You've Got a Newsletter...Now Get a Mailing List
By Teresa Ambord
If you've made the decision to spread the word about your non-profit organization through a newsletter or other mailed items, obviously you want your mailings to be as effective as possible. If done right, direct mail can be highly successful as well as economical compared to other modes of communication.
Who is Your Audience?
Whether you are an established organization or a new one, you've no doubt got some kind of list of donors and/or interested parties, known as a house lsit. That's a good start, but to expand your donations and other support, you'll need to beef up your list.
Profiling
Profiling is a vital concept in narrowing down this big world into a target audience. Who is most likely to donate to your organization? If you're an animal charity, of course patrons of veterinary clinics, pet groomers, pet stores are an obvious choice.
Does Your Cause Have National Appeal, or is it Regional? Should you market to individuals or businesses, or both? Who will indirectly benefit from your organization's activities? A program that teaches literacy indirectly benefits society as a whole since greater literacy tends to reduce crime and poverty, but mostly those in the geographical area that you serve.
Mailing Lists
Once you know who it is you are hoping to reach, you should consider renting a mailing list. The term "rent" is used, because a list is generally for one-time use. In fact, list owners add a control feature to their lists...by including some dummy names. Those dummy names will result in mail that comes back to the owners, so they can see if you have violated the agreement.
To rent a mailing list, you'll need a broker. There are several ways to find one:
- Look in the Yellow Pages under "Mailing Services" or "Mailing Lists"
- Check the classified section of mail order trade magazines
- Go to the library and check out the bimonthly publications, Standard Rate and Data Service Direct Marketing List.
- Call the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) at 212-768-7227, or visit their Web site at: http://www.the-dma.org/
You'll want a broker experienced in creating non-profit lists. He or she will probably, for no extra fee, help you plan the list, and later help evaluate the results. Explain to potential brokers what you need and ask them for some imaginative profiling ideas based on that information. Entrepreneur Magazine suggests that an organization trying to raise funds for a classical music presentation might send solicitations to people who purchase vitamins. The connection isn't immediately obvious, but can be surmised by considering the age group that would be more likely to appreciate classical music.
Some brokers will give you a sample list before you agree to buy. Lists usually come on a CD or floppy disk, whichever meets your needs. A ballpark estimate of the price of a list is $50 to $80 per one thousand names. A general rule in direct mail is that to be effective, you should start with a minimum of 5,000 names.
Ask the broker if the list has been updated. Nearly 20 percent of Americans move each year. So a list can quickly grow stale if it is not maintained. The list should be processed through the National Change of Address program (NCOA).
The NCOA is operated through the postal service and updates addresses of everyone who has provided their new information to the post office.
Before you agree on the list with your broker, check it against your house list for duplications. If duplications exist, not only will you waste money on names you already have, but you are in danger of sending two mailings to the same address. That is a fairly common occurrence, but it makes an organization seem sloppy and wasteful. The public is very watchful when it comes to waste from an agency seeking charitable donations.
Consider the first list to be a test. If the response you get is less than two percent, you need to rethink the mailing or the list. You could have the wrong audience, or an ineffective mailer that fails to grab attention. If you're hitting the right audience with a well-planned ad, you should get at least a two percent response.
