Spam and ethical e-marketing

The online environment can offer an opportunity for companies to market themselves and their products inexpensively and effectively, but you need to exercise considerable care to ensure that your method, or your message, doesn't get you into legal or other difficulties. Sending unsolicited commercial e-mail (commonly referred to as "spam") will not only alienate the customers you're trying to attract, it could result in your Internet Service Provider terminating your Internet access, and may soon attract penalties under proposed Australian Government legislation.

Over the last few years spam has become a serious problem and constitutes almost 50% of world-wide e-mail. It is rapidly eroding the value of legitimate online marketing and is causing problems for both users and the Internet generally, so it is important that you make sure you don't contribute to the problem.

To find out more about spam go to DCITA's report on the problem at: http://www.dcita.gov.au/communications_and_technology/publications_and_reports/2003/04/spam_report

To make sure you aren't spamming, all of your commercial e-mail must:

* only be sent where there is an existing business relationship, or where people have clearly indicated they wish to receive it
* provide customers with the opportunity to decline future contact if they wish by including a working unsubscribe method
* be accurate, clear and unambiguous in all of the details in the e-mail (eg. addresses, subject lines, contact details).