Strategy: Find the Right Lists

5. Cost vs. response rates. List costs and response rates vary, of course. The chart below compares the approximate cost for the various types of lists and the average response rates you can expect.

Direct response lists, e.g., co-ops and outside catalog lists, yield the highest response rates. Subscription lists generally produce the next highest response, followed by compiled lists. Obviously, you’ll see that there is a direct relationship between the cost per thousand for the various types of lists and the response rates as shown in the chart.