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Direct Mailing Lists Costs

As with anything, you get what you pay for when it comes to mailing lists for marketing. Free or extremely low-cost lists are likely to contain outdated information or erroneous data, and high-quality, highly-targeted lists that are built from behavioral data will be more expensive. However, a well-targeted list is crucial to the success of your campaign and should provide a higher return on investment than other forms of advertising, including paid search and online display.



Designing and writing a copy of direct mail piece can also add to your overall costs. Whether you choose to handle this in-house or hire a freelance copywriter, the costs will vary depending on how complex your design and messaging is. Some organizations prefer to outsource their designing and copywriting to a single company, which can be more affordable than giving two separate companies contracts.


The next big fixed cost for any direct mail project is the media cost, which includes the actual materials you’re going to be sending to your target audience – paper, envelopes, ink, stamps, etc. This is usually determined by the number of items you are mailing out, and the size, color, and paper stock used.


Once you’ve calculated all of your fixed and variable costs, it’s time to come up with a budget for the project. If you’re using a rented list, this can be tricky, as many list providers require an upfront fee to continue working with them, and will then charge you for reprints, resupplies, and redesigns. In contrast, building your own list will initially be more costly but allows you to track and adjust your campaign throughout the life of it.



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