Best Practices - Mailing Lists
Tuesday, July 31st, 2007Mailing lists are great, they are powerful, and when used correctly can be very beneficial to your website.
BUT, what you don’t want is a member of your mailing list to accuse you of spamming.
Here is the very best way of protecting yourself from being falsely accused of spamming to your own OPT IN email list:
Every single piece of email that you ever send to your Mailing List MUST contain the following:
1. First and most important is the statement that explains why they are getting the email.
So, if you are nomonthlyfees.com and you sell web hosting, and you are contacting your client base about a new product you think they may be interested in, you would include something like:
“You are receiving this message because you have subscribed to NoMonthlyFees.com’s Web Hosting Service.”
2. The Second most important statement is the EMAIL address that is subscribed. The worst thing you can do is send out an email to a Mailing List and not put down what email address the recipient is subscribed as. So, the next item should state:
“You are subscribed as: WebHost@NoMonthlyFees.com.”
3. The last and equally as important is the UNSUBSCRIBE instructions. If you don’t have UNSUBSCRIBE instructions in every single email, you will get tagged as a spammer. So, the next item should state:
“To unsubscribe from NoMonthlyFees.com Mailing List, please use the following links instead of replying to this email.”
And then of course provide the unsubscribe links. Failing to make unsubscribe process automatic for the customer will never be good. People are wary of emailing someone they already think is a spammer, as that was a tactic used by early spammers.
So, just to SUMMARIZE, make sure that every single piece of Mail that is sent to your MAILING LISTS has all of the following:
1. A statement that explains why they are getting the email.
2. A statement that clearly states which EMAIL address is subscribed.
3. A statement that clearly states how to unsubscribe quickly and easily.
Follow these best practices and you should stay out of trouble.
HERE IS AN EXAMPLE of what it would look like in an actual EMAIL
You are receiving this message because you have subscribed to NoMonthlyFees.com’s Web Hosting Service. We periodically send emails to keep you informed of changes to our service, invoices due, and occasionally we will send you an advertisement.
You are subscribed as: WebHost@NoMonthlyFees.com
To unsubscribe from NoMonthlyFees.com Mailing List, please use the following links instead of replying to this email.
Unsubscribe Link
