Why NOT to buy an email list
Email is a critical factor in any e-comm brand’s digital marketing strategy. In a time of rapidly changing social algorithms, you can count on your brand’s emails to land exactly where you want them to: directly in customer’s inboxes, where you (hopefully) have their one-on-one attention.
The only problem? Building a robust email list is - famously - really hard to do. I’ve had several clients recently inquire about buying email lists as a potential solution - and, at first glance, I sort of understand where they’re coming from. Buying an email list seems on the surface like a rapid-fire way to build a list of reliable customers.
Except it doesn’t actually work that way at all. In fact, you can do your brand much more harm than good by purchasing an email list. Let me say it again, for the people in the back: buying an email list is always, always a bad idea.
Don’t believe me? Let’s break down all the reasons buying an email list isn’t going to work for your ecommerce brand. And after that, don’t worry, I won’t leave you hanging! I have a ton of useful resources to help you build your email marketing strategy the right way 😉
Email marketing is all about engagement
Buying an email list sounds like a good idea if you think a larger number of recipients = marketing success. In reality, you may think you want a big list - but what you really want is an engaged list.
Email marketing works when customers feel bought in - and engaged with - your brand. Customers make sales when you’ve nurtured a reciprocal relationship with them - which can often take time - and then send them smart, well-targeted content that they care about. You literally can’t establish a relationship like this with random people who you’ve added to your list without consent.
You can’t personalize messages to random people
In an increasingly competitive retail market, consumers are savvier than ever about where they spend their money. This means that brands have to be smart about the kinds of content they send via email. We’re moving towards a marketing ecosystem where customization is key, and shoppers almost expect a certain amount of customized messaging.
Guess who you can’t customize messages to? Random emails that you bought. Successful email marketing - in 2024 and beyond - relies on knowing what your customers like to buy, when they like to buy it, and (ideally) even more so that you can send them hyper-personalized messages that build brand loyalty. Unfortunately, the only way you can get to that point is engaging with customers who actually want to get your emails.
You’ll destroy your deliverability
Hopefully I’ve sold you on the more intangible reasons why you don’t want to send emails to random people. Now, let’s move on to some harder facts about what actually happens when you begin sending out emails to people who didn’t sign up for your list.
Your email list’s deliverability score is determined in large part by how many of the emails you send bounce, or are marked as spam. If spam and/or bounce rates get too high, your list’s deliverability will be impacted - meaning emails will start diverting to user’s spam folders. If you send messages to a purchased list, you’re almost guaranteeing your deliverability score will be ruined. Why? Because - as mentioned above - shoppers are smart. They know which emails they did and didn’t consent to, and they aren’t afraid to call out spam when they see it. (More on this below in the reputation section!)
Additionally, purchased lists tend to contain lots of out-of-date email addresses. Messages sent to old email bounce automatically - meaning they get sent to no one, and they kill your list’s bounce rate. It’s really a lose-lose.
In February ‘24, Gmail and Yahoo released new deliverability requirements that crack down even harder than ever on marketer’s spam and bounce rates. This means it’s more important than ever to maintain top-notch deliverability standards - and you really can’t do that if you’re sending to a purchased email list.
Want to learn more about deliverability? Check out my article on email deliverability best practices.
You can harm your brand reputation
This one’s pretty self-explanatory, but - people do talk. I know that, when I receive unsolicited emails, I remember the brand that sent them to me, and keep a grudge against that brand close to my heart for a long, long time. Even people who are more sane than I am do notice when they receive spammy emails - and they’ll complain to their friends.
Emailing random people is a waste of resources
Sending bulk emails is already expensive. Why would you want to pay even more money to (essentially) send emails to no one? When you buy an email list, it’s almost guaranteed that 30%+ of the emails will be out of date or no longer in use. This means that, even after you’ve already spent money on the list, you’re going to spend even more money to send emails out to no one. Save your time, money and resources by sending emails only to the customers who want them.
It’s illegal (in many places) - and platforms can ban you
In the EU, sending emails to people who haven’t subscribed to your list is actually illegal, per GDPR (aka General Data Protection Regulation) policy. Similar policies apply in Canada.
In the States, things are a little murkier - the CAN-SPAM act (2003) designates selling email lists as illegal, but doesn’t actually prevent users from sending mail to purchased lists. That said, US law does specifically prohibit people from sending spam messages, so take that how you will.
Legality aside, many email service providers - including Klaviyo and Mailchimp - explicitly ban the use of purchased email lists. This means that, even if you aren’t technically breaking a law in your home country, you could still get yourself permanently banned from your brand’s email marketing platform. That would mean a lengthy (and often expensive!) transition to a new provider - which is no fun at all.
List-building resources
I love this case study from Claire Witz, which perfectly sums up why buying an email list is such a bad idea. Claire’s client purchased a list of 103,000 contacts, and after list cleanup and sending a lead magnet campaign, they only successfully converted fifty (50) leads. For reference - that’s a .004% conversion rate. If that doesn’t sum up how pointless it is to buy email lists, I’m not sure what else could.
Building a quality email list isn’t easy, but ultimately, it’s the only way. Don’t let this discourage you, though! I’ve got tons of resources to help you on your list-building journey.
Want to start building your brand’s email list? Check out my guide to flows versus campaigns for e-comm brands. Next, check out my article on designing emails that convert.
Ready to dive deeper into email marketing and improve conversion rates? My guide to email segmentation is a great bet.
Have questions? Need help building your email list the right way? Get in touch. I answer all messages personally.
