E-mail Privacy Policies

We know you'd never mean to annoy your customers. When you send them communications and e-mail messages, you're trying to bring them closer, not push them away.

But there are definite dangers to wooing customers through e-mail promotions and communications. If you're not careful, potential customers may view your messages as spam, not as the useful messages you intend. And once someone considers you a spammer, they'll never again open the e-mails you send.

Want to make sure your customers want to hear what you're saying? The whys and wherefores of what's known in the biz as permission-based marketing aren't that complicated, or even that difficult. You simply must follow accepted procedures, giving your customer every chance to opt out possible. There is a smart way to send e-mail promotions, and we got Junkbusters.com CEO Jason Catlett to give us his advice on following it. We can't tell you everything he said here - you'll have to see the interview for that - but we can at least give you a good start.

Two Layers of Permission

You think you have an opt-in policy because you have a sign-up sheet for e-mail communiques on your site? Well, maybe it works just fine. Then again, maybe it doesn't.

"One of the problems is that people make mistakes or even worse sign up other people for e-mail. For example, if your e-mail address is john42@aol.com, an astonishing number of people will type john24@aol.com. An incredible number can't type their own e-mail address accurately each time. I've done it myself," says Catlett. "Also, some people sign up others as a joke. So what you have to do is do what's called in the industry 'double opt-in.'"

When a potential subscriber signs up online, you should immediately send a confirmation e-mail to that address. The e-mail should contain a link with a unique code that identifies the subscriber and confirms the e-mail address. Any good e-mail list software suite should include double opt-in capabilities.

"That might sound like a lot of work," says Catlett. "Certainly there are some people who won't bother to do the second step because it makes the list somewhat smaller, but it produces a high quality, more responsive list. We highly recommend it and many of the leading e- mail marketing companies have been doing it for years."

The Acknowledgement Letter

If your subscriber does indeed click on the link and sign up, you should then send an e-mail welcoming them to the list and letting them know what to expect. This e-mail should arrive quickly.

"It's very important because if you leave it for three weeks, the person's probably forgotten that they signed up and they're going to say 'This is spam. I never signed up.' That's damaging to your brand. So it's important to reply quickly with it," he says.

The e-mail should explain the mission of the e-mail list and set up an expectation on how often they'll get mail from the list. It also sets up another layer of protection in case the person who receives the e-mail has not actually signed up. The double opt-in method takes care of most pranks and mistakes. The acknowledgement e-mail gives that much more protection.

"Be prepared for the people who say they didn't sign up and may be mad. Some may have been signed up by someone else. Be clear. If you're doing double opt-in, say, 'In order to continue receiving this, you must click on this link. If you don't click on this link, you will not get any more communications from us on this.' Make it very clear what the user can expect. Bear in mind that it may actually not be that person who signed up. It may have been john42@aol.com when john24@aol.com signed up," he says. Just in case, this solution to a potential problem should be a very important element in the acknowledgement letter and indeed, in any e-mail you send to subscribers.

"Last but not least, include instructions on how to unsubscribe," he says.

You want to keep every subscriber you've got, but people often have a reason to opt out, even if it's as simple as leaving for a vacation. If you give your customers an easy out, you can be assured that everyone on the list really wants to hear what you're saying.

And that's the best possible place to be when you're communicating with your customers. Because we know you really don't want to send spam. You want to provide the most meaningful experience possible, and induce loyalty to your brand. You can do that with a well-thought- out e-mail campaign, and Catlett's advice will give you a good head start on that.