Separate a public directory entry from advertising lists
Removing a listing from a web directory may not change the paper advertising you receive. The directory operator and the companies mailing you can be different businesses, and each one has its own process. Write them down in separate rows, then use each row's route.
Build the map
- Record the directory's name and the listing you want removed. Then find the directory's help or removal page on its official site.
- Write down each sender name printed on the advertisements you actually receive. Matching names or addresses do not prove that a mailer came from the directory.
- Use the directory's removal process. Note the date and what the directory says that process covers.
- For each advertiser, find its official contact route and ask how to stop its postal marketing.
Where DROP fits
California residents sometimes expect DROP to handle directory listings. DROP sends deletion requests to participating registered data brokers. Its official description excludes public records, and DROP is not a guaranteed postal opt-out. A directory removal, a DROP request and a sender's mail preference are three separate actions.
Private mapping worksheet
Example for your own use. Replace the bracketed details and review what you share.
Check each new mailer against the map
When an advertisement arrives, look for the sender in your worksheet. If it has a row, follow up through that row's route. If it does not, add a row and contact that sender. Leave the directory listing out of it.
Official source
Choose the route that matches the mailing
Use the official route described in this guide for this kind of mail. For a separate ordinary advertisement, Junk Mail Magic can help prepare a sender-specific removal request.
Compare removal routes