Put a Stop to the Unsolicited Opt-In
19. Jul, 2010 
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On many more than one occasion, I have received newsletters and emails from people or companies that include a small ‘disclaimer’ that I had received said message via my personal and voluntary opt-in to their list.
Each time I receive such messages, I sit and ponder a bit and wonder what exactly was going through my head when I ‘voluntarily’ opted in on a list feeding me information on something that has never interested me, nor would it offer any positivity to my business or myself.
In most cases, at least with my experience in using email marketing tools such as Aweber, there is a distinct and obvious process that forces your subscribers to validate and accept the sign-up request. Technically speaking, this is a safety net for both the owner and the subscriber of the mailing list. The owner is release from liability from being a ‘spam’ artist through a reputable marketing solution and the subscriber must pass through a validation step in order to receive the messages from a valid and worthwhile source.
I know I’m not alone when I feel the build-up of frustration come along when I’ve been involuntarily signed up for a mailing list, simply from being guilty by association. There have been many times when folks that have left the company that I work for have decided to “move on other new and exciting endeavors”, only to find out that they’ve tried to start an online business and use their former employer’s address book as the first phase of sign-ups, albeit involuntarily.
Respect Your Mailing List, and Your Own Reputation
The Holy Grail to many bloggers is the almighty new subscriber to their mailing list as in most cases, subscribers equate to potential connections and conversions. When blogging for income, each subscriber is a potential customer or new client interested in the products or services offered by the blog owner or business. Therefore, it makes sense to provide the utmost respect to those that have chosen to sign-up.
Each message that is sent out to the members of the mailing list is an extension of the blogger’s reputation that is to be delivered to the inboxes of those awaiting the next big announcement or product release. If subscribers being to be abused in anyway, this could spell disaster for the blogger or company that has sent the message if the delivery of that message is pushed down the throat of those not expecting it.
Stop the Madness
When you sign up for most of the larger email marketing companies, you are tightly bound to legal service agreements with the selected organization and possibly under state and national laws (at least here in the US). Respect those guidelines and avoid being “that blogger” that only adds to the ever-growing frustrations of spam.
What Say You?
Have you been hit by the unsolicited opt-in and if so, did you simply unsubscribe or take a ‘unique’ way of handling the unwelcome email harvesting campaign?
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