How Much Do Email Marketing Lists Cost?

This is one of the most common questions that we hear from individuals who are new to email marketing: where can I buy an email marketing list and how much will it cost?

The common assumption is that the sequence of an email marketing campaign goes something like this:

1. Develop a pitch
2. Buy a supposedly “opt-in” mailing list (yeah right)
3. Send the pitch out to that list
4. Watch the sales roll in!

Every year thousands of companies follow this ill-conceived plan and fail miserably, because it simply is not an effective strategy. And then from that point on, they assume that email marketing simply doesn’t work, or at least doesn’t work for their product. But email marketing can be extraordinarily effective if you use a more sensible approach to planning your email campaigns.

The real question here should be: is there any point in buying an email marketing list? Personally, I wouldn’t purchase an email list at any cost. You can buy millions of email addresses from web scrapers and spam brokers, but it’ll end up costing you more than it makes you. If it makes you any money at all, which would surprise me.

I’ll ask you this question: when was the last time you received an unsolicited email that resulted in your doing business with that seller?

More likely, the fact that you received an unsolicited email made you less likely to ever deal with that company. The email tarnished their reputation. In your mind, and the minds of all the other millions of recipients of their spam, the company that sent you the unsolicited email is now on the same level as the Nigerian princes who keep offering you a percentage of their untold millions. So the only reason you should ever buy an email marketing list and send your own marketing information out to it is if you feel like spending money to damage your own reputation.

Instead, take the time to build up your own, fully qualified and unique email marketing list. You will find that people who have actually personally opted in to your own one-of-a-kind list will often be surprisingly responsive and engaged. Design an attractive email marketing subscription form, place it prominently on your web pages, and consider offering a compelling incentive for signing up. That’s how to succeed in email marketing.

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