Reasons for false abuse reports

So, why do legitimate email marketers get falsely accused of sending spam? Sometimes it’s a mistake. But more often than not, it’s the marketer’s own fault. Here are some common reasons marketers get accused of sending spam:

  • The marketer collected emails legitimately—perhaps through an opt-in form on their site—but took too long to contact their list. As noted earlier, permission goes stale after about 6 months. If they haven’t been contacted quickly enough, the subscriber might not remember opting-in.

  • The marketer runs an online store. They’ve got thousands of email addresses of customers who have purchased products from them in the past. Now they want to start emailing them. Instead of asking people to join the email marketing list, they just start "blasting" offers.

  • The marketer is exhibiting at a trade show. The trade-show organization provided the marketer with a list of attendee email addresses. The marketer assumes they have permission, and starts emailing full-blown newsletters and promos.

  • Business folks drop their cards—with email addresses—into a fishbowl at a restaurant counter. For a marketer, it's an easy way to grow their list. But the recipients weren't asking for email, just a free lunch.

  • The marketer purchases or rents members’ email addresses from another organization, then adds them to their list without getting permission.

There's a common theme here. Do you see what it is? Yep: permission.

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