The importance of building an opt-in list over spamming (a.k.a., using unsolicited commercial email) is something that I can never stress enough. You must avoid it at all costs!

That and more can kill your business!

NEVER use your autoresponder for spamming in any way. You can lose your account, pay fines, get locked out from your ISP, lose your website and, above all, get jail time.

It's a serious matter that must never be overlooked. Sure, you may stumble onto someone who says they can help you spam without getting caught. But please remember this...

The reason you want a smart autoresponder is to expose your sales message more than once to your prospects in order to create trust, credibility and believability.

So, why would you do something that literally contradicts that very notion? Spamming is good if it's done once. That why spammers must keep spamming in order to stay alive!

Spamming is Like a Drug

Spamming is like a brief high... If it works (and it rarely does), it only brings a small cash infusion in the short term. That's all. You have to remain unknown, cloaked, hidden.

Then you have to work, and work, and work... Non-stop!

On the other hand, if you build an opt-in list of eager, highly targeted prospects, you only need to work once... That's it! You can spend the rest of your time growing your business.

Here are four seemingly easy ways of using your smart autoresponder that can kill your business really fast...

NEVER email a list of non-targeted email addresses picked at random (such as by using software to "harvest" email addresses posted on the web).

NEVER buy lists of email addresses from unknown list brokers or suppliers (many of them offer thousands of names on CD-ROMs, are often useless and are known as outright scams). Trust reputable ones only.

NEVER email any contact unless you have their explicit permission to do so (and that includes adding email addresses in bulk to your autoresponder database!).

NEVER share your own opt-in list to others, since their spam will kill your business even if it wasn't your fault! Spam can get in a lot of hot water, plain and simple.

Why "Opt-in" and Not Spam?

As you know, using responsible email marketing to grow your business can help you save loads of time, fatten your bank account and give you an astonishing return on investment.

Instead of using spam, think about starting a legitimate opt-in list of targeted prospects, and then turn them into life-long customers by consistently keeping in touch with them.

Spammers usually don't care if the people who receive the message are really interested or "not" in their offer. That's why they tend to send an inordinate amount of emails...

... All with the hope that they get a few "bites."

Look at it this way...

If you shoot a gun in the air (or in the dark), you will seldom hit a target. That's why you have no choice but to keep shooting and shooting... Until you finally do hit it (if ever).

With an opt-in list, however, look at it as your target... It's right there, before you, easy to hit (and hard to miss). Your chances of hitting your target are drastically higher. Right?

The absolute best way to protect yourself from complaints and disgruntled email recipients is to build an opt-in email list and sending email to only those people who asked for it.

Spammers are often enticed to carry out their unethical (and illegal in some places) practices because email is free and fast. But if you remember, it lacks the third "F:" Focus.

If You Lack Focus, Be Prepared...

Spammers with such an attitude find out the hard way that it's really very costly, even dangerous. In fact, some of the recipients can make the spammer's life quite miserable!

From complaining to your ISP or web host, to sending mail bombs, nasty viruses and even significant threats