Remember when sharing your list
If it’s Thursday, it’s time for Three Things. This week: three things to consider when before sharing your list
Most organizations have been in a position where they have been approached by other groups about sharing their list or list-swapping. It can be a way that your organization can make some extra revenue (by renting) or build your list (by list-swapping).
Renting your list or trading with another organization can both be controversial, they are opportunities that could be beneficial to your organization. This is especially the case when you find or are approached by a like minded organization and you could both grow from communication with each others’ lists.
While acknowledging that every organization is different and has different rules, norms and history with how they use their lists (members, donors, etc.), here are three things to remember when making the decision:
- Identify what you want to accomplish in this process. Are you trying to find another source of revenue? Are you trying to increase the size of your list? Build awareness of your organization or brand within other similar communities? Earn favor with like-minded allies for the future? Any of these could be good reasons, and there are probably others. Make sure you identified before hand which one it is and use that to help you when measuring results.
1a. Measure results - Never heard that before, right?
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Follow you current policy or publicly change it. You should not be sharing your lists if your subscribers have no idea that their information could be shared. Make sure you have a privacy policy that is public on your web site and available in any place where subscribers would sign up for the list. If you’re revising your policy, make a special effort to notify all subscribers of the change and what it means to them.
Even better – have subscribers opt-in to any list sharing. This can be achieved by adding a check box at signup (or on a donation/membership form) saying “I would like occasionally receive information from like minded organizations and partners.”
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Put your agreement in writing. This protects your organization and your new partnering organization. Be sure to include the following in the agreement:
- Number of communications each organization will get to the others’ list and how they will be scheduled.
- The process for reporting the results – it’s important for both organizations to know how successful the communications were.
- Who will be responsible for handling the list(s) and sending the communications. Avoid physically giving the list away. Whther you’re renting or trading the list, then send the mailing or email from within your system or from a third party vendor that you trust. This way you maintain control of the data and can ensure that your list is not abused.
List sharing and renting can be beneficial to your organization when done appropriately and with a specific goal in mind. These three things with help you start thinking through what you need to do. Do you have other thoughts or advice? Share them in the comments below.
and that’s the Three Things for this week! Do you have Three Things you’d like to get off your chest? Shoot us an email - we’d love to feature your ideas in this space!