Is this considered spam?

If it says in Terms that you can send them emails about updates and other notifications, then you are doing nothing wrong. If they know you or your domain...i don't think its spam. Weird is if they have never heard about you, or your site.

If you are pretty sure that they signed up and never unsubscribed from your list, it's not a spam.

If you send it to me, it's a spam. Why? I never signed up, opted in or subscribed to your list whether in the dream or in reality.

Yes, they are all signups from my own site.

In the example above I'm offering them a 7 day free account, which will be a trial account.

That won't be a problem neither?

It doesn't smell like spam to me...

Just make sure in the email somewhere write, "this is a one-time automated message"... so you keep unsubscribes and complaints low (if you get any)

Thanks

This is just fine. your site had gained reputation in the past years and i really don't think that your subscribers will forget you just like that. And besides, if you're back in action equipped with good offers, why would they consider it a spam?

I wouldn't consider it spam if I were a registered member of the forum at one time, as long as it was a one time message. But when you revive it, put it in the tos that members may receive an occasional message from admin.

Is the list already hosted in a database (like Aweber)? If not, will you have to add it to one? I just moved a list from Constant Contact to Aweber and Aweber forces your list to re-opt-in. They don't care if you already had the list before.

You can customize the message they get sent to opt-in, letting them know you are starting the service up again and to opt in if they want to continue to receive messages.

I wouldn't consider it spam if it were me but many will forget and not know who they are hearing from so I echo what someone said above about saying "This is a one time automated message" so they don't fear a ton of emails coming their way. Also, I would make an opt out button clear and easily recognizable in this first email back so you can cut down on any complaints. I've noticed that often times people think certain mail is spam only because they can't find any place to opt out of it.

C-Spam act allows e-mails up to 18 months from the last business transaction. If this is a 5 year old list, it does not seem to be technically in compliance... check with your lawyer?

One thing you might want to think about first involves your server/IsP. If you are sending from your own ISP you might be nailed for spamming using their service. It also depends on the capacity of your ISP account. You could overload their system. - and your ISP would not be happy and could close your account.

If you load them into an auto responder and send from there, it shouldn't be a problem. I would suggest sending in smaller bundles, though, rather than one million at a time. That's a ton of emails.

The other issue is whether or not they remember signing up. You should have their location identification, not just name and email. This is how you can prove that they actually signed up. Otherwise, there's no proof you didn't just add their names yourself.

Also to consider:

If you haven't contacted them in up to 5 years, chances are they don't remember you, will opt out, accuse you of spamming even if you aren't, and it's very likely that a huge number of them are no longer valid emails.

In my short list of 375, I lose 2-5 every month I do a mailing.

You might also want to do one mailing to everyone and include a link to a new auto responder where they can re-register. That way, you can clean your list and get all the relevant information you need from them. Then, you won't have to worry if they don't opt out themselves.

I get lots of junk mail, some with unsubscribe links. I tend not to bother using them. I just mark them as junk. Part of the reason I do this is because if you do hit unsubscribe, you are in essence confirming your existence. A couple I tried to unsubscribe from took me to weird pages and in other cases I never was taken off their lists. Marking them as junk is much quicker and prevents me from getting more junk from them (cz that's what spammers do - give you a non-working unsubscribe link so they can capture your info when you click it.)

So that's what I'd do. Get them to sign up under a new AR and build your list afresh.

Sylvia

Some of those people might consider it spam if they don't remember you. It depends on how good your relationship was in the past.

Doesn't sound like spam, because they were once part of your network, so you're not presenting them with something they never wanted, or even signed up for

Whether what Wide proposes IS spam or not is beside the point. It does not matter.

What matters is whether or not it might be considered spam or spammy.

A list of a million emails, some of which are five years old, which has not been contacted in a long time, at least not since the original site went out of commission.

A mass email sent to that list, of which a large number will likely bounce due to invalid email addresses.

A likely significant number of spam complaints from the live addresses due to a new domain and no contact for an extended time.

If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, most reasonable people will assume its a duck. It might not be, but that's the smart bet if stopping ducks is a good thing for you.

[counting the number of posts before someone trots out the ol' 'you know what happens when you assume' gag...]

I have a buddy in the email marketing business who recently informed me of an epidemic in the email business -- spam filters are getting inundated with, what were actually quality email newsletters that people were once interested in... that they flag as spam just because they cant find the unsubscribe feature...

People are working on fixing what ails you --- sry