 Newsletter
is Not Spam
Why is Everyone Yelling at Me?
I'm new to eCommerce!
by
Jeanette S. Cates, Ph.D.
The Technology Tamer™
I recently received an email from someone I didn't know. That's not
unusual.
It had a list of over 100 email names at the top of the email.
That's not unusual, but it's VERY irritating.
It had some type of message about a "great offer". I
didn't care at that point.
It had no disclaimer, method of getting off the list, or
apologies at the bottom of the page. That's unforgivable.
If you have been guilty of any of these things...
- sending email to people who don't know you and don't want to
- listing everyone's email
- not providing an "unsubscribe" feature
- not understanding what the "big deal" is about
...this article is the quick primer you need.
Back in the "olden" days of the internet (mid 90's), it
was common practice to send email to any address that you found.
Marketers had automatic programs that searched the web, dragging up
any email address available on any page. Other people purchased CDs
full of email addresses. Still others took the time and effort to
glean email addresses from printed directories. Regardless of the
way you got the email address, you sent email to anyone, with the
hopes that this shotgun approach would hit a few targets. And it
did.
Enter the boom of the internet. Nowadays with more than 300
million people on the 'net, there are almost as many people wanting
to sell something. So take that 300 million and multiply that by
just one email per day - and you can see why some people begin to
feel overwhelmed with SPAM. SPAM is unsolicited email. It's the
"junk mail" of the internet. And it's illegal in a growing
number of states. See http://www.elsop.com/wrc/nospam.htm
for the latest on legislation and anti-spam movements.
Rule 1: Do not send email to people you do not know or to
people who have not asked for it.
Then the second issue - that long list of email addresses. This
is just screaming that you are a novice in the world of electronic
communications. All email programs have something called BCC or
blind carbon copy. Sometimes it's not obvious. But if you look in
your help menu, it's there. When you send an email to a long list of
recipients in the TO field, all of their names and email addresses
show. But if you put their names in the BCC field, no one will see
their names. The email is still sent to them (see Rule 1), but at
least no one has to scroll through the names to read the message.
Why is it so bad to show all of the names? First, it's irritating
to have to scroll. You are VERY likely to lose their attention long
before they read your message. And if you're selling something
electronically, are they likely to be impressed with your
credibility and trustworthiness when you've just displayed your
ignorance of basic email etiquette? Next, if they do read your
message, they are going to be irritated as they do so. Finally, most
people feel it is an invasion of their privacy to have their name
and email posted for everyone to see. You don't hand a customer the
list of contact information for all of your other clients - and it's
the same thing as posting their email addresses this way.
Rule 2: Use BCC for any list of names that you email.
The third item that screams "electronic amateur" is not
providing a paragraph at the end of the message that tells people
you respect their privacy, that you recognize they may not want to
receive email from you, and that there is a way to get off your
list. Here is a sample:
We hope you appreciated receiving this message. However, if you'd
rather not receive any future notices of this sort from us, please
send an e-mail message to unsubscribe@yourcompany.com. Put REMOVE in
the subject line and you will be immediately removed.
We respect your privacy and will never share your name without
your permission.
Nowadays the acceptable method of marketing via email is to do so
with "opt-in" lists, where your website visitors,
conference attendees, and others give you permission to send them
email advertising.
Rule 3: Give instructions to get off the list.
So how do you market via email? This is a broad subject and one
you can study for months. I've provided a list of my favorite
resources on this topic on my website at TechTamers.com. But here's
how to start.
- Craft your email piece. Be sure to use plain text, rather than
HTML email, since over 50% of the population cannot read HTML
email. [If you do not understand the difference, check your
email program's help menu.]
- Send it to the people on your list, using BCC or a bulk email
program like Mailloop.
- Include the disclaimer paragraph at the end, then respect
their request to be removed.
- Never send more than one email to someone unless they have
subscribed to your list.
- Provide a subscription box on your website and a link within
your newsletter so that they can "opt-in" to your
email list.
Following these guidelines is slower than building your email
list from a CD or an internet spamming program. But the goodwill you
gain will make you more successful in the long run - and it will
keep people from yelling at you!
-----------------------
Jeanette S. Cates,
PhD, The Technology Tamer™, works with organizations who want to
prosper online and with professionals who want to reduce their
learning curve She offers electronic communication seminars and
learning materials at TechTamers.com.
© 2000 Permission is granted to reprint this article in print or
on your web site so long as the paragraph above is included and
contact information is provided to www.TechTamers.com.
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