5 Do’s of Using an Email Append Service

Many companies have spent years cultivating large and reliable postal mailing lists, but, once they embrace email marketing, they often find they don’t have corresponding email addresses for most of those buyers. Email append can rapidly boost the size of your email list and accelerate your marketing program by attaching email addresses to your postal records. In our last post, we examined five don’ts of using an email append service.

Here, we discuss the flip side of the coin: five do’s of using an email append service.

1. Do be suspicious of exaggerated claims. Providers that claim to have a billion emails (more than several times the entire U.S. population), “triple opt-in” data, or 50 percent match rates are most likely focused on taking your money rather than providing a quality service. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
2. Do choose a provider whose database is regularly cleaned. Select a database that has been certified using U.S.P.S. Delivery Point Validation (DPV), which ensures postal records are valid, contain all the necessary elements for matching, and is kept up to date using National Change of Address (NCOA). In addition, by using a service that validates its email records, you’ll get more deliverable results.
3. Do work with a provider who has an in-house database, not a broker or reseller. This will ensure you get enhanced data security, faster turnaround, and greater control over the match process. Plus, you will get higher-quality results with an in-house database. If you work with a vendor that uses a multiple-pass process, you cannot vet the quality of all the databases used, and your results are only as good as the weakest link in the chain.
4. Do find a service provider who uses a conservative match algorithm. Some services use a phonetic matching algorithm that can lead to false matches. Other vendors ignore apartment numbers or match using the zip code. Choose a provider who uses established, conservative match logic to assure you’ll reach your actual customers.
5. Do select a provider with a proven track record. Final match rates can vary depending on the match algorithms used by vendors, the quality of the postal addresses, the demographics of your customer set and your particular industry. On average, match rates are around 25 percent, but can range from 10 percent to 35 percent. Work with a vendor who provides a free match test, has reputable clients, properly sets expectations and can advise you on best practices.