In a previous article on this topic, "Stupid Questions About Email Marketing," (http://www.imakenews.com/emailresults/e_article000123102.cfm) I brought up a number of "stupid" questions that are frequently asked by people new to online marketing. As an educator, I am obligated to say that there is no such thing as a stupid question. The fact that certain questions come up repeatedly is a symptom of the widespread lack of knowledge about online marketing and email marketing in particular.

In that previous article, I outlined some of the important resources I have already created that can help new online marketers answer their basic questions. So if that description fits you, please be sure to take a look at that article at the following location:

However, in this installment, I would like to directly take on some of the questions most frequently asked by newcomers ....

"Where can I buy an email list?"

To many of us, this might sound like a stupid question, but it's really not. As with most questions, the answer has multiple layers.

At the shallowest layer: The person asking this question is assuming that he or she will be able to approach the owner of an email list, pay a fee and actually receive a list of email addresses, which can then be used to send out an ad.

Generally, if you want to send out a promotion to an email list you have not built yourself, you will not actually receive the email addresses. You will pay a fee to the list owner (or a representative) and give them your ad. Then they will send out the ad themselves. You will never see the actual list. This is because an email list is a jealously guarded asset, and most list owners won't let them out of trusted hands.

So, in the email marketing business, when we speak of "buying" or "renting" a list, we are really talking about obtaining a one-time use of a list from an outside party, who maintains the list data themselves and sends out the ad message on our behalf.

In most cases, when someone offers to sell you a list (perhaps on CD), the list is a spam list and should be avoided.

That said, let me address a deeper layer of this question. It is now possible to work with an outside provider who will actually generate an email list on your behalf and sell you the data.

Email appending is a process that is now frequently used to provide new email list data. An email appending provider might take your existing marketing database and attempt to find email addresses for the records in your database, allowing you to contact your customers or prospects by email. In some circles, this is a controversial process; critics point out that a list built by email appending is not opt-in and will result in unsolicited email being sent to at least some recipients. If you plan to use email appending, you should think out carefully the implications and the possible effect on your relationship with customers and prospects.

Another interesting -- and very promising -- method of buying email data is to hire an outside contractor to develop an email prospecting list for you through telephone contact. This method has been pioneered by my friend Richard Blythe of Blythe Associates (http://www.blythe-associates.com). Rick's company is one of an interesting breed that develops very clean prospecting lists by calling up propects directly over the telephone and obtaining email addresses and permission to mail to them. For more information on this method of obtaining email data, please read Rick's previous article for Email Marketing Results:

"Where can I rent an email list for $100?"

The top-layer answer to this question (and, for the most part, the only answer) is: You can't.

I see this question a lot, at least in implication, on our EmailResults.com Marketers' Market (http://market.emailresults.com), where advertisers and media buyers can submit requests for opt-in email lists to rent. One of the questions we ask on our Web form is, "Your budget?" Sometimes this is an unfortunate question, as it allows the buyer to reveal how little they know about the email marketing business.

The fact is that most providers of commercial opt-in email lists have minimum orders in the range of $1,000-$5,000. It's simply not worth their while to handle anything in the hundreds of dollars. The small business advertiser might be disappointed about this; many have been misinformed by others who have told them that advertising by email is cheap.

If you want to advertise by email and your budget is small, your best option might be to advertise in email newsletters. This form of advertising can be quite inexpensive and can be effective for reaching a niche audience. Our Web site has a directory of email newsletters that accept advertising -- click here to browse that directory.

"How can I find a reliable email list provider?"

Not really a stupid question at any level. Here are some of the suggestions I would offer to help you screen a potential email list provider:

• Carefully examine the provider's Web site to find out about the company and its business practices.
• Make sure to talk with a real human being on the phone. Avoid any provider that insists on email-only contact.
• Find out exactly how the provider's lists are compiled. Make sure that you are not going to get accused of spamming if you use this provider's lists.
• Ask for references -- other advertisers who have used their services to reach a similar target market or to promote a product similar to yours.
• If the provider's minimum buy seems high, ask if they will let you do a smaller-scale test for a reduced fee.

Through our Marketers' Market, you can fill out a single online form to send out a request to many providers of opt-in email lists. This service is free for you as the buyer. The site is:

In a future article in this series, I will consider more 'stupid questions about email marketing,' including:

• "Why did I get accused of spamming?"
• "How can a very small business with a very small budget use email successfully?"
• "Why did I get such a crappy response to my email promotion?"
• Why won't email list providers work on a pay-for-performance basis?

Do you have any comments or questions about the process of renting email lists? Simply click on the "Post Letter" link in the top right-hand column of this page.

Al Bredenberg is publisher of EmailResults.com (http://www.emailresults.com).