Direct Mail (mailing list)
by Jason Ryan Isaksen

If you decide you'd like to do some direct mailings, first you should know post cards generally get a better response than full size letters when it comes to direct mail and they're a lot less expensive to send out. Plus they're easier to create.

Of course when doing a direct mail campaign, you will need a list. Let me give you some good advice right now that will save you hassle, headache, wasted time, and money. The advice is this: Never buy a mailing list out of a magazine. I'm sure you've seen all the ads for them in the home business and entrepreneur small business-start-ups type magazines. There are always at least a dozen ads in these magazines that say things like "HOT Mailing lists" or "HOT Leads" or "Red Hot Mailing Lists" or "The Best Mailing Lists." Etc.

Trust me. I've tested lists that I bought out of home business magazines and they've always been a big disappointment. The response from these mailing lists is just plain terrible and a complete waste of time and money. Now I know what you're saying."Well then where should I purchase my mailing lists if I decide I'd like to use direct mail to advertise?"

The best lists come from "Real Companies" or "Real People" who are currently marketing their own products or services. These people never advertise their lists for sale in a magazine. Usually you will need to go to them and ask them if they will sell their list.

Sometimes these companies or individuals will rent or sell a portion of their list. Why not? After they're done with a list, it's just pure profit for them to sell it to you. And you can get some terrific response from a list like this. The main reason why the mailing lists you'll find in business magazines don't work is because they're sold by list brokers. And list brokers do nothing more than sell copies of the same lists all day long. That means if you buy a list from one of these list brokers from a magazine, hundreds of other marketers have also purchased the exact same list. And by the time hundreds of marketers all have the same list, that list becomes garbage. That's why I don't suggest you ever buy a list from anyone who is advertising "Lists For Sale" in magazines or on the internet.

Which brings us to the reason why it's always better to purchase the "In House List" from a company that is currently marketing products and services. And why it's important to never buy from a company that advertises lists for sale.

Companies that are not offering lists for sale are definitely the best do deal with. If you can go directly to certain companies that are just selling products and services and are not in the "LIST" business, you'll be one of the only people that has a copy of their list(or at least a portion of their list.)

The rule goes like this: The more marketers that have a list, the less effective that list is. And consequently, the less marketers that have that list, the more responsive that list is going to be for you.

So the main point is to obtain your mailing lists from your own private sources that are not list brokers. Often times when I buy a list from a company, they'll even tell me: "We don't normally sell our mailing list."

Those are the words I love to hear when I'm buying a mailing list. My most responsive mailing lists have come from individuals and companies that were extremely apprehensive about selling me their list.

Once you have your own mailing list, you can begin a whole other profitable method of advertising. You can start trading lists with other marketers as soon as you have a list of your own. Trading lists is fun and powerful! My first list started out at 3,800 names and addresses. Then after buying a few more at bargain prices and making some fantastic trades, my list is now at over 780,000 and my lists are made up of extremely responsive groups of people that are easy to sell to. Any time I want to make a few extra thousand dollars, I just type up a new sales letter for a new product or service, and send it out to my list. And "PRESTO!!" I end up with hundreds of orders within a few days!