Buying Email Leads

1. Determine WHY You Want to Buy Leads in the First Place: This is the first and most important question to ask yourself before you start buying email leads. You must know what you will do with the leads. Are you trying to make more sales? Are you trying to get more people to visit your website? Or, are you trying to build your subscriber list?

2. Cheaper is not always better: That’s right, you get what you pay for. It’s natural to think that the cheapest leads are the best deal. This isn’t always the case. And the most expensive leads might not be the best deal either. It’s better to purchase a smaller batch from two separate companies, than one large batch from one lead company. That way you can split-test your results, to see which leads produce the best return on your investment.

3. Research the Company’s Reputation: Spend some time to research the company’s reputation, before buying email leads from them. Find out if they are part of the Better Business Bureau. Type in the name of the lead company plus the word scam to see what shows up in the search results. Look for testimonials on the website. Try to find other people who have used the lead service before you and give them a call.

4. Find out How Many Times the Leads Were Sold: Ask the lead company how many times the leads have been sold. You might not get the honest answer, but it’s good to ask anyway. Sometimes lead companies sell the same email leads to 10-20 different people. This is never a good thing (for you).

5. Ask about a Date and IP Stamp: Many bulk auto-responders require a date and IP stamp, to prove the leads gave you permission to contact them. Most auto-responders won’t let you import leads unless you have a date and time/IP stamp. Ask the lead company if the leads come with this information. If they don’t, don’t buy the leads.

6. Find out How the Leads Were Acquired: Ask the lead company how the leads were acquired. Were they people who purchased something? Did they visit a capture page and provide their name and email? Get as much detailed information as you can. You also want to make sure the leads are in a similar category as your business. For instance, if you have a coffee website, you want emails from people who like and buy coffee. You don't want generic leads.

7. Look for a Money Back Guarantee or Replacement: Ask the lead company if there is a money back guarantee, in case the leads aren’t responsive. At a minimum, ask the company if they replace bad email addresses. Chances are, if you purchase 10,000 email leads, you will probably have 500-700 bad emails. You want to make sure you can get free replacement email addresses as needed.

These are seven of my favorite tips on buying email leads. I must warn you ahead of time that you should read the CAN SPAM Act to make sure you don’t violate any laws with your email marketing efforts. Violations of the CAN SPAM Act can lead to stiff fines. In addition, sending emails to tens of thousands of people you don’t know is never a good business idea. It’s much better to generate your own leads, and keep in touch with them on a regular basis, compared to buying email leads.

Although buying email leads is very easy to do, it isn’t the most effective marketing strategy. If you are determined to buy leads, I highly recommend you follow the seven tips mentioned above. And make sure you read the CAN SPAM Act BEFORE you send out any mass emails. That way you don’t get yourself in trouble.

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