The Gary Halbert Letter, Exact Name Mailing List

This is an example of "customizing" your advertising to a specific group. You can also customize it by geographic area, by boat owners or what have you.

Now, listen: If there aren't any companies under "Mailing Lists" in your phone book, all is not lost. You see, there are two big national companies who also have the name and address of nearly everyone in your geographic area. So, if you don't luck out with a local company, you should call either R. L. Polk & Company at (404) 447-1280 or Donnelly List Marketing at (203) 353-7385.

By the way, these last two companies can also select by make, year and model of car. Do you know what that means? Just this: It means you can also have a "Ferrari Special", a "Chevy Special", a "Ford Special" and so on.

O.K., what we've been talking about so far are compiled lists. Another type of list is known as a "buyers list." This type of list is usually much more responsive but, often, it is not regional in nature. A "buyer" list, for example, might contain all the names of the several million people who bought a certain diet product in the last few years. Or, it could be a list of people who have bought books by mail, tools by mail, etc.

There are two primary sources that have info on these types of lists. The first is the Standard Rate & Data (SRDS) List Book. This is a huge book containing a description of literally thousands of different mailing lists. Your library should have it (ask for SRDS Direct Mail Lists Rates and Data) and, if they don't, you can call SRDS direct at (312) 256-6067.

By the way, I strongly suggest you get a copy of this publication (it's being updated all the time) and spend about 20 hours just reading all the various listings.

Believe me, it will really open your eyes!