How is Spam Email determined in the year 2011?

by Craig Fenton

Posted: 13 years ago 17 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

Hi Warriors:

If a post by somebody calling themselves The User Name is still on this thread do not go near it (the attempt is to create hijack/spyware). Now on to the question please!!!

I was given what may turn out to be a good opportunity to promote a service and was wondering from your experience in the U.S.A. what type of email is classified as spam and what would be no more then a letter to a business owner about a product?

For example is the law any service you offer should only be sent if somebody has contacted you or become part of a mailing list or is there recourse to send 1 email to Jane and John Doe about the service and if they like it great but if not never contact them again.

I want to do this 100 percent in an ethical way. For the most part in the past things I promoted books/lectures/courses had folks contact me.

Thanks for the information and enjoy the evening,
Craig

#2011 #determined #email #spam #year

myob

13 years ago

It's best to consult with a bulk emailer, (such as infousa.com) but in the US, the CAN SPAM Act and FTC laws allow you to send unsolicited bulk email commercial advertising under the following strict conditions including tough penalties for violations:

The CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business | BCP Business Center

[ 1 ] Thanks
1 reply

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3847915].message }}

Craig Fenton

13 years ago

Hi Paul:

Even though (thanks for the link) there seems to be grey areas I am now hesitant to mail anyone about the product if they did not contact me first.

Either a lot of people don't know the law or are brazen about what they do. For example I'll often buy a product and they have a disclaimer we never sell or share your email address but minutes later I'll get emails from similar companies or individuals that I have never heard of before.

I'll take the better safe then sorry approach.

Your answer was perfect, thank you!
Craig

Thanks
1 reply

Signature

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3848107].message }}

myob

13 years ago

Craig,

If you have a list of potential customers, you would probably be better off mailing them a letter, with a strong call to action to call you or an incentivized option to signup to an autoresponders. Most commercial autoresponder services will not touch that without an optin because of the problem of widespread ignorance and abuse, not because it's "illegal".

In fact, it is NOT illegal to do what you are trying to accomplish, just that there is a highly regulated format to use. Bulk email commercial advertising is actually a very common and quite acceptable business practice when adhering to the CAN SPAM Act. I do this myself very successfully by buying leads and using my own self-hosted autoresponder.

What I have also done for many years is use infousa.com bulk email services. Just give them the sales message, and they will include all the required disclaimers and legal stuff as part of the outgoing message to their targeted list.

Another option to consider might be to buy solo ads from targeted ezine publishers in your market niche.

Thanks
1 reply

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3848155].message }}

Craig Fenton

13 years ago

Hi Paul:

The idea that was given to me (and what the individual who suggested it does) is I would have to go to a specific industry, let's use construction workers/teachers/etc. I would Google search for those in a region of the country and contact the company with an email.

In this regard I can't use people that may have bought my books/E-Books/speaking and writing course/lectures because there is no list.

I was thinking of testing it with 100-200 emails that would have a standard letter but only changing the business address it goes to.

Depending on the response I would know quickly if it would.

Do you feel I can do this or would I have to contact a company that has legit email addresses from the industry I need? I wanted to avoid expense since it is pure trial at this point.

Thanks for the explanation,
CF

Thanks
1 reply

Signature

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3848263].message }}

myob

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Craig Fenton

I was thinking of testing it with 100-200 emails

I see few problems with that idea, primarily that using so few emails will not really give you any useful information. The industry standard is typically running right at about 1% response which means in all probability you will have no responses at all. What I do for testing new marketing campaigns is to buy a minimum of 10,000 leads (most of the time many times more) and blast them out.

My strong recommendation points to using infousa.com even for just a small test in your market. I have used quite a few other list brokers and this provides the best overall service including targeting lists, bulk email, and even postal mailing. I don't know what the price would be or their minimums because that depends largely upon the type of business and market sector.

Bear in mind that as I briefly mentioned, solo ads to relevant ezines (online newsletters) could be an option for you as well.

Thanks
1 reply

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3848967].message }}

Craig Fenton

13 years ago

Hi Paul:

Thanks for the follow-up reply.

