Playing by the Rules

Mark E-mail Messages ADV

Marketers who send messages to non-opt-in, permission-based rented lists may not run afoul of regulations if they clearly label their messages “ADV,” but they may still get in hot water with consumers who perceive these unsolicited messages as spam.

Bill Herp, founder and president of Lexington, MA-based E-Dialog, a direct-response e-mail developer, insists that this spam stigma is becoming less problematic. According to Herp, “The problem with spam is not that it is unsolicited, but that it clutters your in-box with random information that has no relevance to your needs and interests.”