I have been waiting patiently for just one of the supporters of the proposed Do Not Email (DNE) list to go on record and explain, in detail, how it will reduce Spam. I may be waiting a while longer as it appears the best explanation so far is an extended index finger pointing to the success of the recent Do Not Call (DNC) list.
Now I'd love to use this column to explain how the DNC is actually a horrible failure on the part of both the government and the telemarketing industry (unless you consider killing an entire industry and putting thousands of hardworking Americans out of work simply so phones don't ring during dinner a success) but I won't. I'd rather use this space to explain why the DNE will not only be ineffective, it will backfire on Washington.
First off, I am hard pressed to figure out which email marketers (both legitimate and not) will actually be using the DNE file. At NetCreations, we go to great lengths to request and confirm an email list member's permission so we can send them commercial offers via email. If anyone would like to see proof that a specific individual "opted in", all they have to do is ask.
The way the DNE is outlined, companies that have such indisputable proof will not be required to purge their mailings against the DNE. On the other side of the fence are the Spammers and we are all fairly confident that they won't use it either. Isn't their main objective to remain hidden?
Therefore if those companies that represent the high bar of permission and those that clearly abuse it won't use the DNE, who will? My guess is that it would be those nervous email marketers who fall into the vast gray area of permission. The companies that are testing the limits of the meaning "prior business relationship" or who utilize an opt-out approach would be wise to use the DNE. My advice to these list owners: Clean up you list building practices. At any rate, these companies represent a very small portion of one's inbox so the question remains; where's the decrease in Spam?
Let's put aside for a minute what the DNE actually is and concentrate on how consumers will perceive it. You guessed it! Consumers will view it in the same manner as the DNC file except for commercial email. They will assume it is a universal "get me off all email lists" with the exception of the occasional pitch from charities. Why shouldn't they? We've pre-trained them with the DNC.
Therefore when the DNE gets hyped and millions of people submit their email addresses, the move will be initially seen as another "success". That is, until a few weeks later when several million people continue to see no drop in Spam volume. Then you have one of the largest customer service disasters ever. Thousands of irate telephone calls begin streaming through DC switchboards which pale by comparison to the number of angry emails received each day.
Suddenly all the kudos Washington received for the DNC begins to evaporate and is replaced with accusations of reckless spending on an ineffective DNE.
I could go on but since I have not seen a decent argument in favor of the DNE, I don't feel I should have to.
Let me simply end by saying the DNC failed (yes, failed) because opt-out was an incorrect model for such a personal channel of communication. With email, government and businesses have an opportunity to join together and build a better model; a model that allows consumers to be free of unsolicited email and business to thrive. That model begins with opt-in.
As President and Chief Operating Officer of NetCreations/PostMasterDirect, Michael Mayor is an 18-year veteran of direct marketing and a recognized pioneer of email marketing. Michael joined NetCreation's as one of the company's first employees in 1998 and played a key role in helping to build the largest and most successful email list management company in the industry today. He has also pioneered many of the email marketing industry's standards and best practices. Mayor is a leading advocate of privacy and is a frequent speaker at industry functions. Mayor is also the Chairman for the Interactive Advertising Bureau's Email Committee.
