6 TIPS FOR COMMUNICATING WITHOUT SPAMMING

6 TIPS FOR COMMUNICATING WITHOUT SPAMMING
1. Don’t Stay Silent
The very first thing on your list should be to get in touch with all your service providers to let them
know what you plan on doing. This list includes (but is not limited to) your local ISP, on whom you
rely for your Internet Connection; your Web site host, who is most likely running your mail (POP3)

server; and your list host, which will be the company that enables you to distribute your epublication
(as well as provide subscription database storage). You need all three of those providers
supporting you 100 percent of the way. Just about every legitimate e-mail publisher has been
wrongly accused of distributing junk e-mail messages. Instead of contacting you directly, offended
users will probably get in touch with any or all of your service providers. If your service providers
know you and trust that you’re not doing anything on the sly, they’re going to defend your position
and inform the whistleblowers that they are incorrect in their assumption. My providers have gone
to bat for me more than once, and that kind of support is priceless.
2. Don’t Impose
Don’t force yourself into user’s Inboxes unless they invite you first. Remember, the Inbox is a very
sacred place to them. Wait for them to sign up for your e-publication. The easiest (and best) way to
get subscribers is to publicize the offer on your Web site, and let related Web site and list owners
know what you’re doing.
3. Don’t Buy
A database of qualified subscribers cannot be purchased—that’s a fact. If anybody tells you
otherwise, he doesn’t know his lips from his belly button. Your money will be better spent on other
things (like advertising, marketing, and/or candy bars). People who sell e-mail address databases are
often referred to as list brokers. Believe it or not, this business is very lucrative (and legitimate).
4. Don’t Use Certain Words
In the subject line of a message, a few words, characters, and conventions tip me off to the message
being spam: money, sex, girls, free, opportunity, sale, power, powerful, new, invest, investment,
maximize, profit, buy, and special are the words (in no particular order); dollar signs and
exclamation marks are the symbols; and if the subject line is written in ALL CAPS, I delete it
without thinking twice. As an added measure for optimal recognition, I strongly suggest inserting
the name of your company and/or publication in the subject line of a message before writing
anything else.
5. Don’t Hide
In your own e-mailings, use your real name, if possible. Not only will it show your subscribers that
you’re easily accessible, but it will also make them aware that you’re a “human being” and not just
another employee in the cold, corporate world. If using your real name is too much to ask, then
make one up. There’s nothing wrong with a pseudonym, as long as you use it consistently in
conjunction with your e-publication.
6. Don’t Invite Removals
Personally, I throw the unsubscribe directions at the bottom of every mailing. It’s out of the way, but
not completely hidden; it’s the last thing users would read in an issue. Why invite them to remove
themselves from your mailing before they even have a chance to read it? You’re indirectly telling
them that your stuff isn’t worthy enough for their Inbox. Nothing could be further from the truth, I
hope.