Marigold Direct is proud to launch DNS Insight, a new email deliverability and creative segmentation tool. Managers of large opt-in email files now have another method to improve the quality of their database. The DNS Insight service validates IP addresses in customer files.

When a customer opts-in to receive email messages, several details are captured: the website where they opted-in, demographics collected via survey questions, the date and time stamp, and the IP address. The IP address is often overlooked as an important data element. DNS Insight looks to change that viewpoint. The IP address indicates the ISP or carrier network that the customer subscribes to. And by periodically testing the status of the IP address, owners of opt-in databases can see if the IP address remains active or not. We have found a strong correlation between inactive IP addresses and inactive emails. For example, if a customer upgrades from a dialup account such as AOL to a cable broadband account like Comcast, there is often a change of email addresses as well. The DNS Insight service can validate that change without sending an email and receiving a hard bounce back. Hard bounces damage the IP reputation of email broadcasters. The last thing a legitimate opt-in email provider wants for their service is to get blacklisted on the multitude of RBL or spam blocking services out there.

An additional benefit of IP Validation with DNS Insight is that the service can flag suspicious records in the customer’s database. During the pre-launch testing period, DNS Insight validated a 6 million record file of USA consumers and found 8,000 records all pointing to the same server in China. These records could have been “opted in” by means of some sort of automated process or bot. Flagging and removing records such as these will only improve the quality and responsiveness of the database.

Improving email deliverability is only half of the DNS Insight solution. Creative segmentation is the other half. DNS Insight will append a variety of new data elements to our customer files, including the fully qualified domain name of each IP address, and the carrier network that the IP address belongs to. The creative segmentation component adds considerable value to the database of DNS Insight customers. Innovative campaigns can be developed targeting specific networks such as Cable, or DSL customers as opposed to Dialup customers. Targeting customers from Educational or Government networks is now also possible. Distinguishing customers based on business or residential networks will prove to be a very valuable segmentation as well.

DNS Insight will work with reputable companies interested in maintaining the highest level of integrity and service. For more information, please visit www.dnsinsight.net

Ever since the earliest days of the internet email has been an effective and fast means of communication. Exchanges that would have once taken days or even weeks can now be completed in a matter of minutes, and email has allowed researchers, workers and ordinary citizens to communicate with one another across the country and across the globe.

Marketers were quick to understand the power of electronic communication as well, and soon email boxes everywhere were filled with unwanted marketing materials. The extremely cost effective nature of email marketing makes it a powerful tool, but it is important for businesses to use this powerful tool the right way. Launching an email marketing campaign that ignores the wishes of customers is counterproductive, and in some cases, illegal. Instead of gaining new customers, unwary business owners could find themselves in hot water with those they are seeking to persuade.

Fortunately there is another way – the opt-in email list. Using a trusted opt-in email service provider is a proven way to drive sales, create brand awareness and customer loyalty. Opt-in email marketing has many dynamics, but one thing is always consistent: The end user has agreed to receive marketing promotions. For this reason, targeted and relevant email campaigns directed to people who have opted-in is now a proven and effective marketing technique. In many cases, an opt-in lists is the best way to reach certain niche demographics. Niche marketing is one of the fastest growing parts of the advertising business, and as the market continues to fragment this trend is only expected to grow. Companies can no longer rely on mass marketing “spray and pray” techniques alone – these days companies need to be smarter about their message and relevant to customers. Opt-in email marketing provides an immediately measurable and cost effective way for companies in many different industries to reach those who are most receptive to their message. Is opt-in email marketing right for you?

In direct mail marketing, there are three main leverage points to increase profits: improve the response rate, increase the sales price of the item, or decrease costs. While you can certainly take steps to tackle response rates and price testing may not be a bad idea, decreasing costs is perhaps the easiest to tackle. It offers an immediate impact on the marketing budget that even the grouchiest bean counters acknowledge. Here are three steps to saving money on your next direct mail campaign that you can do immediately.

1. Improve mailing list hygiene. Every returned piece of mail costs the company postage, printing and mail house fees. If you’re using a house file, be sure that your mailing house or a list broker runs it against the NCOA list, or a list of people who have recently moved, so that you mail to their new address. If you’re mailing to similar lists, such as two competing magazine subscriber files, merge and purge the lists against one another to avoid duplicate mailings. Be sure to ask your mailing list broker or processing service to have your list run against a file of recently deceased people so that you do not mail to people who absolutely cannot respond to your offer…or anyone’s offer.

