Internet Marketing

Two phrases are very common in internet marketing:

Readers of other articles by me will be well aware of what I think about the money is in the list idea because it is incorrect. The list is a tool to use to build relationships which can lead to sales. Much better to have a list of 1,000 who buy than a list of 100,000 who never even read the message. Responsive subscribers who are keen on the subject will look for the messages and act on what is being offered because trust has been built.

Having got past that one then it is time to cover the concept of selling or renting your list. The first thing to say is this:

Never Sell Your List

Once it is sold then control over the contents of it are completely lost. It may seem attractive and perhaps some good prices are being offered but the short-term gain is not worth the long-term pain.

Renting a list is a different matter even if the idea is the exact opposite of what most internet marketers say. The big players in marketing do it and make a lot of money from it as well. One major newspaper in the UK will rent a list of 5000 email addresses from their online subscriber list at a price of £750 (roughly $1100) and I would be very surprised if they were not getting buyers. The newspaper concerned never reveals the email addresses that are on the list because it sends the message from its own servers.

So should lists be rented?

There is profit to be made by doing so which means a big YES! Or does it?

Think about those tiny little tick boxes that appear on a lot of paper forms where you can either opt-in or opt-out of receiving things from third party organizations. Choose the opt-out to avoid getting this stuff but they get hidden away so that they get missed and default to the opt-in.

The same thing needs to be present on any email sign-up so that people are able to decide whether they would like to receive third party messages. Some will agree and some will not. If you go with this though it has to be made clear to a new subscriber what is happening.

Is it worthwhile?

With a high quality list then you could easily earn an income from it but there are problems.

Firstly, the mailing software in use must have the ability to allow users to opt-out of receiving third party emails.

Secondly, the list must not be excessively used. You will lose subscribers to your list if they are getting too much from third party sellers.

Thirdly, the addresses must only ever be rented to a business that is a close match to your list. Damage will be caused if an email is sent that is promoting a product that your list would hate.

List rental can be profitable but it needs to be used with caution if the main business is not to be damaged. An important part of doing it is to understand the makeup of your list so that relevant offers are the only ones that are included.

Big companies cultivate their lists and then use brokers to sell details from them. As the song says 'Good enough for them then good enough for me' so consider following what the big players do.