Summary
Affiliate spammers prioritize the 'report spam' button over unsubscribe links for multifaceted reasons. Legally, it allows them to skirt obligations to cease mailing across various affiliate programs, avoiding list cleaning and related efforts. Technically, 'report spam' helps evade security measures, masks sender reputation, and provides insights into deliverability and spam filter efficacy. Economically, maintaining a large list enables ongoing sales efforts, even if conversion rates are minimal, and in some cases, the action of reporting spam may generate revenue through affiliate arrangements. Ethically, it represents a disregard for user consent and established marketing best practices. Ultimately, this strategy prioritizes immediate gains over long-term brand reputation and customer trust.
Key findings
- Legal Evasion: Using 'report spam' helps spammers avoid legal requirements for unsubscribing users.
- List Size: Maximizing reach to any potential customers is paramount - it is more efficient to continue sending emails than it is to clean a mailing list.
- Technical Testing: Report Spam provides important insights into how well the spam is doing.
- Affiliate Incentives: For some affiliates engagement via Report Spam may lead to increased payments.
- Circumventing security: Report Spam button does not trigger typical email security issues.
Key considerations
- Ethical marketing: Following ethical marketing rules of asking for consent from the customer leads to better customer outcomes.
- Compliance: Affiliates should be required to follow the law and have to remove users that have unsubscribed from a mailing list.
- Authenticate sending infrastructure: Proper use of SPF, DKIM and DMARC helps to block or remove spammers who are not following proper protocols
- Consumer awareness: Consumers should be aware of the issues and can choose to report email as spam, unsubscribe or just ignore it.
What email marketers say
10 marketer opinions
Affiliate spammers replace unsubscribe links with 'report spam' buttons for several reasons. Primarily, it allows them to maintain larger mailing lists and continue reaching recipients, even those who don't want the emails. This strategy avoids the legal obligations associated with unsubscribes, such as ceasing contact across all affiliate programs, and circumvents the effort of cleaning mailing lists. Moreover, it enables spammers to test spam filters, gauge the effectiveness of their techniques, and maximize reach for potential, even accidental, conversions. Ultimately, their focus is on quick profits over brand reputation and customer retention.
Key opinions
- List Size: Spammers want to maintain large mailing lists to maximize reach, even if the majority of recipients mark their messages as spam.
- Legal Avoidance: Replacing unsubscribe links with 'report spam' helps spammers avoid the legal obligations associated with unsubscribes.
- Testing Tactics: The 'report spam' button provides data to spammers about how effective their sending techniques are.
- Engagement Metrics: Some affiliates may get paid per engagement meaning they earn from users hitting the report spam button.
- Efficiency: It takes less effort to have customers hit report spam than it is to clean mailing lists.
Key considerations
- Affiliate Obligations: Affiliates must ensure they comply with unsubscribe requests if they provide the option, requiring coordination with other affiliates.
- Brand Impact: While spammers may disregard brand damage, legitimate businesses must consider the long-term impact of spam-like tactics.
- Consumer Choice: Consumers should have a clear and easy way to unsubscribe from unwanted emails, rather than being forced to mark them as spam.
- Ethical marketing: Businesses should follow an ethical marketing framework - meaning its best to replace report spam with an unsubscribe button.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Example shares that spammers often replace unsubscribe with report spam to get around the fact that with affiliate marketing you are required to stop sending emails if they unsubscribe from an email list - also they may get potential customers who accidentally click report spam, meaning they can continue to try and sell to them.
27 Jul 2024 - example.com
Marketer view
Email marketer from Reddit explains that the logic is that because the affiliate doesn't own the product they are marketing if you unsubscribe then they have a legal requirement to ensure the other affiliate they are working with stops sending emails - therefore its simpler to just rely on the report spam as it avoids the obligation to remove the email.
12 Nov 2023 - Reddit
What the experts say
3 expert opinions
Experts indicate that affiliate spammers prefer the 'report spam' button over unsubscribe links primarily to avoid legal obligations to cease mailing and to manipulate metrics. They aim to reduce direct complaints to mailbox providers while creating a false impression of engagement, potentially profiting from 'report spam' events. Avoiding unsubscribe links makes it easier for them to continue mailing, sometimes moving unsubscribers to different programs, rather than adhering to compliance regulations.
Key opinions
- Legal Evasion: Affiliates avoid unsubscribe links to bypass legal requirements to stop mailing.
- Complaint Reduction: The 'report spam' button is strategically used to lower direct complaints to mailbox providers.
- Engagement Illusion: Affiliates aim to create the illusion that their mail is wanted through the 'report spam' metric.
- Payment per Event: Some affiliate arrangements may include payment for 'report spam' events, incentivizing this practice.
Key considerations
- Compliance Oversight: Affiliates should be held accountable for adhering to unsubscribe requests and compliance regulations.
- Ethical Implications: The practice of manipulating metrics and avoiding legal obligations raises ethical concerns about affiliate marketing tactics.
- Consumer Experience: End users should have genuine options to unsubscribe and avoid unwanted mail, rather than being directed to a 'report spam' button.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks explains that affiliates often don't include unsubscribe links to avoid the legal obligation to stop mailing. They use the 'report spam' button to reduce complaints to mailbox providers and create the illusion of wanted mail. Additionally, depending on their arrangement, they may even get paid for these 'report spam' events.
19 Jan 2022 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that the report spam button is actually an attempt to get fewer complaints sent to the mailbox provider and make it look like their mail is wanted due to engagement. Also, depending on their arrangement, it may count as an event they get paid for.
19 Mar 2022 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
6 technical articles
Technical documentation reveals that spammers abuse the 'report spam' button instead of using unsubscribe links for several reasons. It helps them gauge the impact of their activities, test spam filters, and circumvent security measures like SPF and DKIM. By exploiting compliance ambiguities and bypassing legitimate unsubscribe mechanisms, spammers also aim to mask reputation issues and optimize their sending techniques to evade detection while continuing their operations.
Key findings
- Feedback Loop Manipulation: Spammers use the 'report spam' button to understand the impact of their actions via feedback loops.
- Security Bypass: 'Report spam' can be used to circumvent security measures like SPF and DKIM.
- Compliance Avoidance: Spammers exploit ambiguities in compliance regulations, using 'report spam' to misdirect or avoid checks.
- Delivery Optimization: The 'report spam' helps to determine the delivery path of a message.
- Reputation Masking: Spammers use the 'report spam' button to mask bad reputation.
Key considerations
- Strengthen Authentication: Robust email authentication protocols like SPF and DKIM are essential to combat spam.
- Refine Feedback Loops: Improve feedback loops to better detect and penalize spam activities.
- Clarity in Compliance: Clearer and stricter compliance regulations are needed to prevent spammers from exploiting ambiguities.
- Consumer Protections: Ensure consumers have easily accessible unsubscribe options and protections against spam.
Technical article
Documentation from Microsoft explains that some senders use the 'report spam' to bypass security measures like SPF and DKIM. By not using authentication protocols correctly they rely on high volume to bypass these, as their messages are more likely to land in the spam folder.
20 Jul 2023 - Microsoft
Technical article
Documentation from Mailchimp explains that spammers often rely on the 'report spam' button due to the absence of legitimate unsubscribe mechanisms. When recipients mark messages as spam, it contributes to feedback loops, which provide mailbox providers with information about senders potentially engaging in undesirable practices. Spammers manipulate this feedback to gauge the impact of their activities.
26 Jul 2023 - Mailchimp
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