How to Overcome THE eNewletter Mistake of Sending Accidental Spam

Damn! It finally happened to me. The other day in my haste to publish, I grabbed the wrong list of email addresses and sent our newsletter out to people who did not subscribe. A few minutes after hitting the 'Send' button, a flood of angry, "STOP SPAMMING ME!" emails starting pouring into my inbox.

I feel terrible! I know that we all make mistakes, but how do I recover from this one? It seems fatal. Please ask your readers how they suggest recovering from such a grievous error.

- Signed "Mortified" (Name withheld for obvious reasons)

Responses

Slow and Steady
Follow up immediately
by Janet Roberts, Editor, List-Universe.com

Mea Culpa!
Don't send an umbrella response
by Jeanne Jennings, E-mail Strategy Consultant, JeanneJennings.com

Making Lemonade out of Lemons
Turn a reply into an action-oriented response
by Bill Laramie, Vice President of Operations, Triumph Technologies, Inc.

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Slow and Steady
Follow up immediately
by Janet Roberts, Editor, List-Universe.com

The BEST way, of course, is not to be in a hurry to publish, but let's be realistic. Everybody ¯ and I mean me too ¯ who has more than one database of readers has grabbed the wrong list. The best way of getting your list to the right people is to test your message before you send it. Our software is set to send a test message to the list admins first, before sending it to the list. That way, if I have sent it to the wrong list, I know right away, because the test message will filter to the wrong mailbox. If the worst happens, and you do send to the wrong list, you MUST follow up immediately with an apology. Yes, you're sending email again to people who are irritated with you, but you have to let them know you're not spamming, just sloppy.

Janet posed a similar question in her E-Zine Tips newsletter. See what her readers have to say.

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Mea Culpa!
Don't send an umbrella response
by Jeanne Jennings, E-Mail Strategy Consultant, JeanneJennings.com

Yikes! The first thing to do is don't make it worse. Toward that end, I would NOT do a second send to the group with an apology. Do respond with sincerest apologies to anyone who complains. Explain what happened, how it's not company policy, and how it won't happen again. Mea culpa... it’s my fault... I'd also see what other collateral damage was done. Did any of the recipients report you to Spamcop or other blacklists (Spamcop and others have instructions on how to see if you've been reported)? If so, you'll want to contact them, explain the situation and try to remedy it. Also, take measures to be sure this won't happen again, such as: adding a confirmation to see which list receives it, or moving lists that didn't opt-in for the newsletter to another directory.

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Making Lemonade out of Lemons
Turn reply into an action-oriented response
by Bill Laramie, Vice President of Operations, Triumph Technologies, Inc.

Turn the situation into a positive. Reply to each person that sent you an angry email with a personalized email apologizing for the error. At the end of the email, I would include a catch phrase designed to elicit interest in your company / products / services. Something like, "We team with our clients for success. Call Jane Doe at XXXXXX to discuss your requirements." The apology email serves to preclude a spam complaint while putting a positive action-oriented spin on the mistake. In addition, some of those erroneously sent newsletters may actually be read, which hopefully will generate new business.