2. Check your creative against the U.S. Postal Service Domestic Mail Manual. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) frequently updates the domestic mail manual, the Bible for direct mailers. It’s a free book available online in PDF format that guides direct mailers in every aspect of preparing their mail for postal mailing. Check your creative – envelopes, catalogs, self-mailers and postcards – against their guidelines. Be sure that you pieces fall within the established guidelines and that your creative team designs them to maximize discounts.

3. Work with your printer and ask questions. If you use a particular paper stock because that’s what your company always uses, a change may be in order. Ask your printer if any comparable stocks are available on the floor. He may have remnants or open cases he can use of a similar paper that can decrease costs. Or perhaps he knows of another client that purchases the same paper, and you can purchase together at near-wholesale costs if you know the number of mailings you plan to do in one year. Great printing companies act like marketing partners, working with you on your campaigns to help you achieve your marketing goals.

Direct mail continues to be a viable channel for all businesses. Tune up your marketing programs and try these three simple steps today.

SIC code mailing lists are the surest way to reach potential buyers in a particular field of business. Only a small percentage of the executives and managers of any given industry will attend a conference or subscribe to a trade journal; a much larger percentage will be represented in Marigold’s B2B lists.

Who takes advantage of SIC code mailing lists for their campaigns?

• New businesses looking for an affordable way to introduce their products and services to potential buyers
• Businesses expanding to new markets (introducing a commercial version of a product that has been successful with consumer audiences, for instance)
• Businesses introducing a new product that has appeal to industries beyond those they currently serve
• Businesses selling locally that are ready to expand their campaigns into a regional or national market

You can find out more about the hundreds of SIC code mailing lists available using Marigold’s SIC Code Lookup tool. Use it to browse the lists alphabetically, or to search by SIC code or keyword. You’ll find counts for lists and for sub-sets of those lists, along with extensive descriptions of each SIC code.

Any SIC code mailing list you choose can be refined (by applying selects for state, ZIP code, company size, and more) to target exactly the audience you want to reach.

Contact us for more information about SIC code mailing lists, including data recency, and how particular lists have performed for other clients.

For the the catalog industry, the all-important gift-giving season is just around the corner. Catalogs are in design, printing dates are scheduled, and mailing lists are being compiled.

Nearly every large and mid-size company in America gives holiday gifts. Internal gift-giving can range from clever, company-specific party favors to substantial “thank yous” to key players. Gifts to external clients range from basic items given out by sales staff to their accounts, all the way to truly lavish gifts sent from senior managers to their peers in client and partner organizations.

If you are currently selling items popular with corporate-gift givers, consider enhancing your 2007 holiday gifts campaign with Marigold’s proven Corporate Gift Buyers list. The list provides access to more than 600,000 authorized purchasers in the U.S.

Marigold’s list can be refined using a variety of selects. They include: business/industry type, company size, job function/title, state, and zip code. We can help you work with these and additional selects to refine a list that will reach exactly your target audience. Whether you are a national retailer aiming for Fortune 500 buyers, or a regional company looking to reach the right people in the organizations near you, this list means “Happy Holidays.”

The use of double opt-in for a mailing list both protects you and boosts ROI. It protects you because it reminds customers that you are one of the “third parties” from which they have agreed to receive email. And it boosts ROI because your subsequent mailings, to those who have confirmed opt-in, will be focused on an ideal list: Prospects who are interested in your product or service and likely to recognize your name and brand.

Here are two proven tactics for getting opt-in mailing list names to double opt-in to receive future email:

• Send an introductory email to your list talks about all the future benefits people will receive once they confirm their sign-up by replying to the email. (“Don’t miss out! You’ll be the first to know about sales and new products…”)
• Send an introductory email offering a specific discount or preview when recipients confirm their opt-in by email. (“Let us know you’re interested, and we’ll send you a coupon for free shipping…”)

Both emails should start by reminding recipients of their original opt-in, and thanking them for their interest.

A third double opt-in tactic, described by the MailChimp blog, involves sending an introductory email (such as those described above) but asking the recipient to click through to your site to confirm instead of replying by email.

Some direct mail marketers use the click-through method because it enables them to see the visitor’s IP address. If they store this information, along with the date and time of the visit, they can confirm that a recipient has completed double opt-in and they can protect themselves from being accused of (or blacklisted for) spamming.

However, keep in mind that if you are using a rented list for email marketing, your recipients gave their initial opt-in to receive offers from third-party sites. This means that you (as one of those third parties) would probably be asking them to visit a site they don’t necessarily recognize. Some people may be wary of clicking through, and would be more willing to send an email reply for double opt-in.

