Outbound vs SCAMs & SPAMs

“How do I avoid being a SPAMMER and not get viewed as a SCAMMER”

First thing: Compliance

Identifying and improving your outbound practices starts with understanding the legal landscape. Each country has its own law governing the sending of cold emails. CHECK WITH YOUR LEGAL COUNSEL ABOUT SPECIFIC LAWS AND REGULATIONS WHERE YOU OPERATE. 

IMPORTANT NOTICE! CAN-SPAM: Does not require consent for cold-emailing.

Is Cold Outreach Legal? 

This will depend upon the country the recipient lives in. Where consent is not required, cold emailing is legal, but it must conform to applicable regulations to avoid crossing the line into spam territory. Again, it’s why seeking legal counsel is important.

SPAMs & SCAMs: HOW TO AVOID THESE CATEGORIES

Key differences between cold emails and spam or scam

1. Intention 

A key difference between cold emails and spam is the intent of the message. 

Targeted cold email lists involve a personalized message sent to potential clients or contacts with legitimate business intent. Spam, on the other hand, is unsolicited bulk messaging sent indiscriminately, such as promoting irrelevant or misleading products to random unqualified contacts.

2. Personalization

Effective cold emails are personalized. They address the recipient by name, reference specific details of the reason for outreach, and offer solutions tailored to the customer needs. Spam emails lack this personalization, appearing generic and often irrelevant to the recipient.

3. Straightforwardness

Well-crafted cold outreach is transparent about the purpose of the outreach. It clearly state why the sender is reaching out and what they are offering. Spam is vague, overly promotional, and irrelevant in every way to the audience receiving it. 

Eight Ways to Improve Cold Outreach and Avoid the Being ‘SPAM’

1. Personal vs. Generic Messaging

Cold Outreach: Tailored to the recipient, cold outreach typically starts with personalized greetings and mention details specific to the individual (like neighborhood names, geographic proximity to other jobs, neighbors you work with, etc…). This make things ‘relevant’ to the homeowner and keeps you from coming off as an advertisement. It is also a best practice to be up front about your business name and what you offer (don’t hide your intentions). 

Spam: A spam message is the polar opposite, with generic greetings like “Dear Sir/Madam,” or no personalization at all. These messages are usually sent in bulk and lack any specific details relevant to the homeowner. If you don’t have the name of the homeowner, you probably shouldn’t be reaching out.  

2. Relevance vs. Randomness

Cold Outreach: Even though your message might be considered “cold” because you’re making the first move, an effective outreach message is highly targeted and sent to individuals or businesses that you specifically identified as potentially benefiting from your products or services. This outreach can be based on a reasonable expectation that the homeowner can use your service (perhaps b/c you are working with their neighbors already). 

Spam: These messages are sent out to a wide, indiscriminate audience without any consideration for the recipient’s possible needs. The lack of relevance — with no targeting, customization, or forethought — is a hallmark of ‘SPAMs & SCAMs’

3. Unsubscribing: Respectful Compliance vs. Deliberate Evasion

Cold Outreach: Demonstrate respect for the recipient’s autonomy by providing a clear, straightforward method for unsubscribing from future communications. This is not only a legal requirement under laws like CAN-SPAM, but also a sign of your commitment to maintaining a respectful relationship with your customers. Don’t hide opt our links or make it overly complex to decline further outreach - it’s a best practice to mark your own ‘do not contact’ in your outreach system and also to check with government DNC lists regularly. 

Spam: Actual spam will make it difficult, if not impossible, for recipients to opt out of future messages. They may hide the unsubscribe link, make the process convoluted, or ignore unsubscribe requests altogether. This frustrates recipients and violates outbound marketing regulations - this is what will quickly get you marked as ‘SPAM’ (and rightfully so!)

4. Value Proposition vs. Empty Promises

Cold Outreach: Provides clear value to the recipient, whether it’s through informative content, an offer, or an invitation to discuss potential solutions to their problems. The intention is to start a conversation based on the recipient’s needs and interests. Any offer should have tangible value.

Spam: Offers little more than empty calories, packed with exaggerated claims and deals that are too good to be true. These emails are typically self-serving, offer little value, and aren’t beneficial or relevant to the recipient.

5. Frequency and Timing vs. Bombardment

Cold Outreach: Emails are sent at a frequency that respects the recipient’s time. Follow-up messages or calls are spaced out to give them time to consider your offer without feeling pressured. 

Spam: Sent repeatedly and at random, flooding the recipient’s inbox, and often prompting them to mark the message as spam. Regardless of engagement, messages will continue to be delivered even without any response from the recipient. 

6. Professional Branding vs. Suspicious Elements

Cold Outreach: Reflects professionalism and includes proper branding elements that reassure the recipient of the email’s legitimacy. These messages are well-written, free of errors, sent using brand-specific identifieres, and aim to build trust and credibility.

Spam: May contain suspicious elements, such as misleading cold email subject lines, poor spelling and grammar, or a lack of professional branding.

7. Building Relationships vs. Immediate Conversions 

Cold Outreach: Seeks to lay the foundation for a beneficial relationship. These emails prioritize engagement and dialogue over immediate sales, recognizing that trust and rapport are prerequisites to conversion. Cold outreach does not attempt to get people to ‘buy now’ but focuses on asking for a conversation or dialogue about a future engagement. 

Spam: Eyes the short-term prize, pushing for a quick conversion with little regard for the recipient’s readiness or interest. SPAM and SCAMs often try to get your to transact directly from the outreach message. 

Bonus: Four Tips to Avoid Being Marked as Spam

Here are four quick tips to ensure your cold emails are not classified as spam:

• Avoid misleading subject lines: Be sure your subject lines are clear and accurately reflect the content of your email. Misleading subject lines containing spam trigger words can cause recipients to mark your email as spam. 

• Provide a clear unsubscribe option: Always include an easy-to-find and straightforward way for recipients to opt out of future emails. This not only complies with legal requirements, but also builds trust with your audience. 

• Use a recognizable sender name: Make sure your sender name is easily recognizable and consistent. Recipients are more likely to open emails from a familiar name. This consistency helps build trust. 

• Do not over do it: Be reasonable in your outreach and don’t over message prospects. Consider keeping outreach to a limited number of touches per month or quarter. 

Rethinking Cold Outreach

Remember, effective outbound marketing is not about the quantity, but the quality, respect, and relevance of the communication to your target audience.

Before hitting send, make sure you’re working with data providers and email apps that emphasize strict adherence to industry and government privacy standards, significant investments in high-quality data that help ensure your outreach is targeted, relevant, effective.