Why I Wouldn't Mind Paying to Send Email...
Actually I would mind, but here's the perspective of an email marketer:
There's been a lot of talk recently about Microsoft's plan to launch a pay-per-send email program. Such a program, if initiated, would force users to pay a sort of "postage" every time they send an email.
Frankly, I don't see how something like that could be regulated, but if did happen I'm gonna go on record as saying...
It wouldn't bother me all that much...
That's right...I wouldn't mind paying to send email! (Assuming, of course, that the "postage" was kept at a reasonable rate, which I'm sure it would be.)
Here's the deal...
Because of spam (and spam filters) the effectiveness of email marketing has declined drastically over the past few years. (The fact that this even gets delivered to someone's inbox is a small miracle.)
The fact is, legitimate email messages gets lost in all the clutter of spam. And if pay-per-send email actually stopped spam, I believe the added expense of sending the email would pay for itself many times over in increased response rates.
A Lesson from Direct Mail
Think about it. Direct mail marketers have been paying postage plus printing costs for over a century to market their products, and yet many still make money. Lots of money.
If anything, pay-per-send email will separate the good marketers from the "wannabees," and make all our lives simpler, and potentially more profitable.
While I won't be the one championing this pay-per-send initiative (should it go into effect), you also won't see me lobbying Congress to have it stopped.
APPLICATION (aka What I learned and will do differently from now on...)
The Internet is still a very new medium that will continue to be altered by user trends and legal regulations. The secret to success in the "New Internet" will be to adjust to these changes, rather than simply whine about them.
There's been a lot of talk recently about Microsoft's plan to launch a pay-per-send email program. Such a program, if initiated, would force users to pay a sort of "postage" every time they send an email.
Frankly, I don't see how something like that could be regulated, but if did happen I'm gonna go on record as saying...
It wouldn't bother me all that much...
That's right...I wouldn't mind paying to send email! (Assuming, of course, that the "postage" was kept at a reasonable rate, which I'm sure it would be.)
Here's the deal...
Because of spam (and spam filters) the effectiveness of email marketing has declined drastically over the past few years. (The fact that this even gets delivered to someone's inbox is a small miracle.)
The fact is, legitimate email messages gets lost in all the clutter of spam. And if pay-per-send email actually stopped spam, I believe the added expense of sending the email would pay for itself many times over in increased response rates.
A Lesson from Direct Mail
Think about it. Direct mail marketers have been paying postage plus printing costs for over a century to market their products, and yet many still make money. Lots of money.
If anything, pay-per-send email will separate the good marketers from the "wannabees," and make all our lives simpler, and potentially more profitable.
While I won't be the one championing this pay-per-send initiative (should it go into effect), you also won't see me lobbying Congress to have it stopped.
APPLICATION (aka What I learned and will do differently from now on...)
The Internet is still a very new medium that will continue to be altered by user trends and legal regulations. The secret to success in the "New Internet" will be to adjust to these changes, rather than simply whine about them.
posted by John V at 8:09 AM
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