For a lot of folks, especially those new to the wonderful world of email marketing, it must seem awfully tempting to purchase a subscriber list. For one thing, it’s so easy – there are a lot of seemingly reputable list providers, promising targeted lists of mid- to senior- level ‘sales contacts’, for as little as 1 cent per email address! Considering how much effort it can take to organically build a subscriber list, this must seem like a very convenient way out.
But, do we accept purchased lists? No. Because sending to these lists is not only spamming, but it can muck up delivery rates for all our customers. Worst of all, purchased lists make Scott, our Sys Admin cranky. And when Scott gets cranky, bad things happen.
That said, it’s not always as clear cut as that. So, we’ve pulled together a list of common questions about permission to help put to rest any curly concerns that you, or your clients may have. We’ve also got some nice handouts, too!
Of course, this can be a tricky topic, especially if you’re a designer taking on new clients who have brought along their own lists. In this case, it’s best to let your clients know the dangers of using a list that they don’t have permission to send email to. You can explain to them that not only do swiped or purchased lists offer little to no value to the sender (especially if its been well abused by numerous emailers already), but it can do irreversible damage to their brand and their ability to do business in the future. It can even get them on the wrong side of the law!
Alongside these permission resources, our support team can offer advice, either via email or Twitter. So if in doubt, give us a holler first.
