Whether you consider yourself in direct marketing or a complete novice, there are some common mistakes that are made when it comes to mailing lists. Keeping away from making these errors can save you time and money while increasing your profits. The top five mailing lists mistakes:
- Failing to purchase a list. A lot of direct marketers make the mistake of doing a bulk mailing to a particular zip code rather than buying a list. This is a mistake on so many levels. First of all, it is impersonal and secondly, the large majority of people who receive this type of mailing aren’t at all interested in your product.
- Not purchasing a targeted list. If you are selling sports cars you might think that sending your mailing to men over 18 would be a good idea, but you can get much more specific. You would probably do much better targeting men from 24 to 62 years old who make at least $40,000 a year, for instance.
- Inconsistency. Some direct marketers will do a one mailing and then sit around waiting for the phone to ring. It is a much better idea to use mailing lists on a consistent basis to keep a steady flow of calls coming in.
- Poor quality mailing. Your mailing has to grab the customer’s attention, present them with a good offer and then give them an easy way to follow up and make the purchase.
- Failing to test market. It is a good idea to send different mailings to the exact same demographic in similar areas to see which mailings yield a better response and continually test and refine to keep improving the results.
By simply avoiding these five errors when using mailing lists for your direct advertising campaign you will be able to significantly increase your sales and profits.
