I have been spammed three times by authors from the same sign up list. Normally it doesn’t bother me, but this bothered me. It bothered me a lot.
It all started from an accidental emailing from a well-known author to his readership list (several hundred). In one correspondence, he added his list of names to the CC field, not the BCC, so that meant everyone could see all the names on the list.
A couple people immediately jumped on the spam train — “Hey, I can use the list to push my goods for possible more sales.” In fact, one wrote directly in her email “When you receive a list of 227 people, I’d be crazy not to take advantage of it.” The issue? That entire concept is unprofessional, unethical and illegal.
My response was to write the well-known author and politely inform him of his mistake of the CC rather than BCC. I did not mention the spam email I received, but apparently someone else on the list did. In fact, a few hours later the entire list received an apology from the author as well as a request for “all” to respect the people on the list.
Ownership of Opt-In Lists
Email lists are hot commodities. They are bought and sold on the internet daily. And if you spent a lot of time building your list and reputation, the last thing you want is some one stealing your hard work – and muddying your name.
This well-known author spent a lot of time marketing and developing his opt-in list. (Opt-in email lists are a list of people who chose to sign up to receive information – they were not just randomly added to the list). These opt-in lists belong to the owner of the list and no one else.
When the spam mail arrived, I found the intrusion invasive and distasteful. Not only did it make me NOT want to do business with that person, I questioned their ethics as a professional, a businessperson and as a human being.
Perhaps you think I am making a mountain out of a molehill. But you can look at this this way. You sign up to receive the latest information for movies. But in the “terms and conditions” which most people do not read, it states that your email can be sold. Bam! You get hundreds of solicitors vying for your attention and dollars.
Opt-in email lists that include “your email will never be sold or shared with any third party” are meant to be safe. So, when you start to receive spam from such a list, you get a little annoyed. Thankfully, the author sent his apologies and asked for a cease and desist from further temptations at spamming – showing he was a good moderator of his readership despite the minor mistake.
Legal Marketing Alternatives
For an author, you are branding your name, not your book. Illegal tactics will hurt more than they help. Besides, there are a plethora of legal strategies you can implement to market and promote yourself.
I can appreciate the enticement of 200+ possible customers. You want to get your book or product sold – and marketing is tough for an author. But there are better ways to achieve this than stooping to such low tactics. It discredits you as a person and a professional author.
Here are a few ideas:
- Offer a sign up from your site for tips and consultations
- Ask people to pre-review your upcoming novel and gather emails
- Offer a contest – gather emails
- Join Facebook and Twitter
- Participate and Engage in Reader forums
- Write articles for your site
- Guest blog
- Write and submit to free article sites