Where do direct mail lists come from?

When direct marketers move beyond their own customer lists and begin renting mailing lists, they find a variety of sources to deal with. Here’s a quick guide to the three main types – list owners, list managers and list brokers.

List owners. Retail companies have customers’ data from subscriptions, surveys, and purchases, and many of these companies rent lists of the names and addresses to third parties; these lists are known as response lists. (Customers must give permission before their email addresses to be rented to third parties). Lists are also available from data warehouses, companies that compile massive databases of information from public records (real estate records, political donations); lists from these data firms are called compiled lists.

List managers and list brokers. Many list owners rely on a third-party to do the marketing, sales, and customer service for their direct mail lists. A list manager typically represents a narrow, focused group of related lists from specific owners. A campaign that wanted to access the subscribers of a particular magazine, for instance, would be dealing with the list manager who represents that magazine’s publisher. Data warehouses are more likely to use in-house list managers.

List brokers, such as Marigold, are similar to real estate agents. They provide to access to a wide range of lists from a wide range of owners. Of course, list brokers, like real estate agents, often have specialties in particular verticals. When talking with a list broker, be specific about the characteristics of the list you want. Their job is to be on top of what’s available in the broad field and to know how lists are performing for other customers.

New to renting direct mail lists? Please browse the Marigold Resources and take a look at our quick guide “How to Rent Mailing Lists” to find out more.

Spam filters can lay waste to a B-to-C email campaign. So can a busy “delete” key. By contrast, the postal service delivers your campaign right into your potential customers’ hands.

Despite the ubiquity of Internet marketing and the rise in postal rates, Marigold continues to see strong demand for its many targeted residential mailing lists. These lists are ideal for catalog campaigns, offers that rely on visuals and brochures, and mailings that include coupons, magnets, calendars, and detailed information.

Our residential mailing lists include broad, high-impact categories, such as:

• Home improvement enthusiasts
• Home office entrepreneurs
• New homeowners
• Newlyweds
• Cable TV buyers
• High-speed internet consumers

In addition, we offer residential mailing lists for highly targeted groups such as mail-order buyers of outdoor recreation products, donors to women’s causes, gardening enthusiasts, and more. (You’ll also find lists that enable your campaigns to target consumers by ethnicity, religion, or language spoke.)

Marigold’s residential lists are regularly updated (usually monthly) to ensure freshness, accuracy, and deliverability. Please contact us to find out more about any of the Marigold lists and for information on using our data resources to create a custom residential mailing list for a specific campaign.

The folks over at Melissa Data want everyone to know what five questions to ask when testing a list. The answers to these questions will insure that you have the best possible experience with your list broker and come up with a highly targeted and effective list.

MarketingProfs.com points out that even poorly-done email campaigns can generate a decent ROI. So think what you could do with really top-notch email marketing! This article explains in detail how to demonstrate to your CEO that a larger investment in email marketing can generate a higher return.

DMNews reports that the USPS is conducting tests to better handle “slim jims,” or letter-sized catalogs. These narrow booklets are becoming increasingly popular because, under the new postage rates, they are less expensive to send than traditional-sized catalogs that mail at the more expensive rate for “flats.” After the testing is concluded, specifications for the “slim jims” are expected to change, so direct marketers planning to use this format in upcoming campaigns should follow USPS news closely.

BtoB Magazine offers valuable reminders about the pitfalls of harvesting email addresses without permission (or using harvested email addresses obtained from third parties). Harvested lists violate federal CAN-SPAM regulations. The legal alternative is to use opt-in email lists — keeping in mind that even those must be used in specific ways that comply with CAN-SPAM.

What could be better than getting your B2B direct mail offers to the right audience? And what could be easier than using Marigold’s online Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Lookup tool to locate the perfect B2B list?

Just as libraries use the Dewey Decimal System to organize books by subject, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission set up the Standard Industrial Classification codes to organize the corporate business information it reviews by business type. (For example, prefix “35” signifies Industrial and Commercial Machinery and Computer Equipment, while the prefix “83” indicates Social Services.)

The SIC Lookup tool lets you search Marigold mailing lists by SIC code number or keyword, or browse an alphabetical list of SIC titles. When browsing, you’ll find top-level lists and address counts for each list; then you can click through to see sub-sets of the list and their counts.

Studying the SIC codes and the many associated lists available from Marigold can give you new perspective and new ideas for targeted campaigns in which you can closely match an offer to a highly qualified audience. Call us to find out more about how our clients are using SIC information to increase the effectiveness of their B2B campaigns.