Keep Your Marketing From Becoming Spam

E-mail makes it possible for you to reach the widest range of customers, clients, vendors and prospects with new offers, promotions, updated prices and other timely information; and to send dozens, hundreds, even thousands of copies of the same mailing with just a few mouse clicks.

But for those very reasons, it's all too easy for your marketing materials to become part of the unwanted torrent of e-mails clogging the mailboxes of the very people you want to do business with.

To become, in other words, spam.

At best, your e-mails will be ignored and deleted unread. At worst, your recipients may see your communications as an annoyance, and filter out your business's e-mail address.

Worse than that, a variety of state and federal laws such as the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 place strict legal requirements on what can and cannot be done with commercial e-mail, and establishes policies your business must follow.

For these reasons it's essential that you and your employees give careful thought to just how, and how frequently, you use e-mail.

Asking yourself a few questions can help you avoid these problems, and help insure that your e-mail (and your business!) is welcomed rather than dreaded, deleted and ignored.

Did You Give Them A Chance To Say No?

Every recipient on your e-mailing list should be given the opportunity to opt out of unsolicited e-mail.

In fact, the CAN-SPAM Act requires that your e-mail include a return address for the recipient to opt out of further e-mail from you.

More than that, your Web site should include a clear and prominent announcement of exactly what your e-mail policy is, and provide visitors the chance to decline e-mails in advance.

The site should also make clear whether or not you share your e-mail list with other vendors.

Do You Have Something To Say?

Why are you sending the e-mail? If it's a response to an inquiry or a "Request Information" box on your Web site you should be okay.

But if you've put together a generic or even targeted marketing piece and are sending it to everyone on your mailing list you need to consider the following:

• Is the information new? Don't send the same promotions again and again.
• Is the information applicable to everyone on the mailing list? Don't send targeted information to prospects not in the market for it.
• Is your subject line honest and clear? This is not only good business, it's a requirement of the CAN-Spam Act.

Have They Heard From You Lately?

And how lately?

You're the best judge of your customers and your market and you need to become the best judge of how frequently they want (or are willing) to receive e-mails from you. It may be a fine line, one you should wary of crossing.

One good approach is to establish a regular schedule for sending marketing materials. A monthly or quarterly newsletter, depending on the amount of relevant, new information your business generates, creates a consistent approach for your e-mail campaign without swamping recipients with material.

Is Your Material Professional?

Whatever approach you take to e-mail marketing, all of your materials should be:

• Clearly written and proofread, even small, avoidable mistakes can create an unprofessional impression
• Accurately represent both your business and the recipient's relationship to you; don't, for example, use a generic "Dear Customer" salutation in a letter to prospective customers
• Complete and professional, including your physical mailing address, another requirement of the CAN-SPAM Act.

The Bottom Line: E-mail marketing materials should be relevant, requested, and worthwhile to the recipient. Don't overwhelm your customers with unsolicited e-mail. All prospective recipients must be given the chance to opt out of your e-mail campaign. E-mail usage policies should be posted prominently on your Web site. Adhere to all of the regulations and requirements of the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.