E-mail marketing is not a “dirty word.”

“Spam” is a dirty word (Unsolicited Bulk E-mail/Unsolicited Commercial E-mail or UBE/UCE). Knowing the difference, and doing it right, spells the difference in being a valued resource to your potential clients, or a pestilent and repulsive intrusion on a potential customer.

The first and most important element of a properly run email marketing system is that it must truly be “opt-in.” More, it needs to be a confirmed, or ‘double’ opt-in. What this means is the recipient of the email must have first, asked for the email, and second, confirmed that request by a method that conclusively confirms that the owner of a particular email address has indeed requested inclusion in your offering.

Confirmation can take different forms, but the most typical, and the most effective, is a confirming email from the address subscribed.

For example, if Joe Scarrednuks wanted to subscribe to the “Doily of the Week Club” newsletter, he would follow the subscription directions of the “Doily Club” and submit his email address of jscarred@headthumper.org.

The receiving list administrator would have configured the list server to send a response email to jscarred@headthumper.org requiring Joe to respond positively in some fashion to confirm the subscription request. That confirmation could be as simple as a reply (no-reply means an unsuccessful subscription) or perhaps the reply would have to have a confirmation code in the subject line or the body of the message. Regardless, the important point is that there must be a positive affirmation of the desire to receive emails from the list.

The above procedure virtually assures that an address will not be subscribed by a third party without permission of the owner of the email address. Since the confirmation letter is to be sent to the email address to be subscribed, the owner of that address is the person who must confirm the subscription. As long as that person has not lost control of the address, there is very little likelihood that that address will be inappropriately “confirmed.”

The burden for the list owner/operator starts here: To be absolutely safe from charges of falsely subscribing addresses, the transaction should be recorded in full from start to finish and then safely archived. All too often someone will subscribe to a list and in the rush of events, forget they have done so. When the inevitable complaint comes, the list operator needs to be able to quickly produce the record that shows the email address was subscribed properly.

The next step is just as important: when an unsubscribe request is entered. It should also be confirmed, and when confirmed, honored instantly. Not quickly. Not soon. Not “when our admin gets back from stuffing his face with donuts.” Instantly.

Another element of concern is the source of subscriptions. Under no circumstances should you buy one of the “millions addresses” offerings. They are pure and simple spammer generated and NOT opt-in. Don’t do it. No matter what “guarantee” you may be offered. There are legitimate “email houses” out there, just as there are legitimate address list/newsletter houses for postal mail. They are relatively few in number, and they don’t spam offers of “millions” of email addresses.

The best source of email addresses is your existing customer base, of course. Do not assume that they will happily receive any email offer you choose to send them. Afford your customers an opportunity to “opt-in” or they may not remain your customer.

The legal angle is certainly a consideration you cannot afford to overlook. The Can-Spam Act has specific requirements for email solicitations. Know them and scrupulously adhere to them. If you are operating in Washington State, or are sending to Washington State residents, be sure you are familiar with that law as well. If you are an honest and ethical business it is unlikely you will fall afoul of that law, since it focuses on fraud and forgery of Internet email “branding.” You are unlikely to forge return addresses for example. Still, you need to know the provisions and make sure you apply them.

Baithook Services, one of the online email houses (www.baithook.com) offers the following advice: “All opt-in email lists should meet the three guidelines set forth by the Federal Trade Commission at the agency’s consumer online privacy hearings in June 1997.”

“The first is notice — that is, full disclosure of what data is being collected and how it will be used. Sites that build opt-in email lists typically feature a sign-up page that tells visitors that the information that they provide will be used to send them offers about products and services of interest. Baithook will help you define this notice for your site.”

“The second is choice — the ability to check a box on a web page and sign-up to receive commercial messages about topics of interest and to unsubscribe from the email list at any time. An opt-in email list should also contain a disclaimer in the message identifying the source of the list, by providing the list members with instructions on how to remove themselves from the list and stop receiving email from the list. “

“The third is access — the ability to return to the list owner’s or manager’s web site to check, modify or delete the data collected. When a user asks to be removed from Baithook services list they are completely removed from our databases, permanently.” Excellent advice and a good starting point for a successful email marketing program.