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Back to Issue 4, 2024

How to get your publication in the right hands

Which mailing list is right for your healthcare newsletter?

Whether you're already producing a publication or you're starting one up again now that direct mail is making a post-COVID comeback, it's important to get your printed piece to the consumer groups in your target market. How do you find those readers? A mailing list can help you with that.

You have plenty of options when it comes to rented lists. Understanding those options in detail can help you decide which mailing list will help you reach your goals. Consider the following examples of lists, along with details about when each might be used.

Consumer name lists

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

These lists may come with demographic information, including:

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

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—so your selections are premade.

When they're ideal: Trying to reach a specific person by name? These lists are good options for you. Even if you don't delve into demographic information, you'll find the families you're looking for due to their names.

Resident lists

What they are: Resident lists contain address data without any names, and they're compiled with data from the U.S. Postal Service. Instead of a recipient name, your magazine, newsletter or other printed piece is addressed to "Resident" or another 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 dwellings.
  • 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, as rental fees are low. Postage will be at the lowest available rate when you use a resident list too.

Specialty lists

What they are: Specialty name lists are highly targeted, and they contain a wide variety of demographic information. Depending on your state, this information may include:

  • Occupation.
  • Buying habits.
  • Behavioral data.

When they're ideal: A specialty list may be just right if you need to reach a very specific segment of people.

Even more options

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 and use it over and over.

You may also have lists within your organization that you'd like to add to your purchased list. Prior patients, employees or donors might all like to see your publication. But if you add them to the list, you'll need to be sure to sort them so you don't send the same newsletter to the same household more than once.

Thankfully, you won't have to worry about those kinds of details when you choose an agency with decades of experience in direct mail. When you work with Coffey, we'll do the heavy lifting for you.

Categories: Mailing

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Scan the QR code to see what it's like to produce a publication with Coffey. Or call 888.805.9101 to learn how Coffey Communications can help you get your publication in the right hands.