Earlier in the week we discussed the lists you should be using in your business.  If you missed that discussion or want to review, go see the blog post below to see where we've been. Today we’ll talk about ways to get lists, and how to grow your own in-house list.

One way to get a list is to rent commercially available lists.  This article discusses the basics of renting lists.  We'll get to other ways of growing your list in upcoming tips. 

First, understand you will be RENTING these lists for one-time, two-time or multiple use and the price will go up with each option.  The lists will be “seeded” with false names and addresses that deliver your mail to the list owners, so they can police the use of their lists.

Second, you’ll probably wind up working with a List Broker.  A good List Broker can be of great help to you and can usually help you uncover ideas that you did not originally consider.  You’ll find the List Brokers in your own area in your Yellow Pages, under MAILING LISTS and LIST BROKERS or similar categories.

Third, you will need to educate yourself about available lists, in order to clarify your ideas about what you want BEFORE meeting with or talking with List Brokers.  You can start at your nearest major city, main public library, where you’ll find a current or one-year-old copy of a huge directory called “SRDS”, for ‘Standard Rate And Data
Service’.
 
While at the library, you should also read some back issues of trade magazines like Direct Marketing and DM News.  In a couple of hours, you can become conversant in the terminology, the language of the list business, so you can ask smart questions and deal with List Brokers.

There’s more on renting lists, but I think you’ve got the basics covered here.  Next week we’ll talk about ways to grow your own in-house list without have to buy or rent a list.  See you next week.