When Customers Want Their Name Off a Mailing List

I recently had a client that contacted me wanting to know how to respond to a phone call they had from someone that received their mailer - upset that they were receiving the mail and worried that their personal information was being shared.

As I told my client, "there will always be people who will complain about the things that get mailed to them - and they are rightfully concerned about lack of privacy - especially in these days of identity theft.    Just because she has received mail from you and from others, does not mean that her private information about her health problems was leaked by the health institutions". 

Most mailing lists comes from public records - like home ownership records and US Postal records - but lists  also come from the census bureau, telephone directories and other places where they may have even given information themselves - like signing up for a free registration, magazine subscription, or a product purchase.  The credit bureaus track purchases and sometimes mailings are received merely because the mailing is going to every resident - regardless of any thing going on with them personally.

People can limit the mail that comes to their house by registering with the DMA (Direct Mail Association).  The DMA maintains a list of people who do not want their names on direct mail offerings.   Most legitimate list compilers bounce their mailing lists against this file routinely and should reduce the amount of mail they receive.  This is one of the best reasons why I routinely recommend that companies let me run their own internal files against the DMA lists to flag people who do not want to receive mail - and this also removes deceased names.

No company wants to spend money mailing to people who have no interest in their product or service. 

Here is a link to the DMA that explains almost everything you would need to know about getting your name removed from mailing lists:

http://www.dmaconsumers.org/offmailinglist.html#6

The DMA - Direct Mail Association

USPS Issues Advisory About Bogus Emails

The Post Office has issued an advisory to be on guard against bogus emails that people are reporting about having a package delivery.   I have seen these same bogus emails saying there is a UPS delivery.   If you are not expecting a package, do not click on any link about package deliveries.

https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/radDocs/consumer/SpamAlert.pdf
Happy  Veteran's Day --
To all who gave service to our country -- and those currently serving --
We appreciate your service 
Thank you

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While we celebrate this day to give thanks to ALL of our soldiers, don't forget the origins of this day and why it is celebrated on November 11, at 11:11 in the day.
In 1918, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month, the world rejoiced and celebrated. After four years of bitter war, an armistice was signed. The "war to end all wars" was over.

In 1918, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month, the world rejoiced and celebrated. After four years of bitter war, an armistice was signed. The "war to end all wars" was over.
November 11, 1919 was set aside as Armistice Day in the United States, to remember the sacrifices that men and women made during World War I in order to ensure a lasting peace. On Armistice Day, soldiers who survived the war marched in a parade through their home towns. Politicians and veteran officers gave speeches and held ceremonies of thanks for the peace they had won.

QR Codes

QR Codes are being seen everywhere - are you using one?



A QR Code (it stands for "Quick Response") is a mobile phone readable barcode that's been big in Japan forever, broke into Eurpoe a while back, and is now getting traction in USA.

 QR Codes are scanned from "Smart" phones that have a free downloadable QR Reader App.

This QR Code sends an email to me for information on our services.


You will soon be seeing these used to enhance marketing activities everywhere.  What are some ideas where this can be used?

Ordering Medical Lists? Things To Know.

 There are many things to consider when ordering any list, but medical lists have some unique things to consider.  Some questions to ask yourself:

New Service Available for AMA (American Medical Association) Data

A new service has become available for getting mailing lists of doctor's addresses from the AMA.  The AMA list, while usually a better quality list over compiled directory lists, is quite expensive with minimum orders of 5,000 records or more.  In those cases where you only want a small quantity, the cost is the same as if you ordered 5,000 records.   But now, there is a prepay service available to that makes it easier and cheaper to order those lists that are smaller when mailing to a small regional area.

Follow Up - When Things Don't Go Right

So, as it turns out - the postcards DID in fact get delivered - but was received at various addresses between 4-6 weeks AFTER the event.  Since different people received the postcards at different times, it would tell me that they got hung up with different carriers at separate post office locations.   This would make sense if the postcards were sent at bulk rates, but they were sent 1st Class Mail - absolutely no reason they should not have been delivered prior to the event.  Doesn't help the non-profit that was holding the event though :(

When things don't go right.......

