When developing a circulation plan, you want to balance mailings to your house file with the desired level of prospecting in order to maintain profitability, according to Bethany Beach, DE-based consultant Steve Lett. To that end, here are a few rules of thumb to consider:
1) About 40% of your circulation should be going to your house file and 60% to prospects. If you are in growth mode, however, an even greater portion of your circ should go to prospects.
2) Of your prospecting circulation, list continuations should consist of 70% and new tests the remaining 30%. These prospect tests should contain a good sample of out-of-category lists as well.
3) Look at “like” buyer segments to determine which drop is really strongest. If your 0- to 12-month buyer file performs best in January and September, for example, most likely all other segments will too. By knowing this, you can shift your circulation to maximize your strongest mailings and consider reducing your weakest. For example, if you mail your 37-plus-month buyers only twice a year, make sure they are mailed January and September, when they are more likely to perform well. “Remember,” Lett adds, “this must be analyzed with like groups–preferably 0- to 12-month buyers–because the depth of circulation influences results.”