Don't Be a Spammer

With today online tools like the amazing Mailchimp, my personal favourite, email campaigns are easy to set up and free to run for small businesses. For these very reasons, they have become very popular and unsolicited email became just as appetising as canned ham. So much so that legislation had to be passed to restrict its use –and abuse.

Know the rules

Whether you are already running email campaigns or planning to do so, it is essential that you know the rules that apply to you. Here are the main rules in New Zealand:

A commercial Purpose

The Act only applies to electronic communications of a commercial nature. . Note that sms and fax communications are included in the legislation. An email that does not pertain to marketing or promote goods or services does not qualify as spam.

Consent

You are not allowed to send email without the recipient's consent. Although verbal consent qualifies, the DIA recommends that you keep a record of consent (although they don't go as far as saying you should make voice recordings, which would be a bit weird). Someone giving you your business card qualifies in some conditions (i.e. the cards were exchanged as the parties intended to do business with each other, but not if the card was picked up from a stack or given for personal purposes)

Identification

Your business must be clearly identified and means of contact evident.

Unsubscribe

There should be a clear way to unsubscribe. It can be a link, a button or just an invitation to reply to the email with the 'unsubscribe' mention in the title. Additionally unsubscribing process must be easy (you're not allowed to make them jump through hoops to take them off your list).

Don't become an accidental spammer!

You are just as liable under the Act if your address is used for spamming purposes by a third party. In short: make sure all your passwords are secure so a hacker can't use your good name to sell controversial merchandise. It wouldn't look good to your customers either if they thought you had suddenly branched into penis enlargements.

Further Reading

Article: Snail Mail or Email?
Full text of the law
Useful Q&A from the Department of Internal affairs

Snail Mail or Email?

Sending letters, special offers and catalogues through the post used to be a marketing must -at least for companies who could afford it. With the advent of email campaigns, our letterboxes got less and less crowded with the colourful brochures, to the point that they have almost become a thing of the past. Meanwhile, our inboxes where filling up at an alarming rate. Promotional email became so annoying that, fortunately, laws were passed limiting the use of email for commercial purpose. Whether you are already running email campaigns or planning to do so, it is essential that you know the rules that apply to you (Don't be a Spammer).

Posting is the new emailing

People have become so used to (and oftentimes annoyed with) email marketing that snail mail is regaining popularity.

Using direct mail instead of email to reach customers makes sense for a few but excellent reasons. First of which is the lack of competition in the market: since almost no-one is doing it anymore, you are instantly more noticeable. Secondly, posting open the possibility of sending beautiful, original material as well as samples, which can make a very positive and long lasting impression. Think of how much more special, warmer a real book feels in your hands compared to reading on a tablet.

But email is still cool

Email marketing remains the preferred solution of many businesses for excellent reasons too: thanks to today's online tools, it is incredibly easy to set up and use. If you're a small business with a reasonable list, it's free to run. The results are directly measurable, since you'll know how many people have opened your email and will be able to track clicks –and that's just for starters.
Email campaigns can also be used to direct traffic to your website and/or social media page, which in turn opens the possibility of building upon itself.

Use both?

Like all good marketing tools, direct mail and email can be used in conjunction. What's right for you will depend on the specific circumstances of your business. Most importantly, you should go with whatever option agrees best with your brand, and as much as possible, that you enjoy too.