If you have to purchase an email list fine (please see related article on email lists) however if you want to run an effective email marketing campaign it's always best to have opted in subscribers. If possible avoid buying lists.
With a purchased email address list your open rates will be dreadful as will your return on investment. That same list was probably sold to many other companies, and you'll likely immediately be flagged as a spammer the moment you send out your first newsletter or email campaign. Where possible use an opted-in list.
You could argue that with a purchase list of addresses you will have considerably more people to contact than your list of opted-in subscripers. However quality of the opted-in list far outweighs the quantity of the brought list of email addresses. With the opted-in email address list you will get more click-thrus and better open/read rates.
Methods to get opted-in subscribers
- Create an effective opt-in campaign on your website that consists of an engaging message on a sign-up box. Placing the box near the top of the website works best (pop-ups are ok, too) and be sure to let customers know what benefit they'll derive from subscribing.
- During the online order processing you can have a opt-in or opt-out feature as part of the user registration.
- Provide an incentive for signing up such as a free download or a discount code. Similar to incentives you use to get visitors to like your facebook page (hint hint)
In this Series
Don't miss the rest of this series on email marketing. Follow the links below for the full article.
- Introduction
- Your Audience
- The Right Message
- The Law
- Opted in lists
- Opting out
- Address List
- Sending your email
- Avoiding Spam Filters
- Processing bounce backs
- Improving your open rate
- Optimise your email for mobiles
- Using video in your email
- Monitoring the campaign
- Regular communications
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