http://www.bbdirect.com/blog Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:11:21 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.4 http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/is-newt-gingrich%e2%80%99s-mailing-list-worth-42000.php http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/is-newt-gingrich%e2%80%99s-mailing-list-worth-42000.php#comments Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:11:21 +0000 Brian http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/?p=780 A complaint filed by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethnics in Washington (CREW) says that Newt Gingrich, Republican presidential candidate, has unlawfully sold his mailing list for $42,000.  Whether Newt was unlawful or not, is it possible for a mailing list of this kind to be worth the amount paid? Before we jump to conclusions, let’s look at how mailing lists are valued.  Certainly, if the list will be used for direct mail purposes, and said direct mail campaign performs as expected, the answer is yes.  But, has the list...]]> http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/is-newt-gingrich%e2%80%99s-mailing-list-worth-42000.php/feed 0 http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/how-does-email-marketing-actually-work.php http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/how-does-email-marketing-actually-work.php#comments Wed, 14 Dec 2011 21:22:30 +0000 Brian http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/?p=777 There are essentially two ways to use email marketing; broadcasting your email message to a known audience of existing customers, members, warm prospects, and broadcasting your email message to an audience which has no prior affiliation with you and your business. Existing Customers The first type of email is when you want to reach your existing customers. This group of people have done business with your company or organization, they recognize your brand, they likely use your product or service. Like postal direct mail marketing, this type of email broadcast...]]> http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/how-does-email-marketing-actually-work.php/feed 0 http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/how-the-usps-slower-delivery-will-affect-you.php http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/how-the-usps-slower-delivery-will-affect-you.php#comments Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:32:45 +0000 Brian http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/?p=773 In the Spring of 2012, the United States Post Office will slow it’s next day delivery. The goal of course is to cut spending and shore up the red ink. This new measure is expected to save about $3 billion. However, cost cutting measure comes at a cost. Let’s look at some of the costs in detail: Big Mailers Big brands such as Netflix DVD’s-by-mail will arrive later than usual, as well as some prescription drug delivery services. Birthday Cards 1 to 3 day delivery will reduce to 2 to...]]> http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/how-the-usps-slower-delivery-will-affect-you.php/feed 0 http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/steve-jobs-biography-reader-mailing-list-timing-is-everything.php http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/steve-jobs-biography-reader-mailing-list-timing-is-everything.php#comments Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:52:02 +0000 Brian http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/?p=770 Targeting the right audience is just as crucial to a direct mail marketing campaign as avoiding those who are simply not going to respond to your offer.  What if your typical mailing list audience just read a profoundly influential or inspiring book such as Steve Jobs biography?  And in doing so, they experienced a paradigm shift in the way they think about technology, art, business philosophy, and ultimately, their interest in your product or service.  Can reading the right book affect the way you once responded to direct mail?  What...]]> http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/steve-jobs-biography-reader-mailing-list-timing-is-everything.php/feed 0 http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/automotive-database-comparison-study.php http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/automotive-database-comparison-study.php#comments Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:04:45 +0000 Brian http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/?p=768 Never before has the accuracy of auto vehicle data been more important to dealership direct mail.  The Driver Privacy Protection Act of 1994, as well as the Shelby Bill Amendment to this act, has virtually removed the ability to compile DMV data without the auto owners’ consent.  This study was undertaken to compare and contrast 4 different auto data sources. Each of these new sources contributes their own variation of compilation methodology, accuracy, and coverage. Comparison / Verification Process Methodology Source Files The 4 automotive database sources selected were required...]]> http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/automotive-database-comparison-study.php/feed 0 http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/fine-tune-your-mailing-list-selection-for-optimum-response.php http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/fine-tune-your-mailing-list-selection-for-optimum-response.php#comments Thu, 10 Nov 2011 20:01:21 +0000 Brian http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/?p=765 Making improvements to your mailing list criteria is easier than you think. Below are the insider recommendations that smart mailers incorporate into all their direct mail campaigns. Follow the directions and logic below and start seeing immediate lift in response rates and bottom line direct mail ROI. Trade Practice # 1 – Capping Your List Select Ranges Many first time mailers will intuitively select an age or income range based on what they think is the most targeted for their product or service offering. As an example, suppose your business...]]> http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/fine-tune-your-mailing-list-selection-for-optimum-response.php/feed 0 http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/medication-adherence-score.php http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/medication-adherence-score.php#comments Tue, 01 Nov 2011 13:52:10 +0000 Brian http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/?p=761 Assembled disparate data in an effort to better understand a range of human behaviors. Fair Isaac Co, the company that created and maintains the algorithm for determining an individual’s credit score, says they can predict, among other things, the likelihood that a person will take his or hers prescribed medication.  They call it the Medication Adherence Score and it’s the latest innovation in predictive mailing list data. This new predictive data is one of several new predictive approaches to identifying cluster groupings from data collected from an individual’s credit bureau. ...]]> http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/medication-adherence-score.php/feed 0 http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/behind-the-scenes-of-bb-direct%e2%80%99s-online-property-mortgage-file.php http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/behind-the-scenes-of-bb-direct%e2%80%99s-online-property-mortgage-file.php#comments Thu, 20 Oct 2011 16:16:27 +0000 Brian http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/?p=757 We keep our database up to date and clean.]]> http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/behind-the-scenes-of-bb-direct%e2%80%99s-online-property-mortgage-file.php/feed 0 http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/is-your-definition-of-a-small-business-the-same-as-the-sba.php http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/is-your-definition-of-a-small-business-the-same-as-the-sba.php#comments Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:19:29 +0000 Brian http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/?p=752 According to the Small Business Association, a small business is defined as one that is independently owned and operated, is organized for profit, and is not dominant in its field. Depending on the industry, size standard eligibility is based on the average number of employees for the preceding twelve months or on sales volume averaged over a three-year period. When you’re considering a direct mail campaign to reach these business owners, direct mail marketers should consider the both the industry they are attempting to reach and the number of employee’s....]]> http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/is-your-definition-of-a-small-business-the-same-as-the-sba.php/feed 0 http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/why-does-my-postage-cost-go-up-when-i-re-sort-my-resident-list-with-satori-bulk-mailer.php http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/why-does-my-postage-cost-go-up-when-i-re-sort-my-resident-list-with-satori-bulk-mailer.php#comments Wed, 07 Sep 2011 19:35:24 +0000 Brian http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/?p=748 If you use Satori Bulk Mailer to process your saturation resident mailing list, you’re likely finding your postage costs to increase. And chances are, as post offices closes continue, you can expect this to occur more and more. The Satori Bulk Mailer software will sort your list based on their most recent file update that Sortori have received. Sortori typically updates every 60 days, while the Postal Service releases their information every 30 days. So, any changes to carrier route boundaries will require re-sorting of the database, hence, throwing some...]]> http://www.bbdirect.com/blog/archives/why-does-my-postage-cost-go-up-when-i-re-sort-my-resident-list-with-satori-bulk-mailer.php/feed 0