Listen; before you read any further, go grab a pen and pad of paper, because this is going to be one of the most valuable articles you’ve ever read. You’re going to learn how to dominate your local niche of absentee owners and easily make six figures a year from this group. 

Last month, I provided best practices to maximize email deliverability with the first step in this series, data capture. The next logical, and critical step is applying effective list hygiene techniques. Maximizing email deliverability does require managing many factors, but once you understand the various components, the process is fairly straightforward. 

Even if you’ve followed all of my data capture advice, you still need to engage in list hygiene to ensure its quality.

If you’re a mailer seeking advice about making the best list selections, you’ve come to the right place. The following suggestions should give you an edge.

Profile your house list. House lists can help determine how to apply targeted selections on prospect lists. For example, a concentration of ZIP codes on the house list may be an indication that you should test targeted mailings to other individuals in the area or mail to areas with a similar profile.

There are two types of lists, determined by their origin: compiled lists and response lists.

Compiled lists are a common source of names and records that have been gathered, collected, and entered into a database. The names may have been acquired through public records such as vehicle owner registrations, or through directories such as phone books from each city across the U.S.

The right list is critical to the success of your mail campaign. 40-41 percent of your direct mail success begins with the list. It doesn’t matter if your mail piece is beautiful, has a great offer, a stunning design, or a strong call to action. If you add in the wrong list, what happens?