Spam is a word with so many negative connotations, almost entirely attached to the online world.
Yet today I saw something different that surprised me.
As I run my own business in the real world(old fashioned I know), I was out in the local area delivering fliers for our services.
I have certain rules when it comes to my fliers.
I fold them so my logo shows on the outside, rather than blank paper.
I try to be concise as possible in getting as much information to the customer as quickly as their attention span allows.
I always deliver them on a sunny day, by hand and myself.
And finally, I will never drop one of my fliers in a letterbox with "No circulars" or "No Junk Mail" signs.
This last rule is, in my opinion, just common manners.
The householder has clearly indicated they don't wish to have any advertising delivered to them, and if I were to drop my flier in their box it would be more likely to upset them than get me a sale.
Upset people talk, and I don't want negative talk about my business.
Now, I don't consider my fliers to be junk, I present a genuine opportunity to save money they are already spending anyway, but I can't go making that call on someone elses behalf.
Today I was out in the local area dropping off fliers, chatting to anyone who was about and carefully not stuffing the fliers in the wrong boxes when I came across a box that didn't say "No Junk Mail" or "No Circulars".
It said, in big red letters "NO SPAM" and I laughed out loud.
Spam into your regular mail box.
Just yesterday I wrote an article on how the CAN SPAM act was unjustly expecting people to opt out of every single spammers mail, yet here I was applying a similar principle to my own promotions.
"No Junk Mail" signs are an opt out.
They don't guarantee you will get no junk mail, but from those who respect your opinion they do.
generally those who take personally responsibility for your their businesses advertising WILL respect your 'opt-out' because it costs them not to.
In the real world there is a cost associated with each flier I drop(Cost of paper, ink and my time to distribute).
Why would I waste that money on someone who is clearly not interested in what I have to offer? There are two reasons I don't consider my fliers to be 'spam'.
Firstly, it is clearly identifiable.
My name is on it, my logo is on it, my contact details are on it.
Now this takes a CAN SPAM approach to saying what is and isn't spam, but if anyone gets my flier they know it is from me, and they know where to find me.
Secondly, while I drop off multiple fliers at once, it is not really a bulk delivery.
The reasons for this are limited by my time and money.
Theoretically I could produce 40,000 fliers and walk the entire city dropping them in peoples letterboxes, but from a practical point of view the cost and the time to do so would be astronomical.
Perhaps a future spamming solution will incorporate the features I have outlined that make turning promotion into spam offline impossible(or at the least non profitable).
Cost.
Time.
Accountability.
Any one of these things can go a long way to coming up with a solution to online spamming issues.