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What to do with an old list of 100,000 people?

by Trent Brownrigg
19 replies
A few years ago I bought a co-registration list of 100,000 opportunity seekers from a very popular and well known co-reg company (at least it was at the time) and partnered up with another internet marketer to write a free course, paid product, etc... to send the list. We got an autoresponder that the company recommended because they allowed anyone who purchased from this particular company to import the lists.

Well, to make a long story short, things didn't work out as planned with the partnership. So I closed it down and moved on.

Today I was just going through some of my old folders sitting on my desktop and came across that list. I had forgotten all about it. But now it has me thinking again.

I'm sure many of the addresses no longer work or would no longer be interested in getting information about business opportunity related stuff. But out of 100,000 I assume there still has to be a lot that are.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for what to do with this list?

Should I just forget about it (again) and not do anything with it because it's too old now, or should I figure out a way to use it?

My guess is that it's probably a lost cause at this point but I would like to hear some opinions from members here.

Also, I have Aweber and I am pretty sure they don't allow you to import lists like this so I can't use them even if I wanted to. At least back when I got it they didn't. Maybe they have changed since then. I haven't checked recently.
#100 #list #people
  • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
    Trent,

    Even ignoring the questionable opt-in nature of the list, you're better off deleting it and forgetting about it.

    It's likely that 80% or more of them are no longer valid, which will get you a ton of bounces and blocked on any system that tracks percentages of bad addresses. The remaining deliverables will result in enough spam complaints to cause other problems. And they've probably been sold around to so many people that they ignore most mail.

    That's a big problem in the making, with very little (if any) noticeable upside.


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    • Profile picture of the author craigc1980
      Originally Posted by Paul Myers View Post

      Trent,

      Even ignoring the questionable opt-in nature of the list, you're better off deleting it and forgetting about it.

      It's likely that 80% or more of them are no longer valid, which will get you a ton of bounces and blocked on any system that tracks percentages of bad addresses. The remaining deliverables will result in enough spam complaints to cause other problems. And they've probably been sold around to so many people that they ignore most mail.

      That's a big problem in the making, with very little (if any) noticeable upside.


      Paul
      Exactly what Paul said. Great advice
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    • Profile picture of the author Trent Brownrigg
      Thanks Paul, that was pretty much the answer I was expecting to get and coming from you it must be right. So, I will just forget about it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Melanie Mendelson
    You can sell it to someone. Of course, disclose the fact that the list is old and it's origin.

    The odds are there is someone out there who'll buy it. And some money is better then nothing.
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  • Profile picture of the author Louise M.
    I agree with Paul. You should just forget about it. Things move fast, it's been years. You'll end up putting your energy and time in something that will not bring any positive results. It'll be seen as spamming by most of your list, that's for sure.

    Sorry it didn't work out as expected. Time to move on! That's what you already did
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  • Profile picture of the author RichardDean
    Hello,

    Trent

    Paul is right and with you using Aweber Delete it is a good ideal.

    Now, If you want to waste time and try something then this is what I would do
    if I have I had extra time.

    Break the list into small chunks, like 2000...

    Set up a new sign up in Aweber, load the small 2000 list at a time into some other email system, then send out a email for the new sign up giving something away worth while. make this clear where the email came from if you have ip records dates what site they went to and why you have their email... make this clear they are only going to be emailed once this is the last time, unless they resign up under the new Aweber double optin system.

    Try 10,000 emails 2,000 at a time see how many respond / bounce back so on...

    Other than that delete them and move on ....

    Hope that helps

    Richard
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    • Profile picture of the author Alfred Shelver
      I like that very open and honest and i know i would not report you as spam and i am sure a few people would sign up for the list and that way its no longer an old list and after that completely delete it.

      Originally Posted by RichardDean View Post

      Hello,

      Trent

      Paul is right and with you using Aweber Delete it is a good ideal.

      Now, If you want to waste time and try something then this is what I would do
      if I have I had extra time.

      Break the list into small chunks, like 2000...

      Set up a new sign up in Aweber, load the small 2000 list at a time into some other email system, then send out a email for the new sign up giving something away worth while. make this clear where the email came from if you have ip records dates what site they went to and why you have their email... make this clear they are only going to be emailed once this is the last time, unless they resign up under the new Aweber double optin system.

      Try 10,000 emails 2,000 at a time see how many respond / bounce back so on...

      Other than that delete them and move on ....

      Hope that helps

      Richard
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  • Profile picture of the author Josh T.
    Trent,
    There is always a tactful way to approach any situation. If it has been a few years, yes it is entirely possible that much of the list has either grown cold or left IM having never found that "magic bullet" that they were seeking.

