Confused about UK spam laws and advertising by email

[dancrenshaw]

Hi,

I wondered if anyone had a definitive answer regarding emailing companies in the UK about your services............

Everywhere you read it says "you must only email those that have opted in to receive something from you, or those that you have done business with in the past". This makes sense.

But then it isnt clear if business to business is exempt from this? After all, you can go to any mailing list broker (completely reputable) and buy 500 email addresses for next to nothing. You wouldnt have had any dealings with those email addresses before. You can also buy addresses and send them postcards or whatever (I get unsolicited postcards/letters all the time), so you'd assume you could also do a mass e-mail shot?

Similarly, if you were a web hosting company for example, and noticed a companys website was behaving slow, or was down, would you be within your right to email them offering your services and how it would improve on what they currently have? (Im not a web host by the way)

Is targetting the key here? If a web host did email 500 business about their super hosting service, then it is un-targetted unless the recipient has an issue with their current hosting, which would be impossible to tell at the outset, so there would be some companies that would consider the email as spam, some as useful.

Is it a grey area, or is there a simple answer?

Thanks

[Rob Holmes]

Simple answer just get them to opt in.

Legally I believe you have to offer opt-out for B2B emails BUT and it's a BIG BUT..

How on earth do you guarantee they are classified as a business email and not a personal email address?

Stay on the safe side and just get them to opt-in. Save getting the £5000 fine for each upheld complaint.

An opt-in list is going to be far more responsive to your mailing as well because by the very fact they have voluntarily opted in means they are self-qualifying themselves as interested in what you have said you'll be offering them.

Rob

Edited for attrocious spellings :)

[Top Hat]

Have you had spam? has it annoyed you?

My opinion is if you've visited the site, found out about the company and written a personalised email (maybe based on a template) that's OK.

If you buy a list and mail it, that's not, because its not targeted (even if they say it is)

Personally, I like to hear about services that are relevant to me, but anything that looks like a mass mailing goes in the bin.

[MinuWeb]

I did read somewhere that info@anydomain.com and sales@anydomain.com cannot be classified as a personal e-mail address and must be classified as a business address.

Not sure how accurate this info is and don't have time to check up on it.

[TechFox]

Sending a message, especially an advertisement, to more than five recipients, is by itself spamming unless the individuals have specifically requested to be added to a mailing list on that topic. This includes both commercial advertisements and informational messages sent to recipients via electronic mail (email) as well as off-topic messages posted in Usenet discussion groups where the recipient has not requested or invited the message. E-mail is a person-to-person medium, not a broadcast medium.

If you wish to contact people who have requested to be added to a mailing list try these two:

-----

HTmail: Opt-in email marketing - Opt-in lists for small businesses:

http://www.htmail.com/order.html?mike@techfox.co.uk

-----

Opt-In Email Lists: Emailing marketing lists of UK Business opportunity - Gambling - Home workers - MLM and UK Franchise seekers:

http://www.bizads.co.uk/email_lists_paypal.htm

[sparklyscotty]

I've had some concerns about this too. I buy email lists from a marketing company, but the people on the lists are brides who have specifically said they are looking for jewellery, so I am sending informtion they want.
I also include opt-in, opt-out and unsubscribe features.
My e-mails are also only ever sent once a month, so I amn't swamping people.
-Angel-

[Richard Conyard]

AFAIK B2B follows the same rules now as B2C :-( Also it may not matter if you even write them e-mail personally.

At a £5K per e-mail fine it's not great. Of course the people that really send out spam viagra, porn, loans, etc. do not give a flying fig about this and continue on their merry way. The only people that are hurt are smaller legitimate companies that now much rely even more so on advertising.

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[c4l]

Anybody know where i can buy a list of people wanting a new car? Don't want to SPAM so people that have opted in would be great.

[TechFox]

You can send email to UK Car Owners at http://www.htmail.com/order.html?mike@techfox.co.uk