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Do's & Don'ts of Email Marketing
UK-Netmarketing Weekly Round-up - June 22, 2001

When the main trade associations can't agree on which policy to adopt, it might seem difficult to figure out where the line between spam and direct email marketing lies. When Michelle Davies asked the uk-netmarketing list for some reference material on policy, the responses all looked like they came from the same hymn sheet. Michelle asked, "Other than Seth Godin's Permission Marketing - where can I find up-to-date do's and don'ts on spamming. Any ideas.... off or online responses greatly appreciated."

'Charon' suggested, "Try www.clickz.com - they're sure to have something that is absolutely current."

Sally Krumholz echoed the sentiments of many other responses, writing, "...there are no do's for spamming. Just don't." As did Tim Ireland emailing, "One of my books (The Net-Works Guide to Marketing Your Website) covers this in great detail. Here's that chapter in full for your reference: Chapter 16 - Unsolicited Email (Spam) DON'T DO IT!"

Caroline Larnach suggested a legal resource, "Check out http://weblaw.co.uk for legal guidance on email and internet marketing. They are Internet and IT law specialists - the templates for designers/companies commissioning design and IT contracts are good too."

Tim Ireland came up with an unusual metaphor in the anti-spamming debate, "...Spam is just toooooo tempting to the layman -and in the end it Just. Doesn't. Work.

Some might see the resultant traffic from a spam campaign as a victory, but it's not. Most of the people who visit a site after being spammed do so for the same reason that they slow down to look at the driver who just cut them up. They have an overwhelming desire to see what a [censored] looks like. And this is just one issue. And it still won't convince most people.

OK, here's why we shouldn't have to explain it in detail: "The two most important problems encountered clinically with burn victims are dehydration and infection. The body's barrier against water loss is no longer there. When the protective covering does not exist, fluid seeps from the burned area causing dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. Unless fluids are replaced immediately, renal shut down and shock will occur. ...Burned skin is sterile for about 24 hours, and then it is an open passageway for all bacteria, fungi and other pathogens to enter. When bacteria enter they multiply rapidly in the nutrient rich environment of dead tissues and protein containing fluid. Also the burned victims' immune system weakens 1-2 days after the severe injury which adds to the critical problem. The patient will need high doses of antibiotics and intravenous fluids to help maintain stability until a skin graft can be done."*

Do you really need to know all of this to understand the basic message of 'do not put your face against a hot stove'?"

Sally Krumholz highlighted a recent court ruling from the US, "...we've just had a court ruling regarding spam. seems this topic is moving rapidly through the US court system structure. I know a federal law is pending ... only held up by our internet savvy prez. ;) you can read about it here:

Anti-Spam Law Upheld - Groundbreaking anti-spam law in Washington State upheld by state Supreme Court http://law.about.com/newsissues/law/library/briefs/bl061301.htm"

In 'Fight Club' style, Katy Evans summed up... "rule 1. you don't talk about spamming, rule 2. you don't talk about spamming rule 3. if this is your first post you have to be sarcastic."

Robin Edwards pondered, "Here's a thought though - I received over 20 pieces of postal mail this morning (a typical daily number) and only 2 were not junk mail. My junk mail gets deleted and we have a policy for what is and what isn't appropriate use of email. But when I really need to find something that I sent to someone in 1996, I'm seriously glad I've got email."

Dan Leighton tipped the list off about a recent news story covering email's declining popularity. Could it be spammed induced? He wrote, "Topically, most of yesterday's papers carried a story on the declining popularity of email as the preferred means of communication - it having plummeted from 14% to 5% in the past year - apparently because of the volume of emails people receive. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4206907,00.html for those who fancy a read."

