How To Avoid Sending Spam From Your Mailing List

Have you ever received an email from a WAHM’s mailing list that you don’t remember signing up for? You thought maybe you had signed up for it, since, after all, what WAHM in her right mind would shoot herself in the foot by spamming, right?

Apparently, there is at least one WAHM out there who has been accused of spamming. You can read more from the spamming victims at Working WAHM.

In short, a word to the wise: Just because you have access to an email does not mean you can put it on your mailing list.

Spam is the use of a mailing list to blanket newsgroups or private email boxes with messages the recipients didn’t ask for.

The only appropriate way to receive an email for your mailing list is to have the potential member sign up for your list via the internet (or give you permission in writing at a trade show, for example) AND verify their admission via email.

In other words, just having someone tell you they want to be on your mailing list is not enough. Make sure you have your list setup to send them a verification, also known as confirmation, email, in which they must click a link to be included in the list.

This is the only way to ensure that no one gets on the list that doesn’t want to be there.

One last note: Make sure you always include a way for people to unsubscribe in each email.