Is this an option so I can see if an investment would be worth it down the road. I will not send anyone an email from my address to theirs but if on a company website there is a "Contact Us" tab and it is for questions/comments/suggestions would that be different if I sent them information? If you feel it is not since you have such an understanding of the logistics I would avoid that method too.

Thank you,
CF

Thanks
1 reply

Signature

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3849017].message }}

myob

13 years ago

Using the "Contact Us" tab is definitely not an option at all for marketing. There are expectations companies have for being contacted, and as a marketer, anything that comes off as an amateur such as this type of behavior will not have positive results. You may only antagonize them, or worse - such as initiating complaints to your ISP. If, however, there is other contact information such as a telephone number or postal mailing address, that would be considered a far more acceptable solicitation method.

Thanks
1 reply

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3849098].message }}

Craig Fenton

13 years ago

Hi Paul:

Thanks for setting the record straight.

It's interesting because countless offers I have seen on Internet Marketing Sites E-Books/PDF's/audio/video/blogs suggest contacting companies without any warning about spam laws and proper protocol.

As mentioned previously to you and the other fine Warriors in the past this question never came up because I was contacted for my books and services. It would have been good to see without cost if the method I wanted to attempt could work.

My gut feeling from experience is it had a chance because the risk vs reward would have meant the only thing I would have lost sending the emails would be a bit of time (that could still have been done while watching a sporting event on TV).

I appreciate your advice tremendously.

All the best,
CF

Thanks
1 reply

Signature

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3849143].message }}

myob

13 years ago

Originally Posted by Craig Fenton

Much of that apparent ommission is perhaps because of assumptions you already know about spam laws and proper protocol. As with all other marketing methods and business in general, you are responsible for knowing the laws. Despite the rampant misunderstanding and misinformation, bulk email as commercial advertising is a perfectly legitimate and professional marketing practice when conducted within industry and legal standards.

Thanks
1 reply

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3849170].message }}

Craig Fenton 13 years ago

Hi Paul:

Thanks so much.

My next determination is to figure out what it would be worth to spend to get email addresses in the market I wanted to target since I don't have a track record to go on the way I do with the books/E-Books/writing and speaking course/public speaking.

For things that fall into my forte I know exactly what would come in as income vs what I would spend.

Thanks for your incredible knowledge,
CF
- Thanks
Signature
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3849316].message }}

High Horsepower

13 years ago

[DELETED]

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3850832].message }}

High Horsepower 13 years ago

[DELETED]

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3853593].message }}
- myob 13 years ago
  
  @High Horsepower
  
  Technically and legally you are correct - up to a point. The problem is going to come from the source of leads, which will cause you many headaches and a whole lot of grief. It is against the TOS of both gmail and yahoo to send out unsolicited email.
  
  All it takes is a few complaints, and your email accounts will summarily get shut down plus you may find yourself in legal trouble for violating the TOS. It doesn't matter to them whether you have sent these out "legally" or not.
  
  Your best option if you either generate or buy your own leads would be to get a self-hosted autoresponder on a dedicated server. You do know of course most commercial autoresponders will not allow third party leads.
  
  Thanks
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3853702].message }}
  
  High Horsepower 13 years ago
  
  [DELETED]
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3853872].message }}
  
  myob 13 years ago
  
  There is a lot of misunderstanding about bulk email, particularly in this forum. It is quite surprising to me how much BS there is being spread around about it, considering this is a marketing forum, LOL! But because of this rampant misunderstanding and of course the much wider problem of systemic abuse, most providers such as ISPs, commercial autoresponders, and email servers outright ban this type of marketing to reduce their legal exposure.
  
  I'm not familiar enough with any of the hosting and providers you mentioned to comment, but I've been using this autoresponder software, AutoResponse Plus, on a dedicated server. They can also provide a dedicated server for a reasonable monthly rate. Also, they provide an excellent training tutorial on maximizing the benefits of follow-up email. The autoresponder is $197, but they often have discount sales. There may be other options, but this system has been working out extremely well for me for many years now.
  
  Thanks
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3853913].message }}
  
  High Horsepower 13 years ago
  
  [DELETED]
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3853928].message }}
  
  myob 13 years ago
  
  They do provide a dedicated hosting service for a reasonable monthly rate, and I think it is on their own servers.
  
