In email Address marketing, don’t fear permission

Permission.

It’s the only thing that separates you, and us, from the world’s spammers.
Being branded a spammer is a scary thing, and can sink your (and our) business. But it doesn’t have to be scary. Just consider how you like to be treated online and do the same for your customers.
In the United States, CAN-SPAM laws carry strict requirements aimed at reducing spam. At Inbox Agency, we feel they don’t go far enough.
Here’s a checklist of sources that can help you decide whether or not to include an email address on your list. And if you follow it, your campaign will sail through the Inbox Agency approval process with no problem.
Acceptable email address marketing permission

1. Subscriber opts in on your website. This could be through a check box on a form (which must not be automatically checked, and must explain fully), a form on your website or newsletter.

2. Subscriber fills out a form offline and somehow indicated they want to get emails from you. You can’t run a contest that asks for their email address “to notify the winner” without asking if it’s OK to email them if they don’t win. But don’t worry. It’s easy. Put a little “OK if we contact you?” checkbox and you’ll be fine.

3. They gave you their business card AND asked them to contact you via email.

4. Someone who purchased something from you in the past two years has formed a commercial relationship with you and you’re technically allowed to contact them. But it’s best to make the first email contact a permission request (remembering to mention the benefits of staying in touch, of course). Or better yet, incorporate an opt-in with your checkout process, whether it’s online or offline.

Unacceptable permission

1. You purchased email addresses from a third-party or from a bankrupted business in your sector. Even if the email list vendor claims the list is “clean” you can’t send it with Inbox AGency.

2. You copy and pasted email addresses that were “on the Internet.” Just because they were publicly visible doesn’t mean they want to get email from you.

3. You have permission, but it’s more than two years old. Don’t do it. Even if the permission was legitimate, subscribers won’t remember giving it to you if you haven’t contacted them within the past two years.

That’s it. Follow these guidelines and get your email campaigns up and running!