SOP 56: Email List vs. Social Audience — Valuing the Audience Asset

SOP 56: Email List vs. Social Audience — Valuing the Audience Asset

Both are 'audience'. One transfers cleanly, one barely transfers. Value them differently.

— Email list: a transferable, owned asset. Verify it transfers by confirming the ESP (email service provider) account or a clean export, and check list health: open rate, last-30-day engagement, and import history (a list never emailed is near worthless). Value engaged subscribers, not raw count.
— Social audience (followers on a platform account): only valuable if the account itself transfers AND survives the platform's name/ownership-change rules. A followed personal brand does not transfer at all.
— Comparison rule: an engaged 5k email list usually outvalues a 50k follower count, because you own delivery and the followers depend on an algorithm you do not control.
— Verify engagement live: send a test broadcast (or watch one) during diligence and read the real open rate.

Pass criterion: audience asset confirmed transferable and engagement measured, not assumed from headcount.

Save this — run it every deal.