Walter Karl Interactive is a division of Donnelley Marketing, and an infoGROUP company. We are a provider of Email Append Services utilizing our in-house database and proprietary matching technology. Our world-class technology and programming will deliver extremely accurate match results.
Detailed below are some of the most frequently asked questions our clients ask about our Email Append solution. If you have further questions you'd like to discuss, please contact us today.
What is the size of your Email Append Database?
Our file contains approximately 120 million records.
How have you built your database? From what type of sources?
Our Email Append Database is compiled from self reported consumer information. We do not use information that was harvested, or collected without the knowledge and consent of the consumer. The types of sources are as follows:
- Opt-in Permission Based Websites
Our data comes from some of the most active permission-based websites on the Internet. These include newsletter and content delivery sites, contest & sweepstake sites, and sites that provide discounts and money-saving information. We only utilize sites that are attracting consumers that are over the age of 18. During the registration process, subscribers input their personal information. All of the Internet properties have a privacy policy that clearly states how the information provided can be used.
- Online and Offline Survey Data
Many consumers fill out market research and product registration surveys both online and offline. This self-reported information is one of the primary sources of demographic and lifestyle information in our proprietary consumer database. Email addresses provided by consumers who fill out these surveys are also utilized in our Email Append Service.
- Email Addresses collected by the infoGROUP Outbound Call Center.
Our parent company, infoGROUP, maintains an outbound call center in Omaha, Nebraska. This call center, which employs close to 400 call specialists, contacts over 10 million businesses per year. A good portion of those contacted provide us with their email address to receive targeted information via email. These permission-based email addresses are also utilized in our Email Append Service. Since this is information compiled by infoGROUP, no other company can provide this data to you.
How often is your Email Append database updated?
As with all other infoGROUP databases, the Email Append database is completely rebuilt every four weeks. During this rebuild, the following actions are taken:
- New email records are added to the file.
- Records confirmed as undeliverable are flagged and no longer used for Email Append processing. They are retained for Email Change of Address processing.
- Postal Addresses are updated. Address history is retained in order to match records where our client may not have a current postal address for a customer.
- Records are linked in order to append demographic and lifestyle information.
What type of matching logic do you use?
Our primary matching logic is to provide an Individual Level match, which utilizes the first name & postal address. If a match is found, that email is appended, along with a code to show that a match was found using
individual match logic.
If a match is not located at the individual level, we have the ability to match at the Household Level, which utilizes the last name & full postal address fields to determine a match. If a match is found using this logic, the email is appended, along with a code to show that a match was located using household match logic.
Estimated match rates are from 10-20%. The appending of match level codes will allow you to identify which logic was used, and may be useful as a targeting tool for specific campaigns.
Your service includes the broadcast of a "Welcome email".
Who provides that message?
This email, which will carry your company branding, is an email that we are broadcasting to your customers on your behalf. You provide the content of the email. If you do not have a creative development team, we can assist you with the creation of this message.
You can view our Welcome Email Guidelines and Suggestions here.
Can we send a promotional email instead of a "Welcome email"?
We feel that this first email should be more of an introduction to online communications. Since this is the first time you are talking to these customers via email, the welcome letter should state what type of
information you want to send them via email.
If you wish to include a special offer or promotion, many clients have had success placing these introductory promotions in the form of an incentive for allowing you to communicate with them via email. This allows for the introduction of email messaging, and gives them a sample of the valuable information they can expect to receive in the future.
Can you update our file of invalid email addresses with a current email address?
Yes. This is called our Email Address Update Service. We can take your file of bounced email addresses, and attempt to append an updated or unique email address to your file. Pricing for this is based on the input volume and number of records we can ultimately update.
What are we charged for?
After the completion of the welcome email, we remove any undeliverable email addresses, and segregate the list of your customers that requested to be removed (opt-outs).
You are only charged for the matched deliverable records we deliver after completion of our full process. You will not be charged for any emails that were appended, but were not successfully delivered the welcome email.
Can I send you my whole file to determine the match rate?
Yes, from time to time we will process your file to determine a match rate. This free match test would not include the broadcast of a welcome email or any return of data to you.
If you have a budget in mind to work with, we can process your entire file and only deliver and bill you for the quantity in your initial budget. This will allow you to determine the overall match rate for your entire customer file, and determine the amount required when you want to come back to purchase all the remaining customer records. We typically base the rate on the amount of your budget, since you may not be purchasing all match records. We will apply a discount to future purchases of the matched records.
Is your Email Append Service in compliance with CAN-SPAM?
With the passage of the new CAN-SPAM Law on December 16th, 2003, it is very important that you utilize a service provider that fully understands how this law affects you. Walter Karl Interactive as a leading provider of online marketing is in compliance with this new law.
Click here to view a document that outlines the Best Practices that we follow when executing an email append.