Everyone knows that spam email is a plague on the net. Whereas junk mail that arrives via snail mail can be tossed in the round file in a heartbeat, spam email is not so easily dealt with in your inbox. I've twice been forced to shut down email accounts because, by signing up for a number of newsletters on topics of interest, my inbox became deluged with hundreds upon hundreds of spam emails. It was obvious that some of these newsletters had shared or sold my email address to third parties.
So what's the definition of spam? Spam emails are simply unsolicited messages, usually from a third party and primarily consisting of a sales pitch with virtually nothing in the way of information. In other cases, a visitor may sign up for a newsletter which purports to send the visitor valuable information, but in fact turns out to be occasional little tidbits of information and a whole lot of sales pitches.
If you write a newsletter, be sure that the majority of the contents are information oriented. Your purpose should be to inform your subscribers on the topic. Of course, a small part of the newsletter may be devoted to links to products or services which are relevant to your feature articles and which might well be a desirable 'add-on' your readers will at least want to take a look at and perhaps purchase.
Most users respond most favorably to a newsletter which begins with the information, in the form of editorials and feature articles, followed by a clearly defined list of links to sales-oriented products and services. A one line description preceding the link is better than a paragraph, which appears to be an unabashed sales pitch. The one-liner tends to pique the curiosity of the reader, making them more inclined to click on that link.
This careful ratio and partitioning of information to sales pitches is crucial to your good reputation and serves you in another way: establishing you as an expert in your field, always a good thing. Instead of annoying your readers with what may be perceived as spam email, they will be grateful for your insider leads which they might not have learned of in any other way. This strategy also gives your visitors and potential customers - confidence in your integrity.
In the case of newsletters, or any other type of free information you want to offer your visitors, post a short message right up front, below the box where they enter their email address. Something to the effect of We value your privacy. We promise never to share your email address with any third party inspires confidence and makes it that much easier to quickly build a readership.
Be sure your privacy policy clearly reiterates this message, preferably in the first paragraph of the document.
A double opt-in method helps ensure your good reputation. Innocent website owners can find themselves in trouble when pranksters enter other people's email addresses, people who have never even visited your website. The double opt-in precludes the possibility of you being hung for the distributor of spam emails. When a visitor signs up, you can use a auto-responder to contact that email addressee, with a brief message asking them to reply, or click a link to confirm that they are the party who signed up. End the message with something like, We hate spam email! If you are not the person who entered your email address, simply ignore this message and you won't receive any further materials from us.
Your efforts to combat spam will reward you with a reputation for honesty, integrity and being a socially responsible website owner and business.
Unless you take steps to control spam, you might well find yourself on a spam blacklist, causing you to lose customers, potential sales and damaging your standing with the search engines as well. Fight spam! Spam email can virtually ruin your business prospects.
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