Making Sure Your Opt-in Leads Receive Your Emails
One of the ways to make certain that your recipient receives your emails and that your ISP does not intercept them is to follow standard Internet protocol. Doing so will enhance the likelihood that that your recipients do not think of your email as spam. Email marketing is becoming one of the most powerful marketing tools available, but like most powerful tools, it has the potential for abuse or even the perception of abuse. Definition of spam: Spam is any unwanted email. Any endorsement, information, or solicitation sent to a person, via email, without their former consent. Examples of Spam:
- Any email message that is sent to a recipient who had formerly signed up to receive newsletters, product information or any other type of bulk email, but later opted-out by demonstrating to the sender that they did not want to receive further email would be considered spam.
- Any email message sent to recipients that have had no previous connection with the organization or did not agree to receive email by the organization. Email messages sent to a recipient lacking a way for a person to Opt-out or request that they do not receive future mailings, are spam.
- Any email message that does not have a valid email address in the reply-to line is spam. Emails that talk about how you can earn $1000s per week from home is spam. Any email message that promotes an adult web site is spam, unless the recipient has specifically requested information from that web site.
It is important that you have the recipient’s permission before sending them any marketing information. However, be cautious, simply because someone has signed up to receive information on a particular product through email, this does not mean that you can send him or her information on a different product. You can send the recipients email information or promotions from a partner organization if they have agreed to your offer. Unfortunately, spam is not always clear-cut. Most emails sent out do not fall into any of the categories defined above; rather they fall into the gray area of spam where one person may think the message to be spam while another may not. What it comes down to is that if the recipient says it is spam, it is. This is why you need to make sure that when you send your emails to those recipients on your targeted lists that they have clearly stated they want your product (opt-in/opt-out). When your recipients say they no longer want to receive your information or product do not continue sending them emails hoping to win them back.
The following problems will occur if you send out spam:
- Many people become angry when they believe they are receiving spam and will stop conducting business with your organization.
- You can be listed on anti-spam blacklists (a list that names a variety of organizations that have been labeled as spammers).
- Your ISP will block all incoming mail if your company is listed on anti-spam blacklists. When this happens, it is a guarantee that your email will not reach your recipient. You can lose Internet access if a few of your recipients complain to your ISP. Then your ISP will shut you down completely.
- If some of your recipients are angry you can find yourself facing numerous lawsuits. How can you protect against landing on a blacklist or possibly losing your Internet business?
Some things you can do to guarantee that those on your list will receive your marketing emails are to:
- Create an opt-in list to keep track of those who want your service
- Whether it is your email or website make sure they can see the opt-out clause
- Place the company name in headers
- If you receive complaints of any kind, create a list specifically to keep track of them
- Contact your ISP before you send out a large mailing so that they will understand what is happening when they see the burst of email traffic from your site
The most effective way to ensure that those individuals on your email list receive your marketing messages is to follow the ethics and guidelines for Internet Marketing and to steer clear from spam.
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