pWere discussing the effective use of email lists and bulk email
for website and business promotion. Bulk email essentially consists
of sending the same message to some number of recipients at the
same time. Spam is characterized as sending bulk mail to recipients
whom you have had no prior contact or permission. This would
include purchasing an email list from a list provider and sending
email to that list even if the provider tells you that everyone on
the list has opted in.br br The issue of whether or not to send
Spam can be summed up in three words dont do it. Since the passage
of the CANSPAN Act its currently illegal under Federal law to send
specific types of messages that could be classified as SPAM.
Sending SPAM is also generally not permitted by Internet Service
Providers under their terms of service agreement. Many internet
service providers will issue a warning on the first occurrence and
cancel a clients service on the second. The reason for zero
tolerance is that while the responsible party can literally send
millions of messages almost for free, the costs associated with
sending, delivering and receiving spam are incurred by the
recipient whose time is spent processing unwanted mail as well as
the service providers that transport and store email. Its estimated
that the worldwide cost is over 100 billion per year. Currently the
volume of SPAM is responsible for around 90 of all email traffic.br
br The other reasons for not sending Spam are the impact it can
have on your reputation and the risk of interruption or
cancellation of service. Another critical issue for service
providers whose clients send spam is that mail sent from their
network can be blocked by other service providers trying to stop
spam from reaching their clients potentially affecting thousands of
customers.br br So, if we cant send Spam, what can we us bulk email
forbr br Bulk email is great tool for keeping in touch with your
clients and customers, sending newsletters, service messages,
announcing special offers and more. It can also be used to keep in
contact with prospects on an ongoing basis and is an effective
sales tool for generating new business. Systems can be implemented
that make it easy to send automated messages on a regular basis,
even allowing you to send a series of messages. Systems can also be
implemented which make it easy for visitors to subscribe to your
list. Subscriber management features also make it easy for you to
add, delete, schedule and send messages as required. Some systems
also provide the ability to track a message to see what percentage
of messages are opened, and if theres a link in the message, what
percentage of messages had clicks.br br Important Tipsbr br Create
an optin email list on your website. Give the visitor something for
free where they need to provide you their name and email address to
receive it.br br Dont buy a database of email addresses and send
them bulk email this is Spam.br br Collect email addresses on a
sign up sheet at public events, trade shows and presentations. Let
them know on the form that they will be added to your emailbr br If
you send bulk email to your list, make it easy for them to
unsubscribe. You also need to include a physical address and phone
number at the bottom of each message.br br Be sensitive to your
list people are busy and they get lots of email. Give them an
ongoing reason to open your messages.phrstronga href titleSteve
Lillos ArticlesSteve Lilloastrong strongAbout the Authorstrong
pSteve Lillo is President of PlanetLink a website design and
consulting firm which specializes in creating websites which get
results. They also provide their Web Rx Service for assessing and
increasing the effectiveness of existing websites. PlanetLink can
be reached at a relnofollow www.planetlink.coma.p
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