| Still
no universally agreed upon definition
for SPAM. |
| Government
legislature has state-specific guidelines,
the Direct Marketing Association (DMA)
focuses on prior relationships with
the end recipient and the anti-spam
activists tend to develop their own
rules based on their interpretation
of email marketing and it's place on
the internet.
The Can SPAM bill (Controlling the
Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography
and Marketing Act) was first introduced
into the Senate in April of this year
and this legislature specifically
targets companies who use deceptive
methods within email.
Some examples would be forging email
headers or including misleading content
in the "From" or "Subject"
areas of their email. These types
of companies try to trick recipients
(who most often have not even opted-in)
into opening their email.
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| New
Laws and Old Practices |
| What's
the main reason for exhibiting at a
tradeshow or conference? Right - to
establish relationships with current
and potential clients. What about a
"brick and mortar" store that
has a fish bowl at the checkout stand?
Also a popular practice for collecting
information (i.e. business cards) from
folks who want to be updated with news
and information in the future.
These are standard methods for cultivating
new prospects, which help to define
the needs of your customer base. Should
you not be allowed to contact these
people because you don't have their
IP address logged from the website
where they signed up? We all spend
a lot of time working on computers
but many of us convert some of our
best customers through non-electronic
means. There should not be a stigma
associated with a follow up email
after a face-to-face meeting.
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| What's
an ethical email marketer to do? |
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It's definitely a sticky situation
since there is still no consistent
policy in place. The best advice we
can offer is to be prepared for stricter
laws and guidelines for the sending
of email. This is not meant to instill
fear by any means, as much of the
legislature being drafted is a result
of deceitful spammer activity.
If you are using an opt-in form tool
or you're opting-in subscribers from
another source then you are in great
shape.
If you're not currently capturing
data in this manner, you'll want to
get started right away. It was noted
at the FTC forum that companies are
likely to receive up to a 35% higher
response rate from someone who both
signs up and then confirms.
If you're concerned about the extra
step being a detractor for potential
sign ups you can offer them some type
of benefit (i.e. 10% off first purchase,
etc) for following through. This will
likely increase your subscribe/conversion
rate.
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| Keep
track of your data |
It's
also a good idea to be storing the originating
IP address and time stamp for each new
subscriber that you obtain. In addition,
if you received a contact's information
from a trade show, you might want to
add a field into your database that
allows you to input "notes"
for the origin of this person's data.
Solid record keeping is a great way
to protect yourself should someone on
your list cry "SPAM!"
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| Don't
mislead your recipients |
| "An
increasing number of senders of unsolicited
commercial electronic mail purposefully
include misleading information in the
message's subject lines in order to
induce the recipients to view the messages."
- - CAN-SPAM Act
of 2003" |
| No
one likes to feel duped. Don't run the
risk of having your email offend your
recipients by using trickery in the
"From", "Subject"
or content of your email. Make sure
your subject line is always relevant
to the email content that's being sent
out.
Being "tricky" is sure
to get your email filtered and your
company's name tarnished with major
ISPs. Your from label should reflect
your company name or the name of the
person
who has the established relationship
with the recipient. Not only will
these practices lead to a better open
rate, but you're likely to reduce
the any spam-related complaints that
might arise from your campaign.
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| The
government wants to regulate deceptive
practices for the sending of email and
VerticalResponse is in full support.
As a legitimate marketer myself, I'm
angry and frustrated that the spammers
are giving our means of communication
a bad name.
All we can do is continue to offer
a helpful tool for legitimate email
correspondence and help educate our
users about the pitfalls of this industry.
We're up for this challenge and we'll
be glad to help you and your company
along the way.
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