Infostructure Part 4 The "OPT IN " Requirement

Hello Again,

I'm sorry but once again due to health problems, I have not written a new post for a long time, but those days are behind me now, and you will be seeing regular updates very frequently.

I am sure you have heard more times than you can count, the phrase "The money is in the list". You also know that without a "list" your internet business will quickly go out of business.

One of the most important parts of the inforstructure of your website is an opt in product. This is where a visitor to your website gives you some information, so that you can send them e-mail, newsletters, or anything else you can think of. However, you cannot just send out millions of e-mails to people, without eventually finding your self in violation of anti-spamming laws.

The most well know of these laws is the Federal CAN-SPAM law. I won't get into a detailed discussion of the law, suffice it to say you do not want to find yourself in violation of it and my getting a reputation as a "spammer" you will almost certainly destory any chances of a successful internet business. Nobody wants to receive spam. So how do you build a "list" and not risk violating the anti-spam laws?

The answer is use of an "opt-in" product. This is where a person gives you their consent to receive something from you and protects you from any spam issues.

CAN-SPAM doesn’t define the term “opt-in.” But it does define affirmative consent. For what you’re looking for, consider them equal.

The CAN-SPAM Act defines affirmative consent thusly:

AFFIRMATIVE CONSENT -- The term "affirmative consent", when used with respect to a commercial electronic mail message, means that— (A) the recipient expressly consented to receive the message, either in response to a clear and conspicuous request for such consent or at the recipient's own initiative; and (B) if the message is from a party other than the party to which the recipient communicated such consent, the recipient was given clear and conspicuous notice at the time the consent was communicated that the recipient's electronic mail address could be transferred to such other party for the purpose of initiating commercial electronic mail messages.

Once a person furnishes their information to you through the use of an "opt-in" product, they are giving you affirmative consent to contact them. Most "opt-in" products after receiving the user's information send an e-mail to the e-mail address they have provided, which contains a "link" which they will then click on to verify their information.

"Opt-in" products come in many different forms and quality and the cost runs from freeware to hundreds or thousands of dollars. Some "autoresponder" programs may include them, but the best kind are found in unblockable floating box. When someone gets to your website, you have about 12 seconds to catch their attention, and an unblockable floating opt-in box. This, if done well, will immedately catch your visitor's eye and increase the chance your chances of getting them to be a subscriber to your website, newsletter, e-course, etc.

Since they are giving you their affirmative consent to contact them via e-mail, your e-mails will not be in violation of the anti-spam laws. However, just to be extremely safe, your e-mails should always include an "opt-out" link, so that someone can get off your mailing list.

Afterall, you only want to make your mailings to people who want them. Selling food to a straving crowd is a lot easier than selling ice to Eskimos. So use your resources wisely.

In the next post, I'll look at some specific "opt-in" products.