  Thanks
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3854018].message }}

entry

13 years ago

Originally Posted by High Horsepower

Hi Paul,

You seem well versed in this area so I need to ask you a question.

I see WSO's here promoting Scrapers for Google Places etc... to get email addresses.

I'm assuming that people are compiling a list of emails, then sending emails via a gmail/yahool account using an email blaster with POP function enabled, would that be correct?

Am I correct to assume that as long as you identify yourself, have your address listed, and a line to "opt out" that you would be in compliance?

Here is what I read from the Can-Spam Act:

Don't use false or misleading header information. Your "From," "To," "Reply-To," and routing information - including the originating domain name and email address - must be accurate and identify the person or business who initiated the message.
Don't use deceptive subject lines. The subject line must accurately reflect the content of the message.
Identify the message as an ad. The law gives you a lot of leeway in how to do this, but you must disclose clearly and conspicuously that your message is an advertisement.
Tell recipients where you're located. Your message must include your valid physical postal address. This can be your current street address, a post office box you've registered with the U.S. Postal Service, or a private mailbox you've registered with a commercial mail receiving agency established under Postal Service regulations.
Tell recipients how to opt out of receiving future email from you. Your message must include a clear and conspicuous explanation of how the recipient can opt out of getting email from you in the future. Craft the notice in a way that's easy for an ordinary person to recognize, read, and understand. Creative use of type size, color, and location can improve clarity. Give a return email address or another easy Internet-based way to allow people to communicate their choice to you. You may create a menu to allow a recipient to opt out of certain types of messages, but you must include the option to stop all commercial messages from you. Make sure your spam filter doesn't block these opt-out requests.
Honor opt-out requests promptly. Any opt-out mechanism you offer must be able to process opt-out requests for at least 30 days after you send your message. You must honor a recipient's opt-out request within 10 business days. You can't charge a fee, require the recipient to give you any personally identifying information beyond an email address, or make the recipient take any step other than sending a reply email or visiting a single page on an Internet website as a condition for honoring an opt-out request. Once people have told you they don't want to receive more messages from you, you can't sell or transfer their email addresses, even in the form of a mailing list. The only exception is that you may transfer the addresses to a company you've hired to help you comply with the CAN-SPAM Act.
Monitor what others are doing on your behalf. The law makes clear that even if you hire another company to handle your email marketing, you can't contract away your legal responsibility to comply with the law. Both the company whose product is promoted in the message and the company that actually sends the message may be held legally responsible.

very gud points ! Cheers

Thanks

Signature

I Have to say a Massive...THANK YOU to every Warrior who has helped me, and thanks to every warrior who helps me in the future...

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3853781].message }}

TonyPatti 13 years ago

The US CAN-SPAM law is a fairly low bar in email marketing. Successful email marketers aim for much higher best practices. What really counts is what email messages do ISPs and email recipients consider 'spam'? The answer today is "any email I don't want". The best way to run an effective and successful email marketing campaign is to build your list yourself with confirmed opt-in subscriptions. Mailing 1-time 'blasts' to compiled or rented lists is a fast route to blacklisting, complaints, domain banning, male pattern baldness, divorce and world hunger.
- [ 1 ] Thanks
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3848092].message }}
TheUserName Banned 13 years ago

[DELETED]

{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3848294].message }}
- Craig Fenton 13 years ago
  
  Hi User Name:
  
  How does sending people to adult links answer the question?
  
  Thanks
  
  Signature
  
  {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3848317].message }}
wallytr1 13 years ago

Here is how I determine what is spam that arrives in my email client. If it is unsolicited, it is spam. If the email doesn't identify how I got on their list, it is spam. If it doesn't have association with a respected autoresponder, and has no clear unsubscribe link, it is spam. If it is a generic email, that arrives multiple times and uses domain hack software, it is spam. If it doesn't clearly identify a sender by business name or personal name, it is spam. All of these types of emails get auto-flagged and auto-deleted as spam. Know what you're doing...before you do it...
- [ 1 ] Thanks
{{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3848700].message }}

How is Spam Email determined in the year 2011?

Trending Topics

Been a while! Any of you Old Timers here?

How much does the rebranding affect CR ?

Are billboards still effective in driving customers?

Boat and Jet Ski Rentals...... Door Hangers Effective?

A Very Strange Internet Problem