The Email Appending Cheat Sheet: How to make sure that your eAppend is going well

Email marketing is not a new concept and its popularity is not ebbing. In fact almost 59% marketers agree that emails are the best way of generating revenue (Source: HubSpot). The statistics are unending – with each revealing a new side of email marketing. As a marketer therefore the question to you is – How well placed are you with your email marketing strategy? Wait – to have a successful email marketing campaign, you will first need email lists. But as with many marketers what they have is an ordinary marketing database that has been in use for years. How about updating that database? That’s why email appending is mandatory. What is Email Appending? Email appending is an accepted marketing practice, where an old customer list with phone number, mailing address, name, company name and other details is matched with the vendor database to add missing email addresses and update other contact details. Your database needs appending – that’s for sure. But with so many email appending companies in the market it is necessary for you to select the right one to make sure your appending is going good. Keep this Email Appending Cheat Sheet handy – we promise it will be of benefit to you:

• Start with finding out the vendor’s market credibility: This is the digital era and if you are looking carefully, you will find reviews easily. Your email appending service provider will be indirectly playing a key role in your campaign’s success. So make sure that you research on his market reputation and credibility first.
• Select the vendor for his service and not the price quoted: It’s human nature to go for a more economical deal – or even go for the most exorbitant deal. But don’t make that mistake. In business e-mail appending pricing is not always proportional to quality. You should first start by requesting a quote from 5-7 different vendors to understand the standard pricing module. Remember, email appending price is based on the number of records appended. So, if you have a quality customer list that you are sharing with your vendor, there is little reason to pay exorbitantly for it.
• Your vendor should agree to provide Opt-in Emails addresses: Opt-in emails are always preferred. This means that the receiver has agreed to hear from you, implying his interest in your brand, services and products. Considering that billions of emails are being sent every day, it is better to send solicited and targeted emails than bulk mails that will deliver no results. Opt-ins moreover will salvage your brand and sender reputation as well. And this requires adhering by CAN-SPAM rules as well.
• Enquire about the validity of the Email List: It is known that business email addresses have short shelf life. People change jobs, location, contact details etc. This means that when you invest in email appending services make sure that your acquired lists are valid for at least 6 months.
• How long should the Email Appending Process take: This is important because you will have to time your b2b campaigns accordingly. Most vendors will take 3 to 7 days to complete the entire process. If it however takes longer, check with the vendor on its progress (this usually happens if opt-ins and data-cleansing is required).
Now is the time for you therefore to go ahead with eAppend on your database. Your list is obsolete and you need to make your move now!