Are B2B lead vendors' claims of opt-in leads reliable?

Email marketer from ActiveCampaign Blog emphasizes that genuine opt-in is critical for lead quality and long-term success. Purchased lists rarely provide engaged leads, and sending to these lists can result in low engagement and high bounce rates.

Email marketer from HubSpot Blog shares that buying email lists can harm your sender reputation and negatively impact your deliverability, as these lists often contain outdated or invalid email addresses and recipients who have not opted in to receive communications.

Marketer from Email Geeks jokes about the user possibly being in the unreliable part of the database.

Email marketer from Quora says that buying email lists generally is not a good idea, as many email service providers frown upon it, and the return on investment is usually low.

Email marketer from Neil Patel Blog explains that you should use tools to verify the email addresses provided by B2B lead vendors to assess the quality and validity of the leads.

Email marketer from MarketingProfs warns that using purchased email lists can violate anti-spam laws like GDPR and CAN-SPAM, resulting in significant fines and legal repercussions.

Email marketer from Reddit forum r/emailmarketing states that purchased email lists are generally unreliable because the leads are not targeted or engaged, leading to poor campaign performance and potential damage to sender reputation.

Email marketer from G2 discusses how to assess lead quality from vendors and suggests to check third-party reviews, ask for sample data, and check the vendor's adherence to data privacy regulations before believing their claims.

Email marketer from LinkedIn shares the sentiment that purchasing email lists negatively affects the brand, as it can be seen as spammy and damage the business's reputation.

Email marketer from Leadfeeder Blog suggests focusing on inbound marketing strategies and targeted advertising to generate high-quality, opt-in B2B leads rather than relying on purchased lists with dubious opt-in claims.

Expert from Spam Resource, Laura Atkins, shares that it is crucial to determine if the lead data provided by B2B lead vendors is reliable by checking if the data is 'good' and 'fresh.' Good data means the email addresses are deliverable and people actually read and engage with the marketing material sent, and fresh data means that the information is up-to-date and not stale. The data should not be older than 90 days.

Expert from Email Geeks jokes if Laura opted in when viewing their email. Then asks if it was sent from a random Gmail/Outlook account.

Expert from Email Geeks shares skepticism about a B2B lead vendor's claims of 98% reliable, 100% opt-in business leads, questioning why the vendor isn't using these leads for their own marketing and noting difficulty in identifying the vendor's true identity.

Expert from Word to the Wise recommends building your own email list by obtaining consent instead of purchasing leads from a vendor. This is because recipients on a purchased list have likely not opted in, and are unlikely to engage.

Documentation from the FTC explains that the CAN-SPAM Act requires senders to have permission to send commercial emails. Purchased lists often lack verifiable consent, putting businesses at risk of violating federal law.

Documentation from Mailchimp explains that permission-based marketing is crucial for maintaining a good sender reputation. Sending emails to recipients who haven't explicitly opted in violates their terms of service and can lead to account suspension.

Documentation from SparkPost shares that maintaining a clean email list, acquired through legitimate opt-in processes, is essential for achieving high deliverability rates and positive engagement metrics. Purchased lists often contain stale or invalid data, negatively impacting these metrics.

Documentation from SendGrid advises against purchasing email lists, highlighting the increased risk of spam complaints, deliverability issues, and potential blacklisting. They recommend building your list organically through opt-in methods.