Choosing the Best Merge Purge Record to Keep

March 14, 2016
A hand holding a magnifying glass over paper cutouts of people, highlighting one figure, symbolizing the process of selecting the best records to keep.
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A question that arises when you’re testing different acquisition lists is how to choose which record to keep when a potential donor’s name appears on two different lists.  Like many other issues related to list management, this type of decision can be surprisingly complicated! Of course, if one of the records is on your house[...]
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Choosing Match Criteria to Dedupe Your List

March 1, 2016
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Deduping improves the ROI of a mailing by removing duplicate records from the mailing list. But despite the simplicity of the concept, the process of deduping can be quite complex. There are two key types of rules you need to decide upon for your deduping process. The first one is what level of deduping best[...]
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Why It’s Crucial to Test Your Data Hygiene Options

February 15, 2016
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When you consider testing ways to improve your direct mail’s response rate, you probably think first about experimenting with a different headline or a more compelling offer. But while it may not be top-of-mind, testing your data hygiene decisions can be every bit as important as testing your creative. Data hygiene decisions can have a[...]
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How to Leverage Prospect Research to Improve Donor Response

February 3, 2016
Leverage Prospect Research
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A guest blog by Ryan Woroniecki Do you ever feel like you’re just mailing into a void? Like your letters and packages are entering some no man’s land? Well, you don’t have to feel that way. Not with the help of prospect research, at least. Whether you want to take a DIY approach to prospect[...]
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Using Data Hygiene to Maximize Your Direct Mail’s ROI

January 25, 2016
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You’ve agonized over every word in the copy, spent hours with your designer perfecting the layout, and tested multiple calls to action. You’re finally ready to release your incredible direct mail piece into the world, right? Not so fast. Following strong data hygiene principles can be every bit as important to your mailing’s return on[...]
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How CASS Certification Improves Mail Deliverability

January 20, 2016
CASS Certification
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  The introduction of the nine-digit zip code in 1983 ushered in a substantial improvement in mail delivery. The additional 4 digits allow each street (and sometimes each house or apartment building) to have its own unique zip code, dramatically improving the accuracy of both automated mail processing and sorting at the local post office.[...]
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How to Handle Addresses with Questionable Delivery

December 7, 2015
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What should you do with records that are flagged as potentially undeliverable during the CASS Certification process or while being run through the National Change of Address (NCOA) database? It depends upon the type of error that CASS or NCOA identifies CASS Rejects and NoPlus4 Records: If there’s a major problem with the records – there’s[...]
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Save Money by Not Mailing to Certain Addresses

November 16, 2015
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One of the best ways to increase the return on investment of your direct mail is to cull certain types of addresses that are unlikely to be responsive from your list. While there are undoubtedly businesses that would find it profitable to mail to one or more of the following categories of addresses, most will[...]
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Best Practices for Handling Deceased Records

November 2, 2015
Illustration showing a stamped notification reading Deceased with an arrow and Returned to Sender, highlighting best practices for managing deceased records.
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Should you continue to mail to previous contributors who’ve been flagged as deceased? The answer to this question is more complex than you might think It is very important to be sensitive to the wishes of the grieving family members. If a family member has contacted your company to ask that no further mail be[...]
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Should you use PCOA to clean your direct mail list?

October 19, 2015
PCOA
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The U.S. is a very transient country. With over 11% of all Americans moving in a typical year, keeping your direct mail list up-to-date is an ongoing challenge. If you’re regularly mailing solicitations, newsletters or other pieces to a large list, you are undoubtedly already running your list through the USPS’s National Change of Address[...]
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