Don’t Add Me To Your Mailing List!
If I wanted to read your newsletter, I would have signed up for it!
I do a bit of networking. Well you have to if you are selling Business to Business. And as a result I give my business card to people.
It’s a lovely card, even if I do say so myself, and of course it’s great that people want to have a way to get in contact later (although as the IT Fairy, Google can find me quite easily)
But when I give someone my card, what I am saying? Or more to the point what I am not saying?
I’ll give you a clue – and the title of this article really gives it away.
I’m not saying “Yep add me to your mailing list. I really want to get your newsletter!”
Maybe if you’d asked me at the time, I wouldn’t be so grumpy when it turned up. I might have read it. But I don’t read them, unless they have a really good headline or teaser that gets me interested (here’s another clue – they seldom do)
So what do I do?
Mailchimp monitors this….
Yes I unsubscribe and as I’m doing so, I can tell Mailchimp exactly why. And yes the other systems for sending newsletters have a similar system for saying why.
These terms require that all lists be permission-based, consisting of subscribers who have signed up through a mailing list signup form or have given their explicit permission to be added to the list. You must have tangible, confirmable proof that the subscriber wants you to communicate with them, and your intent must be clearly identified.
So if you are adding people without their permission, you are in breach of Mailchimp’s Ts & Cs (The link in that quote will take you Mailchimp where you can read more)
And if it sees too many people saying they didn’t sign up or that you are spamming, you run the risk of having your account suspended. Which will put a real dent in your ability to communicate with the people who do want to hear from you.
Now I can here some people saying “Oh but when you are doing B2B you can email who you want”
NO NO NO – Mailchimp’s Ts & Cs say if you are using their service you can’t.
So don’t!!