An email list can be an extremely valuable way to reach clients and potential clients. It’s not that hard to set up a list but it does take expertise to set up a list the right way.
Hundreds of list owners learned this the hard way recently when they received a number of new opt-in emails last month. Unfortunately, the addresses all came from a site called SpamZa (since taken down by its web host) that allowed people to enter in an email address that would then receive lots of unwanted messages. It’s something like the high-tech version of subscribing a person you don’t like to several magazines.
But besides annoying the targeted email recipients, this type of thing is bad news for list owners. Suddenly the value of their email lists was ruined – they had no way to separate the people who wanted to receive their messages and those who did not.
A way around this is to set up a list that has a double opt-in. To subscribe, users enter their email addresses on your website and then must reply to a message sent to that address before they are added.
There are also legal reasons to set up a mailing list correctly. In 2003, Congress enacted the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN–SPAM) Act. While the Act has no teeth at this point (you’re highly unlikely to be prosecuted for failing to follow it), it’s important for law-abiding small business owners to follow the rules every time they send a commercial email broadcast.
Let us know if you would like to set up a mailing list. We can make sure your list is set up for double opt-in and follows all legal guidelines.