I recently took on a very small project of printing and mailing a postcard for a local non-profit group - under 150 pieces.  I donated my time and costs for getting a mailing list for them.   Because it was so small and virtually no budget, and the local printers had minimums, setup fees, etc. that made it not feasible to order from them, I ordered postcards from an online East Coast print company that was offering a great deal - and they provided mailing services as well with a guaranteed two-day turnaround.   Sounds like a great solution, right?  Except it was for a specific event and the postcards never arrived in time for the event even though the postcards were sent 1st class.

Give Thanks to our Veterans

Happy  Veteran's Day --
 
To all who gave service to our country -- and those currently serving --
 
We appreciate your service 
 
Thank you

---------------------------------------------
While we celebrate this day to give thanks to ALL of our soldiers, don't forget the origins of this day and why it is celebrated on November 11, at 11:11 in the day.
 
In 1918, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month, the world rejoiced and celebrated. After four years of bitter war, an armistice was signed. The "war to end all wars" was over.

In 1918, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month, the world rejoiced and celebrated. After four years of bitter war, an armistice was signed. The "war to end all wars" was over.
November 11, 1919 was set aside as Armistice Day in the United States, to remember the sacrifices that men and women made during World War I in order to ensure a lasting peace. On Armistice Day, soldiers who survived the war marched in a parade through their home towns. Politicians and veteran officers gave speeches and held ceremonies of thanks for the peace they had won.

When is it a bad thing to NOT be on a mailing list?

When it is your own project - that is probably the one time you actually want to be on a mailing list.  We just completed a project for a client who had us obtain a mailing list for them that was pretty broad based and her name was not on the list that she ordered and she questioned why wasn't it there - it should have been, according to her.  Since her name didn't show up, she wondered whether the list was even good at all - after all, if it was any good, her name would be there.

Well, the bottom line is that the list compilers don't know everything about everyone (contrary to popular belief).  The names on a mailing list come from a variety of places - from directories, telephone and utility hookups, warranty registrations, subscriptions, purchases etc.   Does it mean the list choice was a bad one -- not at all - especially if it meets the criteria and quantity that the project calls for.

Problems with Databases

A lot of our clients don't understand how important it is to keep their in-house databases in good shape - and it starts with making sure data is entered correctly to start with.  Bad data can result in unnecessary postage and print costs when there are a lot of duplicates, addresses that aren't deliverable, and worst of all....   comments entered into an address field.   No kidding - we get databases in that have comments like "he's an idiot", "owes money" or "don't deliver to this address" etc.   Can you imagine the person getting your mailpiece delivered to their home with the comment in the address field?  

1st Class Mailings and Returned Mail

Mailing at 1st-Class rates can result in mail being returned and not being deliverable as addressed.   There can be a lot of reasons why mail could be returned as not deliverable.  Some of the biggest reasons could include:
  • The person addressed moved and did not file a change of address with the post office
  • An apartment number or suite number was not included as part of the address.
  • An internal mailstop number wasn't included - some large companies require this before their internal mailroom will deliver it.
Most reputable list compilers keep their lists updated on a regular basis - but

Zip Code Changes - Phoenix Area

When the U.S. Postal Service changes central Arizona ZIP codes next month, the hardest hit may be the small-business owners struggling to survive in a slow economy.
ZIP codes that start with 852 will switch to 851 in much of Pinal County, Queen Creek, and some unincorporated areas of Maricopa County beginning July 1.

Click here to read rest of story: http://www.azcentral.com/php-bin/clicktrack/email.php/8789504
Source: The Arizona Republic
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DBSLists.com / Listfinders.com

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New Postage Rates - as of May 11th

USPS has raised their rates again --

First-Class - single piece 1 ounce letter rate increases:2 cents from .42 to .44
First-Class - single piece 1 ounce flat rate increases:5 cents from .83 to .88

First-Class - single piece postcard rate increases:1 cent from .27 to .28

Click here to see rates for bulk mail and other categories: http://dbslists.com/Index_files/Page1183.htm

What kind of lists are there?

LIST BASICS

There are two main types of mailing lists available:

Compiled Lists
Direct Response Lists

A Compiled List is comprised of names that have been gathered from a variety of sources that simply list those names that fit a given criteria, i.e. all Phoenix residents; all Insurance Agents, Restaurants, or Used Car dealers. A compiled list can also include expanded information such as all people living in a specific zip code with incomes over a certain level and within specific age ranges. There are many types of compiled lists that reflect lifestyles and professions.