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 clamation 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.
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 clamation 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.
