Yoon
Ho Um
Hi
Family,
So, what kinds of SPAM are you receiving?
Are you doing anything about it?
Any fave pieces of software to deal with
and/or track spam and/or spammers?
Are you protecting yourself from false
SPAM complaints?
Louis
Originally
posted by Yoon Ho Um
So, what kinds of SPAM are you receiving?
The usual rubbish. You can guess. ;)
Are you doing anything about it?
Mailwasher - delete, delete, delete...etc.
Are you protecting yourself from false
SPAM complaints?
I don't do any email marketing at the moment, but I might start a
couple of small optin lists in the near future.
I'm actually agonising at the moment over the best way to approach
this in the current climate.
Aweber, GetResponse, or a script (and installing and using the script
on a domain that is separate to my main business and on a different
host to my main business).
What would be your opinion on the best way to approach email marketing
at the moment?
jason_ga
I
have no proof, but my personal feeling is that using one of the big
name autoresponder companies (ie: Aweber, etc) might mean your email
is slightly more likely to get delivered, as they take great pains
to make sure they don't end up on any spam blocker lists.
Hosting your own list on your own domain means that if your hosting
company getting blocked (because of a complaint about another of their
customers), you are blocked.
As for protecting yourself from spam compaints - double opt-in for
sure, don't buy "leads" of any type (unless you can buy
them as single opt in, and have them go into your autoresponder directly
so they still have to confirm to join your list), and make sure your
confirmation message has something about the subscriber agrees to
receive advertising from you and any third parties you accept advertising
from.
One final (drastic) measure may be to block AOL email addresses from
your list (I haven't done this yet, but I'm tempted).
AOL's "this is spam" button seems to be just too tempting
for users, since clicking the unsubscribe link in messages is just
too much effort. I got several spam complaints on one site I own with
an ecourse I offer (not marketing related). Luckily for me Aweber
seems to treat all AOL "this is spam" messages as an unsubscribe,
and not a serious matter. But it's something to keep in mind.
Cheers,
Jason
Louis
Originally
posted by jason_ga
I have no proof, but my personal feeling is that using one of the
big name autoresponder companies (ie: Aweber, etc) might mean your
email is slightly more likely to get delivered, as they take great
pains to make sure they don't end up on any spam blocker lists.
Hosting your own list on your own domain means that if your hosting
company getting blocked (because of a complaint about another of their
customers), you are blocked.
As for protecting yourself from spam compaints - double opt-in for
sure, don't buy "leads" of any type (unless you can buy
them as single opt in, and have them go into your autoresponder directly
so they still have to confirm to join your list), and make sure your
confirmation message has something about the subscriber agrees to
receive advertising from you and any third parties you accept advertising
from.
One final (drastic) measure may be to block AOL email addresses from
your list (I haven't done this yet, but I'm tempted).
AOL's "this is spam" button seems to be just too tempting
for users, since clicking the unsubscribe link in messages is just
too much effort. I got several spam complaints on one site I own with
an ecourse I offer (not marketing related). Luckily for me Aweber
seems to treat all AOL "this is spam" messages as an unsubscribe,
and not a serious matter. But it's something to keep in mind.
Cheers,
Jason
Hi Jason
Thanks very much for this.
I am leaning towards Aweber at the moment. I think like pretty much
everything - people will forget they've subscribed whatever you do,
so you'll always get complaints.
I'm not focusing so much on whether they get delivered on not, because
they'll be very small genuine "special offer" lists, and
if people want to claim the special offer, it's up to them to make
sure they see their email.
One tip I was given which I feel is very useful is if you're with
a good host, stay with them, since if you've been with them for a
while they're more likely to give you the benefit of the doubt if
they get spam accusations about you.
And also - have your domains with a registrar that doesn't "take
control" of them if they receive any spam complaints.
I know it sounds unbelievable, but I've been reading that. More specifically,
I've read quite a few real horror stories about GoDaddy recently so
I'm moving all my domains from them to NameCheap. Same price, but
without the horror stories.
And with spammers very kindly using my domain as a return address
for their email, spam complaints really are largely out of my hands
so better to be safe than sorry.
Sincerely,
Louis
John
Glube
Louis,
A couple of suggestions further to Jason's comments.
* Running your own mail list from your web host.
If you don't mind learning all the ins and outs of getting your email
delivered to the various ISP's (aka you like fiddling and are technically
inclined) there is some merit to this. Should you decide to go this
way, you will want to have your own IP for your server to avoid getting
caught up in the problems of others.
* Using a 3rd party email service.
If can't be bothered spending the needed effort to get your email
delivered then use a 3rd party service. It seems the general consensus
in the market place is Aweber (http://glube.aweber.com) has the highest
delivery rates.
(There has been a fair amount of discussion about this in the various
forums over the last couple of weeks as people are noticing a significant
drop in email delivery rates.
