| May 2004 Volume 10, Issue 5 10 years in service |
ACS News |  |
| May 2004 Volume 10, Issue 5 10 years in service |
ACS News | |
|
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If
you received this newsletter by regular mail, have an email address and
would like to receive this online, please either subscribe at our
website, or contact our office with your email address. Feel
free to pass this newsletter onto a friend! Why are you on this list? You could be any of the following:
How to get on or off this list: PO
Box 2918, Cheltenham, Victoria,
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Communication or Spam? | ||
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The
latest Spam Bill Legislation, whilst not intended to confuse anyone, has
for some, made them react negatively towards receiving any email.
I was amused at a recent business meeting when one person
complained that, as a result of briefly meeting someone one morning at a
breakfast meeting, that person then proceeded to email them thereafter
about how nice it was to meet them, and if they ever had need of the
other’s services… I believe there is a difference between genuine
communication (including emails of introduction) and what constitutes
spam. When
you’re in business, you need to remember, that advertising your phone
and fax numbers, your postal or operating addresses, your website and
email is designed to invite people to contact you – initially about
your business services and products, but you will hear from prospective
suppliers too – who would love to gain your business. So what constitutes Spam? I do not believe it’s a once-only contact, that is a letter of introduction to those you believe may be interested in your business services or products. I also do not believe it is the communication between two or more people when conducting the course of business via email – email has become a replacement in many cases for the written or faxed document on letterhead. It is not a letter sent from one person to others who are friends, family or acquaintances. I do believe it’s adding someone to
your mailing list (without their consent) to send them continual information, whether it be
newsletters, advertising materials, promotions, announcements or
whatever else to badger people into buying or participating in your
product or service. And it may be the singular email sent to someone who
would have no reason to participate in your services or products in the
course of their business, i.e. the *via* word we frequently see
as an example. You
can also go to http://www2.dcita.gov.au/ie/trust/improving/spam_home
for further details - I’ve left these addresses in full, so that if
you receive this newsletter in printed form you can elect to key in the
addresses to view them online. Another
document, designed for businesses that use electronic means is also
useful: http://www2.dcita.gov.au/__data/assets/file/21207/Spam-overview4business.pdf,
particularly page 3. |
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| Spam or Communication continued... | |||
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I wasn’t impressed with the software that some were
using to collate addresses off the web, and was not interested in doing
same for my clients. So
I was not upset to find the Spam Bill now legislates that kind of
software should not be used. I know what it’s like to receive lots of spam – my email
address has been readily available on my own website since April 1996
– before spam became a problem, and before it was realised that people
would harvest email addresses to sell as mailing lists worldwide.
I must be on almost every mailing list there is out there!
As mentioned in previous newsletters, there is a way to deal with
this, and today more ISPs and online mail services are providing ways to
deal with it. Let’s face
it – the Spam Bill is not going to stop the majority of spam as a lot
of it comes from outside of our country.
But you can personally do things to help alleviate the matter,
both on the sending and receiving ends. Check to see what spam filter process is already in place for you, and learn how to use it. If there isn’t one available, and your software program doesn’t cut it for you, then purchase a service online. I currently use SpamArrest.com and this has worked effectively – very little spam gets into my mailbox now – most of it is held up at the SpamArrest website where I can choose to log in and view, at my leisure, to see if there is anything genuine accidentally held up. If so, I can choose to authorise it, but every (genuine) sender also receives an email from me, sent via SpamArrest, for an authorisation process – it only has to be done once, and after that they can always email me direct from the authorised address. There are other similar services available. |
Make sure you don’t end up being branded as a
spammer, and ensure the following: 1. All your emails show your real address so that people can contact you if they wish. 2.
If you send
out regular communication, make sure you have subscribe/unsubscribe
options included. I’ve
elected to use a two-step process (double opt-in) so that people confirm
they have subscribed to one of my mail lists – to prevent others from
subscribing them. 3.
You must
honour every unsubscribe request. If
you received this newsletter via email from me you can elect to
unsubscribe online at any time – I don’t even need to be involved in
it – you take ownership of your subscription. A
confirmation email will be sent to you via the mail service I use. 4.
You cannot
harvest email addresses off the web so if you own software that does
this – ditch it! 5.
You must have
reasonably obtained consent or implied consent from those you are
sending regular emails to. Some
of my clients are speakers and they collect business cards from the
events at which they speak – if the owner of that card has written
‘newsletter’, ‘contact’ or similar, and/or given their card personally to the speaker, then that would be considered
consent. Doing business
with someone may be considered as implied consent, and the swapping of
business cards between two people would imply consent for contact –
but not necessarily inclusion on a mailing list. Disclaimer |
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| Must Read/Must See…. | |||
Looking for a different gift idea? Why not a mouse pad with a positive message on it. See christianmousepads.com for some ideas. |
|
Book:
It’s
in the Cards by Ivan Misner. When
you hand someone your business card, you're setting in motion a chain of
contacts that can become a new branch of your network. That's why you
want your card to be attention-getting, pleasing, informative, and
memorable -- so people will look at it, comment on it, pass it around,
and keep it handy. And the next time someone needs your products or
services, they'll remember you. Website: |
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| About Our Organisation… | |||
What
is a Virtual Assistant? We are as close to you as your computer and can do almost anything traditional support staff do - except virtually. You don't need to provide office space, equipment, software or furniture - we have our own! |
Location
no issue as the work is carried out 'virtually' no matter where you are! |
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