How do rented lists compare to in-house lists, and how do I ensure they are effective?
A. Rented lists are never going to be as effective as your own house list. That’s why at Vigorate we consistently advocate building your own house file and offer many tools to help you. However, rented email lists can be helpful in boosting the quantity of names in your housefile. But we want you to be sure you understand the upsides and downsides of email list rentals, because it’s “Buyer Beware”. Mailing your offer to someone else’s list will typically generate much lower open and response rates than your own list. The main reason is that it is not you who has a previous relationship with the subscriber, and you do not hold the initial permission, the list owner does. As you may have heard, there are also risks with renting lists where proper ‘opt-in’ procedures have not been followed — and those lists are generating high levels of SPAM complaints. For marketers this negative impact on their brand is unacceptable.
