Conference Corner: Mining for New Donors: Think Outside Your Universe

“List selections can help to control list performance,” Ragusa asserted at the Direct Marketing Association Nonprofit Federation’s 2004 Conference. “Choose lists that will suit your appeal and offer — membership, emergency donations, monthly giving, religious and/or devotional.”

When targeting new audiences, test as many lists as is feasible but each with as small a quantity as you can. Roughly 5 percent to 15 percent of your net mailing should be tests, Ragusa says, and if a certain list has a very close affinity with your housefile, increase the test quantity to make up for low net in the merge.