Earlier today, I asked a couple of questions on Twitter:
- “How does one go about transferring permission?”
- “Why do marketers buy ‘opt-in’ lists?”
The first question did not get many answers. The consensus among those who responded was that permission might be transferred in an asset purchase. Beyond that, it appears that people who follow my Twitter feed don’t think permission is transferable.
The second question got a bit more discussion. Answers ranged from the serious (“Because purchased lists fit the model that pre-Internet marketing used? I.e., opt-out — cold call — direct marketing?”) to the inane (“competitive drive to waste more money and accrue more blacklistings than the competition…”).
As I was considering the answers given, a new question formed itself in my mind: When discussing permission in messaging what is the difference between an appended list and a purchased list?
I suppose the most easily noticed difference between them is randomness. What is often referenced when discussing a “purchased list” is a list of names and/or addresses that have no prior connection a company. In theory, when an appended list is created, the names on the list have some form of connection to the company and then an append company is hired to try to get addresses matched to those names. But, is this not a form of buying addresses?
I cannot, however, disregard the fact at my fingertips: Appended lists drive complaints at almost the same levels as purchased lists. Appended lists gather the same type of complaints about lack of prior permission that purchased lists gather.
In fact, from an operational standpoint, I cannot tell much difference between them. So, dear reader, do you consider appended lists to be a form of purchased lists? Why or why not?
About the Author
Mickey Chandler is a Consultant & Attorney with over 28 years of experience in Email Deliverability & Privacy Law. He has a strong background in email authentication infrastructure (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), ISP and mailbox provider relations, anti-spam policy and compliance, CAN-SPAM and state anti-spam law gained through overseeing the Abuse & Compliance team at Salesforce Marketing Cloud, originating the ISP relations role at Informz (now part of Higher Logic), and working in the fight against spam since 1997. He holds a B.A. in Government, a B.S. in Computer Information Systems, and a J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center. He is a certified CIPP/US professional and a certified CIPM professional.
