Should I Buy a list?

There it is again. Every time I register on a website, buy something online, or sign up for retail discounts, I see that checkbox. “By clicking this box, I agree to receive communications and special offers from XYZ Company’s partners and affiliates…” blah, blah, blah. Unless I somehow get tricked into checking this box, it always remains unchecked. Why? Because I don’t want a company that I don’t know sending me information on products that I don’t need or want. No doubt, you have felt the same way. Yet, even as marketers, we sometimes forget this golden rule.

Most of us don’t want to receive email communications from companies that have never crossed our path. We certainly don’t want emails on products, promotions, or content that doesn’t apply to us. Have you ever gotten an email and thought, “How on earth did I end up on this email list?” Yes? Me too. And what’s the first thing you do? Typically unsubscribe if you’re being nice. Hit the “spam” button if you’re not. And that sums up why purchasing lists can be so dangerous.

Should I or Shouldn’t I Purchase? 

The Pros
Being in the email marketing and marketing automation world, I often get asked my opinion on purchasing lists. While opt-in lists are always preferred, marketers still wonder whether they should purchase 3rd-party lists. After all, it’s an “easy” way to reach potential new prospects that may otherwise never come in contact with their business. This becomes an even bigger selling point when companies are trying to break into a new market in which they have absolutely no awareness. In these situations, the thinking becomes, “Even though our response rates may be low, we can still increase our awareness in this otherwise dark market. We may even gain a few leads. Perhaps it would be worth the expense.”

The Cons
In my opinion, the expense is just too high…and in more ways than one. Although there are likely many reputable organizations offering list purchases, the cons typically outweigh the pros. For starters, the contacts on these lists do not know your business. Very few people want to receive unsolicited emails from companies they don’t know. If you wouldn’t want to receive these types of emails, why do you think your prospects would? And when these individuals do receive unsolicited emails, they will likely trash them, unsubscribe, or worse, label your email as spam. Your response rates will likely be extremely low, leaving you with a lackluster ROI.

If that’s not reason enough, my biggest concern with purchased lists is the havoc they can wreak on your sender score. Deliverability is a HUGE issue with purchased lists, especially if purchased from an unrepeatable source. Bounce rates and spam flag rates may be high, and spam traps could certainly be hit. All of these actions will negatively impact your sender score. Once lowered, recovering your reputation is a slow, painful process. In fact, many marketing automation vendors do not allow clients to use purchased lists, especially if the client is sharing an IP address. After all, how would you feel if a company sharing your IP address used a purchased list and negatively impacted your deliverability?

The Homework
If you’re still considering a purchased list, my best advice is to do your homework. Keep in mind that there is no such thing as an “opted in” purchased list, unless you count folks like me that forget to uncheck that infamous box mentioned above. If a vendor claims that their list is “opt in,” ask how, when, and in what fashion. Also, be sure to do your due diligence when investigating a list provider’s data quality and timeliness. Investigate their data source, recency of data acquisition, and attention to cleanliness. Ask how they monitor bounce rates and spam complaints, if they do. Confirm that the email addresses on the list you’re purchasing are not generic. In other words, you’re sending to an actual person and not “info@“ or “contact@”. Although most companies do not offer guarantees, if they do, make sure it’s a money-back guarantee. Supplying you with more bad email addresses after an initial email flop isn’t really helpful.

If I don’t buy, what else can I do?

List Rentals
With all of that said, there ARE creative ways that you can send email communications to folks outside of your opt-in list without running into the headaches and dangers of list purchases. List rentals, if used properly, can be a better alternative. If you are looking to target a specific industry or job role, consider partnering with a trade magazine or association. More often than not, they will send an email on your behalf to their email opt-in list. Yes, response rates will likely still be low, but it does give you exposure to a new group of potential leads. Plus, the email is sent from this 3rd party, which means your deliverability rates and sender score remain intact.

Co-Marketing
If you’re looking to increase business in your current space, consider partnering with a reputable company in your industry and running a co-marketing campaign. Not only can this boost solidity with your current subscribers, it may also help to increase awareness of your business among your partner’s clients. Response rates will likely be higher as you’ll garner credibility simply by partnering with a company they know and trust.

Your Golden Egg: Growing Your Opt-In List

At the end of the day, as you know, your homegrown opt-in list is your golden egg. These are contacts that have explicitly requested communications from you. They like your company, they like your products, and they like your content…at least enough to give you a seat at their email table. Focusing your email efforts on this group will ensure that your response rates are higher and your sender score continues to shine.

If you are seriously considering a purchased list, I encourage you to give an equal amount of thought to various ways you can grow your opt-in list. Use sign-up forms on your website. Encourage sign-ups through social media. Ask customers to subscribe through your email communications and offer them multiple ways to do so. Focus your content and inbound marketing plans to encourage potential prospects to sign up. Offer incentives for subscribing on your website and through product registrations. Consider co-marketing campaigns and events. Try Google Adwords. The list could go on.

So, if you ask me whether or not you should purchase a list, my answer will likely be no. But I enjoy being asked. It sparks insightful conversations on other ways we can reach additional prospects, enter new markets, and ultimately increase business. All of these deliverables can be accomplished by other means, and we can be sure that our database stays clean and our sender score stays strong.