How to Maintain a Large Mailing List
Maintaining a large mailing list can be frustrating and tedious. You have to assure that you have updated information and that you delete people who do not want to be bothered with your offerings and requests. Because the list is so large, you will sometimes have to pour through thousands of entries to find what you need. There are a few tasks that you should perform that will help you to manage these lists more efficiently.
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Things You'll Need
- Computer spreadsheet or database program like Microsoft Excel or Access
Instructions
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Use a spreadsheet or database program like Microsoft Excel or Access to maintain your list. These programs allow you to add a limitless number of entries and save them into a convenient file. You can add and delete rows, sort the information and format the database to your liking. Access may be best because you can run wizards to pinpoint and isolate specific groups of data, such as all of the people who are from Idaho or all of the people with the last name Smith.
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Sort the names on your mailing list by the last name first, then first name and then city and state.
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Get rid of duplicates on your list. Microsoft Access has a "Find Duplicates" tool to assist you with this task for large mailing lists.
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List "Date Added" as an additional field in your mailing list database so that you'll know how long you've been sending the person communications. If anyone has been on the list for more than a year and has not ordered or responded to your message, remove the address to save yourself postage and printing costs.
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Use your global search function to locate entries rather than manually scrolling through all of your names.
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Delete people who unsubscribe from your list immediately or maintain a running list of unsubscribe requests, then delete the entries right before you send your next mailing.
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Divide the large list into smaller lists in separate files based on the past behaviors of the recipients to be more efficient with your mailing efforts. For example, if this is for a direct-mail campaign, separate the people who have ordered multiple times, one time or never. You can then craft different messages and offers for each group.
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Tips & Warnings
Use Microsoft Word's mail merge tool to create mailing labels for customers.
Do not ignore an individual's request to be unsubscribed---honor his wishes. You will reduce your costs and avoid developing a bad reputation as a persistent junk mailer. A potential customer, donor or participant may become even more unlikely to patronize your organization if he continues to receive mail after unsubscribing.
