Why purchased email lists are a huge no-no for your email marketing

Nothing is more important to your email marketing than your list of subscribers. The success of your campaigns, not to mention your business, depends on an interested and engaged list. You may be tempted to hurry along your list building efforts by purchasing an email list, but giving in to that moment of temptation can lead to poor email results and possibly damage your mailing reputation for a long time.

In this post, we’ll take a look at some of the reasons that a purchased email list is a big don’t for email marketing.

Email service providers won’t allow purchased lists

First, as long as you’re using a reputable email service provider to send your email campaigns, you won’t be allowed to use a purchased list. At all. Most ask up front that the email list is opted in, meaning those on the list opted in to specifically receive emails from your company, and some will ask list members to re-opt in as well (double opt-in). Add to this that ESPs monitor everything in their system and will know if you’re trying to send to a questionable list. This allows them to have a good sending reputation and to get the emails they send on behalf of their customers delivered. If something causes a problem, impacting their business and customers, they’ll be sure to find the culprit and bar them from their system.

Bad addresses, bad delivery rate

Addresses on a purchased list are likely to be poor quality. At the very least the addresses will be old and unlikely to be used much, if at all. You’ll see higher bounce rates because of this and more likely to see higher complaints as well. The overall campaign stats will be underwhelming if much of the list is undeliverable. One other thing that can happen with old addresses is that they become spam traps or honeypots. These are email addresses used specifically to find people using questionable lists and will cause serious damage to your sending reputation resulting in fewer emails getting to the inbox. If you hit a spam trap used by a domain like Yahoo! or Gmail, or an anti-spam company like Spamhaus, you’ll find yourself blacklisted or blocked from sending.

Too many bounces

If you decide to ignore all the warnings about how bad sending to a purchased list really is, you’ll still have problems beyond dealing with your ESP. Since most of the addresses will most likely be older, they probably aren’t active and anything sent to them will bounce. Typically, a bounce rate below 2% is optimal, and if it goes over 5% there’s a definite problem with the list. If there are some active email accounts on this type of list they’ll be more likely to delete the email, since they don’t know who sent it or why. Or worse, the email will be marked as spam and you’ll be on your way to a bad sending reputation. The ESP you’re using will also note the poor response to your email campaign and start asking you some tough questions about how your list was built. You’ll find fewer people actually interacting with your email with a purchased list, no matter how large it seems.
Invading the inboxes of strangers

Remember you’re sending email campaigns to people. You design your email to make it easy for a person to read and add calls-to-action to encourage your readers to click. You know that there is a person at the other end of that email address. If people didn’t ask to hear from you and suddenly receive an unexpected email in their inbox from a sender they don’t recognize it’s nearly guaranteed that they will delete it and report it as spam. Forcing your way into someone’s inbox without permission is like showing up to a dinner party hosted by someone you don’t know, uninvited. It’s not a great way to start a relationship with a customer or client. Most people are savvy about their email address and will know if they signed up for your email list or not. And besides, there are also anti-spam laws around the world to take into consideration. If you can’t see a problem with sending unwanted emails, remember that most of the spam laws bar purchased lists from being mailed to.

“Everyone buys lists”

Sometimes an email marketer will be following the rules about email lists and not doing anything questionable when in walks the boss demanding to see a bigger, better, and more active email list. She’s heard that the big competitor down the street has a huge list and all they did was buy it. Why didn’t you?  “Everyone buys lists, no one really cares where the addresses came from!“ While this certainly does happen, everyone doesn’t buy lists and those that do can run into some serious problems, as we’ve seen. A large list doesn’t mean a high-performing one. You want the people on your list to open your email and take an action. A smaller list of engaged readers will benefit your business far more than a large list of uninterested ones. The best approach is to grow your list organically, get your readers to opt-in, and send interesting and targeted emails.
Growing an email list

There are many ways to grow an opted in email list, it all depends on what type of business you have. An easy one to get started with is a sign up form on your website (there are heaps of sign up form options in our App Store). You can customize how the form looks and what data you collect. You can also use it on your blog, or on Facebook if that’s a good channel for your business. If you do in-person events or have a brick-and-mortar store you can have people sign-up in person or using the Enlist app. For even more ideas check out our free Email List Building guide.

Wrap up

There are a number of crucial reasons to invest time into growing your email list instead of buying one, as we’ve covered here. Buying a list may seem like a quick fix, but in the long run it will lose money and damage or ruin your sending reputation. If you want your email to get to the inbox so it can be read, make sure your email lists are opted-in and have been grown the right way. The time spent building a good email list will pay off when you have a high-performing list of people who can’t wait to read your emails.

Source: www.campaignmonitor.com

ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business networking association dedicated to helping small businesses and entrepreneurs develop, expand and grow. We offer affordable opportunities to help create a positive impact and advancement in your business interests and personal quality of life to take you to the next level.
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Five Important Steps to Effective Email Marketing

Each time a prospect gives your company their personal email address, a contract is formed between you and them. Their role in the contract is to invite you to send them your content. In return, your role is to deliver valuable content they'll appreciate. Any time you send them content that's rushed or shoddy, you're not keeping your end of the deal. But by delivering email marketing that's useful and appreciated by your market, your company is building loyalty, trust, and ultimately sales.

For effective email campaigns that will make your readers glad they opted in to your content, consider these five important best practices.

1. Promote, Promote, Promote

The best email campaign in the world (if such a thing could actually be measured) would be 100% useless without a solid email list. Many businesses go only as far as placing an opt-in form on their website. That's a decent start, but you should also consider effective calls to action that encourage people to sign up. Your list should be advertised like any other product or service. You'll want to let your leads know how signing up for your content is going to benefit them. You should draw attention to that signup form with some creative copy on your homepage. Keep in mind that you're focusing on quality over quantity. You want people on that list who actually are excited to receive the content you send. Also, you'll want to promote your opt-in email content via your social media.

