Whether you run a business or looking to get started doing so, it is important to understand how marketing can help you succeed. Thanks to the internet people from all over the world can successfully start a business for next to nothing. A marketing platform that worked very well in the past but is fraught with all sorts of perils today is email marketing lists.
You may have seen advertisements online touting email marketing lists as a great way to quickly build an audience of consumers wishing to purchase your products and services.
But often times what they don’t tell you is where they sourced these email marketing lists. For all you know, these emails could be outdated, it may be spam, and a large collection of them may be from offers where they had to sign up for something. None of these emails would do you any good unless they have an interest in your products and services.
Now that you are aware of the perils of buying email marketing lists, it is important to do more research in order to find out which companies selling these lists are legitimate.
The only way to really find out about the quality of the lists is to research the company itself. You can do that by reading online reviews from customers who have actually used their services. Quickly you will find out that the majority of these email marketing lists are universal in nature, meaning they most likely have no interest in your niche. Some may, but the majority won’t.
Be aware of any company that offers a test run of their email marketing lists because it can be a ruse to get you to buy a bigger package. The first email marketing list they send might be specifically tailored to people who have an interest in your products and services, but then after you buy a much bigger list you quickly find out nobody is purchasing anything. The only thing that is happening is people are coming to your website and eating up your bandwidth.
When buying email marketing lists it is important to note that people today are not keen on receiving spam. In fact, many will report you to the internet service providers if they receive too much spam and that may have dire consequences. Your website may get shut down if you are suspected of sending out spam.
In order to ensure that you are buying email marketing lists that are quality, it is important to ask the company how their lists are sourced. Many email marketing companies today will have people actively opt-in to their lists. This means that the person joining the list has agreed to be on. In the past, it wasn’t the case and companies would simply source these emails using dubious methods.
One way to ensure that you are buying quality email marketing lists is to see what other services the company offers. If it is a full-service marketing firm that specializes in areas such as search engine optimization, website design, social media marketing then you will have more confidence doing business with them. Usually, these types of companies follow the standard practices when comprising an email marketing list.
An important thing to note that today many consumers are wary of receiving emails from companies that they never heard of. Although the may have opted in at one time from the company supplying the list, it may give them pause to click on the link to your website. However, if they do have an interest in the types of products and services you offer there is a good chance they may click on your email.
Shop around and look at different companies to see what prices they charge. If the prices seem too good to be true, meaning you get thousands of emails for little money, there is an excellent chance that you will receive a very small response.
Don’t be fooled by the amount of traffic you get, but instead judge an email marketing campaign by how many conversions you made. For every email that is sent, there is a certain percentage of people who immediately send it to their trash bin. But then you have those who are curious and will go to your website to take a look at what you have to offer. In the end, all that matters is the conversion rate, meaning how many people actually purchased something at your site.
Remember that website traffic does not mean that the email marketing lists are successful. What you want is highly relevant traffic of people who have a need for what you are selling, otherwise what good is the email marketing list? You just wasted your money on a list that you probably could have gotten yourself for free or using a program that gathers emails.
The best advice that you can receive when looking to buy email marketing lists is to deal with a reputable company. A company with a good reputation will break down the email lists into specific niches. Although this is much more costly, the return on your investment will be well worth the extra price that you pay for this list.
In the end, it is always better to develop your own email marketing list of consumers that have opted in on your website. With the power of social media today, anyone can quickly build up a loyal customer base. Follow these tips to help you make a wise decision on which email marketing lists are right for you.