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Email Lists- Can you just ask them if they...

by Doran Peck
6 replies
Can you send a simple text email to people directly asking them if they want to be on your email mailing list?
#email #lists
  • Profile picture of the author KristofferIM
    Why not? But to manually ask and add people sounds very time consuming.
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    • Profile picture of the author It Should Be Easy
      It would definately count as spam.
      Signature

      Looking to connect with people

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      • Profile picture of the author oneplusone
        I used to work in direct mail too, you've got to understand the rules are different when it comes to e-mail.

        With regards to what you're suggesting, who exactly are the people you want to e-mail?

        If they aren't your customers, or they didn't opt-in to one of your lists you can't e-mail them out of the blue for commercial purposes.
        Signature
        'If you hear a voice within you say "you cannot paint," then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.' Vincent Van Gogh.
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      • Profile picture of the author DanTheSeoGuy
        Sending unsolicited emails is considered spam, but regardless of that... can you imagine what the conversion rates would be?

        Why not stick to proven list building techniques?

        Dan.
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    • Profile picture of the author Doran Peck
      Originally Posted by KristofferIM View Post

      Why not? But to manually ask and add people sounds very time consuming.
      Might take a little time to send out a few hundred single emails but...

      ...I guess my real question... is it legal to directly ask someone via email, if they want to be on your email list?
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Originally Posted by Doran Peck View Post

        Might take a little time to send out a few hundred single emails but...

        ...I guess my real question... is it legal to directly ask someone via email, if they want to be on your email list?
        If you actually read the requirements of the CAN-SPAM act, it is legal if you meet the requirements set out.

        Quoted from The CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business | BCP Business Center :

        Each separate email in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act is subject to penalties of up to $16,000, so non-compliance can be costly. But following the law isn't complicated. Here's a rundown of CAN-SPAM's main requirements:
        1. Don't use false or misleading header information. Your "From," "To," "Reply-To," and routing information - including the originating domain name and email address - must be accurate and identify the person or business who initiated the message.
        2. Don't use deceptive subject lines. The subject line must accurately reflect the content of the message.
        3. Identify the message as an ad. The law gives you a lot of leeway in how to do this, but you must disclose clearly and conspicuously that your message is an advertisement.
        4. Tell recipients where you're located. Your message must include your valid physical postal address. This can be your current street address, a post office box you've registered with the U.S. Postal Service, or a private mailbox you've registered with a commercial mail receiving agency established under Postal Service regulations.
        5. Tell recipients how to opt out of receiving future email from you. Your message must include a clear and conspicuous explanation of how the recipient can opt out of getting email from you in the future. Craft the notice in a way that's easy for an ordinary person to recognize, read, and understand. Creative use of type size, color, and location can improve clarity. Give a return email address or another easy Internet-based way to allow people to communicate their choice to you. You may create a menu to allow a recipient to opt out of certain types of messages, but you must include the option to stop all commercial messages from you. Make sure your spam filter doesn't block these opt-out requests.
        6. Honor opt-out requests promptly. Any opt-out mechanism you offer must be able to process opt-out requests for at least 30 days after you send your message. You must honor a recipient's opt-out request within 10 business days. You can't charge a fee, require the recipient to give you any personally identifying information beyond an email address, or make the recipient take any step other than sending a reply email or visiting a single page on an Internet website as a condition for honoring an opt-out request. Once people have told you they don't want to receive more messages from you, you can't sell or transfer their email addresses, even in the form of a mailing list. The only exception is that you may transfer the addresses to a company you've hired to help you comply with the CAN-SPAM Act.
        7. Monitor what others are doing on your behalf. The law makes clear that even if you hire another company to handle your email marketing, you can't contract away your legal responsibility to comply with the law. Both the company whose product is promoted in the message and the company that actually sends the message may be held legally responsible.
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