Direct marketing is one of the most reliable and productive ways to reach consumers, to motivate them into believing in a product or service, and finally influencing them to make a purchasing decision. Mortgage professionals who offer loan services and programmes recognise this as a viable option to turn their resources to, opening new channels of revenue and leveraging on the phenomenon of more and more people turning to direct marketing as full time profession. Once you have a mortgage mailing list, you must know how to apply direct marketing to it.

Needs identification. This depends entirely on the programmes and services that you have decided to leverage on. The mortgage and subprime markets are awash with individuals who need services ranging from debt/equity mortgage, the renters market and so much more. Potential mortgage brokers must be aware of the valuable connection between product and person. Providers of such loan services have always realised the importance of mailing lists and how they can provide that added enhancement to mortgage prospecting, targeting the right audience, and finally finding the ‘one' that will definitely be eligible for the loan programme.

Once you have identified the groups of potential prospects, you must act upon it. Industry experts advice that messages, copy, content and even brand messages (and names) have to be tailored to the sort consumers that are being targeted. I have always agreed that personalised marketing messages always attract the customer's attention. This is an element of direct marketing that is sometimes overlooked and marginalised by the constant need to get the message across to as many people as possible. Remember, loan services and programmes for the mortgage and sub prime markets are not in the same category as consumer goods or lifestyle services, they require an added sincerity and personalisation, as well as more individual time and effort before someone can ultimately agree to a loan programme.

One thing that is also overlooked is the quality of the mortgage mailing lists involved. Many companies offer mortgage lists – compiled from their own expertise – and sell them to direct marketers and mortgage brokers. The database should be highly targeted and should have gone through many levels of checks and balances to ensure its integrity and value to the buyer. Especially for mortgage mailing lists, the database should pinpoint households based on mortgage loan elements, range of properties, the estimated value of the property, interest rate changes, and every aspect of the loan taken (for the household).

This is just an example, but now you realise the field of possibilities and criterion that have to be judged and weighed before anyone can be identified and marked as a potential customer. Be smart when applying direct marketing methods to mortgage mailing lists and always remember the importance of a sincere approach. About getting quality lists? Many websites offer services that go beyond just giving a list that is highly targeted – they provide high quality and profitable lists for the direct marketer – whatever the industry.

So these are just some of the points on how to effectively use direct marketing on mortgage mailing lists. As you go alone, you'll learn more and more and become more adept at what you do – as is the case for almost anything in the world today.