I had a situation last month when a business sent me an unsolicited newsletter. I unsubscribed (mildly annoyed because I had not subscribed in the first place) and then an email exchange ensued. In part, this is what the business owner wrote:

“I am new to the newsletter process, this is my first one and I just emailed my whole address book which were all people I had some kind of contact with. I have only sent you ONE email newsletter, and now you are removed I promise to send you no more. I just know this does not constitute SPAM”

This was my reply:

“Just so you know, the method you used does constitute spam. Legally, you can’t send someone email of that nature without them having actually subscribed. If you want to let people know about your newsletter, you could send your whole address book an email that says “I have a new newsletter and if you would like to receive it, here is how to sign up”. “

Some people would say I was way too nice (and must have time on my hands!) to engage in an email exchange with someone who had spammed me. So why did I do it? Well, for one thing it seemed obvious that she was sincere. For another thing, I HAVE MADE THE SAME MISTAKE in the past. But the time I did it this was the response I got:

“Enough spam. F*ck off!” (spelled out)

It was pretty shocking to be on the receiving end of that kind of aggression. That said, I was in the wrong and his response did get the message across loud and clear.

Anyways, I guess my point is more of a reminder to myself more than anything else. What I want to remember is that if someone engages in what I perceive as sneaky marketing, it could just be inexperience on their part. We are all learning.