Where can I find a good mailing list?
March 10, 2018 6:48 PM   Subscribe

Direct mail seems the most effective of all marketing, including email and outbound telemarketing. I want to target public radio listeners in cities with a strong public radio presence. Where can I go for an up-to-date list that lets me target those listeners with direct mail? Or, what about is using a mailer service that includes my notice with the ads of other advertisers? I'm looking for options.
posted by CollectiveMind to Society & Culture (5 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
What you want is called list rental and as a private individual you have no chance of having any organization agree to it, I’m sorry.
posted by Automocar at 7:50 PM on March 10, 2018 [1 favorite]


Best answer: There are some specialty printers who will print and mail to lists;

some may have them through their subscriptions/memberships in DMA. You’d be looking for what’s called a Demographic Select, either through the printer or a DM marketing company.

As for “Val pak” type mailings, contact info is on the mailer to get an insert placed, they’ll give you rates and specs or direct you to a marketing company who can put your piece together for inclusion (but will be a larger group, being third class (?) mail)
posted by tilde at 8:10 PM on March 10, 2018


Direct mail seems the most effective of all marketing

But it isn’t. Not anymore. The most effective (i.e. highest ROI) marketing these days is through social media, sponsored content, and in this case, buying ad time on the stations themselves. You can set up targeting on Facebook, Instagram, and AdWords to focus on people that listen to public radio in whatever cities you chose.
posted by ananci at 8:20 PM on March 10, 2018 [3 favorites]


Best answer: But it isn’t. Not anymore. The most effective (i.e. highest ROI) marketing these days is through social media, sponsored content, and in this case, buying ad time on the stations themselves.

This varies sooooooo much. It really depends on your audience and what you are marketing. For most nonprofits, for instance, a strategically run direct mail program still has a higher ROI than email and CERTAINLY higher than Facebook ads. This kills me to say because I am a digital strategist who specializes in online fundraising. (OP, I realize you may not be fundraising for a nonprofit, but NPR memberships will be like the fundraising/membership bases of most legacy nonprofits - over 50, and more likely to respond to direct mail than your average mefite)

Of course, if you can’t get ahold of member lists through list rental, then FB ads targeting people with an “interest” in the local NPR station might be a decent stand in, but I imagine that’s an expensive audience to target on FB.
posted by lunasol at 9:49 PM on March 10, 2018 [4 favorites]


> ad time on the stations themselves

"Sponsorship messages." Most public radio don't have ads, just a bunch of sponsor messages that are barely distinguishable from ads. Nevertheless, if approaching public radio stations with your message, you should use the right language. Many people at non-profits sometimes feel a bit dirty about the marketing process.
posted by Sunburnt at 3:47 AM on March 11, 2018


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