Questions to ask when buying email data

In order to reduce the risk of being viewed as a spammer with potentially damaging consequences such as being blacklisted by your ISP and suspension of all your online operations, several pertinent questions should be put to your supplier. In my opinion, numbers 1-3 are essential with 4 and 5 being desirable.

1. Are the addresses collected in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Direct Marketing Association's DM Code of Practice

2. Have the recipients agreed to their details being passed to third party organizations for direct marketing purposes - essential for non-corporates

3. How often are they updated/verified

4. Does the supplier have a deliverability guarantee

5. Can the email address be linked to a qualified trading postal address

Also ask whether the supplier will release the data if your preferred option is to manage the campaign internally, as not all do.

Email marketing may be a cost-effective option, but buying data from un-qualified sources may result in damaging your brand and ultimately costing you business.
Julie Knight, Managing Director