Re: Newsletter Spam?

From: Shawn Merwin <merwin_at_netsync.net>
Date: Thu 11 Nov 1999 14:29:05 -0500

MIKE DRIEHORST WROTE:
>If a client identifies a certain audience for an
>e-newsletter and we obtain e-mail addresses of our targeted
>audience members, are we spamming them with a one-time
>mailing and the option to opt-in or opt-out?
>
>I'd say no.


I'd say Yes. I am still ruminating on certain
hypothetical cases, but what you describe here almost
certainly fits the definition of SPAM. First and
foremost, you cannot call this an "opt-in" mailing
because it is you who have opted in the recipients, not
them. They did not say, "Send me your newsletter."
Maybe they checked (or forgot to uncheck) a box at
another site that said, "Would you be interested in
receiving news from our partners" or something of that
nature, but I don't consider even that truly opting-in.
That doesn't even address the fact that this dispersal
of the newsletter is a mass mailing.

What you are talking about here is exactly what
telemarketers do. They buy a list from a company to
target their victims, let's say a Vinyl Siding or Home
Insurance company buying a list from a Mortgage Company
to identify home owners. Then they call the home owner
to try to sell their wares or services. Repeatedly.
Until you go through the red tape to get off the list.

You can call it a "newsletter with valuable
information" or an "offer" or whatever, but you are
sending them something they did not ask for
(unsolicited) that most likely is funded by
advertisements or is an advertisement (commerical) via
email. Put it all together and it spells SPAM.

I don't know the specifics of your operation, so I may
be off on one or many of my points, but the general
tone I got from what is being discussed here is SPAM.
A simple solution is to buy a product that allows you
to let people subscribe for your newsletter from a
website. That way they are asking for it, you can
collect demographic information, etc. without risking
the wrath of people receiving an unwanted message. And
if you think that people's aversion to SPAM isn't
great, you haven't been around this newsletter enough
lately.

My company makes an opt-in messaging product (with a
number of delivery templates, including newsletters)
that you can read about at www.informz.com.


Shawn Merwin
Director of Software Training
www.visionarysoftware.com





Received on Thu Nov 11 1999 - 13:29:05 CST