The mailing lists can be classified into two categories, compiled lists and response lists.
Compiled list are common lists collected from various sources like directories, vehicle owners list and phone books and entered into the data base. Response lists are collected from people who had responded to an ad, catalogs or direct mails. Any mailing before it is executed; we have to identify the group which will make a perfect audience for the mailing. When you buy a response list we have to ensure that the list is updated and cleaned and the data card with specification and usage should be checked.
Recency is an important factor to be considered when you buy a response list. In order to make the mailing list a success we should know the purchase frequency of the people and the amount they have spend on the purchases. The quality of a mailing list is measured in recency, frequency and monetary which are the standard measures. Before buying the list we have to make sure the percentage of success from the entire list. It is better to mail to a small percentage of people in the list as test purpose to see the response so that we will know if the entire list will work or not.
It is better to specify an overlay in any list so that you can restrict and send mail to a particular geographical area or people. You can also restrict mail to people who have spend a certain amount of money and purchased from several catalogues. The strike rate of a good mailing list cannot be predicted and 10% to 30% of the mails go awry or goes missing so we never know the exact number of mails received by people. Good delivery percentage is usually found among call a magazine publisher and they have some of the best mailing list. Getting a mailing list from these publishers is the best buying source with ready-made targeted buyers. Even catalog houses make good money by selling mailing lists which are very effective. Associations are another important source for mailing lists. Trade associations, chamber of commerce associations can help you to tap big and small business. Mailing lists from trade shows of both attendees and exhibitors is an excellent marketing tool.
The two best resources available for finding mailing list suppliers are the direct marketing list source and the New Lead communication national directory of mailing list available in libraries. These two sources contain the entire list data and details of the owner and the number of records in each list. List brokers are another major source for mailing lists who can supply good information. Some list brokers sell mailing list through catalogs which clearly state what kind of lists are available with them which makes it easy to buy. Many companies offer list in CD-ROM so that customers can create their own criteria and develop their own personal list and target market.
Another most important source for mailing list is the internet. It is the best research tool available on your finger tips to sort out any list after filtering out the bad contents and streamlining the good list and it can generate any type of list like area wise, profession wise or business wise. Our competitors are another source which will sell you their mailing list. In spite of all these the best and the most trusted source is your in house list of your current and past customers. These are the people who know you and have made use of your service at one time or the other and are always willing to buy a new product from you.
Creating and structuring your own list from different sources is the method to make a successful mailing list. You have to spend lots of time and research to tightening the list criteria and prepare the best possible list you can find. Once the list is made it is better to test a portion of the list and its worth the time and money spend to attack your audience with precision so that the strike rate will be the maximum. The idea of a good mailing list is to get a greater response from them by properly executing it. We should totally avoid any sort of mediocre list and focus on our own personal list.

