Avoid Spam
How to Avoid Spam Complaints When Emailing Prospects
Once you’ve decided to utilize technology to help
your business succeed, you’ll want to make sure you
don’t get into trouble with complaints of sending
Spam. Spam is an email that you didn’t want, didn’t
ask for and have no interest in, sent by someone you
don’t know or maybe know but dislike. It could even
be sent by someone you do like, but you still didn’t
want the darn thing clogging up your email inbox. In
other words, it’s being pestered with ads without
permission. And it’s illegal.
You don’t want people to complain you sent them Spam, because it will ruin your reputation and have a negative impact on your business. So how do you avoid it? Firstly think of the customers you will be emailing. Are they from a purchased list? If so they are considered ‘cold’, that is they don’t know you, so why would they care to receive email from you? Do they even have an email address? If they do, you might want to send them a postcard alerting them that they will soon be receiving an email from you and why.
If they are from your demographic location, they could be considered ‘warm’. Obviously this is better than cold. But the rules as per CAN-SPAM, still have to be observed. Unless you provide an opt-out form you are operating outside the rules. You also need to provide an opt-in link - that is, for email or newsletter requests from your website.
You’ve probably received them yourself. You want a newsletter from an interesting website so you sign up and give your name and email address, then you get a page that tell you to click on the link that they’ve sent to your email address. This ensures that you are a real person and that you have given your permission for them to send further email. But don’t use your company email provider for an email marketing campaign. It is not built to send too many emails at once and you could crash the server.
You also need to craft your email carefully to avoid Spam filters. Some words shriek SPAM! Words like free, special offer, new and exciting and lots of exclamation points. Always strive to look and sound professional in your email. Sure, you can write in a bright and breezy style, but remain professional in what you say. You wouldn’t turn up at the office in a bikini, would you?
You don’t want people to complain you sent them Spam, because it will ruin your reputation and have a negative impact on your business. So how do you avoid it? Firstly think of the customers you will be emailing. Are they from a purchased list? If so they are considered ‘cold’, that is they don’t know you, so why would they care to receive email from you? Do they even have an email address? If they do, you might want to send them a postcard alerting them that they will soon be receiving an email from you and why.
If they are from your demographic location, they could be considered ‘warm’. Obviously this is better than cold. But the rules as per CAN-SPAM, still have to be observed. Unless you provide an opt-out form you are operating outside the rules. You also need to provide an opt-in link - that is, for email or newsletter requests from your website.
You’ve probably received them yourself. You want a newsletter from an interesting website so you sign up and give your name and email address, then you get a page that tell you to click on the link that they’ve sent to your email address. This ensures that you are a real person and that you have given your permission for them to send further email. But don’t use your company email provider for an email marketing campaign. It is not built to send too many emails at once and you could crash the server.
You also need to craft your email carefully to avoid Spam filters. Some words shriek SPAM! Words like free, special offer, new and exciting and lots of exclamation points. Always strive to look and sound professional in your email. Sure, you can write in a bright and breezy style, but remain professional in what you say. You wouldn’t turn up at the office in a bikini, would you?