Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Ok, guys.  I do not endorse spam and I`m really not sure how this turned into spam issue.  Nothing I`ve suggested so far qualifies as SPAM under the CAN SPAM act.

CAN SPAM

Wikipedia CAN SPAM

And if you were on my list (which you opted into) and I sent you a message saying "Hey, I just recently purchased Mike`s new gizmo from www.whateverintheheck.com and I think you might find it useful.", that`s not spam. 

I`m not lying to you or SPAMing you if I really purchased it and really liked it.  Join a popular newsletter, thousands of people are doing this, LEGALLY.

Brand Alchemy,

You said, "If your list buddy emails me anything that I did not expressly approve, you`re both getting sued. End of story."

Response: I don`t have a "list buddy", and if you read my post more carefully you would see that I would never allow anyone ELSE to email to my list.  And you may not realize this, but anyone can send you unsolicited email so long as they comply with the CAN SPAM Act regulations.  And under the circumstances I described (which were not vague, just general) you could not sue either of us.

"The bill permits e-mail marketers to send unsolicited commercial e-mail as long as it contains all of:

• an opt-out mechanism;
• a valid subject line and header (routing) information;
• the legitimate physical address of the mailer; and
• a label if the content is adult.

The content is exempt if it consists of:

• religious messages;
• content that broadly complies with the marketing mechanisms specified in the law; or
• national security messages."  source = Wikipedia CAN SPAM act

CraigL,

   I agree.  Direct mail works excellently for promotion.  So do a lot of other tactics.

I intended to post some content on this forum that would be useful for people. 

I have never endorsed spam. 


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http://www.Jidaho.com - Internet Business Building - Start, grow, and run your own business on the web.

Brand Alchemy,

  As I look back at this post I can totally see where things went bad.  When I casually mentioned the whole "JV" deal idea, it sounded like I was endorsing something I was not. 


When I said, "... you don`t have to limit yourself to your own list..." that was indeed a vague comment.  I was not, and do not endorse buying email lists from others or offering yours up for other people to email to.

Maybe that will help clear the air a bit.  I feel like we`re talking about two different things here.




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http://www.Jidaho.com - Internet Business Building - Start, grow, and run your own business on the web.

 It appears this approach is legit and actually fairly useful. I have subscribed to several personal growth mailing lists and I have been turned onto some great books, products and blogs. In fact through a blog, I was turned on to photoreading which I hadn`t previously ever heard of and also a great journaling program. So although I do get some offers I am not at all interested in, I often find other things very useful.
 I think of it like this. If I am listening to college radio I may not know any of the music that is being played, but I know for sure that the DJ has good taste. The DJ selects what he/she thinks is good and shares it with me. I may hear a few tunes I don`t like, but the gems I DO hear make it all worthwhile. If the DJ starts
playing too much stuff I don`t like, I just stop listening (or for a mailing list, unsubscribe)
 Being a curious person I join some mailing lists for the purpose of hearing about new products or other forms of imformation that this person I respect might endorse. From there I just say yes to the things I like and no thanks to the other stuff. It`s just that simple.

Innerstatejt,

Thanks for your comment.  I too have found a lot of new and interesting products and resources via this method. 

The reason I mentioned it in the first place was because I felt it benefits both subscribers and email list owners.



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http://www.Jidaho.com - Internet Business Building - Start, grow, and run your own business on the web.

John, you ask how this topic turned into a discussion on spam. Any reference, these days, to "broadcast email" routinely calls up the associated topic of spam.

To take it one step further, I`d say that although there are certainly legitimate uses for mailing lists, in my own case, I pretty much never subscribe to any lists anymore, and typically ignore most commercial "looking" emails.

Yes, there are going to be lots of people who have serious and necessary reasons for wanting to be on a list. But I think to use this type of email as a cornerstone for a business marketing plan would be a mistake.

I know, you didn`t say to make it a cornerstone....but again, there`s an association nowadays, sadly enough, that email "lists" are supposedly going to make us all millionaires.

CraigL,

I agree with your points.  I don`t see email lists making us all millionaires, and that certainly is the type of hype a lot of marketers are using.  It`s false, and it`s not true.  And you`re right, I didn`t recommend people make it a cornerstone.  It`s  a promotional method/strategy, not a cornerstone. 

On the other hand, email lists are (in some ways) for website owners what DM is for brick and Mortar businesses.  Ok everyone, don`t jump on me.  Lots of studies and have been done proving DM is more effective and receives a higher response rate that email.  But for certain niches, email is THE way to go.  It`s all about staying in contact with your best potential customers, some people use snail mail, some use email, some use relationships, others choose a different method.  I would recommend them all.




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http://www.Jidaho.com - Internet Business Building - Start, grow, and run your own business on the web.