2. Remember, Quality Content is King

The importance of quality content is hardly a secret. Unfortunately, however, quality is lacking in many email campaigns (and many other places on the internet, for that matter.) Businesses are not just creators of products and services anymore. They are also creators and publishers of videos, blogs, newsletters, infographics, and anything else their audience finds useful or entertaining.

In your email marketing, create content that you're passionate and knowledgeable about. Ask yourself, "Will this video or blog post give our audience useful information that they wouldn't have learned before now? Will writing about the weird and bizarre be helpful or harmful?"

3. Name Names to Personalize Your Emails

Did you know that every day, the average person is subjected to over 120 emails? Clearly, you need to cut through the clutter and be seen through all of the information overload out there. If you don't, you can hardly expect your audience to choose your messages and ignore those of your competitors. 

Yes, the advice to personalize your email marketing is common. But the reason you hear it all the time is that it's effective. One of the simplest ways to personalize your emails and gain the attention of your audience is to mention the first name of your recipients within the email. There are other ways to personalize your email messages, of course, but starting with the inclusion of names is one of the most effective tactics."

4. Don't Neglect Responsive Web Design

Responsive design refers to the ability to easily read emails and landing pages on a variety of devices, including smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop computers. Smartphones and tablets represent a huge percentage of all email interactions. "Our reliance on mobile devices means email must be mobile friendly," says Bob Fabbio of eRelevance, a marketing automation service. "The majority of people who have problems accessing an email, landing page or website never return to it in the future, which makes responsive design an essential component of any effective email campaign." Just remember, however, that responsive email design is a wasted effort if your emails link to a not-so-responsive landing page.

5. Keep Landing Pages Specialized

An email is obviously not the end of the line. Rather, it should be a beginning step toward conversion. Does your marketing message lead the reader to a generalized homepage that doesn't have anything to do with the email's content? If so, it probably won't be effective at lead conversion. Your emails should link to specialized pages featuring a product. Keep the goal of conversion in mind!


Your email campaigns, if done right, can be effective workhorses in your marketing efforts. So take them seriously. With a little thought and effort, they can build relationships with customers and make your business stand out from competitors.

Image Credit: Getty Images
Source: http://www.inc.com

ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is a business networking association dedicated to helping small businesses and entrepreneurs develop, expand and grow. We offer affordable opportunities to help create a positive impact and advancement in your business interests and personal quality of life to take you to the next level.
Stay Connected with WNFP!

How to Be Sure You Are Doing Everything You Can to Build Your Email List

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how important it is to continually be growing your email contact list.

But even as an experienced marketer, you may not be taking advantage of all the key locations or tools available to you.

Use the following resources to build a quality permission-based email list as fast as possible.

In-person email list building

• A simple sign-up sheet near your register is a great start. You also need a process in place to upload contacts regularly to your email list.

• Use our desktop widget, the Contact Capture Tool to easily add email addresses when you’re at your computer. Just ask everyone that comes to your place of business. Ask at the register or reception desk when they check out. Ask callers on the phone. Don’t be shy! Studies have shown that over half of the people will provide their email addresses if asked.

• Use Constant Contact’s FREE mobile app for Android and iOS to collect new contacts on the fly. There’s a lot of networking going on at trade shows, conferences, seminars, and industry events — tell your new contacts about your emails and ask them to subscribe, too!

• Use the Constant Contact List Builder app for iPad to add contacts to your Constant Contact account even when you’re offline. This app does NOT require an internet connection to collect email addresses. Just re-launch the app when you get a connection and your captured data is immediately delivered to Constant Contact.

• Promote your email list in all your printed collateral. Put a simple message on your business cards, brochures, advertisements, sales kits, and direct mail letters. Write something like: “Sign up for our email list to receive insider information and discounts at [your sign-up page URL].”

Or instead of a URL, make it easier for your mobile savvy customers:

• Use Scan-to-Join to create a QR code that mobile users can scan to bring up your sign-up form on their phones.

• Use Text-to-Join to create a custom keyword that mobile users can text to a special number. They’ll then get a prompt to text their email address which gets added to your list.

Online email list building

• Use our web sign-up links to allow people to sign up online. We’ve got easy-to-use buttons and widgets to help you capture people’s email addresses. Put them on your website, Facebook Page, blog, LinkedIn profile, and in your outgoing emails. They’re simple to use. People just click on the link or button and get taken to your quick sign-up page. Their email address goes automatically into your contact database.

• Use an embeddable sign-up form on your website. These forms allow people to enter their information right from a page on your website. No need for them to click off to a sign-up page.

Make sure your online sign-up process can pass these tests

1.Go to a random page on your website, can you find a link or sign-up form to join your email list?

You may think having a link or form on your homepage is enough. But the reality is, people don’t always enter through your homepage. In fact, it’s possible these visitors don’t go there at all. Don’t miss an opportunity to get them to join your list. Make sure your sign-up link is on every page of your website.

2. Go to your email list sign-up page. Enter your information. Do you receive an error message when you try to submit?

You could be missing out on subscribers and not even know it. Be sure to test your forms on a regular basis.

3. Go to the homepage of your website.

Can you easily find your sign-up link? Or do you have to scroll and search for it? Make sure your sign-up form is easy to find.

source:www.constantcontact.com

ABOUT WNFP
Westchester Networking for Professionals (WNFP) is an organization consisting of professionals and entrepreneurs which focuses on the success of our Members. We help our Members establish lasting relationships and generate new business opportunities towards the growth of their business.
Stay Connected with WNFP!