Generally I read most of the hubspot articles because there is always some useful point or tip to be gleaned from them. I wasn't going to read this one because the title seemed trite. Still, I did read it and agree with the sentiments wholeheartedly. BTW SPAM is an abbreviation for a nauseous luncheon wartime meat 'Spiced Ham'!

Maybe it's because it's Valentine's day that I'm so loved up with Hubspot. Excellently well put together article (as ever) and am in total agreement. Spam is for tins that you never open only.

Way to make my Valentines start off on a high note. Couldn't have said it better myself. We could all use a little less email and more conversation. Relationships grow business, not just sales. Cheers

What timing. I got an email yesterday from a restaurant owner in the Catskills. And I live in Eastern Massachusetts. When I wrote to say I didn't remember opting in, he said he gets his subscribers from many places. I may forward this to him. He may have a lovely restaurant, but he's going to give it a bad rep! I'd rather have a tiny list of people who want to be on my list than a gigantic list of people who hate me because they don't want to be on my list. Btw, he said it was easy to unsubscribe. Yes, it was. But why should I have to? And why must I click on a link from a stranger to do so?

We are constantly guilty of this, even though we think we are doing no harm. I guess it is easier for a company to take this route instead of finding alternate routes to their audience. I am going to try and get my company thinking this way. Thank you for this article, you always share the best content!

Great piece! I think as marketers we need to start looking to the Golden Rule for inspiration. If you wouldn't want that kind of marketing done unto you, don't do it unto others!

Great letter as this is such a problem in todays marketing world. To spread love not spam, we always ask and notify prospects that we are adding them to an automated mailing list which will send them USEFUL information on a MONTHLY basis. Prospects are way happier to receive emails that they are aware of, provide useful information to them, and only appear in their inbox every couple of weeks. Thanks for the letter, hopefully it resonates with the right people!

Love it! <3

First of all I would like to thank you for the perfect topic. Second, I think dealing with people as numbers will lead to nowhere, but when we offer people some real benefit and respect them as humans the same we respect ourselves and our privacy, they themselves will ask for our help and will subscribe to our emails because they can taste the real thing inside everyday.

Thanks again for the creative "holiday-hacked" post. Yea, as marketers it's our task to educate folks about how not be "spammy." These days, in addition to email spam, we gotta be careful of being "spammy" in our social channels - especially with the capacity to send multiple posts to multiple channels with one click!

I agree with Christina that the capacity to send multiple posts to multiple channels with one click can prove to be irresistible to spammers.

<3 this article and downloaded the ebook as we just started our email campaign yesterday even though most of data came from previous customers, we still have a few that are 'borrowed' from sister companies. I look forward to reading to ebook so I can enhance my skills at email marketing :D

I think it's also important not to spam the people who already trust you. For example someone who comes to you for a service (say physiotherapy) and they gladly give you their email address; but then you email blast them with all events you have going on, any and all injury exercises, etc. - Instead, tailor your messages to specific subgroups of people. Not everyone who came to you (for physio) is the same. Make a group of people with knee injuries and send them relevant info; or a group who is interested in new local activities. It is easy to do this by sending out questionnaires or offering up these choices when they sign up in the first place. Not only will this save you from having drop offs from your list, but it will also garner more readers of each piece since they are interested in the specific tailored content you are offering.

Thanks for the wise words Mike! I can use all the advice possible on best practices related to email marketing. I actually sent my first company email blast out via MailChimp yesterday. Articles like this will help me avoid sending the "spammy" emails.

Great content - as always! Everything you put out is high quality and helpful. Thanks! xoxo

You've hit the nail right on the head and on Valentine's Day too.  
This is a day when everyone talks about love & slushy stuff and to those in a relationship...that's great BUT for those on their own, it really sucks and that's true of our Marketing too. If we target the right audience we have maximised our potential but hit the wrong ones and we've done ourselves some real harm. It's all about getting Cupid's arrow right in the bullseye!! Great post guys and love the ethics of what you're saying.

I couldn't agree more. As a B2B marketer, I am always trying to think of more ways to organically grow our list without being spammy. I loathe spam as much as the next person

This article is enjoyable and timely. One additional thought is just because you have a business card does not give you permission to add him or her to your email database, your CRM, etc. Ask for permission and give them a double opt in feature. 
Leanne Hoagland-Smith

Marketers are supposed to make people fall in love with brands. Changing time has replaced lovers with leads. It's probably time to go back to the roots, to the tried and tested formulae.

If it is truly information that can benefit all on my lists, is it spam? Okay, yes it is for some that haven't given me explicit permission to send to them. E-blasts are still the most economical and timely way to get my message out to the masses. What's a girl to do??

Amazing how people track delivered, opens and clicks. Maybe the red flag metric we should look at first is SPAMs an UNSUBSCRIBES.  
 
Maybe there should be a Hippocratic oath for marketers: FIRST DO NO HARM.

There's an easy fix to this: build your lists legitimately, organically, and actually give a crap about the people on the other end of the email. It's the thinking behind buying lists that is essentially at the heart of the problem. "Build it big, overnight!" Think in terms of the long money, not the short money, take care of your customers, and you'll build a legitimate business that will line your pockets for a long, long time. And, you can sleep at night too! WOOT WOOT!

I really like the posts you have been creating the last few days for Valentine's Day. They are informative, funny and very share-able. I feel like I'm always promoting HubSpot content, but it's because you guys do such a great job. I love the shirts and would love one too. 
 
Even as a consumer I am aware of how much SPAM I get and how many lists I'm put into... I now automatically unsubscribe from any new email I get when I don't recognize them.

