(Akiit.com) So, you’ve decided to become an ebook retailer and you’re brainstorming ways to jumpstart sales. You need to draw attention to your site and you’re looking for a surefire way to grab some eyeballs. Suddenly, it hits you. What you need to do is get an email list of people who have expressed interest in ebooks in the past. And, you’re absolutely right, that’s a great tool to have. But buying an email list for your ebooks site is a bad idea. Here’s why.
You’ll Irritate More People Than You Intrigue
Stop reading for a second and go take a look at your email queue. If you’re like most sophisticated internet users, you’ll have an email address you give people when you know sharing it is likely to result in junk mail. Then, you have the address you use for personal 
correspondence, which you guard carefully. Anything directed to the junk address is scanned quickly to make sure it isn’t something you really need before deleting it. The personal address gets more rapt attention. Care to guess which address lands on most paid email lists? Your marketing message is likely to be seen as one more thing to delete when it arrives courtesy of that paid list.
Paid Email Lists Do More Harm Than Good
The vast majority of the messages you send to a list you buy will shuttled into spam folders. Many will also trigger “unsubscribe” responses. When a preponderance of messages with your return address consistently get marked as spam, your email service provider may well close your account, fine you and possibly even file a lawsuit against you. This is because most reputable companies consider paid lists to be spam tools and want nothing to do with them. When you sign up, they will ask specifically where your list came from and if you lie, you will get caught. In the age of social media, your reputation can be irreparably damaged with a single barrage of angry keystrokes. All you need is a social media influencer telling everyone they’ve tried unsuccessfully to be unsubscribed from your list for months to no avail. There goes your rep. Beyond all of that though, there’s this little thing known as the CAN-SPAM Act, which makes spamming illegal.
There’s Really Only One Good Way to Do It
When you’re selling ebooks and you need an email list perfectly suited to your business, the best way to acquire one is through good old-fashioned legwork — or the digital equivalent of it anyway. Leverage social media and your relationships with influencers as well as the authors and publishers you represent to attract attention to your store. You can also give your customers rewards for referring you to friends who might be interested. Then, when people arrive at your site, wow them with your efficient design, engaging content, outstanding service and reasonable prices. Once you’ve done that, ask them to opt-in to your email list to learn about your great deals, new discoveries and other useful information capable of enhancing their lives.
Which brings us to the penultimate question—
Would You Sell Yours?
After you’ve put in all of the effort, expense and time it takes to build a good solid mailing list — one producing verifiable conversions — would you really make it available to your competitors for fifty cents a name? You can bet nobody else will either. Chief among the reasons buying an email list for your ebooks site is a bad idea is the fact paid lists only make money for the people who sell them. If you want to attract positive attention to your store, you’ll have to demonstrate you’re deserving of it.
Staff Writer; Derrick Adams