To Rent or to Buy – That Is the Question.

A common question of first time email marketers is whether they should opt for List Rental or List Purchase. This article will outline the major differences between the two, as well as lay out some facts for both options.

List Rental

The main thing to keep in mind here is that the records will not be yours to keep, and you will most likely not have direct access to the actual data at all. You are simply paying for the right to use the data source’s targeted lists to complete your email campaigns, but at no time will you actually own any data.

This is a good option for those new to email marketing who may just be testing the waters. But rental is also a good option for the seasoned, frequent email marketer who would like to avoid the necessary labor involved with owning and maintaining the data itself.

Prices for List Rental should include strategy assistance, the use of the records in your campaign, the actual delivery of the email blast, and statistical tracking. At Thrive, we provide all of these services. Learn more about List Rental.

Facts about List Rental
1. You are not responsible for the deployment or logistics of your email campaign. The email service provider takes care of that for you.
2. No investment for data. Pay as you go with no long-term commitment. You do not need to maintain a mailing platform with IPs with good reputations, reporting and CAN-SPAM compliance.
3. Suppression/opt-out lists are managed for you. You are not required to do the work of collecting unsubscribes and cleaning your list of hard bounces. This should also be managed for you by your email service provider.

Thrive’s 3% Open Rate Guarantee
In addition to everything mentioned above, Thrive offers a 3% Open Rate Guarantee on all of our email campaigns. If your campaign does not achieve at least a 3% open rate, we will rerun it at no additional cost until it does.

List Purchase

Purchasing records is a different process. While some companies, like Thrive, will email campaigns to purchased lists as an additional service, the purchase of a list is a separate process from the mailing or deployment. List purchase involves the actual transfer of ownership of the data itself.

This is a good option for individuals who intend to email the same targeted list long-term, or who may use additional data fields for other forms of marketing such as Direct mail, Fax and Telemarketing. While the purchasing of records may be a larger initial investment, the decreased cost of sending email campaigns to these records yourself (rather than continually renting the data) will eventually make up the difference and pay for itself.

Prices for list purchase should include the actual list of records, including all fields of data available for each record.

Facts about List Purchase
1. You are responsible for the deployment, logistics, and optimization of your e-mail campaign. However, if you do not have the bandwidth or software necessary to send a large blast while staying compliant with commercial e-mailing laws, or if you are unsure of how to optimize your campaign so that you reach more in-boxes, you can hire an email service provider to send your campaign for you.
2. While some companies (like Thrive) will supply you with a suppression list after campaign completions, you are ultimately responsible for the maintenance of your purchased list. Because the data is now in your hands, the cleanliness and updating of that list is your responsibility.

Thrive’s 95% Email Accuracy Guarantee
Thrive offers a 95% Email Accuracy Guarantee. If you mail to your entire purchased list within 30 days of purchase, and you receive more than 5% hard bounces from the mailing, we will happily replace those records, provide you with a prorated refund, or a credit towards another purchase.

If you have any questions…
About which option is right for your marketing goals, please don’t hesitate to contact one of our friendly and helpful Marketing Strategists:

Call Toll-free – 866.673.7004
or Email us at inquiries@thrivemg.com