Should I include a permission reminder on email newsletters?

A permission reminder is a sentence or two explaining to the subscriber where you had their email address from. It is usually found in the footer and can often help prevent you from being blacklisted or reported as a spammer.

It is a good idea to integrate your permission reminder with your unsubscribe link. This means that if a recipient believes that the email is spam and goes to click the unsubscribe, they may be reminded that they actually signed up to receive your email marketing campaigns and add you to their safe senders list instead.

Realistically, if you are sending to quality address books you will not need to remind subscribers where you had their email addresses from as they will have signed up for your newsletters on your website. However, permission reminders are not just for your subscriber's sake. If you do ever become blacklisted and classed as a spammer, your permission reminder can help determine that you are a 'good guy' when it comes to email marketing and help to get you off any blacklists.

When writing a permission reminder, explain thoroughly how your recipient's email address was added to your address book. Don't try listing all of the options, but cover as many as you can in one small explanation. For example 'You're receiving this email because you opted in for email newsletters whilst on our website'.

Always be polite in your permission reminder. Show that you genuinely care about your recipient's privacy, and include actual proof that a recipient gave you permission to email them.

Remember, if you find it difficult to write a good permission reminder, it may be a sign that you don't actually have permission to use all of the emails within your address books.

Finally, here's an example of a good permission reminder:

'In the past you provided 'Company name' with your email address xxx@yahoo.co.uk whilst purchasing from their website. Occassionally you will receive special offer newsletters and promotional emails. If you no longer wish to receive these please click unsubscribe.

For more email marketing tips visit eShoutz.com.