Data brokers are the reason you receive junk mail two days after a move and the reason you see strangely appropriate ads on websites you visit. Those ads may seem like a nuisance, but data brokers can actually be a vital resource for association executives.

While many associations have extensive contacts for members and prospects, there are always more professionals to recruit. Data brokers give you a chance to reach new people. On the other hand, data from a broker needs to be handled carefully because no one likes unsolicited junk mail. Here are five steps you should take to ensure that you use data brokers effectively and ethically.

Step 1: Find a Reliable Broker

Data brokers collect personal information from a variety of sources, such as public records and social media, and each broker uses different techniques. It’s important to find a broker who collects data from a source that would be considered ethical in your industry. For example, an association that primarily serves government employees might approve of a broker that consolidates public records but disapprove of one that collects information about political affiliations.

The best way to find the right broker for your industry is to get a recommendation from a colleague, but if that’s not possible, a web search is a good place to start. You’ll find many brokers with simple queries like “find address data,” but you need to set up a call to properly vet a data broker.

When you talk to prospective brokers, ask about how they collect their data and how recent it is. This information will help you determine whether the broker’s business practices are compatible with your industry’s ethical standards and your marketing needs. Talk to several firms to make sure you’re getting the best data, delivered at the best price, and collected in the best way. Gartner estimates that there are more than 5,000 data brokerage firms worldwide , so you don’t need to settle for one that doesn’t meet your standards.

Step 2: Clean Your Data

Once you’ve selected a broker and purchased a list, it’s important to clean the data. Most brokers offer guarantees, promising 95 percent accuracy, for example. That sounds high, but statistically, it’s not good for associations. For example, if you send a mailing to 100,000 prospects with a 95 percent accuracy rate, it means that 5,000 unwanted or misdirected communications will be sent under your brand.

While many associations have extensive contacts for members and prospects, there are always more professionals to recruit. Data brokers give you a chance to reach new people.

So, how do you clean the data? There are two important steps. First, filter out records that don’t match your campaign goals. If it’s a membership campaign, check the purchased list against your member list and exclude current members. If you’re promoting an annual conference, filter out those who have already registered. Your association management system (AMS) may have a module that filters automatically, but it’s also easy to do with Excel.

The second step in cleaning a list is making sure the message gets delivered. While it’s possible to clean a list manually, inexpensive software tools do the job much faster and more accurately. For a physical mailing, the U.S. Postal Service’s National Change of Address database consolidates all address changes for anyone who has moved. Your print shop (whether in-house or outsourced) can likely assist you in a NCOA check.

For an email campaign, you’ll need to use an email validation service. These services use a variety of techniques to make sure that email addresses are valid and will help you exclude outdated and incorrect addresses.

Step 3: Pick the Right Distribution Platform

A key step is making sure that your distribution platform allows for the use of purchased lists. Physical mail delivery doesn’t place many restrictions on how purchased lists are used if they’ve been cleaned and run through the NCOA system. However, email and survey platforms are often strict. Many of the most popular email marketing platforms—Constant Contact, Campaign Monitor, and many others—forbid the use of third-party lists. Check your distribution platform’s terms of use, because violating them could lead to suspension of your account.

If your provider doesn’t allow you to use third-party lists, your data broker can recommend other distribution platforms. You may also have an in-house tool through your AMS that’s not subject to these restrictions.

Step 4: Craft Your Message

When crafting your message, remember that your new recipients will see your communication as junk mail until you prove otherwise. Think carefully about how you can engage individuals at a first glance. If you don’t, the message will end up in their trash folder, and your efforts will be wasted. They may even come away with a negative opinion of your association.

Successful strategies could include a unique graphic design, a great discount on a product, or a message that’s unusually engaging. In all cases, be sure to put yourself in the mind of the recipient as you design and draft your campaign.

Step 5: Don’t Cheat

Be sure you comply with rules and regulations regarding spam. In the United States, the CAN-SPAM law governs unsolicited email, Canada’s Anti-Spam Law (CASL) governs email for Canadian recipients, and other countries have similar laws. If you are marketing to potential members in Europe, be aware that the EU General Data Protection Regulation apply in May 2018, and you should become familiar with its rules. Additionally, your data broker and distributor may have more terms and conditions about how you use the data you’ve purchased.

Familiarize yourself with the rules before you design your campaign, and make sure to comply. While it may be tempting to ignore the regulations, both private providers, such marketing and software firms, and government agencies have robust systems for catching rule breakers.

But if you follow the rules and take these steps, your association will be able to engage new audiences and significantly expand its reach with the help of a data broker.