USP Networks - Domains - Hosting - Design

USPNETWORKS

Domain Names:

Research, Register, Manage

- also slogan/trade mark advice.

from £20 pa +VAT

Web Systems:

Discuss, Design, Deliver

Any budget from £500.

Quotes on request

Hosting:

From shared virtual servers to globally distributed dedicated clouds.

From only £9.99 per Month +VAT

Email as a marketing tool

Despite everything else, email remains the single best medium for marketing on the internet.

Most websites can include features to mail members with updates and news, but care is required to avoid falling foul of the email police - the correct form of unsubscribe is essential.

There are various other DNS and server configuration issues (eg SPIF and DKIM) that will soon bite you in the fundament.

USP offers a comprehesive design and delivery service to our website customers for bulk emailing, and tracking results where possible, under our MailScape brand.

When emailing companies, you are allowed to send unsolicited marketing email. You can do this whether you collect business cards, use a directory or rent a mailing list.
For individuals (which includes not just consumers but also sole traders, partners in a business partnership or even company employees if you are marketing to them personally rather than their employer) the rules are different. You either need them to opt in (eg by ticking a box on your website saying they are happy to get emails from you) or to have a 'soft' opt-in (where you get their email address while trying to sell them your product or service, send them emails only relating to similar products/services, and give them the opportunity to opt-out from future communications each time you contact them).
If you collect business cards from individuals while talking about your product, that would work as a soft opt-in. If you pick names out of a directory, that's not an opt-in - so emailing individuals from a directory is not allowed.
With (consumer) mailing lists it's a bit more complicated. The way it typically works is that the list owner will have some sort of consent - either explicit or a soft opt-in. This gives the list owner the ability to email the targets, which they can do on your behalf, but doesn't necessarily mean that the list owner can pass the names to you to use. In practice, they can pass the names on if they got the right sort of consent (eg they asked 'are you happy for us to pass your details to carefully selected third parties ...')
In any case, when you deal with a reputable list broker you should confirm exactly what sort of opt-ins are in place.
In practical terms, you should of course ask yourself what is going to work for your business - for example, is it really a good idea to spam companies (even if you are legally allowed to)?

Chris Walker

Cookie
Policy