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Email Newsletters: Privacy and Unsubscribing:By: Robert F. Abbott As you likely know from personal experience, the value of email has been greatly tarnished by spam, unsolicited messages, online junk mail. So, many subscribers and would-be subscribers care very much about the exposure of their email addresses. Since this issue is so important, articulate a privacy policy for your newsletter. Will you rent, sell, or exchange the names of your subscribers to other organizations or persons? While most of us have no plans to do so when we are small, that opinion can change as we grow our list. Quite frankly, once your list gets to a certain size, you may be able to earn quite a bit of money by renting it out. Many magazine and subscription publishers find that the difference between a profit and loss is list rental income.
If you do decide to keep the list names strictly to yourself, post a message to that effect somewhere, either in the email newsletter itself, at sites where you collect the names of subscribers, or both. By posting, and adhering to, a privacy policy, you will get more subscribers. To read an example, go my newsletter's web page at If you're not sure whether you will or will not sell or rent the addresses, then put a note to that effect instead. Many companies do this by saying something like this: "Would you like to receive information messages by email from our valued partners?" To that, of course, you add a checkbox. The default position should be off, which is to say, subscribers have to click on the box to receive those mailings. And, needless to say, you must then respect the choice they make. You must also make it quick and easy for subscribers to say good-bye. Each issue of your newsletter should contain information explaining how to unsubscribe or be removed from the mailing list. There are many forms this information can take. To choose one, go through the email newsletters you now receive, and decide which you like best. Then, prepare your own notice, using this one as a guide. Of course, you will not copy anything directly, which would be plagiarism. On the flip side, add information to each newsletter that explains how to subscribe, and consider, too, putting in a line asking recipients to pass along your newsletter to someone else who would benefit from it. A simple reminder like that could help you build your list, painlessly. Recommendations from a trusted colleague or friend will boost your subscriber list quickly. Summing up, develop a privacy policy and stick to it. In addition, give your subscribers an escape hatch they can access quickly and easily. Read another article:More Internet communication or newsletter articles orOther business and workplace communication articles
More communication resources...Want to make your writing more lively, more interesting, and more effective? Robert Abbott shows you three quick and easy techniques for achieving those goals, and as a result, getting better results. You get the techniques, a practice document, and an example document in one concise booklet.
One of my favorite resources on public speaking is a free newsletter that arrives by email -- Tom Antion's Great Speaking. Whether you're an experienced speaker/presenter or you're just getting started, this newsletter will help you.
Effective communication begins with a strategy. A plan and a statement that ensure you put your words into the right framework. How to Craft a Communication Strategy, guides you through the four steps involved in developing a strategy and a statement for the strategy. Want to know more? http://www.effective-communication.com/booklets.htm
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What do you need to know before you begin writing or designing your newsletter? Find the answers in A Manager's Guide to Newsletters: Communicating for Results, the response-focused newsletter book. It was written by Robert F. Abbott, who wrote most of the communication articles you've seen above.