Why is permission important?

Obtaining permission from contacts is not only the key to building an engaged and responsive audience. It’s also a legal requirement in most countries around the world.

In email marketing, permission refers to users’ explicit and provable consent to receive marketing messages.

• To be explicit, the permission can't be bundled with another agreement. For example, you would need a separate checkbox stating, “I agree to receive marketing emails from XYZ company" to give more clarity.
• To check the provable criteria, you should collect written or recorded permission from every contact. With theMarketer's signup forms, each submission is tracked and recorded, providing verified permission.

Unsolicited emails are more likely to be marked as spam and less likely to engage recipients or lead to purchases. Being marked as spam can result in blacklisting, which can damage your sender reputation and prevent subscribers from receiving any of your campaigns.

When an email is marked as spam, the recipient's Internet Service Provider (ISP) is informed about the suspicious message, which keeps a count of such reports. As a general rule, almost half of email users report emails as spam if the sender's details are unfamiliar. Therefore, make sure your sender name and email address are recognizable, and regularly send campaigns so subscribers don't forget about your brand.

If your emails are frequently marked as spam, the ISP may denylist you. This means any message sent to any user on their network will be blocked. In some cases, a firewall may scan for blacklisted URLs and block any email that includes them. Once on a denylist, reversing the situation is difficult and time-consuming.

To build a robust audience, always secure permission before sending any email campaigns. Don’t assume permission is granted unless it’s been explicitly given to you. If in doubt, seek confirmation.

Refrain from sending unsolicited marketing campaigns and keep in mind that any contact list acquired from a third party, irrespective of its reputation, puts you at risk.

Email marketing can be a powerful tool if used ethically and correctly. And this implies respecting your customers' consent.