Does cold email really work anymore?  My immediate response would be no.  The results I am seeing from the point of view of engagement and conversion have steadily reduced over time, to a point now where I am loathed to part with budget for cold email lists.  If you’re looking for datasets with substantial volume, you are forced to look at the incentivised lists that are built with 3rd party data sales in mind.  While the cost of these is low (often less than £10 CPM) the results are less than inspiring.  In my view, the database owners turn their bases far too frequently and, on the whole, are prepared to sell their data to anyone who wants it. 

So, is that it, should we stop buying 3rd party email lists altogether?  Well, maybe not.  Obviously if you can collect your own data then it should always give you a better return than buying in data.  That said, I concede that not all marketers have huge in-house databases and numerous touchpoints both on and offline where they can collect data.  Therefore, there is still a place for email lists if you do it properly.  Rather than concentrating on the volume lead datasets I mentioned earlier, it is the more niche files that will provide the return.  If email data sales are an additional revenue stream to a business rather than their core business then they will usually take more care of their customers and have tighter control over what and when marketing communications are sent to them.  Try and find databases where there is a brand fit with your product or service and take advantage of co-branded activity that allows you to leverage the data owner’s brand and benefit from an implied endorsement. 

If the niche files don’t provide you with the volume that you need, then there are ways to try to get the more generic datasets to work.  Rather than taking data on a pure CPM basis where you carry all the risk, negotiate with your suppliers to ensure that the risk is shared.  That is, look to pay on a hybrid CPA basis where you pay a nominal cost per thousand to cover the supplier’s media costs and a bounty on top for each conversion.  Calculate what an acceptable CPA is, then run a test and agree what the costs need to be to ensure that the media owner still makes their money and you get a decent ROI on your campaigns.

The days of stack it high and sell it cheap are definitely over, but buying email data doesn’t have to leave a sour taste in your mouth if you look around for the right sources and ensure that the payment model used doesn’t leave all the risk with the client if things do go wrong.

Rupert Harrison
Customer Marketing Planner
News International