So, we all know that SPAM stinks. In every sense of the word. But how do we, as digital marketers, keep from falling into the dreaded can of spicy meat substance? Easy, we get permission to contact people, before we send them emails. That is why we have opt-in generators on web-pages and social-networking sites, why we ask people to sign-up for mailing lists at events, and also why every email includes an option to unsubscribe.
But how long does this permission last? Well, this is a bit trickier. If you get someones email address and start using it immediately, then it could last forever. After the initial explicit permission to contact them is given via on opt-in or other subscription request, each communique that they receive and do not unsubscribe from is implicit permission to continue to contact them. That makes sense, of course, and probably seems pretty obvious.
The waters get muddied, however, when we start talking about addresses that have been collected, but not used. How long is the shelf-life of an unused email address? Well, regardless of why the address has not been used (lost list, changing database systems, etc.), I think it is fair to say that it is not open-ended. There aren't any written-in-stone rules here, but I think if we apply some common sense, we can come up with a reasonable answer. First, let's keep in mind that permission only exists as long as the recipient knows that they gave it. So, if you got an email list three years ago, I think it is safe to throw it away as the people on it have forgotten that they signed up if you have not yet contacted them. Also, relevancy is important. If you have emails from a year or two ago that you never contacted and you never received again from any other channel, I think it is safe to say that they are not your target audience and that whatever you have to say is not relevant to them. So, what is a good rule of thumb then? I would venture to say six months, a year at the absolute most. If you have not contacted a subscriber in that amount of time, I think it is safe to say that your permission window has closed, and you need to get explicit permission again.
Maybe that is just me. What do you think?
Labels: permission marketing, SPAM
