ONE of the hottest discussion topics going around the web these days is Spam. Spam is different things to different people, but basically it is sending email advertisements to anyone who did not request them or give permission to send them.
I do not consider an email from an acquaintance telling me something they think might interest me - spam. I do not consider people telling me about their business and asking for advice - spam. I do not consider advertisements from companies I have asked about - spam. I do not consider an invitation from a publisher to join their opt-in list-spam. However, these invitations should not be sent out in mass mailings.
There are, however, many things that I do consider to be spam. Unfortunately, when I first started on the Internet, I was guilty of spam once or twice. It does not necessarily make me a bad person, just an uninformed one. Now that I know what is considered to be spam and what is not, I would never in any way, shape or form become a Spam Artist!
These are some things to avoid doing:
* Sending your ad to any email you come across - SPAM! Do NOT send your ad to anyone unless they have asked for information, or if they have joined your opt-in list.
* Joining every discussion and announcement list you can find and sending your ad every few hours - SPAM! When you join these email lists, they will send you an email with their guidelines for posting. Please read and follow these guidelines carefully.
* Subscribing to an ezine and then replying to the ezine with your ad - SPAM! This is one way to get yourself removed from a lot of good lists. If you receive an ezine, do not reply with one of your ads.
* Adding people to your opt-in list without their permission - SPAM! Inviting people to join your list is one thing, but adding them without permission is a definite NO-NO.
* Visit every board you can, leave an ad and never come back - SPAM! Message boards have specific rules for posting and are usually for people to discuss and learn from each other, not for posting ads.
If you are unsure as to whether something is spam or not, visit some boards and ask other more experienced netpreneurs. It is better to be sure than to be accused of spam. Join some discussion lists also, to learn more about spam and what you should or should not do.
Message Boards:
http://www.free-publicity.com/cgi-bin/talk.cgi
http://www.bizweb2000.com/wwwboard/
http://start-smartz.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi#post
Discussion Groups:
mailto:pubsonly-subscribe@topica.com
mailto:Newbies911-subscribe@topica.com
mailto:epub-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Visit these sites for more information on what spam is, what to do about it and how to avoid it:
http://w3.one.net/~banks/spam.htm
http://www.arachnoid.com/lutusp/antispam.html
http://www.spamfree.org/
http://stopspam.sparklist.com/
Be cautious of the way you conduct your business. Some people are tolerant of spam (if you are not a repeat or offensive spammer) and will just hit the delete button, but some will report anything they think is spam.
Do some research on spam and how not to become a Spam Artist!
Copyright 2001 Terri Seymour
Terri Seymour owns and operates MyOwnEzine.com, a website, ezine
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