I know first hand about those email lists people sell you.
Another great informative blog! Keep them coming.

Good article. Even if there were no spam laws, the obvious question is if these lists are any good, why are companies selling them rather than just sending offers to them?

I don’t know anyone who has built a list who would be willing to sell it like these companies do.

Too bad the constant stream of new people coming online aren’t always able to see what a bad idea this is.

I totally agree. My biggest problem with obtaining email lists from someone or some other company is that the individuals on these email lists answered an ad that could be vastly different from I am trying to sell them! Thus being my main reason for working on my own email list since I want my subscribers to genuinely want what I have to offer.

Yes, I agree completely.

Never buy any list of E-mails!

I learned my lesson many years ago.

It was only a small list of 1000 people, but I saw that only 20 received my E-mail, without to purchase anything.

Build your list for Free is the best way!

It is not a fast process but it is a strong way!

I was in direct mail for several years renting a lot of direct mail "lists". What I learned with mailing lists is directly applicable to email lists.

In the direct mail scam world are people who pull lists from telephone directories and sell them as "hot prospects". This is the same as harvesting emails by having bots roam the Internet.

I found the only lists that worked for me were those who had purchased similiar products or had an interest similiar to what I was selling.

All other lists were duds!

So the lists (both direct mail and email) that work are buyers want a product like yours or have purchased from you before.

In goes without saying my best returns were the lists of my own customers. The conversion on those were 10 times or greater than those of great lists that I found.

And there is nothing new under the sun. Spam laws were passed. Before it was "Do not Call" legislation. No one could ever get Do Not Mail lists legislation started. Why? It is so expensive to mail and if someone is really sending "Junk" mail they go out of business. Junk mail kills itself.

Junk email does not because it is cheap cheap cheap and just as ineffective.

But the newbies in Internet marketing don’t know any better.

In general, the article is correct — there’s no magic bullet — but there are plenty of lists out there that DO work, it’s just VERY unlikely that new internet marketers will know what to look for.

Who owns the list?
Reputable national magazines, trade groups, charities, seminar lists — there are thousands of properly built lists that the owners would like to monetize further.
Look for: Owner must approve your mailing and one-time use.

What data is provided?
Sort by dates added to list; HOW was the list built - subscribers?, warranty cards? etc.

Sponsored or unsponsored mailing?
If the people on that list wouldn’t know who you are, i.e., you’re not a national brand, then you need to be introduced by the list owner.

It’s not rocket science, but you DO have to learn how to do it right, and then read up on Open Rates even when you have a quality list.

Thanks for sharing the downfall of buying email lists. As with all other "quick fix" offers on the Internet, buying email lists is definitely asking for trouble.

Absolutely, do not BUY email lists. If you do rent, rent carefully… use lists of subscribers, seminar attendees, associations, etc. As Dan said, you want people who have already bought something similar.

To answer Alex’s question, you build your own list by driving traffic to your site, offering a white paper, a book, or something else of perceived value, and asking for the opt-in. You drive traffic by writing articles, commenting on blogs, sending press releases, using AdWords, etc. etc.

While it definitely takes longer to build your own lists, the payoff is well worth it. When people like Robert Allen talk about being able to generate thousands of dollars in 24 hours, that’s how they do it, folks.

They mail to their lists.

Done properly, Email Marketing is a powerful tool

Justin

I don’t disagree with you but what are your thoughts on Jodi’s comment about renting lists? And what do you see as the difference? I often see claims of what I think are rental lists where Seller X maintains the database e.g. an industry mag but based on feedback from others, response rates are poor and bounce rates high.

I think the seminar attendee lists make a lot of sense but still seems to sound like list buying; albeit focused.

Thanks for your response.

Are we talking subjective SPAM or CANSPAM compliance? Yes, compliant emails can be identified and reported as SPAM- but isn’t the false reporting also a crime? Has anyone been sued or fined for reporting falsely?

CANSPAM compliance is easy. It applies only to solicitations for business (ie advertising) and requires a physical address of the sender, and an easy way to unsubscribe.

So if I offer something free for a certain list of people is SPAM even a consideration?

And if I deliver the freebie from a webpage that happens to have ads on it for other (priced) products- well, explain what the problem is with either the email free offer or the download page?

great article, can you keep me posted?

It’s much better to take out ad space in someone else’s mailing list who has an opt-in list than to purchase an email list. It’s also better to form relationships with other list holders and then offer to provide articles to publish in their online newsletter. You’ll get better exposure that way.

I once had a client who did buy an email list and she did get business out of it. She bought it after we stopped working together. I didn’t want to go that route and she did…. which is fine with me because I can keep looking at myself in the mirror and like what is looking back at me.

I’ve always believed in this philosophy, and live by it but now I’m working for a company that wants me to search the net looking to buy a database for the product it’s selling.

My dilemma is that I believe in the philosophy of building your own list but to do this task properly, I have to find the list of targetted leads and pass the info on.

Tough, hey?

Better to JV with somebody in your niche who already has a list. They have a relationship with those people, and can say, "Hey - this is something you need to know about" and the list listens.