More and more direct marketers are choosing to experiment with email campaigns in the process of converting contacts into customers, and for good reason: According to some studies, email-only advertising can outperform direct mail-only initiatives in terms of ROI by up to 95 times. However, when businesses increase their use of email marketing, they frequently find that they have a large database of postal addresses but just a small number of email addresses.
Instead of renting a list or purchasing leads, which take longer and result in lower-quality results, the email appending services can match up postal addresses with legitimate email addresses, allowing you to quickly generate an email list from your customer files. The implementation of an email append solution for your direct marketing, however, can be done incorrectly.
Five “don’ts” of using an email append service
Don’t include the names and addresses of clients or potential clients with whom you don’t already have a working relationship. Only give out a list of clients who are still doing business with you. Sending emails to people who are unfamiliar with your business or who haven’t connected with it in a while will result in complaints and lower response rates than you had planned.
Don’t pick a service purely on the basis of cost. By purchasing inexpensive data, are you prepared to run the risk of being banned or having your delivery rate suffer? Work with a service that has put the time and effort into building a strong, valid list; don’t spend your time with one that hasn’t.
The names of people who have unsubscribed from your email list should not be added. Only provide a separate list of opt-out subscribers so your vendor may use it to suppress overlapping results and refrain from emailing those who have already asked not to be contacted. This is necessary for CAN-SPAM compliance.
Never include a commercial pitch in an email asking for permission. Customers who have been matched with you should receive an introduction email asking them to opt-in to your email list. The message should emphasise the advantages of being on your list, offer indications about upcoming content that will interest them, and offer a simple method for them to unsubscribe.
Do not handle attached emails the same way. Customers who have been appended are not used to getting your emails. Start them off slowly after they’re on your list with personalised welcome messages or offers that persuade them of the importance of subscribing. Append shouldn’t be used in place of natural list-building techniques, but it should provide a good return on investment.
