Assumptions And Opt-Out: A Deadly Combination

Author:

DJ Waldow

Source:

Like many topics in the world of email marketing, one seems to be rearing its ugly head quite a bit lately: opt-out.
 
A few months ago, I wrote a blog post disagreeing with the notion that opt-out was the best policy for B2B marketers. I followed that up with another post that flat out said the Harvard Business Review was dead wrong when it published a blog post arguing the same point. I still stand by my assertion that an opt-out policy is not the best option. The problem is simple: An opt-out strategy makes the assumption that the person wants to receive email communications from you. We all know what happens when we assume, right? (hint: break down the word assume into 3 words).
 
With assumptions and opt-out on my mind lately, I dug this KSL.com email out of my inbox (KSL is a local Salt Lake City media company: TV, Web, radio, etc).
 
As a valued user of KSL.com we are required to inform you of changes to our account policy and email services. As a part of KSL.com's efforts to bring our customers the latest information we will be sending our emails from our new email service at kslemails.com. Also as of July 2010, all KSL.com accounts will be subscribed to our new group deals email. We are excited to offer all of our users these exclusive great deals. If you do not wish to receive our new deals just click this link to Unsubscribe . If you would like to receive them you do not need to do anything, but will have the opportunity to unsubscribe at anytime. As always our users' privacy is important to us, and we will not sell or rent your information to any third party.
 
Let's break down the email above and discuss the many reasons why this was a poor decision by KSL.com....
 
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