Ray Taylor commented on the article, emailing, "All just part and parcel of the reaction against the dotcom boom. More likely, the reasons for any decline in interest are:

No longer new, exciting, today's thing, etc..
Users have grown up a bit and come down to earth
Email has become part of the normal, day-to-day form of communication
Workers are not trained how to use it properly (come to think of it, neither are they trained how to use the telephone properly in many cases)
Workers are becoming slaves to their computers, rather than the other way around, hence people want to get away from the screen now, whereas a couple of years ago they wanted to get away from endless meetings, hours on the telephone, hours dictating memos to their secretaries (to those old enough to remember the women who used to mother middle managers)

If people have trouble communicating at work, they should be trained to communicate better. This is a training issue, not a technology issue, a fundamental business-process weakness that has been around a lot longer than email...

Use of email has, quite apart from anything else, made meetings less necessary. Ideas and comments can be routinely exchanged between a group of people, small or large, using email, thus preventing the need for five meetings a day. This does not meet that you should _never_ meet anyone face to face.."

So, despite the recent newspaper articles on the effectiveness of email marketing dropping, the relatively low costs and simplicity of targeting ensures this is going to be a hot topic for months to come. The associated problem of spam is also going to get worse and the industry, ISPs and government need to put best efforts into tackling this, both internally and externally.

Data Protection, SMS & Business Cards

With spam high on the agenda, the last thing you want to happen is to accidentally spam a potential client. So, what is the correct etiquette once their business card is safely stashed?

Tom Samuels asked, "...question: is it a data protection no-no to contact (via SMS or e-mail) business contacts who have handed over their business cards to us, and asking them to opt in to receiving further contacts?"

Tim Ireland suggested adding some extra wording to his business card...in jest...probably..."This card serves the express purpose of providing you with my details as part of an agreement (in principle) that we might do business someday. Writing somebody else's number on the back, using it to pad out the card-holder you got for Christmas or attaching it to the spokes of your bike violates this agreement."

On a more serious note, Dee Mackinlay replied, "I think if you are sending them an e-mail asking them to opt in and keep the business cards that they gave you that as far as the DPR is concerned you would be ok as you can demonstrate an initial interest and then your only contact with them is asking them to opt in. Also the EU directive on e-marketing has not yet been finalized as the UK are still thrashing some things out and then a period of grace will be given to allow companies time to comply with the new regulations so it probably won't be coming into effect until the early part of 2001. I think you would be ok on this point. Certainly at the moment - keep your eye on developments around the directive."

Sally Krumholz added, "I believe - and this is my personal opinion - it would be better to ask the person if they'd be interested before you opt them in. If during a pitch a vendor tells me their company often likes to send product updates and information via email and if I'd be interested, sometimes I'll say yes. If I find the information they send helpful, I'll let it keep coming. If not or I find that the product/service is of no use to me, I'd opt-out. Protocol should be ask before you assume it's ok. The only exception is if you are sending a corporate announcement."

Alex Chapman summed up with a slightly more legal view on things, "In order to process any personal data (and the Data Protection Registry consider email addresses to be personal data) - the data subject (the person identified by the data) needs to know who the data controller is and the purpose for which the data is intended to be processed in order for the processing to be done 'fairly and lawfully'. (This information is to be made available to the data subject so far as is practicable) You will also need to find out the time frame between getting the business cards and contacting the data subjects to ensure whether this info is made available within the 'relevant time' - Schedule 1 Part II 2(2)).

Schedule 2 of the DPA requires the consent of the data subject to any processing (although it need not be explicit unlike the processing of sensitive personal data). It is arguable that leaving business cards implies consent to at least put the info on a database (unless the cards were left for a particular reason such as a prize draw).

It may also be argued that the processing is necessary for performing a contract, complying with legal obligations etc or 'where the processing is necessary for the legitimate interests pursued by the data controller' (securing consents for further processing of personal data could fall into this condition, although there is not much info on what this actually covers). If you go ahead then the details of anyone who fails to respond or objects to being contacted should be immediately removed from the mailing list.

LINKS OF NOTE:
A quick round up of interesting, funny, useful and other links gleaned from the uk-netmarketing list, office gossip and other nefarious sources...we take no responsibility should you chose to click...basically, it's not our fault. Enjoy:

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