Should You Rent Out Your Customer List?

Obviously, the size of your 12-month buyer file from one period to another has a direct impact on the amount of list-rental income you’ll generate. For example, if your 12-month file decreases from one year to the next, your list-rental income will do the same.

Typically, list exchange vs. rental ratios tend to vary. But for consumer files, exchanges seem to average about 40 percent. (For the most part, b-to-b mailers do very little exchanging.) It’s easy to accumulate large list exchange balances you’ll never use, so limit exchanges to only those lists you want to use for your own prospecting purposes. If you won’t mail a particular list within a reasonable time frame (say, one year), request that the order for your file is for rental and not for exchange, even though the mailer requested it.