MindComet

The Best Looking SPAM I’ve Ever Received

This email “from” Apple is SPAM.

I must say, this is some of the best looking SPAM emails I’ve ever received. I almost marked it as “Not Spam” until I began looking at it with a bit more scrutiny. The subject line (way too long with some share code tacked onto the end), reply-to (some gobbly-gook hotmail address) and links (all directing to a Polish domain) were all huge warning signs. It’s engaging, convincing and has clearly gotten the Apple email look and feel down pat… right down to the correct Cupertino physical address. But make no mistake, this is SPAM.

I’m sure that if this has made it through any of the major ISP filters and into users inboxes, it’s duping them left and right to click through. This just goes to show that SPAM is constantly evolving and becoming as sophisticated as ever. Make no mistake, with emails like this out there, ISPs will be battling uphill for years to come.

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Posted by Bryan Quilty on Jan. 28, 2011

Lashback & Yahoo! Team Up

ExactTarget is reporting that Lashback and Yahoo! are now working together to determine senders’ “unsubscribe reputation”. What is Lashback, you ask? Lashback is a service that basically oversees and identifies which senders are honoring unsubscribes and which are not. They report on the Spam counts from reputable senders as well. For instance, when a user marks an email as Spam from a sender that has a good unsubscribe compliance, Lashback steps in and makes sure it’s actually marked as an unsubscribe request and not a Spam complaint.  They have dubbed themselves as being “The Email Compliance Authority”.

For any sender who’s using a major ESP, they have nothing to worry about as all ESPs remove unsubscribed addresses pretty much immediately. If you’re a small business or a sender who doesn’t have a lot of resources, it is more likely you’re keeping track of your unsubscribes manually. If you miss one, it may come back to bite your reputation… especially with Yahoo! addresses, in this case.

Along with overseeing sender reputations and righting wrongs, they’re also trying to educate users with a plugin available for download. Once installed, the plugin helps compile unsubscribe information which can report when senders are not honoring opt-out requests. The gist of the service is to identify which senders / entities are not following CAN-SPAM rules. Seems to be quite useful.

The only question I have is do they allow a grace period of 10 days before they start reporting on an unsubscribe or is it immediate? This could be problematic if it’s the former, as CAN-SPAM rules state that a recipient needs to be removed from the list within 10 days.

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Posted by Bryan Quilty on Nov. 17, 2009

Please Release Me

What if every time you wanted to unsubscribe from a list, you had to reply with this video?

I think the email marketing community totally needs to embrace this idea and shoot for a new rule provision for the CAN-SPAM act. So along with the existing rules of including a one-click opt-out link, the physical address of the mailer and a non-deceptive subject line, we can add the option of also opting-out by replying to the mailer with this video or any recording of it.

Let’s make it happen, people. Humperdinck ‘10.

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Posted by Bryan Quilty on Nov. 12, 2009

The Magic Comeback

Last month, I received a co-branded email from T-Mobile and the Orlando Magic, promoting their “Shot of a Lifetime” campaign.  I was noticeably upset with what I saw in the email; no hard-coded HTML text, no opt out link, no physical address; just one image.  It was a failure on all fronts.  With the promotion coming to a close in two weeks, another email was sent as a last ditched effort to generate interest in the campaign. The email I received this morning is almost the EXACT OPPOSITE of what I received in March.

It seems like the person(s) responsible for the Magic’s email marketing efforts took notice of our post and turned their final “Shot of a Lifetime” email around 180°.  This time around the email has separate links for their rules & privacy policy, HTML text, a physical address and the oh-so-important unsubscribe link.  Their subject line “This Is Your Last Chance To Enter Into T-Mobile’s “Shot Of A Lifetime” Contest” is still a little long, but does inject a much-needed sense of urgency to garner opens.

It’s good to see that the Magic and their promotions division are taking emails more seriously.  Here’s to them taking the Sixers in 5!

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Posted by MindComet on Apr. 23, 2009

The Most Disappointing Email I’ve Ever Received

One thing I hate the most is getting emails from partners on behalf of companies that I’m actually interested in getting emails from.  Being an email marketer, I sign up for every email newsletter / mailing list as possible. I think it’s the best way to stay relevant and keep up with what everyone else is doing, as to not fall behind or become complacent.  So sometimes, I have to put up with garbage emails flooding my inbox.  It comes with the territory, I suppose.

I judge every email I receive by the same criteria.  Is the design and message cohesive with the party its coming from? Is it drawing me in at all with any strong calls to action? Is the email breaking / untested?  I’m also judging it on CAN-SPAM compliances, such as the listing of a physical address and an opt-out link.

It’s beyond me that in 2009 LEGIT email is being sent out to god-knows-how-many-people sans an opt-out link. No physical address? Sure, I can see how that could be overlooked (yet still illegal)... but no opt-out link?  Are you kidding me?


The email above is a cross promotion for T-Mobile & the Orlando Magic pushing their “Shot of a Lifetime” online game. Although they could’ve included supporting HTML text, they didn’t.  It’s just one image. It seems as if they took a screenshot of a screenshot and threw it in arbitrarily between table tags.  It’s not even image-mapped with the separate “Official Rules” links going to their respective pages. And it’s oddly linking to a ticketmaster.com-tracked link (see below).

I’m so confused… and frustrated… and ultimately disappointed. There’s a whole mix of emotions going on here.

It begs the question: Why can’t companies—especially huge corporate entities—get their act together when it comes to email?

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Posted by MindComet on Mar. 05, 2009