List Buying FAQs
1) What is the price of your lists.
We have a simple pricing structure.
6 cents per address for a saturation type list (no names, just Current Resident and address)
12 cents per name for most targeted consumer lists (income, age, gender, homes with children, homes with pets, new movers, birthdays, ethnicity, veterans etc)
20 cents per name for business lists
Specialty lists like homes with certain types of vehicles, homeowners insurance coming up for renewal, pre-movers etc will be quoted on case by case basis.
2) What is the minimum quantity?
There is no minimums for most lists, specialty lists may have certain minimums.
3) Do you have any price breaks?
If you need more than 10,000 names, please contact us by phone or email.
4) Do your lists have phone numbers?
Business lists will have phone numbers, where available. Saturation and consumer lists will not have phone numbers.
5) Can you provide email addresses? We may be able to help with some types of email lists, please speak to your Customer Support Rep at MARKOTS.
6) What is the deal about the 200 free addresses?
All new customers and prospects are eligible to get 200 free addresses one time. No purchase necessary! This offer is valid for standard targeted lists, not for specialty lists.
7) How does the whole process work in terms of dealing with you guys?
It’s very easy. When you are looking for a mailing list, you either have a pretty good idea of what you want or need a bit of hand-holding and advice. We will send you reports, counts and recomendations by email once we receive the request from you through the form submission.
After a few rounds of changes with your feedback about the demographics and geography, we will arrive at your desired list compilation and count. You will have a human working on your list needs all the time to ensure you get the best option in terms of price
At this point, we will send you an Invoice which you can pay online using a credit card. Your list will be emailed to you in an excel or csv format.
8) Do you supply mailing labels?
We can ship you peel and stick labels for 5 cents per address extra, free standard shipping.
9) So what is different, special about your company compared to other list providers?
First, all your interaction with us will be with an actual knowledgeable person backed by a team who will help you get to your list needs in the most efficient and economical way. So you are not left on your own trying to work on an online platform trying to figure it all out.
Second, we have 15 years of experience on the “buy” side of lists. We run a direct mail marketing company so we understand how important the quality of list is to the overall success of your efforts. We have relationships with major compilers and brokers and know where to go for what. We will put that knowledge and connections to work for your needs.
Third, our pricing is very competitive. And we have no minimums!
10) Do you provide mailing services?
Yes, we provide full service design, printing and mailing services for postcards, letters, brochures and booklets. And when you decide to go this route, the design service as well the list is provided to you free (in most cases), its all included in one simple turnkey price point. Discuss this option with your Customer Support Rep.
Yes, we can mail to lists provided by clients.
Our services include providing mailing list as part of the all-inclusive pricing. And our lists come from top notch providers.
However, there are times when our clients want to use their own in-house mailing lists. They may want to mail to their existing customers, or use a list that they have used in the past that has worked well. Or they may want to add their customers names to the mailing list that we provide.
All the above can be done and there is no extra cost. However, lists have to be provided to us in a spreadsheet format (excel, csv, dbf etc.) – we can not deal with peel and stick labels. Also the formatting of the columns have to be such that name, address, city, state and zip code are in different columns (separate fields).
The mailing list and marketing data industry is a well developed, mature and increasing specialized & sophisticated business in the USA.
Our clients sometimes ask us: Where do you get the mailing list from?
The simple answer is, based on our experience, it is from one of the reputable mailing list companies that deals in that type of list.
Clients with experience in direct marketing know that the quality and relevance of the mailing list is a key determinant in the success of their marketing campaign. And when they take special interest in this aspect of their campaign, it is fully understandable.
Our policy is not to take short-cuts in this, as our key goal is the success of the campaign and getting the mailing list right is a critical factor in this process. Clients with successful campaigns come back to us with repeat business.
The actual list source depends on the type of data involved. For our “saturation” campaigns, we go to a leading compiler of this type of list – Compact Information Systems. This is an “Occupant” list and the core data comes to them from the USPS and is updated monthly.
