Are Email Lists Worth Purchasing?

Purchasing an email mailing list may seem like a godsend for marketers or struggling businesses looking to widen their customer base. The concept is simple. A list company provides you with thousands of emails for target customers, and all you have to do is send out an enticing message. It seems like an easy way to reach potential clients without having to put in any of the actual leg work. In most (if not all) cases, though, an email mailing list turns out to be a bad investment for everyone involved.

Where Do Email Mailing Lists Come From?

For the most part, list vendors will purchase their lists of email addresses from trade shows or other similar events. For instance, they might purchase a mailing list from a convention for architects in the UK. They would then offer that list for sale to anyone in the market for a list of email addresses for architects. So, if you happen to sell tools and equipment to architects, it might seem like this mailing list is an invaluable commodity. The truth, though, is actually a bit murkier.

Don’t Become Spam

One of the primary disadvantages to a purchased email list is the fact that your messages will almost universally be sent to your potential clients’ spam folders. Because you purchased an email list, you didn’t follow the guidelines set out by numerous ISPs and email services. ISPs will be able to recognize if you acquired each email address “organically,” because the user will have signed up for it voluntarily. In the case of purchased lists, however, the user will never sign up for your messages voluntarily. More often than not, your message will wind up in the spam folder, never to be read.

Other organizations will set up fake email lists that will end up putting your business on a blacklist. A list vendor might purchase their lists from one of these organizations. If you then buy an email list from that list vendor, any email you send will be blacklisted and automatically sent to spam. You certainly don’t want that.

Low Reader Rates

Even if your email message manages to find the inboxes of the clients you’re targeting, they are not often going to give it the time of day. This is largely because they don’t know who you are and they will undoubtedly consider your message spam that made it through the filtration system. No one likes to receive unsolicited emails that may or may not be relevant to their interests, and it is very easy to simply delete the message without ever opening it. The return on investment is often a net negative when you choose to purchase an email mailing list.

Are Opt-In Mailing Lists Better?

Opt-in mailing lists are universally better than purchasing a mailing list. As the name suggests, users will “opt in” to receive emails from you. This service can be provided on your website or in person at a convention or trade show. Clients who volunteer to receive email messages from you are much more likely to engage with your brand and become loyal customers in the long run because they know who you are. This is a simple concept that most marketers understand keenly. Create a relationship with your clients before trying to contact them out of the blue via email. After a while, you will have a larger database of invested clients who will be more likely to respond to your offers.

It should also be noted that there is no such thing as a purchased opt-in mailing list. That is to say, you cannot buy opt-in email mailing lists. Some list vendors will advertise their lists as “opt-in,” but this is merely a marketing ploy. Don’t get sucked in with the promise of thousands of emails. It will almost never work out well for you and your business.

Are Email Lists Worth Purchasing?