Marketers Plan Questionable List-Growth Tactics: Silverpop

Many e-mail marketers are planning to use list-growth tactics that others said didn’t work very well, according to a recent survey by e-mail service provider Silverpop.

For example, 24% of those surveyed in Silverpop’s 2006 Email List Growth Survey said they are planning to use viral marketing to grow their lists. However, just 10% said they had found viral marketing to be a successful e-mail list-growth strategy, the company reported.

Also, 15% of those surveyed said they planned to append e-mail address to their customer lists, but just 4% said the tactic paid off.

“It’s generally wise to proceed cautiously with email appends, said Elaine O’Gorman, vice president of strategy for Silverpop, in a statement. “The quality of data sources varies considerably among suppliers. A bad batch can put your brand in a very poor light.”

Also, 18% of marketers surveyed said they plan to add cross promotions to their e-mail programs, but just 10% who used the tactic said it was very successful, according to Silverpop.

A good cross promotion involves products that are obviously complementary, O’Gorman said.