How to e-mail market a legit product without looking like phishing/malware?

[GanChan]

I have completed a collection of plays which will be available both on the Kindle store and through my own website as a PDF (for printing out hardcopy scripts in the correct format). I would like to contact directors at school drama departments and amateur companies directly through an email campaign, offering them the PDF file free of charge (there is a royalty payment link for those who want to produce the shows, which is all I care about).

Question: Is there some way to embed a link or attach the PDF file without raising all kinds of spam/phishing/malware/Go Directly to Junk alarms? I'd love to do more than simply pitch the collection and ask for permission to send the file or link, but maybe that's all I can or should do.... Thoughts?

 

[chuckiehina]

The wikipedia definition of Email SPAM is "Email spam, also known as junk email or unsolicited bulk email (UBE), is a subset of electronic spam involving nearly identical messages sent to numerous recipients by email." Seems like you are targeting to a group with an unsolicitited email, so it still sounds like SPAM to me. And as a result it is a good thing if it raises "all kinds of spam/phishing/malware/Go Directly to Junk alarms".

 

[satcomer]

I wouldn't send them any customers email unless they signed up to receive email from you. The only time to email a customer out of the blue should be a sales followup email kind.

Plus sending out of blue attachments will get block by many ISP email servers. So email plain text email with a link to the .pdf on your web site to download it if they want.

 

[malman89]

I wouldn't send them any customers email unless they signed up to receive email from you. The only time to email a customer out of the blue should be a sales followup email kind.

Plus sending out of blue attachments will get block by many ISP email servers. So email plain text email with a link to the .pdf on your web site to download it if they want.

This. They're rarely enforced, but there's a lot of laws around who can and can not be put on a distribution list. It was really interesting working at a non-profit while trying to expand our reach past our 12,000+ email member list.

Any legitimate email marketing provider will give you 2-3 flags when adding/importing someone saying "Are you sure you really know this person? Do you really have permission to email them?" from what I've seen (used Salsa Labs, MyEmma, and Constant Contact).