11

Selecting and
Targeting a Mailing
or Contact List

THIS CHAPTER provides a short overview of some concepts that apply to list-based lead-generation marketing tactics, such as direct mail, e-mail marketing, and cold calling. I’ll show you how to define your target audience for each of these tactics so you have the best chance of reaching potential customers with a need for your types of products or services. I’ll also show you how to select a reliable list owner—a vendor who can sell or rent you a list of potential customers who meet your target criteria.

Both e-mail and direct mail marketing campaigns are based on mailing lists. For both tactics, a mailing list is a list of target customers who meet certain demographics. An e-mail mailing list includes the e-mail addresses of potential customers on the list, and a direct mail mailing list contains the mailing addresses of the potential customers.

Cold calling, on the other hand, is based on a contact list, which is similar to a mailing list. Because cold calling is primarily a B2B tactic, a contact list will typically include the name, company name, job title (e.g., CIO, CEO), and phone number of each contact. It may include other information, such as the mailing address of the company, the number of employees there, or the e-mail of the contact.