For “targeted” and “business” lists, our main source is InfoUSA Group which uses publicly available information (phone book, census, county etc) as the core and then overlays that data with proprietary response data obtained through various sources to determine things like “hobbies & interests” etc. InfoUSA makes 30 million phone calls a year to verify their data and the lists are constantly updated.
In addition to these sources, there are various other specialized or niche requirements that come up for which we have to go to “boutique” type list outfits. Examples: list of “pre-movers” (those planning to move in the near future) compiled from sources that list homes from sale. Another is list of “expectant mothers” compiled from several self-reported sources.
The list business is a competitive one and the compilers (and brokers) need to maintain a pristine reputation to survive. We on our part have to carry out our due diligence on behalf of our clients especially when dealing with hard-to-obtain lists through “boutique” sources.
LISTS
Saturation Lists
Geography: Can do by radius, zip codes, cities, counties or by custom area (polygon).
Selects: Can do Homes + Apts + Businesses. Can suppress Apts and/or Businesses at no additional cost (i.e mailing to ‘homes’ only).
To suppress Homes + Businesses (mailing to Apts only will incur 5 cents extra cost). Saturation Lists go by postal routes. We have average household income + home value + age info on various postal routes if client requires to cherry pick specific postal routes based on this data within desired geography.
Standard Targeted Lists (Consumers)
Geography: Can do by radius, zip codes, cities, counties or by custom area (polygon)
Selects: Age, Household Income, Home Value, Age of Property, Number of Years at Home, Gender, Homes/Apts, Month of Birth, Marital Status,
Households with Children (by age), Grandparents, Veterans. Mail Order Purchase Recency, Pet Owners Mortgage: Type (Fixed/Adjustable), Interest Rate, Amount, Loan To Value, Estimated Home Equity, Mortgage Sale Month High Tech Households, Ethnicity, Religion, Wealth, Investment Appetite, Number of Credit Cards
New Movers: when moved (last week, 2 weeks, 1 month etc), type of move (out-of-state/ within state etc), move distance (miles).
New Home Owner: How recent was the purchase? (last week, 2 weeks, 1 month etc)
Bankruptcy Fliers: Type (Chapter 7,11 etc), status (filed, discharged, dismissed), dates.
Hobbies/Interests: Golf, Computer, Health/Fitness, Books & Music, Finance/Investment. Entertainment, Children’s Item
Standard Targeted Lists (Businesses)
Geography: Can do by radius, zip codes, cities, counties or by custom area (polygon)
Selects: Type of Businesses ( By SIC codes, Keyword/Yellow Page Header, Major Industry Grouping)
Number of Employees, Sales, Number of Years in Business, Spending on Yellow Page Ads
New Businesses: How new ( 1 week, 1 month etc), Type of Filing (Corporation, DBA etc), Home-Based Executives (at work address): By Title (CEO, HR, Sales etc)
Professionals (at work address): Physicians and Surgeons, Attorneys, Dentists, Accountants, Engineers
Specialty Targeted Lists (Consumers & Businesses)
These lists will cost 10 cents extra and are not included as part of our standard turnkey targeted mailing price structure. There are 50,000 different types of specialty list available. Minimun mailing quantity will be 5,000-10,000 pcs.
Examples of Consumer Specialty Lists: College Students, High School Students, Specific Magazine Subscribers, Motorcycles Owners, New and Expecting Parents , RV Owners, Boat Owners, Teachers, People with Specific Ailments. Animal Advocates, Doners to Various Causes, Fishing & Hunting License Holders, Land & Real Estate Investors, Car Owners (Mercedes, BMW, Toyota etc), Credit Score Range, Maxed Credit Card Holders, Credit Card Declined, Cruise Vacations Enthusiasts, Homes in Foreclosure and Auction, Casino Gamblers
Examples of Business Specialty Lists: Market Research Executives, Apartment Building Owners, Operators Of Apartment Buildings, Hispanic Entrepreneurs, Construction Industry Executives, Government Executives at Federal, State and County levels, Highway Professionals, Car Dealerships, Nonprofit and Tax-Exempt Organizations, Executives in the Casino & Gaming Industry.
