Consultant Feature Article, March 2004

How to Rent a Stellar Email List
By Tara Komar, Knockout Communications

A friend of mine who regularly sends email promotions to his customer base recently called me to ask for some advice. He had just completed his first email campaign to a rented list. The results were, as he put it, "less than stellar."

"Possibly I just rented a bad list," he suggested. I told him "Maybe it was just the wrong list." What's the difference? Well, a bad email list is one that includes more than three to four percent incorrect email addresses; is too broad or too narrow; can't be segmented by key demographic characteristics, such as gender, age, state, job title; or one that regularly spams its members. A good list may be a wrong list for you, i.e., not the one that will help you achieve your marketing goals.

How do you find the right list? Read on.

Find a reputable list provider
The key word here is reputable. Unfortunately, the email marketing industry is prone to dishonest practices, and there are many companies out there selling bad data. Be certain that the list provider you're dealing with rents only opt–in lists, whose members have requested to be placed on a particular list. Better yet, providers of double opt–in lists have asked their members not only once, but twice, whether they want to receive email regarding a certain subject. These are the people who will want to hear from you.

The following list is by no means comprehensive, but it provides a good sampling of list providers:

ActOne www.actonelists.com
Bullet Mail www.bulletmail.com
DM2 www.dm2lists.com
DirectMedia www.directmedia.com
IDG www.idglist.com
Internet.com www.internet.com/mediakit/announcement.html
Email Universe www.emailuniverse.com
PostMasterDirect www.postmasterdirect.com/marketers.html

Remember that it's up to you to determine whether a list has been created using email marketing best practices and that it complies with the recently passed CAN–SPAM law. For a review of the criteria to use in deciding whether a list is both legal and ethical, check out this column http://www.clickz.com/experts/em_mkt/article.php/3113451 from Clickz.com.

Don't try to go it alone
Some list providers feature Websites with automated wizards that allow you to select your lists, upload your text, and pay for the mailing, all online. This is fine if you're experienced, but if you're new to email marketing, take advantage of the services provided by the account managers who work for the list providers. They have in–depth knowledge of their lists, and they can walk you step by step through the process. Account managers can also suggest lists you may not have even considered.

Figure out what ‘select’ means
You may think that 'select' is a verb, but in the email marketing industry, it's a noun-and an important one. Your email list broker will want to know if you want to target a certain 'select,' which means, "How would you like us to slice up this data so that it best fits your targeting needs?" A title select, for example, allows you to target only VPs of marketing, or only finance managers. An industry select allows you to focus on the pharmaceutical industry, or computers. Job function, ZIP code, Internet usage, SIC code, and leisure interests are all examples of the many selects available to you.

Match your audience to your offer
In addition to telling your list provider the type of people you're targeting, give them the following details, as well:

• The action you want the recipients to take (visit your Website, sign up for a newsletter, download a white paper)
• Your offer (you are offering something, right? If not, visit www.Clickz.com
• for a refresher course on why you must have an offer in your direct mail efforts)

This information will help your list broker target the right lists for you, which will increase your response rates and garner you the specific type of lead who wants to know more about your products.

Ask the right questions
Once you've narrowed down the lists you want, ask your list broker the following questions:

• Does this list feature a 'recency' select?
  Here, you're asking if you can target only those names on the list that were recently added (how recently is to be determined by you). Conventional wisdom tells us that newly added members will be more receptive to offers.
• How often is the list cleaned?
  Because email addresses can be as temporary as the latest boy band, you need to know that your list provider has updated the lists you're interested in as frequently as possible — no less than once a quarter and preferably "continuously."
• What are the average response rates for this list?
  Keep in mind that average response rates for rented lists range from 1to 2 percent, much lower than the 10 to 15 percent that can be gleaned from mailings to your own customer list. But it's a good question to ask, because a 1.4 percent response to 500,000 people will pull in 7,000 contacts, while a 1.2 percent response will pull in only 6,000. That's a significant difference, so if you're doing a large mailing, ask.

Determine if the list members can receive HTML emails
If you thought the debate over paper vs. plastic was confusing, try talking to an email marketer about HTML vs. text emails. You'll get a dozen different opinions about which is better, content vs. flash, the importance of graphics, the distractions of graphics, the dull factor of text messages, and on and on. The point here is that if your heart is set on sending out an HTML email, make sure the list you choose has a very high percentage of HTML–enabled list members, and then make sure that your list broker has the capability to send HTML emails. Some have a policy of text–only emails, so you don't want to go out and pay for HTML design only to find out that it can't be transmitted.

Learn how list brokers calculate costs
If you've perused the Websites of list brokers for pricing information, you've noticed the prevalence of the letter M. Here, it means "per thousand," so if the costs of sending an HTML email is listed as $105/M, and you're sending out 20,000 emails, multiply 105 x 20, and you'll come up with your cost — $2,100.

But look out for other costs as well — most list providers charge a transmission fee, also, per thousand emails sent. And popular selects, such as title and usage of the Internet, frequently add another $10 to $20, per M on top of what you're already spending. Finally, remember that, once your email is test launched to you, you'll be allowed to make changes to the emails a few times (generally the first two rounds are free), but after that, you'll get charged per change. It can add up, so check and double check your copy and graphics before the test launch.

Conclusion
Email marketing has quickly become one of the most popular methods of lead generation. An eye–catching creative concept, combined with a great offer, will help make your message stand out from the rest. However, you'll dramatically increase the chances of your email being read when you take the time to send it to the right people.

Tara Komar is the founder of Knockout Communications, which provides high–impact writing and editing services to companies that are at a loss for words. Get more information at www.knockoutcommunications.com