Renting Permission Email Lists

A well crafted email needs a well targeted email list. Many traditional list providers such as InfoUSA offer email list in the same way that they sell direct mail list. There are also specialized email brokers that sell access to highly targeted lists. The process of buying an email list is similar to buying a traditional list. List brokers will take your information, and provide consultation for identifying appropriate list owners. Cost structures are similar as well: there are minimum buys, and cost ranges based on CPM (cost per thousand) that go up as your criteria becomes more targeted and specific, and down with the volume of names you purchase. List brokers provide a valuable service by having at their disposal so many list owners that they can greatly facilitate finding the best lists. In all these ways, renting an email list is similar to renting any other list for direct mail or cold calling.

There are some specifics to email list renting that you should be aware of when identifying good sources for email lists. We have provided a listing of email list brokers at the end of this newsletter. The biggest thing to look for in renting a list is that it contains permission or opt-in email addresses. This is the biggest distinction between bulk spam email and targeted email marketing. Spamhaus, a company that investigates and reports on spammers, has a helpful page on email list terminology to look for when evaluating email lists and list brokers.

Whenever you go to a portal or information source on the web (like an online magazine) and request information, fill out a form, or download software, you will often see a checkbox that asks if you would like to receive other information about this area of interest. Whenever you say yes to that question you are authorizing that source to provide your information to list brokers. You have opted in to that email list. If the online source is ethical it will only provide the list to appropriate renters whose offers are appropriate to the interests of their visitors. If they are not ethical they might sell the information to anyone who is willing to pay for it.

Another phrase you will hear email list providers use is double opt-in. Be careful with terminology - "confirmed subscription" or "closed-loop opt-in" are better than merely "double opt-in" lists. The Spamhaus article gives more detail. Gererally speaking "double opt-in" means that when that online form was filled out the user choose to receive offers via email, the site immediately sent a confirmation email to make sure that they want this information. If they say yes to the response email they are then entered into the double opt in list. This process keeps people from entering other people's email into such forms since the subscriber must respond to the email from their address.

Any email you send out should always offer the recipient the option to unsubscribe. This is a common practice among ethical list owners and providers, and their mechanisms for unsubscribing do work. However, as an email recipient you should know that unsubscribing to bulk spam email is extremely dangerous. Not only do these mechanisms often not work, but you actually end up telling the spammer that the email address is a "good one." Many spammers go so far as to guess at email addresses. They will send out to bill@yahoo.com, mary@yahoo.com, john@yahoo.com, etc., in hopes that these are real addresses. If one of them "unsubscribes" they really have only informed the spammer that they guessed right. That address will then be sold to other unethical bulk email lists.

I often verbally ask permission to send email to my prospects while on an initial marketing call. In fact I probably spoke to some of you for permission to send you an email about our agency partnerships. While this is not what is meant by permission email, and of course it is a much slower process than sending out thousands of emails at a time, it is a considerate and effective way of getting your email to people who are truly interested in your service.