Great article, and an issue I struggle with frequently - how legit are my 'contacts' and is it really right to send them something? Additionally - is email the right/best way to communicate this message? Could we change how we're delivering it?  
 
Love your blog, by the way :)

It does always amaze me when opening my email in the morning how many solicitations I get from people that I truly have NO idea where they got my info from, many well targeted but not something I opted into. 
 
I can also say that I have many times thought about doing the same thing because "Everyone Does it" but it just doesn't sit well with me!

Well it's definitely easier said than done. As much as a single Marketing employee would love to only send information to people who want to read it, the reality is that no one cares about your company making money more than you do and while a message may seem redeeming to the sender, the reader may still be desperately searching for the unsubscribe button. Yes, the end game is to grow your list as organically as you can and send them only the most titillating information possible but for smaller businesses this is no easy task. I'm not implying that businesses should buy lists because I totally disagree with that practice, but often times businesses receive lists of attendees from a conference they helped sponsor. The key, rather than trying to only send emails to people you know, is to send a message that is attractive and can be easily digested by a wide audience and then to only communicate with the people who engage with it, rather than continue to spam the whole group.

List building, aside from the technical stuff, is probably the most difficult task we face as Online Marketers. 
 
And, it something that we must work at every day. but, the right way. 
 
I totally agree, even though I have heard many descriptions of how to do it the best way, that buying lists and spamming email owners is wrong. 
 
I do not like to receive spam. I do not intend to send spam.  
 
Thanks for bringing this issue to the open. I am glad to see that there are so many positive comments. 
 
Happy Valentine's Day!

Great article! I think that as marketers, we must evolve from simply trying to to get our message out to as many people as possible, but rather try to generate targeted conversations with the people we are trying to reach. By engaging them in conversation, and sending them uniquely tailored information, you are not only advertising to them, you are creating a connection that is much more valuable than just click-through rates and conversions: you have made a friend who will defend you, stick with you in the hard times, and refer you to others. That is the power of engagement.

The best way to avoid Spamming people is to build an audience naturally. This is obvious and, in most cases, difficult. But, by doing things the right way you ensure a good standing reputation for your company which hopefully pads your bottom line. 
 
And by "the right way" I mean creating content which your target audience cares about, can find organically and easily, and makes them want more information from you. That, is how to ensure you do not Spam your customer base. By creating value.

Hi Mike, 
Love the initiative. Thought you and your readers might get a kick out of a similar view from me that I did for Halloween. 
 
If you don't mind, here is a link to the video "Imagine if there was no Spam": 
 
http://www.verticalmeasures.com/miscellaneous/imagine-if-there-was-no-spam/

THANK YOU! We marketers have to distance ourselves from spammers as much as possible for the sake of our profession. We are better than that!

I LOVE this post. I am always wondering how to collect a list, and try to convince my customers not to purchase lists or collect online. I would like to see my customers post regular and useful information about their services and products. Please share tips on how to keep it under control. Thank you!

Great article, and I agree with Margaux. You don't want to destroy the trust your customers have in your brand. It's a lot of work to gain a following, and too easy to lose them.

Starting with operating processes to collect email addresses from your existing customers is a foundation. This is something many businesses we work with still struggle with, and at least most of your customers are happy to hear from you with interesting content and happy to pass on your details for referral when you do a good job.

There is a LEGITIMATE way (no spam) of getting new people to opt into your mailing list by RENTING targeted mailing lists and email lists. There are many companies who have built legitimate lists through on-line surveys, or from subscribers to their magazine and these companies will deploy your email message to their list, for a fee of course... 
 
Note that the owner of the list never releases the list to you, but rather deploys your message to their list via their own email service.  
 
When the consumer fills out the survey or subscribes to a publication, they typically will be asked if the want to opt in to receive "advertising offers relevant to their interests." Reputable list owners, like Time Magazine,  
will review your proposed email message to make sure it is relevant to their audience, thus it is not spam. Contact me: jklein@jklein.com if you would like more information on legit email lists for your target market.

Marketers who spam simply want to take a short cut rather than taking the time to build a following. In the long run, they never get out of this cycle. Building a list based on interested buyers and followers takes time but its long lasting and much more rewarding. Thanks for continuing to challenge marketers to reduce spam.

This open letter is well received and there is no better comment than to say i agree fully with your suggestions to marketers.

Mike – I’ve loved HubSpot since I first met you all at a small pub in Boston in 2009.  
 
I love that you empowered the small business owner (one myself) with a marketing tool they could understand.  
 
I love that you took the time to teach business owners and marketing professionals how to be better at marketing, providing free resources, and training.  
 
I love that today you’re challenging us all to be better marketers – by creating sustainable marketing practices that build businesses – yes creating marketing that people love.  
 
As a marketing agency I get so frustrated with business owners, or marketing professionals that still think it’s okay to SPAM people with emails and cold calling – just because it’s a numbers game.  
 
Thank you for leading the way, again. It’s an honor to be associated with HubSpot – I love it.  
 
My recommendation is that marketers need to make the switch from thinking about their objectives and it being a “numbers game’ to what does their target audience want? They need to be having more conversations with their target audience – be that in person, skype or social media, to find out what they love.

Count me in as an ongoing supporter of the marketing lovability crusade. May you make a big dent in the marketing universe! 
 

Telling stories and be found, sounds like a LOVE story in the making!

Thank you, thank you, thank you everyone for your marketing tips and your support for making love not spam. Maybe the future of marketing is brighter than we all thought. 
 
- Mike

Thanks to everyone who commented! As promised, if you would like to receive a Make Love Not Spam t-shirt, please email me at rsprung@hubspot.com so I can get your mailing address and size. Happy Marketing! Rachel