Like any other profession, the list industry offers a wide array of lists, and a seasoned list professional should be utilized to find the most responsive file.
There are over 65,000 direct mail, telemarketing and email lists on the market and a qualified list broker can help navigate through the different sources of postal, telemarketing and email lists.
The majority of the costs in direct mail involve printing, fulfillment and postage, however without a proven direct mail list, the entire direct mail campaign can be in jeopardy.
The majority of direct mail professionals appreciate the value of list brokers, and prefer to outsource the list buying to a brokerage firm as there are no additional costs in hiring a list broker. List brokers receive an industry-standard commission of 20% off the base from list managers. Companies ordering lists directly are not entitled to any type of broker discounts.
Most list brokers have at their disposal, list research tools that enable them to target the most appropriate lists, and are able to request usage information to see which other companies have had success with a particular list.
In general, most list brokers offer a free detailed list proposal which allows a company to make an informed decision based on price, list usage, list quantity, update frequency, etc.