The truth about renting mailing lists
Over the last few days, I've received a few questions regarding direct mail, and today I'm going to take some time to answer them.
In my opinion direct mail is a "must" to master, especially with all the spam blockages, email non-delivery, and looming legal issues with email.
Keep this in mind: direct mail is the only media whereby the government derives revenue. It is the most stable of media, unlike electronic media which is constantly changing or being regulated out of existence (remember broadcast fax?) by moronic legislators, concerned only with their own re-election.
Anyways, onto the questions:
Dear Mr. X:
I have a question regarding the, "ethics" (for lack of a better word), of some (or all) mailing list companies. Specifically, I recently purchased a mailing list of about 250 names, it wasn't cheap either.
When I received the mailing list, the company's info. sheet was put on top, and in the "fine print" was a statement that this list may not be re-used, it's a one time only use, furthermore, they claimed each list was "seeded" with dummy names so that the company would know if you violated this rule.
You could re-purchase this list after it's use, for another "one time use"......well, it seems to me that something is not quite right about this sort of rule for a number of reasons.....any insight on this type of practice, and are all mailing companies like this ?
Thanks for your thoughts on this subject.
--Diane
Mr. X: Thanks for the question, Diane. Yes, all mailing lists are like this--you rent them, not buy them. It is quite ethical, and there are good reasons for it. First off, the list owner has spent quite a bit of time, energy and effort to build the list, and is
not going to let it go for a small amount. If the owner simply
sold it, then many list renters would resell the list, or send a mountain of garbage to it. Secondly, many direct marketers make their profit through list rental alone--they either break even or lose money to create the list, but make it up in list rental fees. That's their real business.
The good news is, that when you build a list, you can rent it and profit from it as well. List rental income is nice because all you do is send your list to a list broker, and get a check. There's no work on your part. If it's a good list, others will keep renting it, and pay you money every time they do so... and that's not a bad thing.
In my opinion direct mail is a "must" to master, especially with all the spam blockages, email non-delivery, and looming legal issues with email.
Keep this in mind: direct mail is the only media whereby the government derives revenue. It is the most stable of media, unlike electronic media which is constantly changing or being regulated out of existence (remember broadcast fax?) by moronic legislators, concerned only with their own re-election.
Anyways, onto the questions:
Dear Mr. X:
I have a question regarding the, "ethics" (for lack of a better word), of some (or all) mailing list companies. Specifically, I recently purchased a mailing list of about 250 names, it wasn't cheap either.
When I received the mailing list, the company's info. sheet was put on top, and in the "fine print" was a statement that this list may not be re-used, it's a one time only use, furthermore, they claimed each list was "seeded" with dummy names so that the company would know if you violated this rule.
You could re-purchase this list after it's use, for another "one time use"......well, it seems to me that something is not quite right about this sort of rule for a number of reasons.....any insight on this type of practice, and are all mailing companies like this ?
Thanks for your thoughts on this subject.
--Diane
Mr. X: Thanks for the question, Diane. Yes, all mailing lists are like this--you rent them, not buy them. It is quite ethical, and there are good reasons for it. First off, the list owner has spent quite a bit of time, energy and effort to build the list, and is
not going to let it go for a small amount. If the owner simply
sold it, then many list renters would resell the list, or send a mountain of garbage to it. Secondly, many direct marketers make their profit through list rental alone--they either break even or lose money to create the list, but make it up in list rental fees. That's their real business.
The good news is, that when you build a list, you can rent it and profit from it as well. List rental income is nice because all you do is send your list to a list broker, and get a check. There's no work on your part. If it's a good list, others will keep renting it, and pay you money every time they do so... and that's not a bad thing.
<< Home