Email and Lead Generation
Oct 03 2007
I was on a panel last week in NYC at OMMA East with Ogilvy and ReturnPath and the question is email a lead generation system came up. I know it is and there are good ways to do it with refer a friend campaigns, contests and forward to a friend systems, but I am always a little leary of email list rentals. Now not for any reason of true measure, but I just have a problem with getting emails that I have not opted in to. It might just be me as many of our clients use this technnique to drive new subscribers successfully. Stephanie Miller at ReturnPath was quick to point out how well it works when you use reputable 3rd party list partners and do it right. I would agree with her, but it just isn’t my main focus with growing the email opt in. I am going to trust that she reads this and responds with her take on the way email lists rentals work and what to vet in a list rental partner. Might help all of us a bit here.
I do believe 100% in direct mail to a landing page with our PIN coding system. I know this works, has a better “feel” or trust level to me and has helped many of our clients grow their opt in databases.
What works for you? And do you like the practice of 3rd party list rentals?
Published in B2B E-Mail Marketing, Best Practices, Lead Capture on Wednesday, October 3rd, 2007
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October 4th, 2007 at 5:50 am
Hello Dylan and good readers of the blog. I’m happy to jump in and give some context to how email list rental can be an important and powerful part of an online acquisition plan.
First, I encourage everyone to let go of their 1999-perceptions that somehow email acquisition doesn’t work. The world is a lot different now.
Business is done in the inbox. Your offer makes an impact there. Consumers spend more time in their inbox than anywhere else, including search. Your offer makes and impact there, too.
1. Dylan, you can rest your fears. Email list rental that is worth doing IS opt in. In fact, it’s imperative when you vet your potential partners that you know exactly what the subscriber experience is - make sure you can sign up and see the type of messages you get. Be sure you want your brand to be associated with this experience.
Vet your partners carefully. Be careful not to oversaturate in any week or month (pace your mailings across multiple weeks), in order to protect your Sender Reputation.
2. Email list rental is a great complement to search and online advertising. It gives you the reach that you need to pull in prospects. Research shows that subscribers recruited through email are 25%+ MORE active and responsive to your future email messages. That makes sense - when they see your initial offer through email, they are by nature active email readers and clickers.
3. Test test and test your offer to optimize response. What you send to your house file likely won’t work - these are prospects. Consider that you get about 15 seconds to get the close. Lower the bar to commitment and you will see a higher response rate - then close to sale through follow up emails. Inviting folks to attend a prospecting event (webinar, whitepaper, etc) or to sign up for your email program is a great way to start a new email relationship.
There is no mystery here - just like any demand generation marketing, an understanding of the prospect experience will help you fully tap this opportunity as part of your mix.
Look forward to feedback and questions!
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thanks Stepahnie for your comments. I knew you would not lurk out there. If any of you need any help I would point you toward the ReturnPath team in a heartbeat. I did send someone there yesterday just for this type of need as I really trust them with this work.
October 9th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
Stephanie and Dylan -
Before I go into my question below, is it fair to say that 3rd party list rentals and “partner” emails are the same? If so, how do your recommend clients brand these 3rd party (partner) emails?
For example…I am working with Client A who is allowing Client B to send a promotional message to the house file of Client A. Does the message that Client A sends (on behalf of Client B) look like a message coming from Client B? Or, is it a message from Client A highlighting the service/offer of Client B? What about unsubscribes? When the subscriber opts-out, are they opting out of Client A emails or Client B or both?
dj at bronto
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I will let Stephanie the “Queen of All Lists” respond in her infinite wisdom. Thanks DJ
October 16th, 2007 at 8:10 am
Well, Queen of all Lists is not exactly how I would refer to myself, but thanks for the great question, DJ!
You’re asking a few different things, so let me see if I can address them simply.
a) If you define “partner” emails as ones you send on behalf of internal partners, and 3rd Party Emails as ones you rent from other list owners (like the Postmaster Network or MyPoints) then, no, they are totally different. But the fundamentals are the same. Which brings me to..
b) The key to successful “partner” offers as you describe it is to respect the subscriber. The owner of the permission grant (Client A in your case) sends the message and must make sure that the offer is presented in compliance with the brand and program promise. So if subscribers to Client A’s file think they are getting only a newsletter from Client A, and all of the sudden they start to get info from Client A about other products and services, they might not apreciate or value that - which will depress response to all Client A mailings and risk ISP complaints (deliverability failure!) and spike unsubscribe requests. In my book, not worth it.
If subscribers to Client A’s file gave permission to receive offers from other companies that Client A likes, then they will be expecting to receive them and might respond to such offers with interest, or at least not revolt.
Regardless, the message should both technically (the from address and IP) and figuratively (the friendly from address) come from Client A. Client A holds the permission and so the message is coming and looks like it’s coming from them.
c) The unsubscribes go to Client A as well, although if Client B wants to also include an unsubscribe link that might be a good service to subscribers. CAN SPAM is slightly ambiguous on this point, so while the Sender (Client A) unsub is required but there is debate as to whether the “advertiser” (Client B here) also has to include an unsub.
Alternately If Client A wants to promote Client B in their newsletters, rather than sending a full page ad, that might be a way to co-market and avoid any hit on subscriber satisfaction or deliverability.
Hope that helps!
- Stephanie