A recent survey conducted by L.I.S.T. INCORPORATED has confirmed what most of you have been hearing – “The growth of email marketing will accelerate for the foreseeable future.”  We surveyed a sample of 100 plus business-to-business marketers in medium to large companies and found that over 80% of the respondents indicated that their use of third party email rental lists will increase over the prior twelve month period.  Despite the weak economy, these results are a strong indicator that marketing professionals will commit more of their budget dollars for email programs. 

The survey goes on to show that the growth will come partially at the expense of postal direct mail, where responses indicated flat to slightly down comparisons to the prior years period.  Average response rates for email campaigns are in many cases more cost effective than their postal counterparts.  We need to take into consideration the unprecedented economic, global conditions and their affect on postal campaigns to properly evaluate the long-term projections on the postal side.  We believe when the economy strengthens and marketing budgets improve postal direct mail will remain an important part of the business marketers’ strategic plan and we see the day in the near future where the contraction in spending will give way to significant postal commitments.

In the following report, L.I.S.T. INCORPORATED’s account managers will share their insights into the key aspects of the email campaigns they have worked on recently.  The Q&A format allows for easy navigation.  We suggest that you print and save this informative report for future reference.


Q:  What does opt-in and opt-out really mean?

A:  The email files that we rent to our clients are all PERMISSION BASED. The term   encompasses both opt-in and opt-out respondents to the list owners method of receiving permission to email third party offers. Acceptable opt-in respondents have checked a box manually or online authorizing the list owner (by indicating "yes") to send appropriate third party offers. Most opt-out respondents received a pre-checked acceptance box, which they must uncheck to decline receiving emails.

On the surface, the opt-out scenario appears to be a "softer" or more passive indicator of an individual's willingness to receive emails. This may be the case, but in most instances they receive a second message that verifies their status. At the very least, both opt-in or opt-out responses have the option to get removed from the list each time they receive a broadcast. Responsible list owners will always offer this option. It is important that the person receiving your message recognizes where the email originates. A "header" or "footer" will appear on the email to indicate the relationship.

Q:  What is the best timing for me to broadcast my message?

A:  We don't recommend sending messages during or immediately prior to holidays, long weekends or peak vacation times. Also, check your industry's event schedules and time your campaigns to be broadcasted when there will be little chance of conflicts. If your offer is time sensitive, you may want to have a good read on whether or not your competitors (in the case of webinars, seminars, etc.) have scheduled a similar event close to or at the same time as yours. Most marketers avoid emailing on Fridays, and some avoid Mondays. Tuesdays through Thursdays are the preferred times. We suggest early or mid morning broadcasts, which increase the probability of getting opened and read.

Q:  How long should my message be?

A:  For practical reasons you should keep your message to one page and in typical text messages fewer than 500 words. Be careful not to make the email too wordy and difficult to read through. Use bullets, asterisks and paragraphs to get your point across. Your message is an individual creative and it will vary the same way direct mail pieces differ. Try to keep the graphics from being too busy and keep away from anything that will be a distraction.

Q:  Should I use HTML? How many people see it?

A:  Most browsers accept HTML. HTML affects the main use of color and graphics that can grab the reader's attention in a way that text cannot.

Q:  What are the costs involved in renting email names?

A:  For Business-to-Business files email names can range anywhere from $100/M up to $500/M or more. Most of the lists that we work with fall into the $250/M - $450/M. Pricing based on volume is typically negotiable. This would include the cost to transmit the email. The minimum is typically 5,000 names. Consumer names will be priced lower from approximately $50/M - $200/M.

Q:  How should the FROM line read?

A:  This will be decided by the list owners. Some may insist that their own identifiers go in the FROM line and others allow the mailers' name instead. Unless your company is highly recognizable - the rule of thumb is to put the name of the list owner or publisher in the FROM line.

Q:  Do I get the email names or a printout of them for follow-up?

A:  No. Email names will not be sent directly to the mailer, any mail house. The reason is that the names we rent are "permission based" - the names must always be handled by the list owner. Doing otherwise would negate their permission-based status. This way the recipient will recognize the source of the email. If you use click-through tracking you will be able to collect information about your prospects. Once they register, buy, etc., they have become your lead. If you place a code in the URL, you will be able to track the performance of each individual list.

Q:  How much time does the order process take?

A:  It's always best to leave 2 weeks or more, especially if this is a first campaign. Once your creative is ready, we will send it to the list owner for their approval. They may have you change your subject line or may require you to have a privacy statement on your website before given approval.

Once approved - the TESTING process begins. Typically two free tests are allowed with no extra charges. Re-tests give you an opportunity to make any changes to your copy. Once the test is approved - your blast date is set and the final email will go out on that date. Most list owners limit the number of emails their subscribers can receive in a given day, week or month. This ultimately lead to delays in scheduling, so please plan ahead.

Bottom line: the clock starts ticking once the final creative has been sent to us.

Q:  What kind of response rate can I look forward to doing email 
            vs. direct mail?

A:  Response rates will vary as much as they do with direct mail or telemarketing. Three factors that can influence any campaign are the list , the timing, and the creative HTML/text. When email first started - the response rates were very high. Due to proliferation of email - rates have tapered off. Rates are typically 1 - 3%. Remember - you will not have the cost of postage, printing and creative associated with the direct mail Program.