Page 224 - Duct Tape Marketing

208 Part IV: Getting the Word Out without Advertising

Spam — Is it or isn’t it?

Spam is the term for electronic junk mail that is requiring, among other things, that unsolicited
sent to a large number of e-mail addresses — e-mail be clearly identified as such, provide a
none of whom requested the information and valid physical postal address, present a means
most of whom feel invaded when they find the to opt-out or unsubscribe, and honor unsub-
messages in their in-boxes. Spam, the opposite scribe requests within a specific time frame. For
of opt-in mailings, is something to avoid at all a good explanation of the CAN Spam ruling and
costs. ways to comply, visit the Web site www.
wilsonweb.com/wmt9/canspam_comply.
What’s more, it’s illegal. In 2003, the U.S. fed- htm.
eral government passed the CAN Spam Act,

ߜ Are you confident that this person is interested in your message
because an associate asked you to send the information? If you’re pro-
moting a 10K race by using an e-mail list provided by the local running
group, you can be pretty sure that your message will be welcomed. Still,
to be safe, include a line in your message associating your business with
the referring source — just as you would if you were making a telephone
cold call based on a referral from a mutual friend.

Don’t publish lists of your carefully collected e-mail addresses on your site.
You’ve probably seen company sites that include customer lists, event sites
that post participant lists, or athletic event sites that post finish results,
including names and e-mail addresses. Opportunistic spam mailers cruise the
Net looking to cherry-pick from lists like these.

Also protect your customers by hiding their addresses when you send the
same e-mail to a number of recipients. To maintain the privacy of each recipi-
ent, enter your own address in the “to” line of your e-mail, and enter all re-
cipient addresses as blind carbon copies by using the BCC address option.

Writing e-mail that gets read

Once you are confident that your e-mail will land in welcome mailboxes, use
these tips to make each mailing effective:

ߜ Keep your message quick, to the point, and casual.

ߜ Use a short subject line (maximum of five to seven words). Remember:

• If your mailing is based on a referral, use the subject line to say so.
Doing so will help keep you out of the spam category — and get
your message opened. Think of your subject line as your e-mail
headline. Use it to draw attention and lead the recipient into your
message.