    However, 100,000 is a really big number. Let's say 80% of them (as Paul suggested) are no longer valid. This means that 20,000 still are. If there was a way to add 20,000 people to your email list with a little bit of effort and creativity, would you do it?

    I would.

    It's a matter of presenting yourself effectively and building trust from the start...well, just like any other email list.
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  • Profile picture of the author deannatroupe
    I'd say delete and start over. Half of the people on the list probably don't even remember signing up.
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    • Profile picture of the author Rikki_Fawkes
      Originally Posted by deannatroupe View Post

      I'd say delete and start over. Half of the people on the list probably don't even remember signing up.
      Which means they probably won't buy a thing... though they might hit that "unsubscribe" link at the top/bottom of your email...
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    • Profile picture of the author ExRat
      Hi Melanie,

      You can sell it to someone. Of course, disclose the fact that the list is old and it's origin.

      The odds are there is someone out there who'll buy it. And some money is better then nothing.
      With respect -

      Considering the wise advice Paul gave above, I would say that in certain circumstances, 'some money' is not actually better than nothing.

      Unless of course the person didn't care about risking creating a reputation for themselves along the lines of 'happy to make peanuts for selling stuff that causes lots of people displeasure which then backfires disastrously on the person who purchased.'

      Is there any possibility that it could end up in the hands of someone unscrupulous who thought to themselves - 'Hey, I bought this old list off Trent so therefore if I send out this offer to the list under the name 'Trent Brownrigg' I'm more likely to get a better response, through the trust that Trent may have built up with these people in the past?'

      Again, in that scenario, 'nothing' might be much better than 'some money.'
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  • Profile picture of the author SKWeaver
    I wouldn't delete it! If only 1% of the names are good, that's 1,000 subscribers! And, I'll bet the percentage is higher than that. I'd use the auto-responder of the company you got the names from, put together a hot free report or give away a product with high perceived value, and add them to your AWeber list when they opt-in for the free offer. I had a small list of 200 that I neglected for about a year. I sent them an apologetic email with a hot freebie and over 50% responded. The ones who didn't, I of course deleted. NO WAY would I trash 100,000 names without giving it a chance.
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  • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
    I'd like to remind folks that sending mail to that list, even when it was "new," would almost certainly constitute spamming. Advocating spamming on this forum is a major No-No.

    Please consider that in the future before telling people to blast out emails to folks who haven't specifically asked for them.


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    • Profile picture of the author abednego
      Originally Posted by Paul Myers View Post

      I'd like to remind folks that sending mail to that list, even when it was "new," would almost certainly constitute spamming. Advocating spamming on this forum is a major No-No.

      Please consider that in the future before telling people to blast out emails to folks who haven't specifically asked for them.


      Paul
      I wouldn't go that far, to say that when it was "new" it would be spam. The users opted into the list looking for money making opportunities.
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      • Profile picture of the author Paul Myers
        I wouldn't go that far, to say that when it was "new" it would be spam. The users opted into the list looking for money making opportunities.
        Note the phrase "almost certainly." I've had a bit of experience with these sorts of "opt-in list providers," and they're rarely true opt-in. Not to mention that your ISP will usually not consider them opt-in unless they signed up specifically for your list, by name. And, most often, only on your site.

        But hey... You go play the game by what you think should happen. Find out the hard way. No skin off my nose.


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  • Profile picture of the author Trent Brownrigg
    Ok, thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I will take them into consideration and make a decision. Most likely just going to delete them and move on once again. Sounds to me like that's probably the wisest decision at this point.
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  • Profile picture of the author JTor
    If you really want to use this list anyway, I suggest you send an email asking if they would like to receive future mailings from you, and a link to an free thank you offer accessed after these people join your other list (a double opt in, in this case).

    Doing it you will have only members who are interested in reading something from you. Yes, the number of subscribers will drop a lot, but there will be no bounces or spam complaints.
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    • Profile picture of the author theemperor
      How about sending out an email that tells the truth!

      Say that "It has been a while since I have written to you, X years in fact! I have some new important information but only for those who want to still hear from me. Click this link if you want to receive my special report on X and follow up information."

      Include an unsubscribe link for completeness but you ain't gonna send any more emails to this list anyway (but the subscribers don't know that).

      Set up a specific new domain to send the email from (similar to the original domain) and install PHP List and load the emails into that.

      Now if you do get marked as spam by 100's of people, it's a throwaway domain so it won't hurt you too much.

      Once the email is sent, remove the 100k list and rely purely on those who subscribed to get the special report, which might be just 1k.

      In a nutshell:

      You are posting a single, final and very polite solo ad to the 100k list to build up a new fresh list which will be much smaller, but more responsive and willing to receive your new information.
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