Email Campaign Software

The List Owner is normally the organisation which compiled/generated and now maintains a list or database from which your selection will be taken. Many List Owners will deal directly with the end user, although the vast majority will appoint an exclusive agent known as a List Manager. Most List Managers will have several list owners in their portfolio, often with complementary lists.

List Brokers are slightly different & can help with mailing list selections, etc. Recognised brokers have a commission-sharing agreement that enables each of them to assess any lists managed by any of the List Owners/List Managers. Since list brokers earn their fee by taking a commission from the list owner rather than the list buyer, you should not pay any more than if you were to source each list directly.

Renting email addresses from 3rd parties can provide a quick route to targeted recipients, but it can become expensive very quickly. You should also be aware that most reputable list providers will handle the delivery of your message for you, rather than disclosing the list to you.

Under no circumstances should you ever purchase a CD of millions of email addresses - these emails have been harvested and you will be spamming if you contact anyone on these lists.

Since list sales reps usually work on commissions, they may try to sell you as many names as possible, instead of the best names for your particular campaign. However, you should remember that it's list quality, not quantity, that counts.

List Owners and List managers will rarely, if ever, recommend a list outside of their portfolios.

Note: You may also come across email lists for sale. If you don't want to lose your online business, take our advice and walk away.

Mailing lists can be purchased or rented from a variety of sources, chiefly list owners, list managers and list brokers.

You should also ensure that any lists you rent are DOUBLE OPT-IN (ie. the recipients have requested AND confirmed their wish to receive the email). A typical response rate from a rented list is 1%.

[Editor's note: Email marketing works best when it is to an in-house list, particularly when used as a customer retention tool. We do not recommend email list rental or purchase. This section is included for completeness only.]