One Little Mistake that Increases Spam for You and Other People

Why do some AOL and MSN users have to cause headaches for
people? I’m sorry, I know AOL is where
many people get started. It is where the
beginners like to get their feet wet with this big scary cloud we call the
Internet. But at the same
time, this is a goal setting site for people who like technology. By visiting and participating here, it is
implied you have some sort of grip on what technology is.

Yet, for the past week, a handful of AOL users and some MSN
users have been neglecting one of their most basic Internet duties. They are taking the easy way. And by doing so they are one step closer to
causing more spam for themselves and the rest of us.

So what are they doing? How are they affecting the amount of spam/content ratio on the
Internet? I’ll get to that in a second,
but first I’ll give you some background.

I have gone to a lot of personal expense to provide a
service to you in the form of the Achieve-IT! newsletter. I didn’t go with a freebie service and I
didn’t scrimp on the cost because I wanted to release something of
quality. Something I could be proud of – A newsletter you would be happy to read.

There are several benefits and insurance for me paying out
of pocket for this service. By going
with a paid for service/server I know you won’t be spammed as a result of a
freebie service changing their policy and sticking it to the readers by
inserting ads into the content. I also
know they won’t piggy back on my reader list by sending all of you spam from
someone else.

The Achieve-IT! newsletter also has a stringent verification
process. It won’t let some people
subscribe. No, you have to prove
yourself worthy. It boots out suspect
email addresses. It also makes everyone
verify they want it.  And if you decide you don’t want it, then you click the unsubscribe link at the bottom and you are removed.  No questions asked and no further emails from me. 

Another benefit of the paid for service is I have 100% control over the content and formatting of
what you receive. I practice the golden
rule when it comes to mailing out newsletters. I wouldn’t send you anything that I personally wouldn’t want to get
myself. There is no advertising in any
of the newsletters I’ve sent – unless you consider the “About Me” box where I link
to my Achieve-IT! software.

So what’s this got to do with newbies increasing spam for
everybody?

There are two ways. First, apparently some of the new users do not understand the basic difference between unsolicited spam and a verified subscription newsletter.  As a result a few new users can raise the spam/content ratio for an entire network.

In AOL and MSN’s email accounts there is a little button you
can click that marks particular messages as spam. When someone does clicks it, AOL logs that on
their servers and if enough people do that, it blocks that particular sender
from mailing all other users in the system! I am not
sure the percentage AOL uses to make that type of determination, but a guess
would be somewhere around 5%. So if my
newsletter goes to 100 AOL users and 95 people want it, but 5 people decide not
to unsubscribe and instead hit the Spam button, then the rest of you lose the
privilege…right there on the spot.

So immediately your spam/content ratio goes up
dramatically. I don’t have to tell you
many people get 50 spams per 1 legitimate email.  People who have email accounts dedicated to
their newsletters may see their content/spam ratio rise to 100% spam in their
inboxes.

The second way this increases spam is when the good guys decide it’s
not worth fighting community blocking and stop using legitimate means of
distribution. That’s not to say I would
ever spam you. I wouldn’t. But I would likely stop the service – as
would many of the quality providers if they weren’t able get through. I’d really hate doing that because I love the
newsletter. It’s a lot of fun. I enjoy hearing back about how I’ve given
hope to someone who is going through a divorce, helped someone lose a stubborn
50lbs., or helped someone double their income. Who wouldn’t enjoy that?

But candidly, since I am not placing any advertising in it, I don’t make
a dime from it. It costs me money -
every month. So if it came down to
fighting a community block or focusing my efforts on other projects, I’d choose
to focus on something else.

Who is going to rise in the place of legitimate
newsletter providers like us? Someone
always rises to fill the void. If the
honest way doesn’t work anymore, then what option is left? Someone who doesn’t have your best interests
at heart (i.e. spammers) will be the vultures who fill the space formerly
occupied by the good guys.

Now what can you do to help? Somewhere around 70% of my subscribers who join are a result of
referrals. W00T! Thanks for your support! And please do keep spreading the word. 

But keep in mind if you are inviting an AOL/MSN newbie you might take the extra step of mentioning that if your friend doesn’t like it, to
use the unsubscribe link. Not just for
this newsletter, but other legitimate newsletters they have subscribed to.  Block spam yes, but unsubscribe from the real stuff.  That way everyone still helps reduce spam, but still can get the content they want.