Spam spam eggs and spam

Email is the fastest and easiest way of communicating with your audience, but beware before you hit that send button! You could be accused of spamming with severe repercussions. SPAM, named after the famous Monty Python skit, is the reviled bulk email messages that clog up accounts, waste productivity, and generally drive people crazy. Idea Bank knows the ins and outs of sending mass emails, including the legal issues that could keep you out of hot water.

Email gone wrong

So you have collected emails of your current and prospective clients and you want to send them a special offer or an update on your product offerings. Do you send them all a message from your personal email system with just one click of a button?

DANGER! Sending out Unsolicited Bulk Email (UBE) to recipients who have not specifically given permission for such communications is considered SPAM. Technically, a message is SPAM if it is both bulk AND unsolicited. If you didn't collect your list through proper methods, people who receive this email will probably report you, leading to numerous headaches which could include the suspension of your live website.

The Best Approach

To avoid this mess, you should use a reliable mass email marketing service such as Constant Contact, MailChimp, or IdeaBank Marketing’s own I-Connect. These services can help ensure that the process is legitimate from start to finish.

Professional Services offer...

• Guidance to building a proper list that is legally compliant through the use of a double-opt-in process.
• Allow you to place a sign-up form on your website to help you grow your audience.
• List maintenance services so your audience can update information, or opt-out at any time.

With IdeaBank’s I-Connect service, we also offer…

• Tracking statistics that identify who opened the email, and where they clicked.
• Emails with style AND substance – custom designed for your company, and tied to your marketing program.

Contact us for more informationn, or if you're suddenly in the mood for eggs and spam; eggs bacon and spam; eggs bacon sausage and spam (you get the point), we assure you that the only type of spam you'll get from IdeaBank will come in a can with a recipe card attached.

Terminology:

• Unsolicited Email: Email that the receiving party has not agreed to accept.
• Bulk Email: Sending nearly identical messages to numerous recipients.
• SPAM: Unsolicited Bulk Email (UBE) - both of the above.
• Double opt-in: Email recipient has actively confirmed their subscription, typically by responding to an automatically-generated message sent to the email address.