Caveat Emptor: Beware of Purchasing Email Lists (or Any Other Data, for That Matter)

Before I wrote this article, I went back and forth: to share, or not to share. I am a consultant and trainer for nonprofit organizations, with significant experience helping clients make an impact to their communities. I’ve been doing this for over 15 years, and have been publishing electronic newsletters and other communications for just as long. Sharing my vulnerability with the world could impact my reputation as an expert, and cause people to question my judgment and capabilities. On the other hand, I could be helping others avoid the same mistake. I chose to share my experience and let the chips fall where they may.

One lesson I learned the hard way is to be careful when using purchased email lists or cold email lists that I have not used in a while when I want to do an email blast. I recently launched Nonprofit Utopia, the ideal community for emerging nonprofit leaders. I invited 25,000 people to join us using a popular social networking platform. These names were from a purchased list. As it turns out, the vast majority of the emails were not delivered, as many of the emails bounced (more than 6%), and it created a negative email reputation for me. Something similar happened when I used my own contact list, which had not been updated in a while. As a result, instead of adding what I’d hoped to have been up to 250 people to the community within a couple week’s time, assuming a 1% conversion rate, I am finding myself building community the old fashioned way — one…