Making Money Compiling And Renting Mailing Lists

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1993 by Home Business Publications

This is the business of accumulating names and addresses, sorting them by category and selling or renting them as mailing lists.

Lists that you compile can be sold to mailing list brokers and/or rented to retail customers. There is a good deal of competition in the mailing list business at the higher levels.. So it would be a good idea to start locally, where there is only limited competition, before investing too much of your time, energy and money.

Almost every magazine in the nation sells its subscriber lists to mailing list brokers, as do many addresses as a part of their procedures. And, there is always a market for mailing lists because sellers must find more and more prospects for their products and services.

Large brokers maintain millions of names in many different categories (sports magazine, subscribers, professional society members) and degrees of currency (bought something within the last 30, 60 days or year; responded within last 60 days).

The types of names range teens who subscribe to certain music magazines to those copied out of a phone book, tax rolls, auto license buyers or those who send in their dollar for "big mails."

It would be foolhardy to try and compete with a large broker in his ball-park at the start; but if you can choose your own field, your chances increase!

The big brokers don't have a list of high school seniors in your town, license tag buyers in your county, or parents of kids in the local Campfire Girls. Merchants in your area don't really need names of people who subscribe to Life Magazine -- their market is local!

Local mailing lists can be compiled in any number of ways -- and innovative new techniques are "invented" every day. They can come from any list of names and addresses and al are of value to someone.

To start compiling your lists, begin with the local voter registration rolls at the court house or city hall; check auto registrations, city licenses of all kinds, professional association memberships, the city directory, tax rolls and Chamber of Commerce.

Always be on the lookout for additional ways to get your hands on names, even those you cannot use in the present form.

For example, you could go through the phone book for the names with addresses, then a zip code book at the post office for general names of people in the area (geographical).

Note: there are computer versions of zip code directories available; some at very reasonable rates. Always use some sort of code to indicate their category. You need not follow any set coding pattern -- just be able to tell prospective customers what kind of lists you have to offer and how current the addresses are.

Most Americans move at least once a year, so the age of the addresses on your list may be important.

Most mail order companies will replace "nixies" (invalid addresses), as a means of guaranteeing the validity (deliverability) of their names.

However, the renter still loses the price of the material and postage on each one. Some mailing list dealers run ads under different names that offer "big mail" is they send in their name -- some even CHARGE to list people.

Names that answer these ads or answer queries about mail order plans but do not buy a product are called opportunity seekers; those that actually purchase something are worth a little more for the next 30 - 90 days, because they are buyers.

Whenever you answer a mail order ad, chances are your name will be added to a mailing list right then and/or eventually sold to a broker (usually in lots of 1,000). Even the stamp you used may end up in a ten pound box and sold to a post stamp broker.

When you apply for a credit card, subscribe to a magazine, buy licenses, install a telephone or enroll in just about anything, your name will most likely end up on a mailing list.

If you want to have a little fun with it, try using different variations of your name and see who sells your name to whom! Being aware of the different ways YOU can get on mailing lists will help you figure out ways to make your own lists.

One large mailing list broker (Edith Roman) has over 7,000 different KINDS of mailing lists. Every type of list you could imagine is offered: chairmen of corporation, biology teachers, dentist, wig and hairpiece dealers, and so on. Their price for names and addresses on gummed labels are as low as $20 per thousand (at their two million rate, but most reasonable sized orders are in the $50 range.

There are literally thousands of small mailing list brokers; many operate from local (5,000 and under) ad sheets of mailers and sell lists as small as 100 names to beginners. Some also operate chain letters, where they suggest you buy 100 names from a certain mailing list company, which they "have found to be reliable" for $10 (probably an alias or brother-in-law.

Not only is this price out of line, but these dealers sell the same names over and over.

Reliable brokers keep track of which names are sent to whom and make it a point not to send repeats or even sell the same names to competitors simultaneously.

With millions of names in their computer bank and very sophisticated systems to keep track of which names have already been sent to which customers, they can do this; the small mailing list dealer cannot.

Once you have located sources for your lists, they should be categorized, sorted and it would be best to have a way to print them to gummed labels.

A small computer would be ideal; mandatory if you intend to expand.. You need a system to ell when the name was entered or last re-affirmed: perhaps a month and year to indicate the last time that name and address was still good.

An alternative method is to simply remove names as nixies are returned for your two for one offer. This lets your customers do your quality control for you for a very low cost. Next,make a list of the categories of lists you have: residents, subscribers, licensees, club members, etc.

Note that the same mane can appear on more than one list --but normally does not unless that name has come in twice from two different sources.

With a computer you can simply "tag" each names as you enter it (C=Chamber member, NS=Newspaper subscriber, etc.). These codes would not be printed on the labels, but would enable you to sort them out of the computer for printing.

Next, price lists -- so much for 100, 500, 1,000 ( minimum in larger communities). Then decide if you will offer any other service such as doing the sorting, envelope stuffing and/or mailing (maybe you can use your bulk rate permit for extra profit).

When you know just exactly what you are going to offer, put it down on paper and start contacting merchants in your area.

