How to Avoid Being Branded As a Spammer:

According to our Terms of Service, if we receive complaints of Unsolicited Bulk/Commercial Email (UCE, or commonly "Spam"), your account is subject to immediate closure and penalty fines per incident. Please realize that this is not just a threat - we are compelled to enforce this Policy of zero-tolerance for Spam because if we allowed it, our business and that of thousands of our users would be in jeopardy.

We do not want to close your account for any Spam complaint, but we must act quickly in all cases to protect our business and more importantly the businesses of thousands of other users on our system.

If they know how to press their case correctly, even a single complainant can get an entire ISP blocked. Unfortunately for many Internet merchants, the people who get most violently angry about UCE are the same people who know how to press their case correctly.

They may consist of only 1 in every 10,000 Internet users. It is highly unlikely that your account will be shut down for a single complaint, nevertheless sending out Spam is effectively playing Russian roulette with your entire business.

WHAT'S THE RISK?

If you're closed down for Spam, can't you just start up elsewhere and continue on? Maybe. Getting closed down for Spam is the Internet equivalent of a felony. Trouble is, the trial is by mob appeal to one of the web providers, such as UUNet/WorldCom, or a major ISP. Sometimes, a single complaint is all it takes to persuade your ISP, or their service provider, to cut your site off permanently.

If it becomes known that you have been closed down for Spam previously, it is likely you will find yourself cut off again, and without warning. It's a case of diminishing returns. Not to mention the truly bloodthirsty individuals who would like to see you not just shut down, but incarcerated in a solitary confinement for sending them unsolicited email.

"THIS IS NOT SPAM"

But just what IS Spam? That depends on whom you talk to. Some radicals would insist that all email with marketing content is Spam. But you can get an approximation by defining what is NOT Spam. An email from your friend is not Spam. An email that you asked for is not Spam.

An email from someone to whom you gave an open-ended invitation for them to send email to you, based on the quality of their content, is not Spam - unless you have previously withdrawn that invitation.

An email from a friend or associate of someone to whom you gave permission to send email is Spam - unless you gave them permission to send you email as well.

marketing content, is definitely Spam. It does not matter how many state statutes or unsubscribe links you provide. If they did not give you permission - or perhaps as importantly if they don't remember giving such permission - and you send them email, you will get reported for Spam.

Wait a second. There's a big gray area here that we're missing. What if I tell a company that I want to hear from a number of companies about a particular topic, product, or industry.

Why would I do this? This is one of the ways people are harnessing the 'power of Spam.' I want to comparison shop, so I let the advertising come to me. Why go out from store to store, or even from web site to web site? Let the ads come to me! This variety of bulk emailing to 'opt-in' lists is becoming very popular. Unfortunately, while it can be very effective, it can also be very risky to send mail to any addresses that have not been well-qualified.

CHOOSE YOUR ADDRESSES WISELY

The best way, the most foolproof way, to protect yourself from being taken down because of Spam complaints is to build your own list. This is the traditional way. You have a web site, and a link somewhere (or a popup) to a 'Join Our Mailing List' form on your site where people can opt-in to your list. When they do this, they are giving you permission, an invitation actually, for you to send them updates on your products or services, because they want it. This makes it easier for them, since they don't have to visit your site every time.

The better the content of your emails, the more they will want to hear from you - and buy from you. 1AutomationWiz.com gives you the tools necessary to build your list this way.

The only problem with building your own list is that it a) takes longer and b) requires traffic to your site. Of course, if you get a lot of traffic, your list will grow quite rapidly. This is where tools like Start Blaze, Search Engine Commando, and other search-engine optimization tools can help you.

If you want to be as sure as you possibly can be of anything on the Internet that you do not get taken down for Spam complaints, this is the way to do it. There are scores of Internet Marketing experts out there who can tell you that this method does work fantastically well.

The next level down is the use of opt-in list providers. This is becoming increasingly popular, and this is where 99% of the Spam complaints we receive come from. Opt-in lists are lists gathered by someone else for you, with contact info for people who have 'opted' to receive information. The quality of such lists varies quite a lot. The best are lists gathered by someone you specifically hired to do so on your behalf, and consist of double-opt ins.

This means that the people on that list not only opted in, but confirmed their opt-in status as well. If you have a third party collecting leads for you, double opt-in is certainly much safer. The worst are lists consisting of addresses for people who neglected to uncheck an option to opt-out of mailings from related companies, for example on some sort of free registration. Don't even bother using this sort of list. Worse yet are so-called opt-in lists which are actually just addresses collected by the Spam harvesters.

Avoid all opt-in lists except the best variety. It may cost more, but spending a little extra is worth preserving the future of your business. If your business is even remotely successful, you'll lose a lot more in lost business by getting blacklisted for Spam complaints.

Finally, there is the use of Spam lists. These are usually advertised as something like '1 million email addresses on CD ROM for $69!' There is one thing to say about these: avoid them like the black death. For that's exactly what they are to your business. You will be crucified, sooner or later, if you succumb to the temptation of using them.

Also, you must realize that many so-called 'opt-in' lists are actually Spam lists of the "black death" sort. They are equally risky. If you use a list provider of any sort, be absolutely sure that their practices are 100% ethical, that their list consists of double opt-ins, and that you know exactly who to contact if you're accused of spamming one of the addresses on that list.