Summary
Experts, marketers, and documentation across various sources overwhelmingly advise against purchasing email lists for local businesses. It's considered a waste of resources, damages sender reputation, and violates ethical and legal guidelines. Purchased lists often contain inaccurate data and lead to low engagement. Sending unsolicited emails to these lists is often considered spam and can result in blacklisting, legal penalties (GDPR, CAN-SPAM), and account suspension by ESPs. Building an organic, opt-in list is consistently recommended as the ethical and effective alternative.
Key findings
- Reputation Damage: Purchasing lists harms sender reputation, leading to deliverability problems and potential blacklisting.
- Legal Violations: Using purchased lists can violate GDPR and CAN-SPAM regulations.
- Ethical Concerns: Buying lists raises ethical concerns due to lack of recipient consent.
- Low Engagement: Engagement from purchased lists is typically low due to non-opt-in recipients.
- Data Inaccuracy: Purchased lists often contain inaccurate or outdated email addresses.
- ESP Policy Violations: Most ESPs prohibit the use of purchased lists, leading to potential account suspension.
- Waste of Resources: It's generally considered a waste of time, energy, and money.
Key considerations
- Organic List Building: Focus on building an organic, opt-in email list through valuable content and lead magnets.
- Ethical Marketing Practices: Prioritize ethical marketing by obtaining consent and respecting recipient preferences.
- Legal Compliance: Ensure compliance with GDPR, CAN-SPAM, and other relevant regulations.
- List Hygiene: Maintain a clean and engaged list by removing inactive subscribers.
- Audience Targeting: Focus on reaching your target audience by employing local list-building techniques.
What email marketers say
11 marketer opinions
The consensus among email marketers is that purchasing email lists is not a good strategy for local businesses. It is considered a waste of time, energy, and money. Buying lists can damage sender reputation, leading to deliverability issues and potential blacklisting. Purchased lists often contain outdated or inaccurate email addresses, resulting in high bounce rates. Recipients on purchased lists have not given permission to be emailed, leading to spam complaints and potential legal issues. ESPs typically have strict policies against using purchased lists, and doing so can result in account suspension or termination. Engagement from purchased lists is typically low, as recipients haven't opted in and are unlikely to be interested. Local businesses need to target the right audience, and buying lists often results in reaching people outside the target area. Building an email list organically ensures that you are reaching people who are genuinely interested in your business. Ethical email marketing practices, which include obtaining consent, are essential for building trust and credibility.
Key opinions
- Damaged Reputation: Buying email lists can harm your sender reputation, leading to deliverability problems and potential blacklisting.
- Low Engagement: Engagement from purchased lists is typically very low, as recipients haven't opted in and are unlikely to be interested.
- Inaccurate Data: Purchased lists often contain outdated or inaccurate email addresses, leading to high bounce rates.
- Policy Violations: Most ESPs have strict policies against using purchased lists, and violating these policies can result in account suspension or termination.
- Legal Issues: Sending emails to individuals without their consent can lead to spam complaints and potential legal issues.
- Ineffective Targeting: For local businesses, buying lists often results in reaching people outside the target area, making it an ineffective strategy.
Key considerations
- Opt-In Methods: Building your email list organically through opt-in methods is the only viable way to ensure you are reaching interested and engaged subscribers.
- Ethical Practices: Ethical email marketing practices, which include obtaining consent, providing valuable content, and making it easy to unsubscribe, are essential for building trust and credibility.
- Compliance: Adhering to ESP policies and legal regulations like GDPR and CAN-SPAM is crucial for maintaining a positive sender reputation and avoiding penalties.
- Targeted Audience: Focus on building a local email list through community events, partnerships, and online sign-up forms to ensure that you're reaching people who are likely to become customers.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Reddit user u/EmailMarketingGuru responds by saying that while the initial thought of reaching a large audience quickly by buying email lists is appealing, the downsides far outweigh any potential benefits. They suggest that the engagement from purchased lists is typically very low, as recipients haven't opted in and are unlikely to be interested in your product or service.
