set period of time and use it over and over within that time frame.

You may also have additional lists within your organization, such as prior patients, employees or donors, that you'd like to add to your purchased list. Be sure to sort and remove duplicates from your list so that you don't send the same newsletter to the same household more than once.

Categories: Mailing