Key Takeaways

• The base price of a mailing list is in the ballpark of $80.00 – $130.00 USD.
• There are multiple other criteria that can be added on to a base price.
• Depending on the mail piece that is being sent out, the mailer might decide to add additional segments and selects to the order to maximize the likelihood that the recipient of the mail piece will interact with it.

Introduction

Before deciding upon what your next mailing campaign is going to be and selecting a mailing list, it’s important to figure out the logistics.  What is the budget going to be? How many mail pieces are you wanting to mail out? Those are just a few of the important questions that you’re going to ask yourself. Once the budget for the campaign has been figured out, the next question is this: How much does it cost to rent a mailing list?

Unfortunately, there isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” type of pricing when it comes to mailing lists. Mailing lists are going to come in all different shapes, sizes, and prices. The final price of a list can vary on the list itself, the number of names ordered, and any additional information that is ordered for the campaign. Because one of the most important parts of your campaign is choosing a mailing list (see our article on how to select a mailing list here), should you choose a cheaper mailing list? What about a more expensive mailing list?

What Are the Costs Associated with a Mailing List?

There are several terms and additional criteria that can make reading pricing on mailing lists difficult if you’re unfamiliar with the terminology. The base cost is going to be in units “M”, the roman numeral for one thousand. For example, a list that costs “$100.00/ M” will cost one hundred dollars per thousand names as the base price.

There are also other criteria, otherwise known as “selects”, that the mailer can choose to add to their purchase. For example, a handful of additions can be to know the audience’s income, gender, age, interests, hobbies, and net worth. These additional selects can usually cost anywhere from $5.00/ M to $20.00/ M. Depending on the mailer’s target audience for their mail piece, purchasing these additional selects could prove to be useful. Depending on the target audience, using selects can help narrow down the potential candidates to receiving the mail piece until you have the best group that will receive the offer on the mail piece.

Are There Any Other Costs Associated with Renting a Mailing List?

Yes, there are a couple of other costs that can be added to your mailing list order. The first one are active individuals within a certain time period. For example, you might see the term “Monthly/Quarterly Hotline” on certain lists under the “segments” category. If you add these, that can add individuals who have been active within that time period, potentially boosting engagement with your mail piece.

Other costs include a delivery fee that is common on most orders, running charges, which are the costs that incur to run and produce the names for the order, which is usually in increments of one thousand names at a time. If a mailer places an order from a mailing list and decides to cancel it, some mailers will enforce a cancellation fee. Finally, we have key coding, which are unique codes assigned to every name on your order, which allows the mailer to see which mailing list or segment has gotten a response. This charge usually is incremented in one thousand name increments as well.

Should I Add Any Selects or Segments to My Order?

While the running charges, delivery fee, and key coding aren’t optional add ons for most mailers, the additional demographical data and actives usually are. The choice of whether or not to add these extra costs usually comes down to the mailing campaign that the mailer is running. For example, if the campaign is for a retirement plan, it would make sense to get the age of the individuals that the mail piece is being sent to, as well as potentially the net worth.

Why Do Some Lists Cost More Than Others?

Mailing lists are made up of individuals or businesses that all have a certain number of shared characteristics. As the number of traits that the group have in common grows, the list becomes more desirable, since the remainder of the targeted group would be more likely to interact with the mail piece. If a mailing list has a different price or count than other similar lists, it can be a good idea to reach out to the list manager to confirm details about the list. A good rule of thumb to remember is that, if a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. For more info on mailing lists, check out Geon’s article on mailing lists.

Is There a Way to Get a Discount on Orders?

Some lists will offer what is known as a net name deal. Net name pricing is when, after a mailer has purchased a certain quantity of names, the future names will come at a discount. For example, Geon will offer an 85% net name after a quantity of 100,000 names have been purchased on an individual list. Net name pricing allows the list owner to reward larger orders by reducing the cost per name once a purchase threshold has been passed. If a mailer is thinking about ordering a large quantity of an individual mailing list, this could be something to keep in mind to help reduce costs.

Conclusion

Mailing list pricing can be difficult to understand upon first glance, but they typically fall into a few categories: the base mailing list price, optional selects and segments, and fees that go along with processing and delivering the order. By understanding these costs, mailers are able to accurately build their campaign in order get the campaign to align with their budget, without having any surprise fees at the end of the campaign. If you’re unsure on which mailing lists, segments, and selects are worth paying for during your mailing campaign, we would be happy to help you.