13 Jul 2021 - Reddit
Marketer view
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor shares that buying email lists can damage your brand's reputation, as recipients may perceive your emails as intrusive or spammy. Building a positive brand image is crucial for long-term success, and using ethical email marketing practices is essential for maintaining customer trust.
21 Nov 2021 - Campaign Monitor
What the experts say
4 expert opinions
Experts strongly advise against purchasing email lists for local businesses. They highlight that buying lists violates ESP contracts, provides low-quality contacts, and damages your sender reputation, potentially marking you as a spammer. Ethical considerations are paramount, as recipients haven't consented to receive emails. Sending to purchased lists is not permission-based marketing, and it's crucial to have direct consent from users. If a client insists on buying lists despite expert advice, it may be best to disengage from them.
Key opinions
- ESP Violations: Purchasing email lists violates ESP contracts, leading to potential account suspension.
- Reputation Damage: Buying lists can damage your reputation by making you appear as a spammer.
- Ethical Concerns: It raises ethical concerns because recipients haven't explicitly consented to receive emails.
- No Permission: Sending to purchased lists is not considered permission-based marketing.
Key considerations
- Direct Consent: Always obtain direct consent from users before sending emails.
- Ethical Marketing: Prioritize ethical marketing practices to maintain a positive brand reputation.
- Client Guidance: If a client insists on buying lists against expert advice, consider disengaging from the client.
- List Quality: Purchased lists are often low quality, leading to poor engagement and wasted resources.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks explains why you shouldn't buy email lists. It violates ESP contracts, the lists are often low quality, and it can damage your reputation by making you appear as a spammer.
26 Aug 2022 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from SpamResource explains that buying email lists raises significant ethical concerns, as recipients haven't explicitly consented to receive emails, leading to potential privacy violations and reputational damage for the sender.
10 Jan 2025 - SpamResource
What the documentation says
4 technical articles
Documentation from various sources consistently advises against purchasing email lists. Spamhaus identifies sending unsolicited emails to purchased lists as spam, which can damage domain reputation and lead to blocking. GDPR regulations are potentially violated due to the lack of explicit consent, resulting in significant fines. The CAN-SPAM Act's opt-out requirements may not be sufficient to ensure compliance when using purchased lists. Microsoft emphasizes the importance of maintaining a clean and engaged list for optimal deliverability, which is contrary to the nature of purchased lists.
Key findings
- Spam Identification: Sending unsolicited emails to purchased lists is considered spam.
- Reputation Damage: Using purchased lists can damage your domain's reputation.
- GDPR Violation: Purchased lists can violate GDPR regulations due to lack of explicit consent.
- CAN-SPAM Inadequacy: CAN-SPAM's opt-out provisions may not be sufficient to ensure compliance with purchased lists.
- Poor Deliverability: Purchased lists contradict best practices for maintaining a clean and engaged email list, hurting deliverability.
Key considerations
- Consent Requirements: Ensure explicit consent is obtained from recipients before sending emails to comply with GDPR.
- List Hygiene: Maintain a clean and engaged email list by removing inactive subscribers.
- Reputation Monitoring: Actively monitor your domain's reputation to avoid being flagged as a spammer.
- Compliance Adherence: Fully comply with the CAN-SPAM Act, but recognize its limitations when using purchased lists.
Technical article
Documentation from Microsoft explains that maintaining a clean and engaged email list is crucial for improving email deliverability. Regularly remove inactive subscribers and encourage recipients to update their preferences to ensure that your emails are reaching interested and active users.
25 May 2025 - Microsoft
Technical article
Documentation from Spamhaus explains that sending unsolicited emails to purchased lists is considered spam and can damage your domain's reputation. Spamhaus actively monitors and blocks domains that engage in spamming activities, which can prevent your emails from reaching legitimate recipients.
18 Feb 2022 - Spamhaus
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