The Truth About Email List Rental
March 16, 2010
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.
- Scott Hardigree | Indiemark | @indiescott
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March 16, 2010 at 9:53 pm
Hi Scott
My heart sank when I first saw the title of this article and the first sentence. I saw you had posted it so I was curious as to what SH had to say on the matter.
I thought for a moment I had judged you all wrong and you had crossed to the dark-side. I am glad to see you were not really talking about list rental, but marketing to a third party list.
It seems the perfect way to go, latching onto another publications mailing. You might be surprised to learn though that in the UK your great advice is a little harder to follow. The big publishing and media giants dont deliver your message for you at a CPM rate, they ‘rent’ you the list. Actually giving the client the Names & EMail Address. I was shocked to learn this was the case.
March 17, 2010 at 7:25 pm
Hi Andrew – Hope I didn’t give you a scare.
Here in the states List Rental is term used when marketing using a 3rd-party list, which is often the cause for confusion and how the opportunity is usually ‘guilty by association’.
I agree, leveraging the lists of others is great way for impatient and more aggressive marketers to grow their own house files and of course make new sales.
Surprised to hear that UK publishers will hand their hard-earned subscribers, outright.
March 19, 2010 at 11:50 am
I was more than a little surprised and would love a sit-down with some of those guys it is so obviously a bad model for them.
They believe they protect their interests by ‘seeding’ their lists. Some go so far as to say it needs to be done through an approved ESP… the whole practice is still shady and so obviously open to abuse.
March 18, 2010 at 2:29 pm
[...] Marketing, Email List Rental, Email Marketing, marketing strategy Here’s a great example of email list rental from Surfline and Rip Curl. It demonstrates how the publisher (Surfline) can provide value to the [...]
March 18, 2010 at 11:25 pm
I don’t believe in buying email lists. That is not an effective way of creating clients.
March 19, 2010 at 12:29 am
I don’t beileve list purchase is an effective strategy either, Evie. That’s why I’m discussing list rental instead.
April 9, 2010 at 5:09 pm
I think it’s just semantics, but you’re talking about advertising here, not list rental. When people call me asking about list rentals, they’re really talking euphemistically about buying lists.
April 9, 2010 at 5:43 pm
Tomato. Tomato. Right?
April 9, 2010 at 5:41 pm
Hey Scott – great post. Just wanted to say I received the email you sent this morning and loved the creative as well as the content (great subject line too – anything starting with “The Truth…” – got to drive open rates). Have a great weekend. – Brett
April 9, 2010 at 5:44 pm
Thanks Brett – I appreciated it. So far so good on the open rate too!
June 4, 2010 at 6:04 pm
List rentals have always scared the crap out of me. There is just no way to know anything about the true source of the list, how it’s been used, and if the recips are a complaining lot! I think the closest I have come is to place ads in others ezines or to have a partner send out a sponsored email or review type email.
June 4, 2010 at 7:52 pm
Good point Mitch. The waters in the email list rental world are often murky. But it really depends on the list sources and the ethics and transparency of the list owner (or their list manager).
A great way to test those waters is to actually subscribe to the sources that interest you; it’s the best way to discern how much the publisher values their subscribers.
Done right, email list rental can produce an unusually high ROI, but the devil is in the details. Have a good weekend. – Scott
August 2, 2010 at 9:33 pm
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