Summary
When a company prioritizes short-term spam gains over long-term email best practices, a multi-faceted approach is needed. Demonstrating the ROI of ethical practices through A/B testing can be effective. Educating superiors and clients about the consequences of spam, such as blacklisting, damaged reputation, and legal challenges, is crucial. Implementing internal policies reflecting customer values and enforcing them consistently is essential. Protecting sender reputation, obtaining explicit consent, employing permission-based marketing, and providing easy unsubscribe options are vital for long-term deliverability. A misalignment of values or potential blame for negative outcomes may necessitate seeking employment elsewhere. Adhering to established guidelines from organizations like IETF, Spamhaus, Google, and Microsoft is paramount to avoid being perceived as a spammer and to prevent account suspension. The key takeaway is balancing short-term gains with the long-term health and sustainability of email marketing efforts.
Key findings
- ROI of Ethics: Ethical email practices, though seemingly slower, often prove more profitable in the long run.
- Reputation at Risk: Short-term spamming significantly damages sender reputation, affecting deliverability.
- Legal and Policy Violations: Spamming can lead to legal challenges and violations of service provider policies.
- Personal Liability: Individuals within the company may be held responsible for the negative consequences of spamming.
- Values Mismatch: A fundamental difference in ethical values between employee and employer may warrant job change.
- Blacklisting Consequences: Spamming leads to costly and time consuming blacklisting remediation.
Key considerations
- A/B Testing: Run A/B tests to show superiors that ethical email practices have a better ROI than spam.
- Education & Training: Educate clients and superiors on the long-term harm that spam does to reputation and deliverability.
- Policy Creation: Implement and enforce internal policies that reflect your company’s values.
- Consent is Key: Always get explicit consent before sending emails.
- Monitor Complaints: Maintain low spam complaint rates, and have a good one click unsubscribe process.
- Alternative Employment: If your company continues to ignore best practices, it may be time to move on.
- Follow Guidelines: Adhere to Google, Microsoft, IETF, Spamhaus and other industry email sending guidelines.
What email marketers say
10 marketer opinions
When a company prioritizes short-term spam gains over long-term email best practices, email marketers suggest several strategies. One approach is to demonstrate the long-term profitability of ethical practices through A/B testing. Another involves highlighting the risks of spam, such as IP blacklisting, deliverability issues, and legal challenges. It's also crucial to assess whether the company values align with ethical marketing and consider the potential impact on one's professional reputation. Strategies such as gaining explicit consent from email recipients, protecting sender reputation and implementing permission-based marketing are important. If the company is not receptive to these arguments and continues harmful practices, seeking employment elsewhere might be the best option.
Key opinions
- Demonstrate ROI: A/B testing can prove that best practices are more profitable long-term compared to short-term spam tactics.
- Company Values: Misalignment of company values regarding ethical practices can lead to professional dissatisfaction.
- Career Risks: Association with harmful email practices can damage your professional reputation and lead to job loss.
- Sender Reputation: Engaging in unethical email marketing will harm the sender reputation.
Key considerations
- Education: Educate superiors on the long-term benefits of ethical practices and the risks associated with spam.
- Professional Reputation: Assess the potential damage to your professional reputation and future career prospects.
- Ethical Alignment: Consider whether your personal values align with the company's email marketing practices.
- Documentation of Consent: Always obtain and document explicit permission before sending emails.
- Complaint Rates: Monitor and maintain low spam complaint rates.
Marketer view
Email marketer from EmailDiscussions shares that if your company is deliberately engaging in practices that are harmful to email ecosystems and ignoring your advice, it might be time to seek employment elsewhere. Your professional reputation is at stake.
1 Mar 2023 - EmailDiscussions
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that people who can't fix problems are often fired. If Emanuel can't fix Spamhaus listings due to lack of authority, the superiors may see it as Emanuel's fault, potentially leading to job loss.
18 Oct 2022 - Email Geeks
What the experts say
3 expert opinions
When a company prioritizes short-term spam gains, experts advise considering the long-term consequences, including potential blame and damage to reputation. Educating clients or superiors about the impact of spam and implementing internal policies that reflect customer values are crucial steps. If these measures are ineffective, seeking alternative employment may be necessary.
Key opinions
- Short-Term vs. Long-Term: Prioritizing short-term gains from spamming often leads to long-term negative consequences.
- Education: Educating clients or superiors about the impact of spam is a key step in addressing the issue.
- Internal Policies: Implementing internal policies that reflect customer values can help prevent spamming.
- Potential Blame: Individuals may be blamed for the negative consequences of a company's spamming practices.
Key considerations
- Training: Consider training clients or superiors on best practices for email marketing.
- Enforcement: Enforce internal policies consistently and provide examples of violations.
- Alternative Options: If efforts to change the company's practices are unsuccessful, consider seeking alternative employment.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks explains the company will be trading short-term gains for long-term pain, and Emanuel may be blamed. They advise that if the superiors are the email experts and not listening, it's not a job worth keeping.
13 Aug 2022 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that when clients cause spam issues, it's important to educate them about the consequences and guide them towards better practices. The response discusses how to train clients and when to consider parting ways if the problem persists.
4 May 2022 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
5 technical articles
When a company prioritizes short-term spam gains over long-term email best practices, documentation emphasizes the negative consequences and the importance of adhering to established guidelines. Sending unsolicited bulk email damages sender reputation, leads to IP and domain blacklisting, and causes deliverability problems. Following best practices, such as authentication, list management, and relevant content, is crucial to avoid being marked as spam. Violating acceptable use policies can lead to account suspension. Employing easy one-click unsubscribe options is essential.
Key findings
- Reputation Damage: Spamming damages sender reputation, leading to deliverability problems.
- Blacklisting: Spamming results in IP address and domain blacklisting by organizations like Spamhaus.
- Gmail Spam Filters: Failure to follow Google's Bulk Sender Guidelines leads to emails being marked as spam by Gmail.
- Account Suspension: Violating Microsoft's acceptable use policy can result in account suspension.
- Easy Unsubscribe: Providing easy one-click unsubscribe options is important.
Key considerations
- Adherence to Guidelines: Adhere to established guidelines to maintain a good reputation and avoid being perceived as a spammer.
- Best Practices: Follow best practices for authentication, list management, and content relevance.
- Terms of Use: Adhere to the terms of use of email service providers to avoid account suspension.
- One-Click Unsubscribe: Implement a List-Unsubscribe header field to enable easy one-click unsubscribe options.
- Costs of Remediation: Remediation from blacklisting can be time-consuming and costly.
Technical article
Documentation from ietf.org details that sending unsolicited bulk email can lead to being perceived as a spammer, which has negative consequences. It emphasizes the importance of adhering to established guidelines to maintain a good reputation.
20 Jan 2024 - ietf.org
Technical article
Documentation from ietf.org details that using one-click unsubscribe options is important. A List-Unsubscribe header field tells email programs that the sender enables users to unsubscribe from mailing lists quickly and with minimal effort.
11 Jan 2025 - ietf.org
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