Contributed by- Megan Cramer

Why you should NOT purchase an email list!
It’s tempting to think that in order to reach out to a large number of prospects with the least amount of effort, you can simply buy an email list. This is a terrible idea. The contacts on the list had to have opted into *something* but they did not agree directly to receive emails from you or your business. They likely have no familiarity with your business and are much more likely to mark your messages as spam. Not only does this negate the effort you’re putting in (and the money you spent buying the list) but in fact being reported as a spammer is very detrimental to your sender score and your IP reputation. This means that your emails are even more likely to end up in the spam boxes of truly valid contacts.

You may also find that a large portion of the contacts hard bounce, another thing against you and a clue to IT Admins that you employ “spammy” practices. This could be due to the age of the list, as in today’s business world we’re seeing employees switching companies much more often than past generations. Typically, your contact list depreciates by around 20% per year, meaning it’s vital to keep it updated and clean.

Here are some tips for finding the best contacts from which to build your list, and keeping that list current. The key is that these contacts are organically sourced:

Where to find contacts:

• Business contacts that you’ve met through networking groups such as the Chamber or BNI
• Contacts introduced to you by a colleague or referral partner
• Connections you’ve made on social sites such as LinkedIn
• Contacts who opt in through a form on your website or a landing page
• Contacts who can either make or influence buying decisions for the products and services you sell. Keep in mind that an end user may very well fall into this category, as many C-level folks are extremely busy – This is another example of why having familiarity with your contacts is important

Keeping your list clean:

• Keep hard bounced and unsubscribed contacts flagged so you don’t email them again
• Reach out to companies that you see bounces from and identify the new point of contact
• Run your contacts through a validation service on a regular basis (quarterly is ideal, yearly is a suggested minimum)
• Keep in mind that email validation services generally prohibit you from using bought lists – You can check for this in their Terms of Service

Summary: The benefits of a clean list
Your email deliverability depends on keeping ahead of the curve with contact maintenance. The more trustworthy your email list appears to the recipient server, the higher the likelihood that your messages will wind up front and center in your contacts’ inboxes.

The interaction that these recipients have with your collateral will be more meaningful as well, since they’re already familiar with you and your company to an extent. You’ll find that converting a prospect to a customer is exponentially easier when you’re not chasing down ghosts, but staying top of mind with decision makers that have already expressed a level of interest in the solutions you provide.

Megan Cramer is a Marketing and Sales Enablement Consultant at Mindmatrix, providing strategic consultation on marketing and sales best practices, assisting with technical needs, and interfacing with leaders in our organization to help develop new processes and program additions to best serve our clients.