Not all spam is created equal!

I was just thinking how the term spam is being used right now, for a lot more than unwanted, unsolicited emails.

For example:

If someone sends you an unwanted sales message via a social networking site, we call them social media spammers.
When they leave comments on your blog, purely to build links or sell us something (rather than contribute), we call them comment spammers.
When they fill forums with cut and paste marketing messages, we call them forum spammers.
When they send you unsolicited text messages, we call them SMS spammers.
When they subscribe you to their newsletters without asking, we call them newsletter spammers.

What you may not have known, is that some of the people who use the kind of techniques outlined above have NO IDEA that we regard them as spammers!

In many cases, they are often acting out of ignorance. They see others using one of those techniques, so they think it’s OK. They assume that it must work, to some degree. They forget that even if a small number of people visit their site after they did any of the above, they may have just ruined their reputation with thousands or tens of thousands of other people in order to get those few clicks.

Whilst it may be popular to assume that everyone who you consider a spammer runs a suspect business, I have found that in many cases the businesses are legit. The businesses look dubious, simply because they are being marketed using dubious techniques. I’m not talking about those who send automated spam emails to millions off people every day. I’m talking about poorly informed business owners, who send you messages you never asked for, newsletters you never subscribed to and Tweets that read like a sales pitch.

The bottom line is that anyone, even legitimate people with a great service, can be written off as spammers if they pester or pursue people with their online marketing. No one needs that kind of reputation, if they are serious about developing a long term, successful business.