* Underlying these comments is the general view that at present email
delivery is the core question. With spam still on the rise and ISP's
fighting mightly to keep things under control, permission based marketers
are one of the innocents being shot in the cross-fire.
Since the major email service providers have some clout in dealing
with the ISP's and those who have good relations are able to sort
through the issues quicker, it makes sense to consider a reputable
3rd party provider.
Having said this, I don't believe email marketing is dead. Just that
right now, the environment is tough.
* It seems "affirmative consent" and "verified opt-in"
have become the order of the day.
By "affirmative consent" I mean proper disclosure to the
subscriber of what she will be receiving upon subscribing by way of
advertising.
I prefer to use the term "verified opt-in" as opposed to
the DMA term "double opt-in."
(The DMA (the Direct Marketing Association) - them's the folks that
support non fraudulent unsolicited commercial email - aka good spam.)
On the issue of "verified opt-in," Aweber (http://glube.aweber.com)
did a recent study comparing the results between unverified opt-in
and verified opt-in with AOL subscribers.
It makes interesting reading. Verified opt-in significantly lowers
the "churn rate" and cuts the likelihood of "spam complaints"
in half.
* Dealing with spam complaints - is more of a problem in doing your
own mailings than in using a 3rd party provider.
Either way, you want to keep accurate records. At present the blacklisting
services like Outblaze and Spam Cop are looking for "verified
opt-in" as are the ISP's.
* Using co-registration services - on this score I feel Jason is being
a bit too conservative, but then hey I like to walk on the wild side
every once and a while.
Clearly you will want to ensure people have granted the appropriate
consent - no pre-ticked boxes and the like.
For those who are not familiar with the whole process, Ed Thorpe has
put together an excellent guide on the subject, which you can find
here (http://tinyurl.com/2s7xj).
* Setting up an RSS feed. I keep talking about this - enough said
- as an alternative method of delivery.
Trusting these comments are of some assistance.
Kind regards,
John Glube
Toronto, Canada
jason_ga
Originally
posted by John Glube
* Using co-registration services - on this score I feel Jason is being
a bit too conservative, but then hey I like to walk on the wild side
every once and a while.
Clearly you will want to ensure people have granted the appropriate
consent - no pre-ticked boxes and the like.
What can I say - I like being careful with some things :)
But you're right, I probably was a bit conservative. Allow me to clarify
my comment slightly.
Firstly, I'd only ever use a co-reg that used the "check this
box to subscribe". I really don't like the idea of using a coreg
that offers you leads who have requested more information on "home
businesses" (for example). It was probably several weeks ago
that they signed up (at best several days ago), and since they've
never heard of you before you've got a huge uphill battle.
You may be able to generate a profit from them, but from my understanding
the CANspam act makes this area very grey.
Even with coregs that use checkboxes and offer double opt-in, have
a look at what the confirmation message actually says before signing
up.
I was considering trying one company a month or so ago, but then I
looked at their confirmation message. No sign of my newsletter name
(which was surprising), the name of the company in the newsletter
didn't match the name of the site, and people were offered a bonus
(and a chance to win a great prize) if they clicked the link in the
email (I don't even think it mentioned they were confirming a subscription
by clicking the link - at least, not as boldly as the bonus, etc were
talked about).
Having the bonus is a great idea, don't get me wrong. But without
your newsletter name in their, IMHO the confirmation doesn't mean
much.
Then again, I could be totally wrong in my thinking :D
Cheers,
Jason
John
Glube
Jason,
In referencing co-registration services, you write:
You may be able to generate a profit from them, but from my understanding
the CANspam act makes this area very grey.
My own view is somewhat different as the Act compels co-reg service
providers to meet minimum standards, setting reasonably clear guidelines.
I have suggested it would be helpful if rules were written to clarify
whether in granting affirmative consent, the recipient needs to be
told to whom her email address is going to be transferred, or is it
sufficient she invite receipt of commercial email about say "how
to make money online" without specifically identifying whom receives
her email address.
I am of the view, based on my own analysis, the Act allows for a "blanket
consent," but given the potential for divergent views, and to
avoid any doubt, a statement from the FTC would put any lingering
concerns to rest.
However, a prudent service provider can take this into consideration
pending resolution during the rules process.
Besides, what the Act calls for is in some cases a minimum standard.
The Canadian Marketing Association has recently suggested a higher
standard - simply put - make sure the consumer fully understands what
is going on.
(I would love to rely upon the Direct Marketing Association and the
Association of National Advertisers, but unfortunately these organizations
have not shown leadership in this area.)
For those who are reading this and don't fully understand what I and
Jason are warbling about, you will want to read the definition of
"affirmative consent" in the Act (http://www.learnsteps4profit.com/antispamus.html),
the parts of the article The Guys and Gals In Blue Have Arrived (http://www.learnsteps4profit.com/antispamga.html)
dealing with this issue along with the article The FTC Wants To Hear
From You (http://www.learnsteps4profit.com/csp.html).
Kind regards,
John Glube
Toronto, Canada
|
|