Is your list marketing message competing for space? With more than 60,000 active direct mail list titles on the market today, it isn't easy to stand out. 
It's time for all of us to stop thinking about survival and learn how to navigate.
Be honest. How satisfied are you with the results you're getting from your list marketing campaigns? Are you consistently meeting or exceeding monthly projections for list rental income? Are you able to measure the effectiveness of traditional list advertising alternatives? If so, then are these advertising solutions continuing to deliver the return-on-investment that you're looking for?
There are some impressive ads out there, and many of them have found their way to my in-box. The collaborative efforts of list managers, list brokers, and advertising agencies have produced some appealing list promotions. When I look at them, I sometimes think more about purchasing the product than list rental. That's an impressive consequence for list promotion, but how does it generate leads and a list broker's call-to-action — adding the data card to their mailer's test recommendation? If you're a list broker, then I'd love to hear your thoughts on that.
In the meantime, here's a thought regarding diversification of the list owner's marketing investment. Leverage the list research channels! This is where thousands of list buyers go to find the next titles to test, and these searches are now being converted to orders and exchanged electronically. It's time to evaluate a new revenue model for advertising dollars. Maybe your ship has just sailed in — come aboard!