Can I Buy Lists for my E-mail Marketing?

When founder and CEO of emailbroadcast.com, Ken Mahar, was asked this question – he responded in a YouTube video with a snippet of the famous reaction of Steve Carrell as Michael Scott in which, upon Toby’s return to The Office, was “Nooooooooooooooo!” In it, he outlines reasons why buying e-mail lists – to boost one’s e-mail and digital marketing efforts – can have negative results.

According to Mahar, it’s important to weigh up the ‘upsides’ and ‘downsides’ of this decision. He says that even if there is even the slightest potential of converting audience into customers through this practice there are some cons that does not make it worthwhile.

Buying E-mail marketing lists considerations

Cultural considerations in e-mail marketing

Experts have it on good authority that it’s illegal in certain countries to spread e-mails that are unsolicited and contain content that could be seen as spam. Also, if people on your list mark your weekly newsletter and the likes as ‘spam’, it can have harmful consequences for your business e-mail account as it may mark all outgoing mail as spam – even the ones you send to customers. In many cases buying e-mail lists can cause more harm to an entrepreneur’s brand than good.

However, there are ways to build your digital marketing and social media in a way that nurtures your brand. Pat Flynn from smartpassiveincome.com posted a video in which he shows you exactly what needs to be done to start building a targeted e-mail list from the ground-up. He:

• Explores the biggest mistakes people make when starting e-mail lists,
• Mentions eight types of incentives you can explore to get people to sign up for your list, and
• Lists 10 specific places on your website where an opt-in form could be placed.

The Biggest Mistakes People Make in E-Mail Marketing

The no. 1 biggest mistake people make with e-mail lists for their newsletter is asking people to subscribe to your ‘exclusive newsletter’ but offering no real incentive or value in exchange for their email address. This doesn’t mean that you must dangle the metaphorical carrot in front of your audience to persuade them in return for their e-mail address but you want to offer something people will thank you for.

If you do want to persuade an audience to submit their e-mail address, there are alluring ways to do this. The first would be to offer an initial trial period or a free course – something that gives people a taste of what your newsletter offers. Another method involves offering incentives like week-long free programmes with content like recipes, instructions, expert advice or free e-books.

The point that is illustrated in the research regarding e-mail lists attempts to inspire businesses to grow their e-mail lists organically. By retrieving prospects’ e-mail addresses and making sure that you get their permission to do so, use smart incentives like white papers that persuade people to subscribe.

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