By Debe Fennell, PR/JV Manager
In today’s world, the database list is a highly valued commodity that we spend a great deal of time building, maintaining, marketing to and protecting. There are many different levels of email list size and buyer activity among the affiliate and joint venture marketers. The one common denominator is that no one wants to give the real size of their list. We (yes, me too) all will squirm, disseminate, procrastinate, change the subject and sometimes, flat out lie to avoid giving the real number/size or our list. Why? Because there is no exact, pat answer to the question. If you ask my how many people I’m going to actually mail to, well that’s a different number than how big my list is. If you ask me how many of my list are active buyers, then that’s a different number. If the question is how many people are excluded because they are in an active program, well, that’s a different answer, too.
The real answer is that there are many variables involved in using your list properly, protecting your active clients and not over-taxing your list with offers they don’t want, and thus, keeping the number of unsubscribes to a minimum. The subject makes me laugh whenever it comes at me or if I have to be the inquirer. We all know the newest software systems can track pretty precisely and if the “sender” has inflated the number of sends, we’ll probably be able to see the disparity. But, still, it’s fun to observe the dance we all do to avoid the question… “what is the size of your database.”
Debe Fennell, a music industry veteran, recently managed PR and joint venture marketing for an international speaker, best-selling author. She is launching her own enterprise, Building Business Relationships That Work, to teach and consult about creating business relationships that are meaningful, productive and will last. In a unique presentation using herbs, gardening and cooking, she illustrates ways to grow and cultivate and harvest friendships in business.