Could Your Association Use Another $100,000? Here's a possible answer...

List Management is a great way for an association to generate non-dues revenue.  The success of any campaign rests squarely on the viability of the list, so there is always a market for a good list. At MGI alone, MGILists manages over 80 association lists, providing associations an alternate source of badly needed revenue.

Postal lists are still the most often offered by associations. Some associations make well over $100,000/yr on rental of their lists of members, product buyers, convention attendees, expires and several other "selects." Offer email addresses and an association may actually triple this amount.

While some associations are hesitant about renting their list, more and more Executive Directors and association leaders understand that their members names are already on other lists; and, many of these same leaders agree that they have a responsibility to provide their members with new opportunitities which can be presented to the members by allowing the list to be rented. This potential (and acheived) revnue is used to pay for programs that enhance the members experience, drive engagement and ultimately have a positive impact on the assocation overall.

So, if you are searching for a List Management Company (and there are many who offer wonderful services), here are some questions that they may ask you during the proposal process.

 

1. What is this year's revenue goal for list sales?

2. What were your actual list earnings in the last two years?

3. Are list royalties taxable or tax exempt under your current agreement? (they might be tax exempt but you need to speak to the list manager or your accountant to make sure)

4. Has your list revenue remained fairly stable, with multiple repeat customers?

 

a. Have longtime mailers continued mailing in established patterns, or have you seen changes in their quantities and/or frequency?  

b. Are you seeing new mailers testing the list? 

c. Do you have a lot of publishers mailing to your list?

d. Are most list orders through brokers or from end-user mailers?

e. Do most list orders take the full file or barely satisfy your 5,000 name minimum?

 

5. This one might seem a little controversial, but give this some thought: Are your mailers asking for an email channel or are they happy with the postal channel? I am not asking whether you will make email available, only whether your mailers are satisfied with the postal product or are they looking elsewhere for solutions, which means your list manager needs to recruit new mailers to replace those who go to email sources.

 

6. Most of all, what are YOUR expectations that we must meet or exceed to make it worthwhile for you to change from status quo?

 

If you have any questions or observations, please post them for all to read.