We all love the idea of a quick fix, don’t we? It's the reason fad diets are so wildly popular. The promise of "doing xyz," and getting "abc in no time!" can be quite tempting.
Think about driving leads for your business: If you could just have targeted email lists like, physicians with a given specialty, the material managers at every hospital in the country, the administrators of any and every known physician practice there is...voila. All your problems would be solved, right? Life just got easier...seemingly...
Listen to your gut.
If you’re working with a reputable inbound marketer, they won’t let you use a purchased email list. Why? You’re going to hurt your goal of gaining new customers and qualified leads.
We actually had a client who lied to us about the lists they submitted to our team. We questioned it several times. The inbound spidey sense of Katie Gutwein was going off like a fire siren! Sure enough, the majority of the emails on the lists were bad, meaning, invalid emails. This client paid a ton of money, and they lost!
Earned Value
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If you have a good email list, it’s because you've earned it. You're not about to sell it to someone else, and diminish the value.
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If you didn’t earn it, don’t pay for someone else's.
If I don’t know you, I don’t want you emailing me.
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Hint: The people on the purchased lists do not know you!
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I want to hear from you, if I’m familiar with your brand, I researched and gave you my email address! I’ve then opted-in to hear from you. Your prospects are no different.
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If I don’t know you, your name is “Spam” I will block you!
Protecting Your Reputation
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Have you heard of Honeypots? Wikipedia explains them as, "a trap set to detect, deflect, or in some manner counteract attempts at unauthorized use of information systems." Basically, you’re going to get caught as a spammer, because that list you purchased, yeah, it had a fake email implanted in the list.
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Spamtraps are used to detect a large bounce rate. How does the spamtrap know? Well, it may be an old email address, or it’s not a valid address yet, ironically, it's still receiving a lot of email.
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You don’t want to be labeled a spammer, do you? If you purchase a list, you have no way of knowing what emails are good, bad, old, overused, valid, etc.
How do you avoid being a Spammer?
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Invest in your business the right way.
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Be a trusted resource: Your prospects are going to opt-in for resources they value. If you are providing valuable resources, they will find you!
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Provide great content and share it!
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Protect your reputation: You’ve earned it.
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If you force yourself on a prospect too early, via email marketing, you’ll lose them. You wouldn’t over-aggressively call a prospect that wasn’t interested in your product or service, would you?
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There’s a better way to promote your business that will engage prospects, generate leads, and gain a reputation as a trusted resource.
COLD CALLING IS DEAD, whether it’s in purchasing an email list or picking up a phone.
You’ve invested a lot of blood sweat and tears into your business. You didn’t get where you are, cutting corners. Ask for help, research and seek direction from sources that know how to guide you: You’re worth it.
Image source: © Jan Beery