Place an ad in the paper and leave plenty of business cards around. Don't overlook the politicians at election time -- have gummed labels ready several weeks in advance for the candidates!

You do not "sell" mailing lists to merchants in your community; you rent them. They pay for the right to contact each name only ONCE.

Any name that responds to this single contact becomes their names (in addition to yours), but it is against the law, for example, to send a follow-up advertisement to a name that has been rented unless there has been a response!

When you sell mailing lists, always include a few extra -- these are to cover any "nixies" (no longer at that address) and to "salt" the list with a name or two that will let you know which of your customers contact them more than once without a response. Once you have the proof that one customer has, the client owes you for a second use of the list!

It will help your business significantly if you can assist the merchants to see ways your lists can help them.

For example, to announce a sale, introduce a new product, send out coupons or offer special discounts. Your ingenuity should complement their -- help them to see every possible opportunity to use the mails (and of course, your mailing lists).

How about a sort by birthdays or anniversaries,or families of graduating students? Consider coordinated promotions, where you arrange for 3 or 4 different (non-competing of course) clients to combine their mailed out offers in one envelope. Halloween specials, homecoming bonanzas, spring sales are just a few of the possibilities.

Normally, merchants are not all that motivated to spend money -- even for promotions they know will make them a profit.. Sometimes an idea or two and a little extra "push" on your part will do wonders (enthusiasm is definitely contagious!).

Whenever you do the mailings for clients, try to find additional, non competing offers to include -- and give a slightly reduced rate when you can (even if they are from out of the state!). But, it is very important to be above board at all times.

For example, you could include an ad for tires in an envelope announcing a new produce store -- without increasing the postage or harming either client, but not one from another produce store!

Don't forget to check with your customers for more names. You can even swap trade names with them (you get their names permanently get yours only once). Stay abreast of the current mailing market. Look through publications that sell mailing lists for more ideas and possible wholesale markets.

An important feature of mailing lists is proper identification of the name category (registered voters) car or boat owners, specific product buyers) and date level -- for possible sale to brokers.

Usually when you sell names to brokers you can continue using them yourself locally (you may have to double check this point with the one you sell to -- it could be stipulated). The value of your names will be determined by these factors.

If you expand into custom mailing, consider soliciting business for cooperative mailing. Some companies mail out non-competing flyers on a percentage basis. The sponsor provides the flyers and all orders are relayed to him. Since there is no actual cost to the mailer, the percentage is pure profit. For more information in custom mailing, see B254, STARTING YOUR OWN CO-OP COUPON BUSINESS FROM HOME.

BUSINESS SOURCES

TARGET MARKETING, Box 13899, Philadelphia, PA 19101-3899. Mail communications trade magazine for large operations.

DM NEWS, 10 Olympia Ln.,Stonybrook, NY 11790. Direct Marketing News for large operations. $36 per year, free direct marketing firms.

NATIONAL MAIL ORDER ASSOCIATION, 5815 Venice Blvd.,Los Angeles, CA 90019. Publishes MAIL ORDER DIGEST, for the mail order trade. $42 yr.

DINNER & KLEIN, Box 3814, Seattle, WA 93814. Mailing list broker, offers free booklet "How to Develop, Keep and Use Mailing Lists."

AMERICAN DIRECT MARKETING, 2636 Walnut Hill Ln.,Dallas, TX 75229. Mailing list broker.

EDITH ROMAN ASSOCIATES, INC.,875 Avenue of the Americans, New York, NY 10001, 800/223-2194. Mailing list broker.

THE KELLY COMPANY, 639A Shadow Creek Dr.,San Jose, CA 95136. Mailing list broker; wants dealers.

BUSINESS ENVELOPE MANUFACTURERS, INC.,Pearl River, NY 10965. Printers of mail order envelopes and associated materials.

CLASSIFIED, INC.,676 N. St Clair, Chicago, IL 60611. Mail order advertising agency.

LIST-KING, INC.,12 E Walnut, Kingston, PA 18704. IBM compatible mailing list programs and dealerships.

DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC., 31 East 2nd St.,Mineola, NY 11051. Discount books, clip art, stencils, etc.

QUILL CORPORATION 100 Schelter Rd.,Lincolnshire, IL 60917-4700,312/634-4800. Office supplies.

NEBS, 500 Main St.,Groton, MA 04171, 800/225-6380. Office supplies.

IVEY PRINTING, Box 761, Meridan, TX 76665. Write for current price list.

SWEDCO, Box 29, Moooresville, NC 28115. Rubber stamps and business cards.

ZPS, Box 581, Libertyville, IL 60048-2556. Business cards (raised print - $11.50 per K) and letterhead stationery. Will print your copy ready logo or design, even whole card.

WALTER DRAKE, 4119 Drake Bldg.,Colorado Springs, CO 80940. Short run business cards, stationery, etc. Good quality, but no choice of style or color.
MICRO STAR, 1105 Second St.,Encinitas, CA 92024, 800/444-1343. Offers shareware program for zip codes: "ZIPKEY." Finds zip codes for cities and vice versa. Licensed version is $30.