Meet the Broker: Tiffany Linn

Today we meet Tiffany Linn, a list broker for eight years at Carney Direct Marketing in Irvine, CA. Her brokerage clients include the American Heart Association, Pacific Press Publishing Association and Random House Inc.

Her education in the list business began when she worked in the direct marketing department of a mortgage company. Back then, she sat in the client's seat, seeking advice from a list broker who happened to work for Carney.

"I probably would never have gotten into the list business, if I hadn't worked for a mailer first," said Linn. "Working with a broker was interesting—discussing what information we already knew and coming up with new ideas."

Linn seemed more enthusiastic on the phone than many list brokers. She's the kind of broker who sees the glass as half full, while other brokers might perceive it as half empty.

There's been lots of talk about a shrinking universe of postal lists for 20 years—maybe longer. She isn't pessimistic though. Linn cited the recent proliferation of e-mail sourced postal lists and other files identifying online buyers.

"I see the declines in universes that habitually had very large counts, but I also see new lists coming on the market," she added. "Online purchasing is growing and we're definitely seeing more e-mail campaigns."

With respect to testing lists, when something doesn't work that's not a failure, according to Linn. "It's just knowledge of what doesn't work," she said.

Linn is single. She has fun outside of work by attending concerts and cooking for family and friends. "I like any kind of music except rap and country. And I'll admit that I'm addicted to watching the Food Network on TV."

For thrills, Linn likes water skiing, jet skiing and watching baseball. "I want to leave and go to an Angels game as soon as this interview is over," she said.

How reliable is information on data cards?

"I'm more conservative than some brokers and less likely to trust what's on a data card, because what's there might not be true," said Linn.

When it comes to demographics and psychographics, there's a tendency to "stretch the truth" on data cards. It's important to keep in mind that data cards are written to sell lists, more than they are to be factual, she added.

It's not unusual to run a merge purge for two lists with widely differing descriptions on data cards, only to find out that each is comprised of essentially the same names, according to Linn.

"I have a whole gamut of questions for researching a file—when I call a list manager to determine what's real on a data card. It's more personal than e-mail and I get better results for my clients that way," Linn said.

When is it not a good idea to select hotline lists?

It's not a good idea if there's a long lag time between when the names got on the hotline and when the names are offered for rental, or if the hotline has already been used for many subsequent mailings, according to Linn.

"When dealing with hotlines you want the freshest possible names, a true hotline," she said.

It's wise to determine exactly when the names got on a list, rather than assuming that a six-month or quarterly hotline means the most recent three- or six-months period, she advised. Otherwise, the hotline names could be from the last six months from the previous year, or older.

Chances are response is not going to be good, if there's a long lag time or the list owner has been mailing frequently to the hotline, Linn said.

Know someone you'd like to suggest for Meet the Broker? E-mail Jim.Emerson@Penton.com