Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is The Shortlist?
The Shortlist is a monthly business-to-business email communication sent to 40,000 carefully chosen company directors (see sample here). Each month it promotes the best quality, most relevant and best value products and services available in their region. [ Top ]

2. How much does it cost to advertise?
£299 plus VAT. There are no additional fees for data purchase, email design, email broadcasting or tracking and reporting. We also offer an optional 'Request Information' button you can add to your advert that links to a bespoke response-driven landing page. This option is £45 plus VAT. Occasionally we also include one footer advert that can be purchased together with a standard advert, this is £199 plus VAT. And that's it. Pricing details can be downloaded from here. [ Top ]

3. What can I promote in my advert?
This is largely left open to you. You could promote a specific product or service, or your company as a whole, or a specific offer or activity, such as an event/exhibition you are planning. We only ask that the advert is specifically relevant to the seniority of individuals The Shortlist is sent to.
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4. Who is The Shortlist sent to?
At least 40,000 company directors in any given region; visit our Profiles page for details of the recipients' job functions, industries and company sizes. There is one Shortlist sent per region per month. Please see our Regions page for what areas The Shortlist currently covers. [ Top ]

5. What is your corporate policy on sending emails?
As you would expect, we fully adhere to data protection laws and anti-spam legislation. But, our policy extends to include the following:

	We will only use records that we have compiled or have been compiled by a partner who is also a member of the Direct Marketing Association (all DMA members must adhere to the DM Code of Practice, full details of the code can be found here).
	All our subscription records have opted in to receive relevant emails either by choosing this option when submitting their information online or being spoken to personally to confirm they have opted in. This process is constantly updated to remove those that change their minds.
	Anyone that chooses the 'unsubscribe' option when receiving The Shortlist is immediately removed from all our databases and only the individual can request to be re-added.
	We also rotate the use of our records to reduce the frequency our recipients receive The Shortlist. Any one individual will not receive a Shortlist more than once a month.

6. What is the process for including my advert in The Shortlist?
We have purposely made the process as simple as possible. Once you have booked your advert place, we will send a link for you to upload your three primary advert components:

	An image of your choice: e.g. a product image or your logo.
	Text: your advert heading, followed by your descriptive text.
	Response mechanism: tell us how you want the recipient to contact you via the advert, e.g. to an email address, to a page on your website, or via our 'Request Information' button. We actually recommend using all three to maximise your click-through rates. More information on advert specification is here.

Before your advert is sent, you will receive a copy of The Shortlist so you can give your final approval, or make final changes. [ Top ]

7. Do I need to have my advert designed in HTML?
No, we do this for you. The Shortlist was designed to remove this added cost. You only need to provide the information listed in the previous question. [ Top ]

8. How do I pay for my advert?
You will be invoiced in advance of The Shortlist being sent and all adverts must be paid in advance. You can either pay by cheque or online transfer. The full details will be on your invoice. [ Top ]

9. What does The Shortlist look like?
A sample of the email layout can be found on the Preview page . [ Top ]

10. What does the 'Request Information' button do?
The Request Information button can be added to your advert so recipients can click through to a bespoke landing page that will capture their details and the details of their enquiry. These details are then sent to you at the end of each day in the form of a spreadsheet. To see a sample of the Request Information button, click on the Sample page and choose any of the adverts that has a Request Information option. This option is £45 and is recommended if you are looking to maximise the quality of any enquiries generated. [ Top ]

11. Why does The Shortlist email have a simple design?
The layout has been created with the recipient in mind. Company directors have less time than most to study the promotional emails they receive. To address this, we have developed an email format that is consistent, easy to read quickly, and easy to click on. The email could have a greater level of design incorporated, but in our experience this reduces click through rates for this type of email communication. From our results and our research, the recipient wants simplicity, clarity and relevance. [ Top ]

12. When is The Shortlist sent?
Once a month for each region. The specific day of the month The Shortlist is sent varies slightly depending on the region, but will always be sent on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday and typically in the middle of the month. At the point of your initial enquiry we can confirm the date The Shortlist will be sent. [ Top ]

13. What happens to a person's details if they unsubscribe?
Their details will be immediately removed from all our databases and can only be re-added at the specific request of the individual. [ Top ]

14. Where will my advert appear in the email?
The layout of adverts can be shown by downloading the Specification. Advert slots are allocated on a first come first served basis. [ Top ]

15. How do I receive my advert responses?
There are three response options your advert can display: a link to send you an email; a link to your own website/landing page; and a link to our own hosted landing page called 'Request Information'. To give yourself the best possible response rates, we advise your advert has all three options. The 'Request Information' option links to a data-capture page where the recipient can input their contact details and submit their enquiry. Any responses via the Request Information page are collated at the end of every day and sent to you in a spreadsheet. [ Top ]

16. Would you send emails on behalf of just one company?
Yes, for some industries where we have a larger quantity of recipient records, we can offer bespoke email campaigns for an individual company. Please contact us for the latest details. [ Top ]

17. What level of tracking and reporting do you offer?
We use the latest email broadcasting software. One week after each Shortlist is communicated, you will receive a post-broadcast report detailing the number of emails sent, the number of emails delivered and the number of click-throughs on your advert. If you have opted for the 'Request Information' response page, you will also receive details of the number of enquiries submitted. [ Top ]