Let’s face it; it takes a lot of work to build up an opt-in email list. For many businesses, putting in the amount of effort required to build up email lists just isn’t worth it when immediate results are needed. Considering the time and cost of going the opt-in route, using an email list service is usually a lot more practical. However, even the best email list service isn’t going to help you if you don’t use your email list in the right way.
When using an email list service, you really need to focus on getting the maximum amount of quality contacts, not just the sending out the most emails. Spam marketing will not help your business make sales or grow. Instead, it will just give you a bad reputation.
Yes, You CAN-SPAM
The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 made some very clear guidelines about sending out unsolicited emails. The first one is that you need to make it very clear about who you are in the email. Following this part of the law should be easy. After all, if you don’t mention who you are, then you are wasting the email list service because the recipients won’t make it to your site, buy your product, or whatever you want from them.
The CAN-SPAM law also says that you need to include your physical address as well as other contact information. These are things you should be doing anyway when using an email list service. Since the recipients won’t really have an idea who you are, you will want to appear professional. Plus, a physical address will help them gain trust in you.
Only Send Emails Once
When using an email list service, you should never bombard the recipients of your emails. If a recipient doesn’t respond, don’t bother sending another email. It will just make your company name synonymous with spam. If you do choose to send out emails more than once to unresponsive recipients, then make sure to include an opt-out option.
To help you track recipients, make sure you choose an email list service which will tell you the click-through rate of your campaign.
Send Out Small Email Batches
Even if your email list service gives you a list of thousands of addresses, you should never send out large batches of emails at once. The obvious reason for this is that you will get labeled as spam and probably deleted before the recipients even finish reading your title.
Many email list service providers will actually eliminate you from their service if they find out that you were spamming. This is because they also need to protect their business. If spam recipients find out that their email list service is responsible for giving out their addresses, their business could be jeopardized.
A good email list service will probably have it in their terms that you cannot spam. If they catch you spamming, they can terminate your account without giving a refund.
