Starting over
5 September 2013
I recently moved this blog to a new server as I was losing access to the old server (which is a long story best told in person). For some unknown reason, the backup that I created of my site’s database didn’t include the posts. I’m still not sure why that happened, but this wasn’t noticed…
Ten Business Days Doesn’t Help
10 May 2013
I unsubscribed from a mailing list recently. When I did, I was confronted with the following message: We’re sorry to see you go. You should be aware that it could take up to ten business days to completely remove your address from our lists. That’s a pretty standard disclaimer that complies with the time limits…
Why Does All of This Matter?
22 June 2012
Sometimes, you just want to beat your head against your desk, put your head in your hands and cry, and then beat your head against the wall. I’m kind of at that point at the moment. Why? “Probably,” as Jack Handy once said about the reason why raindrops would be God’s tears, “because of something…
Guest Blog: I am not a spammer – so why have I been blocked?
12 April 2012
screenshot of an email inbox filled with spam (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Today’s post comes from Richard Bewley. He’s a deliverability expert in ExactTarget’s London office. Since I’m at ET as well, we sometimes get the opportunity to work together and I’ve found him to be pretty solid in the advice that he gives clients and thought that you might enjoy his insight.
So, without further ado, take it away, Richard!
The difference between triage and planning
27 September 2011
I read an interesting post by Andrew Kordek at Trendline Interactive this morning. Its premise is that “Organizations need to do a better job at defining an inactive.” And the fact is, he’s right. I also think that this ties into recent discussions regarding whether “best practices” are actually the best things for folks to…
Why an opt-out opt-in doesn’t really work
17 August 2011
I recently heard from some friends about Penton Media sending an email asking people to subscribe to get third-party email. They didn’t like being required to opt-out to avoid getting email that wasn’t requested in the first place, even if there had been a warning given that the email was coming. Apparently, Spamhaus agreed with…
Canada’s anti-spam law: Does it apply to me?
30 March 2011
Lots of time and space has been dedicated to an examination of Canada’s new anti-spam law. And we have been watching it too. For a general overview of the law, I would suggest reading [acp author=”Al Iverson” day=”17″ month=”December” year=”2010″ url=”http://www.exacttarget.com/blog/canadas-anti-spam-bill-c-28-becomes-law/” media=”blog” publisher=”ExactTarget” title=”Canada’s Anti-Spam Bill (C-28) Becomes Law”]{author}’s {publisher} blog post[/acp] about it. Today,…
Partial bulking & other warning shots
23 March 2011
This morning, I got a question about some, but not all, of a mailing going into the bulk folder at a large ISP. “What does it mean when they do that? What should we do?” Most folks seem to think that sending mail to the bulk folder is an “all or nothing” proposition. They know…
Number 11 is a nice place to be
15 March 2011
Sometimes we can get too close to something. So close, in fact, that we take comments the wrong way so that they become insults that they were never intended to be. A couple of years ago, a member of the postmaster staff at a large, North American ISP said to a group of ESP people:…
Are appended lists really purchased lists?
20 January 2011
Earlier today I asked a couple of questions on Twitter: “How does one go about transferring permission?” “Why do marketers buy ‘opt-in’ lists?” The first question did not get many answers. The consensus of those who took the time to respond was that permission might be transferred in an assets purchase. Beyond that, it would…