Three Alternatives to the Permission Gamble
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In a post at Email Marketing Reports, Mark Brownlow considers the argument that opt-in permission isn't strictly necessary. "The definition of spam has shifted broadly from 'email not asked for' to 'email that is not wanted,' implying that relevant [or] valuable email will not be considered spam," he explains.
But you're making a mistake, he warns, if you believe all nonsubscribing recipients will have the same reaction to your messages—however relevant they might be.
"The more you move away from the permission optimum (explicit opt-in), the greater the proportion of your list who will see your emails as spam," he says. "Improving the relevancy/value of those emails will compensate in part for permission sacrifices, but it clearly won't eliminate all 'this is spam' reactions." And remember—ISPs tend to be even less forgiving.

Brownlow recommends that, instead of taking a permission gamble, you adopt strategies like these for higher-volume campaigns:
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I think many marketers are afraid of asking their customers if they want to increase or reduce the frequency of the emails they send. If they are confident that they are following all the best practices they can to ensure their emails are interesting and relevant, then they shouldn't have a problem with posing the question to their customers, who'll almost certainly appreciate them taking the time to do so. This in itself is way to build trust and loyalty with a subscriber.
We published an informative article on "The Secrets of Re-Permissioning" in our monthly newsletter "FreshPerspectives" that gives some further insights into this subject. http://biz.freshaddress.com/July2010_The_Secrets_of_Re_Permissioning.aspx