A Crash Course on Postal and E-mail List Testing

Give a pop quiz to most direct marketers on postal list testing and you’ll find an incredibly knowledgeable group of professionals. Give a similar quiz to the same group on e-mail list testing, and the score may be entirely different.

Just like the proverbial apples and oranges, postal lists and e-mail lists are just not the same when it comes to testing.

Individual knowledge about the nuances of each type of file is essential to a successful outcome. While it’s impossible to cover everything that separates these two direct marketing list tactics, here are some vital tips to make smart list choices for the fourth quarter and beyond.

Step One: Pulling your list and determining selects. Traditional postal list campaigns are most often targeted by specific geographical locations, while e-mail lists are most often target by consumers and their behaviors.

An example of this might be the fact that postal lists are traditionally pulled by the designation of “residents or homeowners” within a particular postal carrier route or very narrow zip code radius. E-mail lists are traditionally pulled by the designation “consumers” and further targeted by demographics or behaviors within a set geographical area.

Step Two: Uniques Within Your List. In postal list marketing there’s a need to be certain you have unique names. Because of printing, shipping and mailing costs in postal list marketing, it essential to request unique names and go “1 per” to addresses.

The same is not true for e-mail list campaigns. Having every member of a family get the same postcard in one residential mailbox is wasteful. Having every member of a family get the same e-mail message in separate e-mail mailboxes is what email list marketing is all about