Connecting the Dots

Delivered to your inbox the last Monday of the month

Whether you’re a business owner or employee, no doubt you appreciate the need to network.  If you’re in the Charlotte, NC area Monday 3/9 at 6pm, drop by Connect the Dots, a monthly networking group sponsored by The PR Store .

I’ll be the featured speaker this month, talking about one of the things that gets under my skin: unsolicited newsletters.  What makes so many people think that just because they have my email address I actually want their newsletters?

I posed this question to a group of fellow solo-preneurs, who pounced:

“Everyone else does it so if I don’t do it my competitors get ahead of me.”

“Why wouldn’t they want to hear from me?”

“It’s not illegal, you know!”

“They can always hit ‘spam’ or  ‘unsubscribe’.”

“If I’m not sending out a monthly newsletter I’m not being professional.”

“I can’t afford to send brochures and postcards and besides that, no one opens snail mail anymore!”

“If I send them an email asking them to opt in, half my list will go away!”

When I went on to tell them they could incur a federal fine of $11,000 for doing so, they became frantic.

“No one’s going to turn me in.”

“Can’t get blood from a stone.”

“That can’t be right.”

Since I offer custom newsletter content, templates and management services I have a vested interest in getting the word out about CAN-SPAM compliance.  But so does every business that sends out what’s defined as “commercial email.”

That probably includes YOU.

Hope to see you on March 9 at 6pm.  I’ll be giving away a free newsletter consultation to one attendee.  Hope it’s  YOU!