5 Tips for Locating Reputable Mailing Lists

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Ryan

In our last post, we gave you some tips for effectively working with mailing lists. We hope you found that post helpful, and feel comfortable approaching mailing lists with a test and measure mentality. Now, to further your list marketing mojo, we’re going to give you some insight into locating reputable mailing lists. Here are some criteria to consider before making a move towards signing any sort of insertion order or contract:

Ask Your Network – If you’ve been in marketing for any length of time, you probably have some contacts that work with reputable mailing lists. Don’t be shy about asking for recommendations. Or, if you’ve already built a list of potential vendors, vet it against your network. In either case, you should ask questions about price, data quality, make goods, campaign minimums, and targetability.
Data Quality – Accurate data is a key determining factor in locating a reputable mailing list. A few factors that affect data quality include:
1. Freshness – You want to work with a list provider that refreshes their list regularly. That means every 60 days at a minimum, but shoot for 30 days. List providers should also flag and remove opt-outs and hard bounces from their list immediately.
2. Hygiene – Work with list providers that use a hygiene service. This service could be proprietary, or it could be sourced from a third party. Either way, the hygiene process needs to be there in order to ensure that all information is valid, correctly formatted, and that no spam traps are included in the list.
3. Permissioning Process – You want to work with a list provider whose lists are permissioned through an opt-in or double opt-in process. Opt-in means that the members of the list knowingly requested to receive third party offers. Double opt-in means that after members of the list request to receive third party offers, the list owner sends a message confirming this request.
Make Goods – Any reputable mailing list provider is going to include a make good clause in your contract – you just might have to ask for it first. A make good means that a list provider will send a new “refund” campaign on your behalf if the first campaign goes sour. Don’t sign a contract without one.
Targetability and Campaign Minimums – You want to work with a list that’s going to reach your target audience. Otherwise, there’s no point in using the list. A reputable mailing list vendor is not going to mislead you in this regard. Oftentimes, they even take an extra step and provide you with a test sample of the list, so you can check its quality. Many list providers have mandatory minimums for any campaigns sent to their list. If this is the case, make sure the list owner with work with you and your budget.
Work with Industry-Leading Vendors – You can use vendors like NextMark to search for a list provider or target audience and find a reputable mailing list that matches the audience. Alternatively, you can use Marketfish to identify lists and audiences, and then rent or license those lists directly from the platform. We work hard to provide our clients with the best possible mailing lists.

Use these tips to evaluate any potential list partners, and you’ll have a good foundation for identifying reputable mailing lists.

Have you worked with mailing lists in the past? What advice do you have for evaluating list providers?

The Marketfish “Why”

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Ryan

I’d like introduce Marketfish’s new intern, Mikayla Chicquette. She recently graduated high school, and will attend Widener University in the fall. She is going to study Business and Creative Writing, and hopes to pursue a career in publishing, as well as self-publishing her own stories. She loves that Marketfish challenges and pushes the list marketing industry to greater heights by providing a simple solution to complex problems.

This is the first of many posts from Mikayla. So, sit back, enjoy, and be sure to leave a comment.

The Golden Circle

Redefine the way you think about your company, from the inside out, not the outside in.

“Why” is the purpose of a company or individual, their path or destiny, the vision and passion that drives that company or individual forward. “Why” is not the result or even the product. It’s the underlying purpose that informs every action an organization or individual takes.

“Why” is a very important question that most companies forget to ask, but Marketfish CEO Dave Scott, a former Chief Marketing Officer, asked himself this question. And Marketfish was born from the answer.

He understood the difficulties of lead generation and list marketing using the conventional methods (paperwork, time, blood, sweat and tears, back and forth communications with list brokers, more time, and more blood, sweat and tears). He decided that the industry needed to embrace technology if it hoped to change for the better.

Dave Scott took the list marketing industry, turned it on its head, shook out the junk, and rewired the system for success (using orange and blue wires, of course). He re-envisioned list marketing as simple, transparent, efficient, and effective; thus, Marketfish had their “why.”

With the help of the Marketfish team, Dave Scott is well on his way towards changing the list marketing industry forever.

So why use Marketfish? The Marketfish platform was designed to streamline list marketing and lead generation for businesses just like you. Take a look at this chart to see how we compare to traditional list marketing methods.

You can see that the difference is striking, and we’ve done that for you. Because, as a client, your needs are our first priority. That’s why our mission is to help you hook just the marketing list you need…and throw the others back.

In the process of building a business, it is easy to forget the “why.” But we strive to never let that happen. Gaining clients and investors that understand and support our “why” certainly helps, and we’re grateful for all who embrace the Marketfish vision.

If you believe in the “why,” please contact Marketfish today at mschicquette@marketfish.com with any comments and a subject line starting with ‘I Believe Why’.

To truly understand the Marketfish “why,” check out our video that dives deeper into the differences between the conventional method and the Marketfish method of list marketing.

For more about why a company’s “why” is important? Check out Simon Sinek on TED Talks.

How Video Saved the Email Star: Part Two

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Ryan

Last week I gave you some general facts and ideas about using video in email marketing. That post wasn’t about action items, it was written more to provoke thought than anything. And I hope it did. The only way to drive innovation is to get enough people to adopt emerging channels, trends, and topics. Video won’t gain widespread support until software companies and ISPs realize that the demand exists. But to help you do what you can with video right now, I’ve listed some tips below.

Provide an eye-catching link. Normal links are boring. Instead, upload your video to YouTube, take a still of the video, and embed the video URL in the image. You can even add a play icon on top of the still for some extra visual candy.
Product demos. If you have a product that really shines when people see it in action, then video is probably perfect for you. Show off your product and all its cool and innovative features.
You have a recognizable C-level exec. If you have a C-level executive at your company who is highly recognizable to the public, or within your industry, feature him in your videos. Take advantage of his name recognition to generate more views for your video content.
Whiteboard videos. Two benefits here. These videos are simple to produce and you can use the whiteboard for visual effect and for better explaining technical info. These videos should feature a strong presenter.
How-to Videos. Like product demos, show your product in use. Explain its benefits, and highlight how it can help people solve a particular problem, or fill a need.
Customer testimonials. Do you have customers who love you and are vocal about it? If you do, have them share it in a video.
Interviews with experts. Leverage industry experts to explain the value of your vertical, and more specifically, what need your particular product fills.

Hopefully you’re walking away from this post with a bunch of ideas for how video can fit into your email marketing program. If you’ve used video in your email campaigns before, how did you use it, and how well did it work?