Pricing of mailing lists purchased through list brokers can depend on many variables, including target marketing options, such as demographics, that you choose to include in your direct marketing campaign. There are many mailing lists offered at deep discounts, but the buyer must beware. Purchasing high volume mailing lists at a low price can often only mean a list of useless sales leads that will diminish your direct marketing. Common pricing for quality target marketing with can sound expensive, but those quality mailing lists from a list broker will yield a worthwhile return on investment (ROI).
General costs for Mailing Lists
List brokers typically sell mailing lists based on cost per thousand (CPM), with the typical order being a 5,000 to 10,000 minimum. There is usually a flat minimum charge of $500, regardless of the size of the order.
The average cost per thousand (CPM) for consumer records on mailing lists averages $100 or 10 cents per name; the average CPM for business records on mailing lists is $160 to $300, or 16 cents to 30 cents per name.
General costs for e-mail lists
The typical order of e-mail mailing lists is 3,000-5,000 names. The average cost for consumer e-mail mailing lists is a CPM of $250-$350. The CPM for a business list is $300-500. Old mailing lists are available for cheap, but have no real target value yielding poor response rates.
Additional costs for mailing lists
Direct mailing lists are common, but additional costs for more effective target marketing can make it pricey. Mailing lists are the spine of the campaign, but the actual mailing will require design and printing of marketing materials, postage, mail house fees to prepare and send the mailing, and finally fulfillment. These additional costs commonly add up to between $2,000 and $4,000 for an average order of 5,000 names.
E-mail lists require fewer additional costs than mailing lists, adding up to a range of $500 to $2000. The main expense with e-mail marketing is in the design of the mailing. There is also the costs of tracking, and fulfillment.
Expected Rate of Return for Investment with Mailing Lists
Direct marketing mailing lists success can vary widely, depending on mailing lists quality and your own savvy marketing efforts. A solid response from direct mailing lists would be a 1% - 3% response--50 to 150 responses out of a list of 5000.
E-mail mailing lists success rates average lower since people are inundated daily from spam e-mail lists. A response of 0.25% is typical, and 1% is as good as it can get. Still, the return on investment (ROI) can often average higher than sales leads from mail lists.
While pricing will vary with mailing lists, especially with e-mail mailing lists where the marketing medium is still in flux, quality is key. Look for a list broker who will deliver quality sales leads to mailing lists that bring you a consistent return on investment. (ROI)