The Truth About Email List Rental
by Scott Hardigree, The Email Marketing Chronicles
Repost

If you’re unfamiliar or unimpressed with the practice of email list rental here’s the lowdown on the benefits and pitfalls, as well as its key differentiating factors and considerations.

Know the Difference

Unfortunately legitimate email list rental opportunities have been tarnished by the practices of less-than-stellar providers…be they list multi-sourced compilers, email addresses sellers, or bald-faced liars. None of which are likely to help a marketer’s ROI. Why should it? The email recipients have no relationship with the organization that possesses their email address, and sends the offer.

In my 12 years in email marketing I found that the best opportunities often lie in renting true subscriber lists. That is, opt-in email lists that are derived from a single source such as publications, services, and products – that the recipient knows, and values.

Key Considerations

• The list owner will send the marketer’s offer.
• The marketer pays a fee for this service, usually on a cost-per-thousand (CPM) basis.
• Unlike direct mail or telemarketing, the marketer never sees the list.
• Unlike inbound marketing, it’s all about producing a valuable offer, not content.
• List selection is often the most important factor, followed by the offer and the creative.

For Marketers

For many marketers email list rental is a consistent means of growing their own subscriber lists, packing their pipelines and of course, making sales directly. Here are a few benefits.

• Value of Association (with the list owner)
• Low Cost of Acquisition (compare to other direct channels)
• It’s Quick (test results and make adjustments in days, not weeks)
• Better Deliverability (Compared to compiled and purchase lists)

For List Owners

List owners come in many flavors such as retailers, event producers, associations, traditional publishers, and bloggers. All of which can find considerable value in email list rental too, albeit of a different sort.

• Revenue ($1-2 per subscriber, per year is a good rule of thumb)
• Control (what, when, who)
• Easy (no sales, marketing, billing – if you work with a professional list management company).
• Hygiene (weed out hard bounces more frequently)

Case in Point

Going beyond selecting the right lists, wise marketers are no longer taking the “BUY MY STUFF” approach. Instead list rental campaigns are getting more creative, take a look at this campaign from Surfline and Rip Curl. It’s a great example of how publishers can provide their subscribers with direct access complimentary products, services, or offers, and win their hearts in the process.

The Future of Email List Rental

Email deliverability will continue to be a challenge for marketers who use multi-sourced compiled or purchased email lists. In fact, “challenge” is probably too light of a description. And that’s a good thing because it frees up inboxs for more relevant email communications. Besides improved deliverability, legitimate email list rental provides marketers with the opportunity to earn new customers at a fair price, all while respecting the mindshare of the subscribers. But be wary, the list rental universe is often a dodgy one. Marketers and list owners alike should look first to companies that specialize in email lists that originate (and are mailed) from respectable and identifiable sources.