Shake Some Leads Out of that Trade Magazine List

If you want to build up your e-mail list and acquire new prospects, renting other subscriber lists can be a good way to take advantage of an already targeted, qualified list. But what can you offer that will interest them?

Industrial oven manufacturer Despatch had a lot of good content on its Web site, including a specification guide for choosing between "batch" ovens and "continuous process" ovens, a downloadable article on the same topic, and an online tool for analyzing what type of oven the customer needs.

Getting customers and prospects to see the difference between these types of ovens was a key focus and the company wanted to try sending "an e-mail ad" to one of their trade magazine's subscribers by renting the publisher's e-mail list.

Assuming the subscribers were probably more interested in editorial content than ads, PSB suggested taking a more information-oriented approach, providing the pros and cons of the two oven types (Despatch sells both). And people responding to an information offer typically prove to be more qualified leads than those seeking a free giveaway. The resulting e-mail appeared very newsletter-like with a selection of downloadable information (receiving the guide required registration) and a link to the online analysis tool.

The one-time e-mailer resulted in more than 70 leads for the company from people ordering the guide. By leveraging their existing information content and renting a credible list, Despatch executed the entire program for approximately $6,500. That is roughly $95 per lead. If Despatch were to convert only one lead, the ROI would be 1400%, assuming a $100,000 purchase.