I got a couple of interesting e-mails today. One from a band who added me to their list without asking, which contained some profanity. I grew up in a working class neighborhood adjacent to Philadelphia, so I can tolerate more than my share of blue language. But the very next e-mail in the box from the folks at MarketingSherpa caught my eye…
New state laws in Michigan and Utah regulate what you can and cannot send in e-mail promotions to minors. If you’re running a true opt-in newsletter and you keep it clean, you’re in good shape. But if you’re adding e-mail addresses at random, you send “questionable” content (anything you wouldn’t see on ABC at 7pm on a Sunday), and someone on your list has a child that could see that material…
…you could get the pants sued off you.
Lessons: don’t add folks to your lists without permission, even if they’re “industry contacts.” Especially if they live in Michigan and Utah. You never know who might be sharing an AOL account with their kids. And don’t cuss in your e-mails. Save it for the late show.