Welcome back to Direct Mail 101. In our last video, we defined our target audience. So now it’s time to reach that audience.

It’s time to create your mailing list. There are two main types of lists: house lists and broker lists.

House lists are lists of customers who already have info for. Yup, in-house. They’re a great place to start if you’re looking to ramp up loyalty or get the word out about a new product or promotion. Broker lists are lists of customers that you can buy or rent. These are great if you’re looking to reach new customers or expand into new markets.

Thousands of companies sell lists, ranging from homeowners and gamers to travelers, music lovers and everything in between. Now, if you want to learn more about these lists or any of the topics we’re discussing, remember, you can always go to USPSDelivers.com.

Otherwise, let’s move on. When it comes to broker lists, there are two types: response lists and compiled lists. Response lists contain customers who responded to marketing efforts in the past. They’re typically more expensive but produce better response rates. 

Compiled lists contain contact information pulled from public credit files and tax county files. They include customers who usually fit a certain demographic but haven’t made any purchases.

Now, going back to our clothing shop from the last chapter, Milo & Mel. Since we’re looking to promote a Memorial Day sale with new summer styles to our existing customers, our in-house lists are a great place to start. 

If we also want to promote our sale and brand to new customers, a broker list might work as well. So when you’re creating your mailing list, think about the message you want to send and which customers you want to send it to. Now, you should have a pretty solid foundation for how mail works and how to get started with your first campaign.

Which means you’re finally ready for the fun stuff—creating your mailpiece. See you in the next chapter.