UK Sales - 0800 904 79 55
UK Support - 0800 085 6388
All other countries - +353 23 29880

Email Marketing Guide 3: Targeting

5. Rented lists - where do they fit in?

The issue of renting email marketing lists often comes up when a company sets out to do email marketing and don't have what they consider to be a 'big enough' list or when the marketing department is feeling the pressure to build large mailing lists. We call this the "load and send" syndrome - an urge to get perceived value from email marketing by gathering and sending to as many email addresses as possible. What you want to accomplish is a database of interested subscribers who want to receive your emails.

Establish what you want to achieve

Review exactly why you want to rent a list. If you haven't done research, it could be an expensive email marketing campaign if you don't get the results you anticipated. Be clear on what you want to accomplish with your email marketing. Is it to put your product and/or services in front of new eyeballs in a once-off mailing? Is it to request they opt-in to your mailings so you can begin to build a relationship with them?

If the answers all point to renting a list, then the onus is on your company to locate a reputable list broker. Generally list brokers who work within legislation and best practice are more expensive then those who sell their lists outright. With best practice brokers you send your message through their system, rather than being able to buy a list.

Related article: Should you use rented email marketing lists?

Areas covered in this guide

• Introduction
• Understanding customer life cycles
• Should you build or rent your email lists?
• Building an email database
• > Renting an email list
• How frequently should you email?