5 Risks Of Buying An Email List For Branding

Buying an email list can be a risky venture. Emails are an important part of any digital marketing campaign. Marketing professionals may be tempted to buy an email list rather than grow one organically. In theory, buying an email list saves time upfront and allows you to implement an email marketing campaign more quickly. There are, however, many risks involved with buying an email list for marketing. It may appear like an ideal shortcut. However, it has the potential to harm your company’s bottom line and injure your reputation. Continue reading to learn about the potential risks of buying an email list.

Not A Reputable Source

The biggest risk of buying an email list is your provider’s reputation. Reputable sellers do exist. You will, however, need to do your research to find the right provider. A reputable seller will be able to demonstrate that their addresses are from people who have chosen ‘opt-in’ to receive emails from third party sellers. Look for a provider who is experienced in capturing email addresses for consumers who match your demographic. Services with smaller lists of verified data are more likely to be trustworthy providers. Do your research to ensure that you partner with a reputable source when buying an email list.

Harm Your Inbox

Another risk that you are facing when buying a digital marketing email list is harm to your inbox. When you use a purchased email list, you risk violating the ISP guidelines. Purchaced lists often generate a high bounce rate, low read rate, and get flagged by recipients. When this happens, your email will be noticed and flagged as spam by ISP filters. Filtering organizations also plant email spam traps for shady sellers to collect. If one of these addresses ends up on your list, your email blasts will have poor delivery results and end up in spam folders. Ensure that your partner with a provider who pays close attention to ISP guidelines. You risk significant harm to your inbox when buying an email list.

Bad Delivery Rate

When buying an email list, you risk a bad delivery rate. Purchaced lists are more likely to contain addresses of poor quality. Emails on the list will often be inactive. The ones that are active will likely be old and no longer in use. When you send an email to a purchased list, there is a high bounce rate because much of the list is not deliverable. This is harmful to marketing campaign stats. Find a reputable provider who provides a lower quantity list of high quality addresses. The poor delivery and bounce back from using these addresses is another risk of buying an email list.

Violate Spam Regulations

When you purchase an email list, you are potentially violating federal spam regulations. The CAN-SPAM Act is a law that regulated commercial email in the United States. It outlines the rules for commercial email and establishes the requirements for commercial messages. Although there is no regulation against actually buying an email list, there are clear rules against sending bulk unsolicited emails. It is difficult to verify third party opt-in when buying an email list. If your purchased list contains email addresses who did not, in fact, opt-in, you are violating the law with your email blast. The CAN-SPAM act spells out tough penalties for violations. You risk violating federal regulation laws when marketing through email list practices.

Damage Reputation

When buying an email list you risk damaging your reputation online. Each email domain has a reputation that can be scored. When your email address is flagged soliciting spam traps, this reputation is damaged. Like a credit score, this does not leave even when you have stopped using the purchased list. Additionally, consumers do not respond well to bulk emails from unknown senders. Your company’s reputation can be tarnished online from just a few negative reviews and tweets. If the first Google page results are angry customer rants, you will need to spend a substantial amount of time and money on PR reputation management. Buying an email list can damage your brand’s reputation.

There are many risks that marketing professions face when buying an email list. Look for reputable sellers who can prove their data comes from users who have chosen to ‘opt-in’ for third party emails. Pay attention to your ISP guidelines. When you use a purchased list, you risk harming your inbox being flagged as spam. Ensure the quality of your addresses so they do not negatively affect your delivery rate. Adhere closely to the CAN-SPAM Act’s rules for email regulation. Protect your reputation and budget from the PR needed for reputation management. Be careful of these risks when buying an email list for your marketing campaign.