Do you remember the good old days when Spam was just a disgusting sandwich spread? Now instead of junk in a can it means junk in your in-box. It also means new challenges for people who legitimately market on-line through email and web site promotion.
The crusade to rid the world of Spam is under way. Spam is the latest buzz word and the perpetrators of this vile practice are being hunted down. Any one accused of spamming can expect all the justice of a Salem Witch Trial . Unfortunately for those of us that market products and services on the Internet , we must take extra care and in some cases extraordinary care not to be burned at the stake for crimes that we did not commit.
Because of the low cost of marketing on-line and the vast audience that can be reached, many unscrupulous individuals have abused email marketing. These are the take the money and run to the next scam businesses which exist not to provide anything of value, but only to take, and make it harder for legitimate on-line business to stay in business.
Your ISP can shut you down if they even think that you are spamming. You may say I’m safe because I don’t spam my customers. Well that I’m sure is true but here are a few ways that even the purest of Puritan marketers can run into spam trouble.
1). Bounce Backs, are the number one reason that ISP’s may think that you are spamming. There are a number of reasons for Bounce Backs, and as innocent as they may be in current Internet climate they may bring you some unwanted attention from your ISP.
How do Bounce backs happen? Here are the most common ways.
A). If you offer free information for signing up for your mailing list some people will either intentionally or unintentionally fill in a bad email address. People will intentionally do this to gain access to the free material and avoid any future emails from the marketer. When your autoresponder sends them a thanks for signing up message BAM! bounce back.
B). If you buy leads from a sales lead supplier odds are there is going to be a percentage of bad addresses in the group. Typically you may buy 100 leads or more at a time. When you send out the first bulk mailing to these leads you will get all the bad addresses bounced back to you. The lead source company will probably replace them but the damage is already done.
C). This one is low but I’m sorry to say it does happen. A competitor may seed your opt-in list with bogus addresses. What’s the old saying, “If you can’t beat em` Frame em`”. Something like that any way.
2). Poor email subject lines. Make sure that your email subject line lets the reader know the email is from a source they know and that the sender knows them. example: “Jim, Here’s a new marketing idea that you can use”. Use the receivers name or your name in the subject line. Do not leave any room for doubt that the email is from a legitimate source.
3). Give the reader useable information. Space out your emails at least 5 to 7 days apart. I believe that you can pitch your list once a week if the pitch is subtle, as in the reference box, and ties into the subject matter of the email.
The Internet is an ever changing and fast moving environment. The spam issue is just another event that you must adapt your business to in order to succeed. Is it fair that we are getting lumped into the same pile as those who commit the spam violations? No of course not, but stay the course do the right thing for your customers and the cream will rise to the top.
I wish you great success in your business and in your life.
Jim Dunn, Publisher of “The Internet Business Monthly”.
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je Dunn publishes the “Internet Business Monthly”, visit them on-line for Powerful and Initiative sales and marketing Tips, Techniques, and Resources for your Home Business.
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