It has been six years since Congress enacted legislation controlling the way businesses can use emails to send commercial messages. And yet, hardly a day goes by that I don’t receive unsolicited email with no Unsubscribe link, in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act. According to that legislation, senders of commercial messages via email must include the option to stop all commercial messages from you.
California’s SB186, enacted in 2003, goes further. It requires that recipients of email advertising must have opted-in, that is, explicitly chosen to receive it. Businesses must either obtain written permission from the recipient or there must be an existing business relationship between recipient and sender.
Maybe there are new marketers who have’t been taught the rules. Or maybe people ascribe to the “ask forgiveness later” rule. Whatever the cause, it simply doesn’t create good will with prospects to send them unwanted emails. When you rent email lists, you’re trusting that the list vendor is following both the letter and the spirit of the law. But even then, you’re probably sending to some people who simply are not interested in your communications.
A more effective way to use email for marketing is to grow your own list organically. Start with existing customers who have given you their email addresses. Then use interesting content and SEO (search engine optimization) to get people to your website, where they may fill out a form to receive something useful and worthwhile — a newsletter or White Paper, for example. Contributing their information on your site establishes them as having contacted you, so add them to your list. Yes, it’s a slower process, but the people you contact will not be irritated when you email them, and they probably have some interest in what you will say. Rather than a scatter-shot approach, use a targeted approach, and use your email marketing resources to reach the prospects that really matter.
And always include:
- An unsubscribe or opt-out link
- A physical postal address for your business.
