Why Renting Email Lists is Better Than Buying Them

There has been a lot of talk lately about the privacy issues surrounding the rising sale and rental email lists. These lists, which are actually purchased by large businesses, are being used for various marketing and business initiatives. However, are these lists the end-all be-all of online marketing?

I believe not. This article will explore the many benefits of marketing through the use of email lists, whether purchased or rent email lists. I will also explain why I feel that it is important to understand why the purchase of marketing lists is not necessarily the best way to go. When you are researching your market and niche, it is extremely important to identify your target audience and reach out to them in a manner that truly relates to them and their needs. Without this understanding, it makes it extremely difficult to implement marketing campaigns that truly benefit your industry.

The biggest question is whether or not the marketing strategy should involve the creation of opt-in forms and other contact methods that would allow people to opt-out from receiving promotional emails. Personally, I do not believe that the use of opt-out forms is necessary when renting or buying email lists. As mentioned before, many of these lists are opt-in forms and as such I don't believe they should be included when purchasing. I see the creation of these forms as becoming cumbersome and tedious. Also, the fact remains that some internet savvy consumers are likely to ignore the form entirely, thereby negating the primary purpose of the email.

When you rent email lists, you need to provide permission for the contact information to be included in these lists. Often times, the reason a consumer submits this permission can-spam them. However, there are some instances when the act of submitting a permission request can actually help with generating sales and revenues. For instance, a business may list an opt-out form on their website and then encourage visitors to tick the box indicating they want to remove themselves from any further contact with the company. This approach ensures that any emails sent from the business will generate revenue.

FrescoDatafind it problematic that a company will include an opt-out form on their website but then encourage visitors to pass along this link to their contact information. This is a double standard that I do not feel condones. The business may use the contact information obtained from the website to forward emails to interested parties or send out bulk emails to all members of the list. The fact that the email marketing lists were rented puts the consumer in a position of unwittingly consenting to the collection of information. This consent should never be encouraged or used in a manner that might aid in the collection of data for some sort of unsavory purpose.

For most businesses, direct marketing or lead generation through emails is not a high priority. This is probably due to the fact that these leads are typically not a high cost item. Yet they represent a large portion of the profit pie for many companies. By not focusing on this strategy, companies are missing out on a large portion of the profits of the industry. By renting email lists, the company is in essence funding the generation of lead generation programs in its market space.

Another reason why renting the email lists may be viewed as more palatable than purchasing them is because the process involves less hassle. There is very little to no risk involved in either buying or renting the contact lists and it can all be done without anyone having to say or even be aware of the fact that they are being contacted. Companies simply purchase a subscription from an internet service provider (ISP). They then have to enter into an agreement with the ISP, which requires them to provide the name, address and contact people of the person being targeted with the advertisements.

The costs involved in purchasing email lists generally range from a few dollars per month to thousands of dollars. Of course, there are many benefits to both strategies. Purchasing lists allows companies to build their brand name and create a name for themselves as an online business; however, they also do little to actually drive traffic to the website. List rentals allow companies to target emails based on their own discretion. However, with fewer bounces to deal with, the potential for more sales is greater when it comes to purchased email lists.